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! 💪🏼

Interesting.....@work2live, what type of classes are you thinking of?

I've found all my gyms and classes friendly, been very lucky I think. I'd love to do a boxing or bootcamp class - really miss the sweaty communal vibe - but I just can't fit it in with two cali classes and one PT a week - I need the other slots for rest and my own/wioth parrtner strength training. I do run/do some les mills at home/gym cardio (depending on weather etc) as well but it has to fit round the strength and I can't manage another regular slot either. I was doing a park bootcamp until the summer and loved it, but it was just too much on top of everything else. That wasn't at all cliquey - was explicitly part-social (on meet-up).

Just signed up to the Jeff Nippard Fundementals Hypertrophy programme.

Been exercising regular (4 x per week average) for last 6 months. Lost 13kg and lots stronger. Can do 150% bodyweight squat/deadlift and about 80% bench. This was all achieved doing Stronglifts 5x5 for 3 months then a programme i put together for PPL for the last 3 months.

This programme seems a nice next step as its aimed at beginners and intermediates. Covers both male and female. Its 3 programmes included too so i can choose which one to use for each 8 week block.

Thankfully i have quite a good home gym as there seem to be a lot of equipment needed. If anyone is interested in feedback as it goes along i am starting it in a couple of weeks time (When my current programme is at fully 3 months).

Gosh, @Tessasanderson you've made great progress! Clearly a structured programme really works for you. Do feedback on how you find the Jeff Nippard - I've just looked it up, looks very comprehensive.

I'm clocking everything on this thread with interest - at the moment my focus is calisthenics (and am lucky as where I live is an absolute hotbed), training skills as well as strength and including classes and PT. If for whatever reason I end up training solo more in the future, I think I'd go for something like this.

@MsMartini thanks. Yes very structured. I like to tick boxes and schedule everything. I put a home gym together and had a single session with a PT who showed me form. I have been around exercise all my life so appreciate the basics. Started with empty bars (I couldnt squat and empty bar to begin with) and sent my PT videos each week for first month or so. After that i just listened to my body telling me if something felt wrong, i sent a video or i backed off the weight until it felt right.

Best thing is that i go in the gym when it suits me. Quite often 10pm or later i will be in there listening to music and working out.

I dont expect too much from this routine other than a bit stronger, a bit more toned and a bit more knowledge but i didnt want to jump into one of the harder programmes unprepared. His plans seem very popular on the reddit and weights forums i go on.

I love the structure too. I love the numbers in the reps and the weights. And that it's so simple - do this number till it's too easy, then do this number, ad infinitum. And so the progress is clear and tangible.
I'm still here too, but not much to report. Just upping the numbers, getting stronger, still really enjoying it all. I wish I had something more interesting to say 😆

I think it is all really interesting - different methods, settings, preferences....😀

When I did more weights, I loved the numbers too. It doesn't quite work the same in cali - I do certain sets regularly but eg my pull ups tonight will be affected by my handstand class yesterday and I won't go don as many as I did on Wednesday because of PT on Sunday....I really enjoyed my home training in the pandemic and the flexibility but am loving being back in the gym and some group exercise now...last night, 8 of us doing tough core finisher, looking at the sky, groaning together 😂

See I love being in the gym and I'll speak to other people but I'd never ever want to do anything with them. It was a big step for me to even let a PT be with me. However I have got my eye on a strongwoman class so I'm completely contradicting myself. I'll be pondering that one now.

@RayKray exactly! All so interesting and varied I think.

I really love the buzz of group exercise and can learn a lot but it has to be an effective workout for me too.

You sound like me. I do like changing the programme up every so often as i find any plateau a little demoralising which happens more often once you get over the beginner gains.

I tried a session in a public gym a few months ago. I felt so uncomfortable and inept that i wouldnt go again even though i have some quite respectable lift figures. Everyones different. I would enjoy having a workout buddy but in my own gym.

My programme gets mixed up for me as its all PT-led but I've yet to get bored. It baffles me why, but it just suits my brain perfectly. I did do it by myself for the first 6 months. I'm by no means a beginner any more but can feel there's still much more to come. I didn't have the help I have with technique previously, but those little tweaks every session make a big difference. I'm training for powerlifting so everything I can eek out of my form is crucial.

That's some serious progress in 6 months @Tessasanderson ,wow! I hope you enjoy the programme. I sometimes think about signing up for similar but then remember that a) it's never likely to fit with my other priorities and b) I chose the exercises I do for a reason and won't want to be told to do something different!

@MsMartini oh I hear you about the cali! It's one reason I like to do weights; when doing bodyweight work (like capoeira, or when I used to do cali classes) I would struggle with the lack of noticeable progress. Doing weights helped my motivation to prove to myself that I was getting stronger, even if I didn't notice it!

One small victory for me today; I measured myself as I wanted to buy a bra online and was v surprised to discover that I'm nearly an inch smaller on the band measurement. I have been mentally prepared for being bigger (trying to change my social conditioning) so that was unexpected! Not an area I'd particularly think of losing fat from either. Also compared to last year my biceps are half an inch bigger!

I've never really seen much change in how I look (tbf I've never made consistent changes with my diet before) so it was interesting to have some objective data!

@Proteinpudding thank you. I have worked my ass off the last 6 months

The different approaches and variety is what makes this thread such a joy for me. I love the fact that we are all different, but are all finding what really works for us, and I like stocking up ideas for the future as well.

@Proteinpudding yes exactly and I think you have to take a long view because it isn't possibly to be so systematic week to week. I am probably not maintaining on all my strength fronts because of the skills focus but I want to take advantage of the specialist instruction available to me right now.

That's interesting about the changes in body shape.....

@MsMartini oh I totally agree about skills, I'd do cali again if there was any near me. I'm not focused enough/skilled enough to do it on my own (apart from basics like pull ups) Capoeira has a lot of similarities with learning gymnastic style movements. The strength work helps me with those - I've found when I haven't got access to classes, my home gym motivation wanes.

So, not only did I get my deadlift back up to 70kg, but it felt comfortable for 7 reps! Was only my grip that limited it. Happy with that, and hopefully will be hitting new weight PBs soon enough.

Oooh @Proteinpudding , isn't that great? 7 reps!!! Do you use straps for DLs?

Thanks @MsMartini ! I don't use straps. I might in future, but I want to train my grip as much as I want to train my legs!

I find opposing grip helps a lot on heavier lifts. I add a little liquid chalk too if i have worked up a sweat.

Here's to new PBs!

I think I've found a way around the MN bug which meant that this thread was unloadable (Oh easy, say MNHQ, just reduce your reading to 50 posts per page. It is a pain).

So back to report that in my final PT session before Christmas I hit a 100 kilo deadlift. And it didn't feel too awful (you know that grim feeling as you pull off the floor and you know it's going to be really hard).

I don't think it's coincidental that I was weighing in at about 76 kilos bodyweight at the time - bulk lifts bulk. On a cut now, and already dropped 3 kilos over January, so my pull ups might get easier eventually. I need two bands to get my chin over the bar.

And then last week, I was doing sets of deadlifts at 90 kilos for 2 reps (touch & go, no reset between reps) - again, it didn't feel hard (less said about today's barbell back squats at 55 kgs the better)

So it's all going well. My quads are already feeling the DOMS from today's back squat work. I like squatting & it's an easier movement for me as I've got good flexibility in the hips and ankles, so I get my thighs below parallel quite easily. But I really like deadlifting - it is the perfect all over exercise!

Training is feeling really good at the moment. I've cut back how much intense work I do, to 2 PT sessions, per week, plus a 1 hour Bootcamp class which is also tough but fun. I want to put a couple more active recovery sessions in, where I'm not lifting heavy or dying on the devil's Air Bike producing 25 calories at a level of watts just before causing me to faint, but at the moment, work is maaaad.

Those are some impressive numbers @EasterIsland!

I’m the opposite to you, I love squatting and hate deadlifting 🤣 I have just started doing barbell back squats again after about a year of not doing them (no particular reason why, my coach just hasn’t programmed them for me).

I managed 5x 5x 50kg easily last week, which I was surprised by given how long I haven’t done them for. I have been doing other types of squats though, like goblet squats and front squats.

It’s my deadlifts that need work! I moved up to 60kg last week and didn’t find them too bad, but then had the dreaded lower back pain for a couple of days afterwards. I sent a video to my coach and they’ve given me some feedback on why it might be happening (my shoulders are too far forward) so I’m going to give them a go again this week. Wish me luck!

Really good numbers and progress @work2live and @EasterIsland !

When I used to deadlift, one thing that seemed to help was fixing my eyes on a low spot on the wall ahead so not straight ahead and not at the ground. It seemed to help keep my shoulders back and down.

My cali class has just switched to front lever training (we do four-week skills blocks) which includes inverted deadlifts which I love - the bodyweight equivalent of DLs on rings or parallel bars!

@EasterIsland , it is good when you hit the sweet spot with training intensity and frequncy isn't it? So most of your strength work is with a PT? - I'm just interested in how people organise it.

OK, handstanders, any ideas please?

My kick ups on my good side have improved a little - still can't quite reach the wall or vertical but inching forwards, tho I don;t think I am engaging my core properly. On the other side, they are AWFUL. I do a sort of little hop but barely move!

My legs aren't even strength-wise but not by that much. I think it must be co-ordination....

When at the top, with a spot or by walking up a wall backwards, I feel OK, and starting to hold briefly - it is the getting there.

Any ideas on how to improve my bad side, so I don't end up lopsided?

@MsMartini it's just reps. Coordination, and learning how to recruit all the right muscles at once.
When I first started I only kicked off my right leg, and it took literally years before I could kick up (nb this was before strength training and my upper body was very weak)
Last time I did a handstand challenge and tried alternating for a month. At first I could barely move using my left and after the month I could do my left side reasonably well. Still land heavier on that side but the rate of progress was so different -presumably because this time round I had the coordination in my upper body, the spatial awareness about where the wall was, etc. I just had to rep out the movement for that leg until it became muscle memory.
I'd suggest not trying to kick all the way up but just starting with your hands on the floor and bouncing on the left leg and then tiny hops, just keep repping it until it feels more comfortable.

I remember my old PT trying to get me to do double footed jump ups and despite him telling me just to use as much force as possible, and me genuinely trying, I couldn't get up. It was my brain stopping me I'm sure! I practiced at home over a week and around 60 reps later I got it - double foot jump into a HS hold. Never repeated it mind 😂

@Proteinpudding that's so helpful - and encouraging that progress can be made with repping from such a low base! Thanks.