Lifting support thread!

[Work2live]

Thought I’d start this thread as a few people thought it’d be a good idea.

It might be a nice place to support each other and talk about lifting in general, ask for tips and advice on workouts, how to get enough protein etc.

All levels very much welcome, from complete newbies to those who’ve been weightlifting for years! 💪🏼

Going rate round here for PT starts at £40 per hour. Some gyms require you to be a member on top of that while others are OK with the PT renting space and you only pay the PT for the session (typically a bit more expensive per session and you pay extra if you use the gym outside of PT sessions)

I personally love PT and do it twice a week when I can. Once a week is fine - the PT writes me a program for 4 sessions per week.

I also think your suggestion of maybe once every couple of weeks with a program to follow in your own time could work well. Depends to some extent on whether you need a spotter and can get someone other than your PT to help with that. I would recommend videoing your lifts for sessions you do on your own, so you can check your form between sets and adjust if you need to. My PT is very happy for me to send him the odd video for comments, but I've been working with him for some years now so there's a lot of loyalty built in.

Weekly PT for me, shared so 25 quid each and PT gets 50 (outdoors, so no gym fees but in London. Others charge more like 70/80 round here for park sessions - but these are people who compete nationally and win). At my old high street gym, standard gym PT cost about that. I think when you are more experienced, you can get away with less frequent sessions as you are motivated and know what to do. BUT if you need to PT to practice the heavier lifting because you need a spotter for safety or are concerned about form, then that is different.

Gym membership is 45pcm, but for that I get one or two specialist cali classes a week as well. We usually work in pairs and sometimes do stuff it is hard to do alone.

Thanks again, that's all really helpful. My head is spinning with options, tempered by all the cost of living talk at the moment.

I know, it is tricky isn't it? I think if I were you I would be tempted to ask for a PT trial so you can see what it is actually like.

That's exactly what I did which had caused the quandary. The input just in that session on form already had an impact. Thankfully I've lucked out and fixed the £££ problem. So I'm signed up for a whole trial month now 😬 Very excited indeed!

Brilliant!! I do think it is worth it -for beginners to avoid wasting time and money or getting injuries - and when you are a bit further on for those tweaks that really help push you on to the next bit

Wow! So much amazing progress on here and as always loving the pull up tips and successes! Still can’t manage one!
havent been much to the gym at all this month as been focussing in my running. At the gym today though which feels nice though it’s annoying to feel weaker than I did when I was going 3-4x a week.
hoping to go more next month!

Am going to start Megsquat's Stronger By The Day plan next week rather than just making stuff up as I go along.
I like her content, for those of you who do pull-ups she has a recent video of tips on YouTube.
she has another course on Instagram, Before the Barbell, for those thinking of taking the leap into the big lifts.

Inverted row question for the experts😃😃😃

I do my assisted pull-ups with a neutral grip. When I do the inverted rows (never done them before and hope I won’t make a tit of myself😂) should I have palms up or palms down?

I do my inverted rows palms up which is what I saw on my you tube research.

I watched a few videos to get positioning so I wouldn't make a tit of myself and it was easy in the end. I use the smith machine so I don't have to worry about the bar moving. Head inside the rack, legs out side.

I sometimes swap grips - AFAIK, as with chin ups, palms up targets biceps a bit more. And eg wide grip brings in lats more. When I did loads of them, I did 6 sets, grips at three widths, pronated and supinated. Did similar with push ups on a low bar.

@Acerpalmatum , interesting! Do report back, I'd love to know how you find the programme.

Now you say it @MsMartini so did I - it was early when I tried to answer before. My wide grip will have been palms down, narrow grip palms up.

Yep. You can also turn it into a bodyweight bicep curl with palms up, just focus on biceps and squeeeeeze!

I did some last week that were neutral grip too as they were using handles on trx

Yep, those also good. Or start with pronated and move to neutral as you rise.

On p-bars, I now do upside down ones, with feet and arms on the bars and me sagging down in the middle!

It is one thing I love about bodyweight training - instead of getting a new bit of kit out or swapping machines, you just change grip or position to work different muscles. I do sometimes do eg bicep curls with dumbbells or use the shoulder press machine to make sure i am isolating those muscles, or for a change, or as a finisher.

Maybe I'll see more bodyweight stuff in the programme at my new place. I've not done much before. But I do enjoy swapping it around on the rows I've been trying now I have the strength to do that. I do love a bit of solid metal though.

I'm now so excited to start the PT sessions that I can't sleep, like a kid before Xmas.

@RayKray 😂enjoy!!

Yes, it is great to mix it up I think. I was into cali before the lockdowns, but they really cemented it as I could do some stuff throughout just using railings and park benches. I've been enjoying getting back into a normal gym sometimes too, recently, though.

Had my first PT session proper today. Turns out my form isn't too bad at all, and the things I'd already been doing feature on my programme (plus additions) so I'd also been doing the right things. And my approach of reps/sets/failure/progressive overload got the thumbs up. So very proud of what I've achieved all by myself for that time. Still finding my way on whether this is the right approach but was good and looking forward to going back again.

Sounds excellent @RayKray ! And well done you, yes!!! Were you happy with the chemistry? Is it in a gym?

Yes at a gym. And that's a good question that's made me think. It's not just with one, there's a team. Which I wonder if I'll actually prefer as it gives a slight distance I feel I need at this point. I'm a bit funny about sharing something that has been all mine thus far with someone else, even though I need that input. The ethos of the team and management certainly hits the right spot with me so far. Thanks for making me think through that aspect!

It is really interesting I think! I have done all sorts - large group classes, small specialist group classes, shared PT, solo PT, workouts on the telly, gym partner, solo training (esp in the lockdowns).....It is hard to put your finger on what works but you know it when you feel it I think - come away feeling challenged, buzzy, happy.....

This is the thing - I have come away from every single session buzzing (I think there was 1 once that didn't feel quite right) and I look forward to every single session too. It's been utterly my thing. So I'm a bit scared of destroying that magic by changing what I'm doing. But I can't progress much more without doing something different. I've spent the whole afternoon wishing I was still there despite being tired to my core.

Yeah I hear you 😂. I feel a bit panicky about changes (whether my choice or circumstance). But, pandemics aside, we can usually choose and it is good to have a full menu......I used to go to some cali classes that, though good, stopped working for me (new people every week, often beginners, v inclusive but it meant I wasn't progressing) - I used to come away grumpy and frustrated, and missing the bizz. The instructor left, but if he hadn't I'd have stopped going. And I did learn a lot for a while, met some great people some of whom I may train with again, learned about other stuff in my area, and I now know more about what I am looking for in a class/gym and what works for me.

Yeh I was really worried today I'd be made to go lighter and not get my buzz. Told my form was all crap and to go back to 2kg all round 😆. Thankfully this didn't happen! So I still have my endorphin top up. This is the first time I have ever found exercise that I want to do so I'm guarding it closely!