Just started today

violet976

I've been doing outdoor/uphill walks and exercise videos up until now, and finally took the plunge and got myself a used weight bench/barbell setup. The look of the stronglifts 5x5 program looked really appealing to me, and I must say I really enjoyed the feel/format of the first day's workout.

I'm starting out with very low weights (I assume) so that I can really hone in on form while I progress. That, and I'm admittedly weak.

Looking forward to being a part of this group and having a support system behind me for when I get stuck/have questions.

SezxyStef

Welcome and glad to see more new faces.

Start with the weight you are comforatable with for sure and you will do great...

And of course we are all here to answer questions and cheer you on.

violet976

Perhaps I simply missed it, but how did everyone determine a good starting weight for each exercise? Is there a procedure that helps you figure it out?

At the moment I decided to work my way up from 35 pounds, as I wanted to make sure my form was correct first. I have a feeling I may be cutting myself short though as it wasn't really as hard as I expected it to be. Can I inquire as to where most of you began, weight wise, for each exercise?

LividMuffin

I started today too!!! I have been lifting for like 10 months but on no proper program with very slow progress, doing many isolation an bro splits.. I haven't lifted for almost two weeks and today started 5x5 which felt reeeeally easy! But I can imagine in couple weeks time it will all change..:D By the way how are you supposed to warm up when you are just starting?

violet976

This summary page has a brief description of warm ups:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/887158-faq-read-the-summary-then-me

rps67

Welcome and good for you for getting started!!

canadianlbs

Can I inquire as to where most of you began, weight wise, for each exercise?

... first the important question: is that a ferret?

uh, starting weights. i'm 49 any second now and pretty new to lifting - even newer to sl. when i started sl almost 4 weeks ago, i followed the suggestion he gives on his site, which is just to begin with the bars. for me:

squat: started with the big olympic bar (45 lb), but i'd been faffing around doing more of a 3x12 format using a progression of dumbbell weights for a few months before then. bear in mind i'd never heard of a squat before march and i've got reasons to suspect my own knees, so ymmv quite strongly from mine on the ramp-up process. the bar wasn't that much of a struggle as far as weight, but getting used to a bar instead of the dumbbells took time. fell over sideways a couple of times ;-)

deadlift: i think it was 45. may have been a bit higher just because of needing some plates, but it wouldn't have been by very much. could have been 55.

bench: i think i started that with the 45lb bar too. too heavy, really, but i caught up to it pretty quickly.

ohp: i think it was 35 the first day. it wasn't the biggest bar, but i don't think it was the baby bar with the angles in it.

rows: bleh. i'm so half-assed about doing these that i don't really know. i know i did 2x12 with 45 pounds last friday, but i don't know if i've ever done a serious stronglifts-approved 5x5 session with them from start to finish.

ETA: sorry, i forgot to say hi. i'm new too.

violet976

lol. That took me a second. That's actually one of my former rats, Nibs. I've only had cats, rats and mice, but ferrets are definitely on my wish list. I've read that they don't usually get along well with cats though, and I'd have some fears as well if one of the tinier critters ever escaped.

Thank you for the detailed input. I began the first day with 35, but I'm going to up it to 45 this next go round as I felt the bench and barbell rows were easier than they should have been. I figure I can always back down if I'm mistaken. I did a few bench presses yesterday with 45 and I think it may be a good starting point.

Lifting is completely new to me as well. I found the bench press to be easier than I expected. Barbell rows weren't too bad, but I'm video taping my form and believe my shoulders are rounding down. I've been watching youtube videos and I don't see any rounding in the shoulders, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to straighten my shoulders/upper back any more than I currently am. And since I see the rounding *prior* to actually lifting any weight up, so I'm wondering if perhaps I don't have the bar high enough off the ground. Is there any actual distance measurement I can go by for barbell rows - a specific number of inches that the bar should measure from the ground if you aren't using an olympic bar with the larger plates?

Squats I will need to work on as well. I believe my form is ok but I can't really get any depth. I'm assuming I'll need to look up some flexibility exercises to improve that, and possibly some overall core exercises to help me with any posture issues. I've never been much of a squatter, so the motion is simply not intuitive to me.

So far I've only done day one, so we'll see how this next group of exercises treats me. I'm quite intimidated by the OHP.

canadianlbs

I'm quite intimidated by the OHP.

i gave up an evening to watching this video, for what it's worth: http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/platform_learning_to_press_2.0#When:17:41:29Z

i'm not sure now about that hip-bounce idea. for me it was a great answer to the 'how the heck do you get the bar past your face' question, but it seems like others don't feel it's safe at higher weights.