Curious about starting

Jennacita

Hi all,

I have downloaded the material and I'm looking it over. But I have a few concerns of my own and some questions.
1. What weights did you start with? Did you start with what he recommends or did you start lower?
2. I have weak wrists and can't lift the barbell over my head after a certain weight how do I go about avoiding injury?
I'm not new to lifting but am new to lifting heavy. I'm a home exerciser with lots of dvds. I have a barbell up to 100 pounds and a weighted vest. Plus a tower of sorts that can hold the barbell but it does not have safetys. We do have a smith machine but I know that is not recommended and I don' t know how to use it

Any tips on starting out would be great.
Thank You.

neandermagnon

the weights you start with need to be relative to your current level of strength, i.e. weights that don't feel too heavy, so you can work on form. When your form is good you can start adding weight to the bar. Lifting heavy doesn't mean you start heavy... it gets heavier as you go along. Start with a weight you can comfortably handle to learn form. Then add 5lb or 2.5lb each workout once you get the form right (many women prefer to just add 2.5lb as we don't have the testosterone to progress as quickly as men... it depends on the lift, I add as per the programme for squats and deadlifts, but in 2.5 incriments for the upper body lifts)

Many women don't start with the actual 45lb bar, you can get lighter bars or use dumbbells. So long as the weight is comfortable enough to work on form.

If your wrists are just weak, they will get stronger as you build up your strength and increase the weight generally. If you have a specific injury or medial issue with your wrists, get a doctor's opinion.

Use the equipment you have, i.e the barbell and tower (it sounds like a squat rack)