Increasing weights lifted

WindSparrow

Ok, I'm a professional caregiver. Until last year, I was lifting human beings on the regular. Then I got a promotion, and suddenly I'm pushing paper. And at the rate they have converted our record-keeping tasks to online apps, there is very little actual paper and not much in the way of pushing. And sadly I was not even walking for exercise. I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. My middle-aged joints were getting very angry about doing things like walking up and down stairs, and even grocery shopping was painful. Every part of me hurt, after the least exertion. I want to be strong again, as soon as possible.

So last month, I haul my sorry carcass to the community center fitness room. I know that you need to change your workout every couple of weeks. I got sick, so there was a week in the middle when I made myself go so I would not loose momentum, but used lighter weights and only did one set of each exercise. Then I went back to the weights I started with, and back to three sets each. The next week I started feeling sassy, and did one set at the original weights then bumped up the poundage for the next set. I was feeling really good - starting to have less pain and more energy, standing up straighter and getting more stuff done.

Two workouts ago, I did all three sets at the higher weights. I felt so much stronger, even right after working out. After the most recent workout, though, I started hurting all over again - not workout muscle soreness, but unhappy joints everywhere like before I started exercising.

For tomorrow's workout I'm thinking about going back to the strategy of doing the first sets at lower weights then bumping up for the second and third sets. Will this get in the way of increasing my strength as fast as I want?

middlehaitch

You should be doing warm up sets before your working weight sets.
I do 1 set at 1/4 weight, 1set at 1/2 weight, then 2 sets at my working weight.

Doing warm up sets should help, if not, off to the doctor you trot.

Are you following a programme or just doing your own workout?

You would probably benefit from using a programme that defines the lifts you do so the workout is balanced. It will also tell you how to warm up, how many reps and sets you need, and when to increase the weight.

Cheers, h.

Azdak

First of all, the idea that "you need to change your workout every two weeks" is nonsense--that's just something that people say when they are trying to sell you something. If you change your program too often, you will never get proficient enough to actually do the exercise in a way that will provide benefit.

But that doesn't sound like the issue you are facing right now. It's hard to say from your description whether you symptoms are lifting related or reflect some other medical issue. You also don't mention what exercises you are doing, what weights you are lifting, how many sets/reps, etc. So it's hard to give focused advice.

What I will say is that it sounds like you are still in the beginning stages of a lifting program. At that stage, you don't need to do anything complicated, nor do you need to lift especially heavy weights. This is a time to learn proper movements, set a consistent routine, and give your body a chance to become conditioned to the new stressors you are imposing.

Specifically, I would stick to simple exercises--leg press, leg curl, chest, lats, shoulders, maybe another lat/upper scapula exercise, body weight squats, glute bridge. Keep weights in the 10-15 rep range, and do 3 sets. Leave each workout feeling like you could have done a little more. When the weights feel easier, bump them up a little bit. After 4-6 weeks of this, you can move to a more aggressive (i.e. Heavier weights) approach.

JeromeBarry1

OH MY GAWD YOU'RE DOING PROGRESSIVE HEAVY LIFTING!! DO IT AGAIN!

Ditto the folks above on the details of lifting. You should remember to not lift with pain. Let whatever hurt heal.
Be sure to consume 1 gram of protein for each pound of your body weight each day. This will give you the protein you need to repair and grow your muscles, which make the progress of your heavy lifting real. Water is your friend.

LKArgh

First, no you should not change your routine every 2 or 10 or 100 weeks. Change when you feel it is not longer working or when it is boring.
When it comes to how you increase weight, there are several strategies, and what you are thinking of doing is one of them.
You could also try the following, which is fairly simple and also easy to keeo track of: always do 3 sets, starting with a low-ish amount of reps, be it 5 or 8 or whatever number you feel works for you. Next time increase reps by e.g. 2. When you are up to your max number (say 3 sets of 10 or 12), increase the weight and start again from the beginning.
Remember to warm up, focus on form and do not be afraid to de-load and go back to lower weights if for whatever reason you are not feeling up to lifting more.

WindSparrow

middlehaitch wrote: »

You should be doing warm up sets before your working weight sets.
I do 1 set at 1/4 weight, 1set at 1/2 weight, then 2 sets at my working weight.

Doing warm up sets should help, if not, off to the doctor you trot.

Are you following a programme or just doing your own workout?

You would probably benefit from using a programme that defines the lifts you do so the workout is balanced. It will also tell you how to warm up, how many reps and sets you need, and when to increase the weight.

Cheers, h.

Thank you all for your replies!

As for a programme, the trainer who did the orientation gave me a sheet of paper with a grid. She wrote down the different machines, the settings to adjust each one for my body, the weight to start with, and how many reps. We spent a few minutes doing several reps at different weights on each machine to find out what I could lift comfortably, what was a challenge, what was too much. She suggested using a stationary bike, treadmill or elliptical machine for five minutes as a warm-up for lifting. She also suggested a series of stretches to do after lifting and showed me modifications for a couple stretches I am not yet flexible enough to do the exact way it shows on the wall chart.

Azdak wrote: »

First of all, the idea that "you need to change your workout every two weeks" is nonsense--that's just something that people say when they are trying to sell you something. If you change your program too often, you will never get proficient enough to actually do the exercise in a way that will provide benefit.

...

Specifically, I would stick to simple exercises--leg press, leg curl, chest, lats, shoulders, maybe another lat/upper scapula exercise, body weight squats, glute bridge. Keep weights in the 10-15 rep range, and do 3 sets. Leave each workout feeling like you could have done a little more. When the weights feel easier, bump them up a little bit. After 4-6 weeks of this, you can move to a more aggressive (i.e. Heavier weights) approach.

I've heard the two weeks thing before, and the trainer who got me started at the community center mentioned it. When you say to leave each workout feeling like I could have done a little more... It makes me think perhaps I have been pushing to increase the weights faster than is best. I usually walk out of there with my legs shaking. Maybe I should dial it down a little. Thanks!

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

OH MY GAWD YOU'RE DOING PROGRESSIVE HEAVY LIFTING!! DO IT AGAIN!

Ditto the folks above on the details of lifting. You should remember to not lift with pain. Let whatever hurt heal.
Be sure to consume 1 gram of protein for each pound of your body weight each day. This will give you the protein you need to repair and grow your muscles, which make the progress of your heavy lifting real. Water is your friend.

I love your enthusiam! Thank you! I want to be strong. My short term goal is to have less pain in my daily life. My long term goal might be summed up as "Just how much CAN I lift?" I have been eating more protein every day but not quite as much you suggest. I'll bump up that protein intake and see how I feel.

WindSparrow

aggelikik wrote: »

First, no you should not change your routine every 2 or 10 or 100 weeks. Change when you feel it is not longer working or when it is boring.
When it comes to how you increase weight, there are several strategies, and what you are thinking of doing is one of them.
You could also try the following, which is fairly simple and also easy to keeo track of: always do 3 sets, starting with a low-ish amount of reps, be it 5 or 8 or whatever number you feel works for you. Next time increase reps by e.g. 2. When you are up to your max number (say 3 sets of 10 or 12), increase the weight and start again from the beginning.
Remember to warm up, focus on form and do not be afraid to de-load and go back to lower weights if for whatever reason you are not feeling up to lifting more.

Thanks.

I did go back to lower weights today. I guess in my head I was expecting progress to be more linear, and I was hoping for it to go faster. Like, I wanted to be already back up to what I could have done before I took the desk job. But for as long as I was sedentary, that really is foolish pride and not realistic.

WindSparrow

Ok, it has been a couple days since I posted the original question. Since taking several of your suggestions, let me just say I feel better, less pain, more energy, etc. AFTER my workout this morning, than I did BEFORE the workout on Saturday.

To sum up what I am doing now: I am continuing to lift weights three times a week. I am making a conscious effeort to eat even more protein than I had been. And when I am lifting, I do three warm-up sets of ten reps starting at very low weights, and gradually working my way up. Then I do two sets at the weight level I want to work at.

Using that strategy, I determined that with pretty much all of the arm exercises, I had not been ready to bump the weights up yet. With both the back extension, leg extension, and leg press machines, I originally felt that I could have started at higher weight and been ok, so bumping them up has been easy. Only problem was, I did it too fast, so I took them each down a notch. Now I can walk out of the fitness center without clinging to the walls.

Thank you all so much for sharing your knowledge with me. It helped a lot.