New and Nervous

micls

Ok, so after a few months of making excuses why not to start, I'm gonna give this a go. I plan on spending the rest of this week reading up on it, figuring out stuff like what a deadlift is and trying to get an idea of form.

I'm very weak, so this is definitely needed. I'm worried though. Firstly about going in to the scary part of the gym where the lads will be utterly baffled to see me there, but mostly about doing it wrong! I don't have someone to help, so I'm worried i'll get it completely wrong. It's one thing watching it on youtube but another trying to figure out if you're doing it right!

I'm also not sure how much I should be eating. I'm close enough to my goal weight, so set to lose .5lb a week. I'm more worried about body composition than the number on the scale but probably have some body fat to lose still, it was very high when I started. I'm 5'7" so at the moment this has me set to eat 1570cals a day. What do I do when lifting. Do I up this? Or just increase protein within this?

Any help, advice, tips etc would be very welcome! Thanks

ishtar13

If you still want to lose, I would just up the protein. But once my lifts started getting challenging, I started being really, really hungry on lift days. So, for the moment, I don't worry too much about going a little over my cals.

Do you have links to the lift descriptions and videos? If not, we've got lots.

Try the lifts at home with a broomstick or something else light first to get form. If you have a webcam set it up so you can video yourself doing the lifts and compare it to the other lifts.

The guys won't care that you're there. Seriously. Most people are just doing their own thing with their headphones on.

Also, one morning last week, for about 20 mins, it was only women in the free weight area at my gym, which was AWESOME!

More women are heading over there now; it's not that bad.

tameko2

i add 300 calories for lifting days but I'm guessing I'm a bit heavier than you - I'd say eat 1570 on non-workout days and 1820 on workout days.

although are you sure about those numbers? Did you set yourself to "sedentary"?

XFitMojoMom

Welcome - I wish I had some advice about entering the "man cave". At my Crossfit box it's the norm and you often see a lot of the girls lifting more than the boys.

If you are unsure, maybe you can ask the gym trainers to give you pointers, or hire them for a few sessions until you feel familiar with what you are doing. Also, you can ask what time of day the weight room is quietest. But I think you should just get in there and command the weight room!

micls

If you still want to lose, I would just up the protein. But once my lifts started getting challenging, I started being really, really hungry on lift days. So, for the moment, I don't worry too much about going a little over my cals.

Do you have links to the lift descriptions and videos? If not, we've got lots.

Try the lifts at home with a broomstick or something else light first to get form. If you have a webcam set it up so you can video yourself doing the lifts and compare it to the other lifts.

The guys won't care that you're there. Seriously. Most people are just doing their own thing with their headphones on.

Also, one morning last week, for about 20 mins, it was only women in the free weight area at my gym, which was AWESOME!

More women are heading over there now; it's not that bad.

Well, I get looks from people for being the farang (white person) in the gym, so they'll certainly notice! Thai women certainly don't use heavy weights often so I think there'l be confusion anyway!

I read through the tips that are stickied so gonna look at those videos. Thanks for the tips

i add 300 calories for lifting days but I'm guessing I'm a bit heavier than you - I'd say eat 1570 on non-workout days and 1820 on workout days.

although are you sure about those numbers? Did you set yourself to "sedentary"?

Yeah, set on sedentary. I sit most of the day in work, so I just add extra exercise calories when I do something more active.

Rae6503

Your calories sound a little low for someone your height. I'm 5'8.75" and eat about 2200 a day. I'd bet you'd be good to go up to 1700 at least. Try not to be nervous. Like you said, they look at you weird anyway, may as well get something awesome done.

tameko2

I think you might be surprised how NOT sedentary even a desk job is. I have a desk job AND totally sedentary hobbies and I'm still never as sedentary as my sedentary numbers come up.

think about going to work and what you do after work - do you get up, make breakfast, do you walk much from the car to your work or do you take public transit? Do you have meetings or chats with coworkers? Walk to starbucks to grab a coffee? Get up and walk to a break room for coffee/water? Go to a cafeteria for lunch? Do you do housework or cook dinner when you get home?

You'd be surprised how much that sort of stuff adds up. The sedentary numbers are for someone who is like, REALLY sedentary. My BMF gave me a comparable number one day when I stayed home all day playing world of warcraft and eating drive through takeout.

micls

Your calories sound a little low for someone your height. I'm 5'8.75" and eat about 2200 a day. I'd bet you'd be good to go up to 1700 at least. Try not to be nervous. Like you said, they look at you weird anyway, may as well get something awesome done.

I'm just using the MFP settings, set at .5lb a week loss as I'm still trying to lose a bit. I also eat back the exercise calories. I'm not actually losing .5lbs a week so I think I do eat more than the calories listed. I'm looking at moving towards maintenance which would bring me to 1770 a day (+ exercise calories). Another option I'm looking at is moving to the maintenance calories of my goal weight (140lbs), which would be 1740 according to an online calculator.

Tameko: afaik, sedentary settings are based on jobs where you sit most of the day etc?

I know I'll have to up my calories eventually to make any real gains in strength, but I'm wary of increasing calories and risking putting weight on this close to the wedding. I think I do eat more than my calories as it is as my loss isn't what's projected, so I'm probably a bit higher than what's written.

amysj303

I used the calorie formula for New Rules of Lifting for Women, and it had me really up my cals from what MFP gave me for maintenance.
If you want to see the formula you can find it here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538943-how-to-calculate-calorie-goals-according-to-nrolfw

I am 5'4" and about 115 and I get 1870 on non-workout days and then I get about 200 more on days I work out.

shmiracles

practicing at home with a broomstick sounds like a really good idea to me! thanks very much for that tip. i'm sure it will help build that little bit more of confidence that i need.

i want to start StrongLifts but i must admit i feel SUPER intimidated by the whole thing. i basically walk near the Man Cave section of the gym, look at the weights a little, and then walk away. i've done that several times now.

all the males in that section are acting so intense it weirds me out! i plan to try to go very early in the mornings for a while. after practicing with my trusty broom

i'm sure i'll feel silly later, after i've gotten over this insecurity hurdle and i'm in the awesome zone, but at the moment it feels very daunting.

classictoaster

i want to start StrongLifts but i must admit i feel SUPER intimidated by the whole thing. i basically walk near the Man Cave section of the gym, look at the weights a little, and then walk away. i've done that several times now.

when i first started SL, i felt the same way, walking into the weights section terrified me. don't be afraid! after going in consistently for three weeks, i almost strut to the weights now. d: maybe i'm getting a big head over the constantly escalating weight (so far), but i'm always the only girl there and i feel like i'm "gaining other people's respect," if that's an acceptable way to put it. people have started to recognize me now and comment on my routine. it feels nice, and pushes me to do my best every time i enter the gym.

shmiracles

i'm just gonna post here cuz i feel like talking about it. i get hyper and generally jazzed-about-life after a good trip to the gym don't you?!

i've been doing squats at home with the broom stick for practice and today i did my first 5x5 squats with an empty barbell. i watched a handful of online videos for form over the past few days. so this morning i set up the power rack myself (which was a first hurdle) and then took my time. i also did bench presses with an empty bar and excellent form, and then did dumbbell rows instead of barbell rows. but i'll do the barbell next time i'm sure.

all that matters is that i FEEL AWESOME. next time i will branch out and up to adding weights. but my confidence has already improved. and my arms and back feel like jello! baby steps rule.

ishtar13

all the males in that section are acting so intense it weirds me out! i plan to try to go very early in the mornings for a while. after practicing with my trusty broom

Pretty soon, you'll be acting that intense, too!

chubby_checkers

Even if you're nervous, just strut around like you own the place. No one will question your right to be there. You may get some weird looks, but you'll probably get more compliments than criticism. I get (good) comments at least twice a week and I'm quite overweight with chronic *****face (http://blog.krisatomic.com/?p=1617).

Practicing form at home will help with your confidence too. Good luck! If you have any questions, these ladies are awesome and very helpful.

Rays_Wife

Hello and welcome! :flowerforyou: I'm new here too. I just finished my first week of Stronglifts and I love it!! :drinker: I agree that pretty soon you will be the one looking "intense" too lol. I've been strength training for a few months now but just recently switched over to the 5x5. Don't be scared of doing your thing in the gym with the "boys". They will get used to you trust me. And most of the guys are quite nice! Just strut in there and do your thing. You will be surprised at how quickly you gain confidence. Lifting will make you feel great. Good luck!