New to 5X5 :-)
5minty
Posts: 85 Member
Hello all,
I am 51, with back/shoulder/neck/elbow :-/ issues, 5'9, about 20 pounds overweight and just started back in the gym this past fall, but with this, that and the other, found myself not getting into the gym as much as I liked. When I was in the gym, I was doing splits, I was in there for like 2 - 3 hours, it was getting to be waaaaaay too much & I was afraid that I would just start saying, eh, I am not going to go to the gym, because it was taking up the whole morning or afternoon.
I started doing some research and came across full body workouts, ooooh I thought, I like this, get everything done in one workout! Between bodybuilding.com and the rest of the internet I made up my own program, but it wasn't great, it still took too long, still not really progressing, was kind of just floating around without a real plan.
I found 5x5 Stronglifts and was really excited by it, I thought this could really work for me, 3 moves and adding a few isolation moves, this is good. I downloaded the app, put myself in as a beginner, ( which I pretty much am) got my numbers and went into the gym on Saturday for my first "official day" of 5x5. According the the app, I should start at 45 lbs, for program A, squat/bench/row. (Right now I am using a different gym (just for this month) so have to do it with dumbbells, but since it is just for the month I am not going to delay starting this program because of that) Anyway, I did the bench with 22 lb DB's, now usually with the bench, even with just the olympic bar, I struggled, struggled to get even 10 reps in, before the pain started to be really bad in my shoulder. I thought no way will I be able to to do 5x5 with the 2 22lbs DB's, well I did it and I felt fine! Squats were good, did them with the DB's on my shoulders, only thing was the rows, I have to do incline chest rows because of my lower back :-/. I guess it is because of the low number of reps, but it works and I am not in pain and I wasn't in the gym for hours, I like it!
I am glad to have found this group, as happy as I was to discover 5x5 SL, there wasn't much info about women using it, so when I stumbled across you all on google, I thought yes, a good group of women, who lift, this is just what I need to get me going and stay on track and get involved in! :-)
I am 51, with back/shoulder/neck/elbow :-/ issues, 5'9, about 20 pounds overweight and just started back in the gym this past fall, but with this, that and the other, found myself not getting into the gym as much as I liked. When I was in the gym, I was doing splits, I was in there for like 2 - 3 hours, it was getting to be waaaaaay too much & I was afraid that I would just start saying, eh, I am not going to go to the gym, because it was taking up the whole morning or afternoon.
I started doing some research and came across full body workouts, ooooh I thought, I like this, get everything done in one workout! Between bodybuilding.com and the rest of the internet I made up my own program, but it wasn't great, it still took too long, still not really progressing, was kind of just floating around without a real plan.
I found 5x5 Stronglifts and was really excited by it, I thought this could really work for me, 3 moves and adding a few isolation moves, this is good. I downloaded the app, put myself in as a beginner, ( which I pretty much am) got my numbers and went into the gym on Saturday for my first "official day" of 5x5. According the the app, I should start at 45 lbs, for program A, squat/bench/row. (Right now I am using a different gym (just for this month) so have to do it with dumbbells, but since it is just for the month I am not going to delay starting this program because of that) Anyway, I did the bench with 22 lb DB's, now usually with the bench, even with just the olympic bar, I struggled, struggled to get even 10 reps in, before the pain started to be really bad in my shoulder. I thought no way will I be able to to do 5x5 with the 2 22lbs DB's, well I did it and I felt fine! Squats were good, did them with the DB's on my shoulders, only thing was the rows, I have to do incline chest rows because of my lower back :-/. I guess it is because of the low number of reps, but it works and I am not in pain and I wasn't in the gym for hours, I like it!
I am glad to have found this group, as happy as I was to discover 5x5 SL, there wasn't much info about women using it, so when I stumbled across you all on google, I thought yes, a good group of women, who lift, this is just what I need to get me going and stay on track and get involved in! :-)
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Replies
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Hi 5minty! I'm new to stronglifts also. Starting the 3rd week of it this week. I enjoy having only 3 moves to keep up with. So far, I'm loving this program.
I read here daily for motivation and alot of the girls here are really up there in the numbers they are lifting. It's very encouraging!
Anyways - just wanted to say welcome and hi!0 -
Welcome aboard!!0
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Welcome @5minty!
Congrats on not giving up with lifting, the benefits are immeasurable.
StrongLifts is geared towards men, so the starting bar weight recommended will be overwhelming for most women. Also keep in mind the larger the muscle the larger the weights, the smaller the muscle the smaller the weight. With that in mind, I have very small shoulders so I started with a 10# bar for OhP and worked my way up from there.
I'm 52, injured horse riding (shoulder/neck/hip), and strength training has improved the injuries tremendously. Most important is form, start with low weights to perfect form, watch lotza videos. The weights progress rapidly so this is the time to concentrate on form. Another tip, progress at your own timeline, at first the increased weight will seem easy but as it gets heavier it's ok to slow down the progression by simply adding less weight or add reps.
Best of luck!0 -
Hiya and thank you all for the welcome :-)
I had a trainer when I first went back to the gym, I thought it was money well spent, to work on my form (mostly because of my bad shoulder/back/neck/elbows) and also if I spent that money & had a session set up, I would then be sure to get my butt down to the gym! So I think I am pretty good with form, if I am not sure, I will practice with no or light weights until I am happy with it. Though realizing now that just because I am happy with it doesn't mean it is correct! :-/
I also agree with you about strength training, as long as it is done correctly, it can be a huge help! That is one of the main reasons I am doing strength training, I look at the older women in my life, who have had knee/hip replacements, etc... So even though I have a late start doing this, I want to keep my now middle aged bones and joints as healthy as I can for as long as I can!
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this is a really nice community to hang out in if having other people around helps you to stay on track. as far as the self-care, one of the guys in the club i lift with once a week is in nursing school and must be doing gerontology practicum atm. he's been seeing a lot of older people recently.
he was just saying last time that he can really tell the difference between patients who 'took care' of themselves and those who didn't, once 60 hits.0 -
Thanks canadianlbs, I've been reading through some of the old threads and it's great to see all the support you give each other!
As far as taking care of ourselves, yes, when I am up there in age, I hope to still be able to do regular yoga, not chair yoga!
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Welcome!
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