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! 💪🏼

Wow well done @MsMartini!

I had a very sweaty session this morning too, I have really struggled these last few days and have also been tempted by lots of BBQ food and ice cream so my calories have been high this weekend!

I’m not going to get too down about it, just going to get back on track this week.

That's the way, @Work2live 💪.

I went Saturday, with a plan to not then go in the heat, but now I'm plotting sneaking a session in first thing tomorrow. Felt like I had a good improvement in my barbell back squat technique.

Has anyone else got the app 'train'? It works with my watch and identifies and logs reps/sets. And tells you cumulatively what you've kg you've moved, which is very impressive!

Please may I join? Discovered proper weight training at fifty a couple of years ago and am now trying hard to focus on diet and progressing on my weights.

Looking to get back into it after my holiday, with two pt sessions this week 💪

Hi @LunchPoems! I always feel great when I get back into lifting after a holiday. A few days of complete rest and lots of food always seems to fuel me up for a few heavy sessions when I get home!

@RayKray I used to use a similar app called ‘Strong’. It was great. Now that I work with a coach I use their app platform which allows me to submit videos of my lifts, and track my weights and reps which is really convenient. I plan to go it alone later this year so maybe I’ll give your app a try, or go back to the Strong app.

Hey. How nice to find a community of women who like lifting!

I am a short, fat lover of heavy weights. I would love to be able to lose weight more efficiently but I really struggle.

I have been doing weights for a couple of years, on and off, and particularly love weighted squats.

Occasionally I see people at the gym looking at what seems to be an app which gives them an idea of what exercises to do next, reps etc. Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

@FriendofDorothy
There's lots of different apps. I've used stronglifts 5x5 in the past but am now using Wendler 531. It tells me what weight I should be using for each set, how many reps, how much rest and suggests accessory lifts to do. I could sit and work out the weights myself, but it's a lot of faff so I let the app do it for me

Not really done much over the weekend, far too hot.
Managed to fit in some pull up work yesterday, only did the pull up/Hanging work though, none of the accessory stuff.
This morning I ran 5k to warm up and then did heavy week deadlifts. Still not massively heavy but getting there. Final set was 7 at 65kg, giving an est 1rpm of 82kg.

Quick question,

When you're doing an AMRAP set, do you lift until complete failure or do you leave one in the tank?
I tend to leave one in the tank, I don't like to keep going until my form breaks down always worry I'm going to injure myself (especially as I'm hypermobile so when my form breaks down its a lot more noticeable than someone that isn't as bendy)

@FriendofDorothy welcome! Yeah there are lots of those app, might be worth trialling a few to find what works for you. I used to use the Strong app which gave me suggested workouts, but I could also create my own on it.

@firef1y I tend to work until complete failure (only when my coach programmes me to do certain exercises to failure though, I don’t do it on most exercises). My last full rep is usually a struggle - generally this is where the most progress happens! Then I’ll sometimes attempt another rep, which I usually fail.

@firef1y, for me it depends on the exercise. I pull up and push up till complete failure sometimes as the worst that happens is half reps. When I did more heavy squats and DLs, I tended to do drop sets or accessory work to hit failure IYSWIM.

Generally speaking I go to failure. But there are exceptions, if I'm working on something new, form, technique etc. But the ones I do to failure are the ones where I see the biggest gains. Failure plus drop sets has got me up to the next weight. But I was talking to a PT the other day, just randomly in the pub, and he suggested having a couple of reps to spare was better. For me failure feels good mentally, so I think is better for my motivation. From what I've read opinion is divided amongst failure and just before like he said.

For things people are looking at on phones it could be so many things. I've seen people follow along a YouTube. I sometimes check something on tiktok if I've forgotten what it was. And when I was at another gym simply a photo of my usual gym programme. Along with all the apps. I just had a look at train and I can't see it could tell me what to do, although it could look like that to someone when I'm manually adding a set it didn't work out right.

Went to gym first thing today. I wasn't planning on it because of heat but I couldn't resist. Wasn't too hot in the end and I feel awesome for it.

I've just been enjoying my gym's aircon. Tempted to go back later for a "stretch"(little lie down in a dark corner), tbh. 😂

@Work2live I'm definitely guilty of shrugging to force out a few final reps, so will be more mindful of that thanks!

@GoodThinkingMax Your point about having less fat on the traps is a good one. Everything else is covered in a layer of fat!

@RayKray I definitely have muscles when I flex! I love Nerd Fitness, such great, accessible content.

@firef1y Pistol squats are hardcore!

I need to psych myself up to go to the gym tonight in this heat!

I normally train at home but decided to actually go to the gym today for the air con! Huge mistake, obviously loads of people had the same idea and it was packed 😂

I still managed an ok lower body session, followed by a killer walk on the treadmill at a steep incline. I think tomorrow will be a rest day 😅

I never go to failure - well, at least not until there's metal clanging (I use machines because nobody needs me dropping shit all over the shop - it was nerve wracking enough when kettlebells were all the rage to see them flung about like handbags in a nightclub queue). I'll go until the last rep feels dubious and then drop sets to complete if I've got any left. It means I may not improve as quickly - but, then again, it's better than being set back for months.

Went twice this weekend early in the morning to avoid the masses (and enjoy the aircon like everyone else!) - Saturday was arms and back including flys and delts - I am definitely feeling some improvement in ROM in my shoulder - and Sunday was legs, where I went heavier than usual, even with the general rubbishness of my quads. And then a lot of protein and veg for every meal - partly because we've just got an air fryer, so DP is into making all the things we haven't been able to do without a functioning oven.

Today and tomorrow are going to be rest days, purely because of the walk there and back.

Can't help wondering what I'd look like if it weren't for all the fat and loose skin, especially as I finally stepped back on my cheapie scales that reckon I've put on 3.5kg of muscle mass since I last used them and 4.2kg overall.

There's a lot of kettle bell action where I go, and it's not a very big gym, so I'm always slightly concerned of being too near 🙈.

I forgot to mention earlier, my other exciting gym news is that I treated myself to a new fancy sports bra for wearing under my top, but one of those that is nice in it's own right and can of course be seen a bit. I'm surprised now gym kit hasn't come up before.

@NeverDropYourMooncup I love your name 😂 well done on your shoulder sesh, I hate training my shoulders, but I’d love to have beautiful rounded, toned shoulders… hopefully one day!

@RayKray for gym gear I really rate Lululemon (especially the Wunder train leggings but they’re not cheap) and for sports bras I really love the ones Uniqlo are doing at the minute. As I don’t do much vigorous cardio I don’t need anything too robust - they’re soft and comfortable but still give me enough support.

Mine's from footlocker 🙈 I saw some halo shorts I love but they were a lot more £££. I don't do any jumping around stuff either so don't need much support. Just coverage under vest really.

I love training shoulders. I can see my delts coming through now 😎

I had a 6 week break from my regular sessions at the gym (work travel), and getting back into my previous levels of fitness (high) was awful. But late last week & today, I'm finding it again.

Today, with my PT, I did 10 deadlifts at 90 kilos each - with a 2 minute break between them. First 5 felt so nice and not hard at all, then they felt progressively harder! Really shows how such a simple action is fatiguing, even with substantial rest breaks..

This was followed by a pyramid game with the sled, starting with runs at 40 kilos of weights (plus the sled weighs 40 kg) going up to 120 kilos, then back down to just one 20 kilo plate. No rest breaks!

Then 5 minutes of awful running on the treadmill - speed set at 9 kph, every 30 seconds the incline up till it got to 10, then back down again. I have dead legs now ...

@Work2live Oh no I looked at lululemon and now I'm lusting after these which they have in my size!

https://www.lululemon.co.uk/en-gb/p/wunder-train-high-rise-short-6%22/prod9750511.html?dwvarprod97505111_color=54428

I sometimes wonder about a PT but when I hear all your tales it puts me off! I think I work pretty hard but they seem to push beyond hard. Maybe it's just different goals/levels. I do have someone who does me a programme, answers questions, shows me how to do stuff but I'm left to get on with it then for a few weeks.

I need the coaching and the driving on my PT gives me. I've achieved far more than ever I thought I could, particularly as I progress through my 60s, and I"ve learned a lot. It makes me accountable.

He also pushes me - so I achieve far more than most other women at the gym, even those 20 years younger than me. Most people think I'm in my late 40s. And I'm fitter & stronger than most of my undergrad students, even the boys. In the area I teach, this is sometimes quite useful!

I don't like to keep going until my form breaks down

But that's a kind of failure, isn't it @firef1y ? I know that by the fifth set of 20 chest to floor burpees in a 5 round HIIT metcon game, the burpees are slow and pretty ragged. I don't have the breath for the smooth mobility of the plank down to the ground, then the jump up from a squat. I virtually do it move by move with pauses in between! My form is terrible - although with a burpee the potential for injury is pretty low.

I think it’s important to have a good PT, if you decide to invest in one. Barriers to entry in the industry are generally low, and as a result there are plenty of bad PTs out there.

This can also make it difficult to know what advice to listen to, and lots of fitness/training/weightlifting opinions are very subjective. I’ve seen some awful advice given by online/social media PTs. If you didn’t know what you were doing and you listened to some of the stuff you hear on social media, at best you’d be disappointed, and at worst, badly injured.

Even when I went to the gym regularly, some of the PTs there chatted absolute shit - things like being able to spot reduce fat.

My online coach isn’t cheap (£95 a month) but for that I get a full training plan, mobility suggestions, advice on my form, and macro targets. They’re amazing and are always able to help me whenever I have a question. They also suggest such minor adjustments to my form that make a huge difference. I’ve been training with them for 7 months now and never once been injured - pre-coach I was injured with something minor every few weeks 😅

See at the moment I love going so I don't need the motivation. And I'm pushing myself and making clear gains. Making my way up the weights is a big part of what I enjoy. But I'm relatively new so this may all change. And I would like someone to watch my form as I get heavier. But I don't want to spoil it by having someone shout at me to do burpees as I'd stop going. But maybe it comes back to goals, and presumably a good PT would meet me where I'm at rather than demand I do what I don't want to. The person who does my programme is good at that thinking about it, she finds me alternatives if I don't like a particular thing.

@RayKray yeah it’s definitely important to find a PT who aligns with your goals and suits your personality! I’m the same, I’d hate someone to force me to do cardio or HIIT😂

Although having said that, it is good to have someone who ensures your training is balanced. Before I worked with a coach I spent a lot of my time in the gym training my quads, chest, and triceps as they’re the areas I liked training. As a result I was relatively toned but was really lacking in some areas, e.g. my posture wasn’t great because my hamstrings were weak, and my shoulders are very weak (they still are, but I’m getting there now).

From what you’ve said though, working with an online PT who can correct your form but won’t physically be there with you in the gym might suit you well.