How to start lifting when you can't lift the barbell?

All great suggestions up there. And don't worry about the "girly" colors on the weighted bars. Just put on your mean face when you do the work. That will cancel out the girly factor. :laugh:

But srs, I think it's great that you're gonna be doing squats. What about the rest of the big 4 lifts?

the weighted bars should work just as easily for the barbell rows, bench press, dead-lift and overhead press right? i just assumed it would work .... except on the barbell rows+deadlifts i will have to hang the bar inbetween lifting instead of going all the way to the floor,that could be an issue.

Yeah getting the right barbell height for deadlifts would be tricky with an unloaded bar.

I've seen people with a trainer at the gym using aerobics steps to prop up the bar to get the right height for deadlifts, I'm sure there's other stuff you could use also.

Also when you start using the squat rack make sure you put the safety bars on so that if you fail at the bottom you can just drop the bar and bail out.

If you can squat 45lbs easily thatn you shouldn't have an issue lifting the bar off the pins on the rack but there's nothing wrong with starting with light weight and working your way up.

I meant which part, while attempting the 45lb bar, do you find yourself struggling, while squatting. Unracking, setting up, the top of the movement, the bottom, etc.

Unracking... I tried just for kicks to have my friend lift it on to my shoulders and i was able to squat relatively well... it is just getting it on and off my back that is the problem.

If you can squat the weight of a 45lb bar then just use the squat rack to put the bar on your shoulders. I squat around 150lbs and there's no way I'd be able to put the bar on my own shoulders. That's kinda the whole point of the rack.

Set the pins up slightly lower than your shoulder height so you have to bend your knees slightly to get under it then just push the bar up and over the pins.

If your gym doesn't have a squat rack then I'd consider changing gyms if you want to start a program like 5x5

My gym has a squat rack i just cant lift it on and off my back... I will have to try this method thank you!
I think i may start off with the weighted bars just to get a feel for it.
I want to make sure that i am in control while im lifting since this honestly is a heavy weight for me.

I think you might be unracking incorrectly, actually. If you can squat with a 45 lb bar when someone puts it on your back but cannot take out of the squat rack, perhaps the bar is too high up in the squat rack. It should be at about sternum height--that is, you use your legs to get the bar out, but you shouldn't have to get up on your toes.

^ This

I can unrack probably at a minimum 1.5 times my 1 rep max for squats. OP are you having trouble getting the bar off the pins, or is it backing up to move into position to squat that you are having trouble with?