What motivates you and what are your goals?

kitkat4141

I'm brand new to this group and not sure where I fit. I've lost over 50 pounds, been in maintenance for almost one year (bouncing between a low of 121 pounds and my goal weight of 130 pounds) and am 5'4" tall. I turn 55 in March so I'm not a spring chicken! LOL When I first began my fitness journey all I wanted to do was lose the weight, become healthy, and maybe throw in a pair of toned arms. Check, check, and check.

My personal trainer measured my body fat percentage by caliper and it is 21%. She wants me to try and maintain and suggested I lift "heavy" three times a week. After reading what you all are doing my "heavy" isn't very, well, heavy. So, that's why it has made me curious about all of you. Are you lifting just to see how much your body can do, are you training to compete, why do you lift heavy?

Oh yeah, and about this maintenance thing.......I have been eating my exercise calories back (these are crazy high amounts for me) and I'm still losing weight. Trying to stop it but having a hard time doing it.

deninevi

Hi and welcome to the group! I started the program last September towards the end of it. I have 2 workouts left in stage 6 and then one more stage and done. I started the program so I can do a chin up/pull up-seems like chin up is a lot easier. I wasn't able to do 1/2 of a chin up back then. I also wanted to " tone" or see some muscle on my body. Lifting heavy has given me legs that I don't have to cover at the beach, butt that can handle bikini, arms for tank tops and nice abs. But also my knees don't hurt any more when I squat, I can carry heavy thing by myself, I can play with my boys a lot longer-9 and 7 year old. I love the heavy weight ( and hate cardio machines) and see what else I can do-fitness like. I like to push my self and get better at squats, deads and learn new things-like chin up or push ups from the floor. I did gain a bit of weight due to poor eating at the start of the program but I lost a whole size in jeans. Now I'm going down on the lbs. too.

cgrout78

I started this program to make myself stronger, so that I wouldn't just lose weight and still not be healthy and have any muscle tone.

Heavy is whatever you want it to be, if the most you can do is 10 or 20 pounds to start with, that's awesome, keep plugging away. There's days when I've had to go backwards because there's days I'm just not feeling as much as others, but as long as I'm pushing myself I know I'll get to where I want to be.

I'd like to get my body fat to less thatn 30%, that's my goal at the moment

Glad you're here!!

jarrettd

Welcome kitkat!

"Heavy" is a weight that challenges YOU. You want to really be working for it by the time you do your last 2-3 reps. For form's sake, NROLW starts out with 15 reps. Subsequent stages will have you down to 6 reps. So, you can see that in order for the weight to remain challenging, you will have to take your weight up as your reps go down. Finding the right starting weight was the hardest part for me on most of the moves.

At 44, I'm not exactly "young" either. I haven't treated my body very well up to now, and decided that I better get started with some improved habits if I didn't want to have a miserable old age. No aspirations of competing, other than hoping to do at least one 5k this summer, just to say I did. (My final farewell to a 30 year, 2 pack a day cigarette habit that I got rid of last year!) If I really like running, I may stay at it.

You aren't alone with the cals/weight loss. After-burn is pretty awesome, isn't it? Best answer I have for you is eat more!

I guess just wanting to see what my body is capable of would be the most accurate. I'm 5'11" and have always been strong. And I've always been rather inclined to do things that people think women "shouldn't" or "can't" do. Dad wanted another boy, I think, so I learned to weld, run heavy equipment, and other traditionally male activities at a young age. Gender barriers don't phase me much. (When I see a guy deadlift with his penis, I will then concede that weightlifting is a male activity!)

Since I'm too tall to be dainty and too strong to be delicate, I may as well be all I can be!

Tara4boys

I want to lose about 30 pounds - 23 more to go. However, I really could care less what the number on the scale says. I guess I really want to be size 6/8 pants

I think building muscle will help me have a faster metabolism - I'm hypothyroid so increasing metabolism is good.

Also, my SIL used diet pills and lost 30lbs fast. I asked her you must have had to buy a whole new wardrobe??? She said no. My pants are a little looser but they still fit. :noway: Um hello muscle loss!!!

I don't say this to sound snarky or put anyone down. But there was a lady who posted her before and after bikini pix on MFP success stories ( her stats were similar to mine starting weight and height, body build). She has lost 20-25lbs - can't remember exactly. She didn't look *that* much better. Just a smaller size of her soft fluffy body. I want to look GOOD - not just a smaller version of what I look like now.

I have arthritis and building muscle reduces wear and tear on my crappy joints.

kitkat4141

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Is anyone out there training to compete?