Of course you're welcome to post, and she is, too!

About the bar--it's perfectly okay to start with something lighter; the whole point of barbell training is that it is scalable. You just have to find something like a bar. I would say it's better to use a fixed weight bar than dumbbells for things like squats and deadlifts (you will have to elevate the bar to the right height). Those lifts are too different technically when done with dumbbells to be super-useful.

How big is she? A ballpark estimate of her weight might give you an idea of how much she will be able to lift. Unless she's been bedridden for the past year, a bigger body weight is usually correlated with bigger absolute strength (though not necessarily strength relativized to body weight).

And finally, injuries. PTs and lifters are kind of at loggerheads about this, because there is a lot to be said for active rehab, but many PTs prefer really wimpy isolation exercises. I know a thing or two about injuries myself (I've been active my whole life and have had just about every kind of injury you can imagine, except for bone fractures). So if you have specific questions about injury rehab, we might be able to help here.

I've just started this week and I'm not very strong so I've started light.

The first round I used an empty bar which in my gym is 10kg (22lbs) and then just added some weight on the second time around, although I am still only at 10kg for bench press.

I know you are supposed to add weights each time, but I am going to take it slowly so I dont hurt myself. I want to get my form right first before going further.

I was working out with dumbbells for the first 2 months

Hello Ladies, Thanks for all of your help already. My husband and I started lifting together yesterday. What a wonderful hobby for us to share ! I enjoyed myself, I started using a 15 lb bar with my squats. Mike tells me that i barely reach parallel when doing squats. (it hurt my lower back to much) I didn't push myself to go that extra bit hope that's OK.
Also want to ask about the dead lifts. does anyone have a suggestion for me for how to approach this. My lower back is very weak and feels fragile (gets hurt easily) I am TERRIFIED by the dead lift. I do not want to do it i am so afraid I will hurt myself more and set myself back significantly. Any suggestions on how to modify (or replace) this exercise?

The good news is that back problems respond well to strength training; I have a history of them (lax sacroiliac joints) and I haven't had any pain in a long time now that I do barbell training.

Yes this... My back and knees have never felt better since I started lifting heavy.

I thought that I had an Oly bar until I picked one up at a sporting good store. But to me, the number of lbs I can lift/move isn't as important to me.. the fact that I'm increasing the weight and still getting it done is MUCH more significant!

Everyone has to start somewhere!!

This may be an unpopular opinion, but have her try level 1 of the 30 day shred. I did that before joining a gym. I focused on the technique and my squats are excellent. My trainer loves my squat form, she says it's perfect. I squat without a bar right now. I do use a medicine ball I hold away from my body.

The dead lift is the first lift I've added weight to the barbell. I started with a PVC pipe set on some boxes to learn proper technique. I progressed to an empty barbell and have added weights to that. I like that my trainer had me start with PVC pipe, that way I'm holding something, yet I'm able to focus on which muscles I need to use to properly execute the move.

The nature of the novice effect is such that pretty much any activity can contribute to increased strength. Rippetoe says that even working on an exercise bike can increase a noob's squat. But the most direct way to train for the squat is to work with the squat. If you want to squat with the bar, starting without the bar to get the sense of depth is the right way to go, as Lydia suggested above.

I'm really glad you posted this. I had a soft tissue injury in my shoulder last winter/spring and had very little upper body strength to begin with... the result is that now I struggle with 10-pound dumbbells, so I have no idea how to start doing Stronglifts.

By some Academy employee mixup, we ended up with a 16 lb bar and 300 lbs of weights (Marcy brand instead of CAP). Didn't really feel like reloading them all into the car and returning, so for now we have a 16 lb bar. I just started yesterday and used just the bar weight to get a better feel for form etc. I think 45 lbs would have been too heavy for me to start anyway.