Wondering..

StartingAnewDay

Did/is anyone doing this alone?

I'm no stranger to the gym and lifting in general but I used to have a gym buddy. Now I have no one and even starting out with just the bar, i'm a little nervous. mostly no one to spot me if the bar starts listing during a chest press or critique my form.

RoboLikes

I'm going it alone. It would be fun to have a gym buddy and would probably cut my nerves about being in the weights section (I still feel a little intimidated sometimes). Maybe I'll make a new friend while lifting

Carolyn_79

I'm doing it alone as well. I keep trying to get my husband to go with me but he doesn't want to :frown: I've chatted briefly with a few of the guys at the gym but that's about it. I might have to use my charm and get one of them to spot me soon

StartingAnewDay

Thanks guys. I guess I should just walk in there and do it!!

Cathy7794

I'm doing it alone too. My husband has been at the gym with me the first few workouts, to help if I need it. There will be many times when I'm there by myself though, I'm sure. I too wish I had a gym buddy.

Rae6503

I have a spotter. It's been really nice. It's great to be able to really push yourself without fear of injury. Although he's a boy and is starting to pass me on the all the lifts. Damn testosterone.

Doreen_Murray

Would LOVE a buddy, but doing it alone as well. That's why I'm so glad this group exists because I'm sure we'll all have questions along the way! Huge plus.

StartingAnewDay

I DID IT!! So excited!!

I was so nervous this morning! Turns out i just got in my zone and did what I do. I was surprised by the lightness of the bars. I'm not sure I'm getting quite low enough on my squats yet but honestly, Im fat! My thigh touches my calf before I get down there lol. Best thing of all is I had no knee pain. I concentrated on pushing up through my heels. the bar alone was kind of light so i did 6-7 sets on everything trying to concentrate on form and get used to the extra sets for warm ups.

the pendlay row was kind of weird. Not sure but im as low as i can go with my belly touching my thighs. going to keep at it though. I'm hoping in some instances when i add weight, it will help to automatically correct my form. Like my back arch on the bench press. I have a big ole booty so I have a natural arch, I couldn't seem to lift it any higher with no weight on the bar to counter it.

Deadlifts next. Which do you do? I'm thinking I like the "sumo" look better. just seems as if it would be less strain on my lower back. Ok, I'm done with my post first workout excitement babble. sorry!! LOL

mandasimba

Way to go Losing4Life! For the bench, one option is to put your feet on the bench, if you are short enough. Although it does make you a bit more unstable and not advised when you get to real heavy, it can help in the beginning by putting less strain on your lower back, if that is an issue

I'd stick with a regular deadlift for this routine, though of course it is all up to you! The sumo works your hammies more, while the regular deadlift is really going to strengthen your lower back and give you that stability and strength you are looking for. To keep from straining your back, make sure your head, neck and back are a straight line. Try not to look up, or even look forward to look in the mirror. The SL website has some great pointers on it.

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-deadlift-with-proper-technique/

I really like how they talk about it as a push movement rather than a pull movement. You are just using your whole body to push yourself up - in the 13 DL mistakes link.

As for working out alone, I do as well I just use the power rack and put the pins in the slot right below my ending position in case I need to leave it... as for bench press, I have no idea what I'll do when I get stuck! Perhaps yell for help, perhaps do some likely unsafe move to wiggle myself out from under the bar

irridia

GOOD JOB 4LIfe!

I work alone, in my apt. Bottom floor so I can drop em if I need to and not worry about it. Sometimes my hubby or 18 yr old is around to spot if I need it, but worse case scenario I can do the roll of shame from the bench (hand have a couple of times) and really that's the only lift that one person can spot you on, the rest you either just drop or you need catchweights avail either chains or a bar. I'm going to use chairs for my squats today, and wished I had thought of that in the past! lol.

In other news I finaly have a goal of sorts to work for. BD workshop at the end of the month and another in august and maybe clasess in between. Yay! now I gotta find my zills.

tameko2

I did it alone for hte first 4 weeks, then a stranger had to rescue me from a bench press fail so my husband decided to accompany me the next time, actually looked at the program and liked it, so now he's doing it with me.

If you have a power rack you can do EVERYTHING alone - including bench press - using the bars to catch the weight. The stronglifts blog has a writeup on how to use the power rack to safely bench.

i like having a spotter, but I preferred working out alone actually. I could do things at my own pace and I'm PATIENT. My husband is so impatient and so sensitive to having to wait for a bench or make someone else wait thatit drives me nuts

StartingAnewDay

I did it alone for hte first 4 weeks, then a stranger had to rescue me from a bench press fail

This is my fear, I'm actually thinking about getting up the nerve to just go and ask someone to spot me during their "rest" When I get to the point I need a spotter.

If you have a power rack you can do EVERYTHING alone - including bench press - using the bars to catch the weight. The stronglifts blog has a writeup on how to use the power rack to safely bench.

I never thought about this.. I may try this... I'm sure i'll get a lot of stares but o well. When I get high enough in bench that i'm concerned I may kill myself, I'll drag a bench over there and DARE one of the LAfitness staff members to say anything to me!!!

tameko2

I did it alone for hte first 4 weeks, then a stranger had to rescue me from a bench press fail

This is my fear, I'm actually thinking about getting up the nerve to just go and ask someone to spot me during their "rest" When I get to the point I need a spotter.

If you have a power rack you can do EVERYTHING alone - including bench press - using the bars to catch the weight. The stronglifts blog has a writeup on how to use the power rack to safely bench.

I never thought about this.. I may try this... I'm sure i'll get a lot of stares but o well. When I get high enough in bench that i'm concerned I may kill myself, I'll drag a bench over there and DARE one of the LAfitness staff members to say anything to me!!!

IT should be fine with them, just put it back when you're done. People do it at my gym for bulgarian split squats and such.

The only thing that might be tough is if your power racks are like mine, they might not hit the right spot for your bench press (they might end up limiting your range of motion too much). If they do, then yeah you'll have to ask for a spot. I think usually people don't mind, they have to rest anyway right?

irridia

lol. Most times all I have is my 6yr old, who can call a friend for me if needed but I just use the roll of shame for bench fails. I was far less nervous about doing it alone till I learned that trick. Also using the chairs as catchweights for squats should keep the same 6 yr old from running behind me during a lift! oy!

STurbs33

I'm doing it alone too. It hasn't been too bad so far, though I did need someone to help me out of a bench press fail, as someone else mentioned. I was more embarrassed than anything because I was unsure about the last set but decided to try it anyway. Thankfully the man was really nice and just concerned that I was okay. Besides that little incident, I don't think I'll need a spotter yet, which is good since I don't have the confidence to ask anyone just yet either.

Lena1967

Irridia, would you mind describing that "roll of shame"? I work out at home too and could see needing this soon. :blushing:

My hope is to get some racks like these

http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3013848

that I could use for bench press and squats both.

irridia

Irridia, would you mind describing that "roll of shame"? I work out at home too and could see needing this soon. :blushing:

My hope is to get some racks like these

http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3013848

that I could use for bench press and squats both.

That's probably fine if you already have a bench, if you don't this might be better: http://www.getgoldsgym.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_-1_15051_18852_63504_158557 good price too, about what I paid for a craigslist version of the same thing, though it did come with weights.

How to do the "roll of shame". 1. Let the bar go back to your chest. 2.Whichever your dominant side is, or the side of the bench that has the least amount of clutter, roll to that side so that the bottom of the bar with the weight hits the floor. 3. When it is stable, move the bottom hand to the top side and as you sit up push the bar away from you. That's how I do it anyway, might not hurt to youtube it.

Doreen_Murray

I joined a gym with a power rack!!! Whoot! Motivation. :drinker:

Lena1967

Irridia, thank you! I will try that next time. Yesterday when I was benching (alone) , all I could think of was this guy I dated long ago whose brother died benching alone because the barbell fell on his neck. It started freaking me out. This is a good backup plan. Oh, and I do already have a bench. It came with the barbell/weights that I got on Craigslist. I kind of regret it because it is so huge and unwieldy. Kind of a workout in itself to move it around.

Doreen, that's awesome! Hooray for power cages!

My birthday is coming up and I told my dh I want a squat rack. He thought that was very weird but agreed. :laugh:

StartingAnewDay

My birthday is coming up and I told my dh I want a squat rack. He thought that was very weird but agreed. :laugh:

LOL!! I bet he did!! This is the one I would like, I feel like it would be a nice starter..

http://www.amazon.com/Powerline-PPR200X-PowerLine-Power-Rack/dp/B000VLRVSC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1

aj_31

Some of the stuff I can do alone but usually my husband is there to spot me. If not then I check with my friend to see if she'll be in the weight area to spot me when needed.