Girl been weight training for a while

Yeah I think you've got it spot on with the lbs to kg ratio! Before I knew this and I was watching some videos of people squatting high weights in lbs it made me think " wow that's an awful lot, I don't think I would ever manage that". But after managing to squat 27.5kg with the free weight, I calculated it in lbs to be 60.5lbs! So I feel really good at that and am aiming to increase my squat weight to at least 35kg within the next couple of weeks.

It's great that you do squats! Afterall, they don't only work your legs out massively but they help to increase core and back strength, plus your arms are working also to a certain extent by having to hold and balance the bar. I would encourage you to go ahead and start doing lunges! I struggled with them at first in terms of balance (I have a genetically plump butt so the weight isn't exactly evenly spread on my lower body haha) but I find they help to warm up my legs before a workout. I can feel them working many areas of my legs including my glutes and hamstrings. I also find them a good way of testing if my legs have recovered enough for me to do a full leg workout again. A couple of weeks ago I had gone to the gym to blast my legs and I tarted with a lung. The second I started I felt an excruciating pain up my inner thighs and glutes so it was clear to me at that point that my legs hand't fully recovered from their last workout. I had originally been doing squats with dumbbells and gradually increasing the weight but now I do them with the assisted bar on my back. This is so much more challenging but I have noticed increases in strength pretty much straight away.

In terms of other ways to work out your legs, my favourite machine in the gym for this is the linear leg press. I currently do this with 80kg and am hoping to up the weight by 10kg next week. The reason I love this machine is that it works out many areas of my legs and really pushes me to my limits. It's one of those workouts that will GUARANTEE you pain pain pain the next day haha

Yeah by pain I meant the fatigue pain your muscles have after a workout. So you would say it is OK to go for a run or a cycle when experiencing this fatigue? I was never quite sure about this one.

I struggle with nutrition in terms of being the fussiest eater EVER! Especially when it comes to green vegetables. I actually bought a supplement called Nutri-greens by Myprotein which is supposed to help people who have this issue and lack the nutrients green veggies provide. It doesn't taste all that great but at least it doesn't make me sick lol. I hate how I am so fussy, people say to me just don't be, just eat it. It's easier said than done when you are trying to eat a bit of broccoli while your body just tries to bring it back up. I do eat lots of tomatoes and try to incorporate peppers, sweetcorn, lettuce, peas, carrots, onions, garlic, chilli as much as possible. I also love drinking fruit smoothies although they do tend to be quite expensive to buy, the pure fruit ones.

I LOVE CARBS! Give me potatoes, bread, pasta ANY DAY! I've been cutting out all the bad fatty foods since starting using this app and it seems I'm not eating enough fat so I'm going to have to research how I can include more fat in my diet. As for protein, this is not a problem. I love chicken, eggs and tuna, plus I love my protein shakes and bars. I'm addicted to the promax cookie dough meal bar but to have one every day would cost me £60, sad times lol why must you be so tasty!

Anyway, thanks for replying again. I'm going to keep note of the workouts you shared with me and give them a go sometime soon! Hope you are having a great day!

I"m not too good with the kg references, I think it's 2.2 lbs to 1 kg right? Haha!

I never bothered much with my legs in the past. I now do squats and plan to add in lunges as well soon. I still need to add more into my leg workout though, I agree. Maybe you can pass some ideas along for leg workouts as you progress!

It depends on what you mean by "pain". It's normal to feel muscle soreness from working out, and you could still do cardio in that case. If you have serious pains, like joint pains or shooting pains, then definitely take it easy and skip the cardio. If you're doing things right with good form then you shouldn't encounter that type of pain though, just the normal soreness from pushing yourself with the weights.

You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time to a point. When you're a newbie to lifting, you can definitely do it. Once you progress past the newbie gains, it becomes harder and eventually you'll need to be at a calorie surplus to add significant muscle, though you can still get strength gains.

I'd get down to a healthy bodyfat % first and get your diet cleaned up, then when you reach that point, focus on a slight calorie surplus and push yourself on the weights to add some muscle to your frame.

Nutrition is key. The healthier you eat the better your results will be. Protein intake is important, but its also important to eat things like fruits, vegetables, drink a lot of water, cut out the pop, beer, diet sodas, etc. If you're dehydrated you wont be able to lift as much or push yourself as hard on the cardio. The fiber from the fruits and vegetables will keep you full, keep your blood sugar stable, give you a good source of energy, as well as all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Plus they'll fill you up longer with less calories than junk food.

A lot of people advocate a low carb diet, but I don't buy that. Your body needs fats, carbs, and proteins. Carbs are great for energy and when I eat carbs before a workout its generally more productive. Moderation is key. I've found that extremes generally don't work that well because its just not sustainable over the long term. I still eat some junk food and sweets now and then but I just make sure I factor that into my calorie intake for that day/week.

Sounds like you're on the right track, keep us posted on your progress and good luck with your goals!

Yeah, with lifting I feel I can see better how I am progressing and it gives me enthusiasm to be able to lift even heavier. I have to admit, though, that I do need to start adding some cardio to my routine. I'm terrible when it comes to running and can only do about 5 minutes running on the treadmill before I give up. I have just seen that you posted your regime, I can't thank you enough! I'm going to add all these to a spreadsheet (is that geeky? haha) and give them all a go at some point. That's what I struggle with, having a planned routine when I go to the gym, so thank you for that!

Thanks so much for responding and sharing this with me, I appreciate it so much! I'm in love with this app already and all the supportive people on it Hope you are having a great weekend I'm having a nice relaxing one whilst trying to fit in some uni work haha.

weight training is much more rewarding than cardio for me too. I still do about 60-80 min a week on the treadmill, but much prefur the time spent lifting ~ even when i don't want to. Would love to share my regime with you, but its after midnight and my notes are in the home gynm(aka the barn lol). so in the light of day i will retrieve them and share my current 4 day a week plan~ chest/tricep~back/biceps~legs~shoulders. It changes every 4 weeks so I never get bored until morning
Lori

I actually found out about the stronglifts 5x5 programme a few days ago! And completely by accident! I had just started practicing squatting with the free bar and done a google search on squat form etc. I found a video with a french guy explaining how to squat properly and at the end he mentioned the 5x5 programme. I signed up to get the starter kit and I'm so eager to give it a go! Only thing is- I have never done a deadlift, overhead press or bent rows. I only started properly using free weights a couple of weeks ago. Do you have any advice on how to start practising these exercises? I'm going to watch these stronglifts video tutorials for these and see if I can get the jist of it.

Hi Heather,

I like to run and lift weights. I had been doing my own thing in the gym with free weights and some resistance machines which I alternated with body pump classes. That was up until about August where I started the Stronglifts 5x5 programme. I only really have time to do 2 weights sessions most weeks so I loosely follow it as they recommend 3 sessions per week. It's quite an easy to follow programme - you do squats, bench press, over head press, bent rows and deadlift. Each workout you will do 3 of the exercises with the squat featuring every workout. The others are alternated. You do 5 sets of 5 reps and beging with a 20kg weight. Each workout you add 2.5kg(or 5lbs) to the bar and build up.

I've notice a big difference in my physique, strength and my running since I started the programme 8 weeks in and I've not even been following it strictly. If you want to add me feel free and good on you for using exercise to work through the depression. I know it helps me beat the stress and from getting too down when times are hard x

Stronglifts 5x5 is something I stumbled across a couple of days ago and I really want to give it a go! How have you been finding it so far? I'm the same, I want to lower my body fat % and also gain as much muscle and strength as possible. I've actually been doing a lot of researching on youtube recently and you're right, there's sooo much useful stuff on there! I didn't know about this stronglifts for ladies, I will need to check that out. Edit- I just had a wee browse on this site but can't find the stronglifts for ladies section. Could you point me in the right direction please? Thanks!

Thanks for the heads up on all this stuff and good luck to you with your training!

I also started Stronglifts 5x5 early in September. My goal is to lose weight, gain muscle (so I can eat more - love to eat), and have a simple program I can do quickly for beginners that isn't hard to follow. Glad you have a trainer, but I think there are some great youtube videos to teach proper form that are a nice reinforcement. There's a Stronglifts group for ladies on here with links to some quality videos.

Weights are wonderful for depression - like you, everytime I finish a work out, particularly when I'm able to bump up the weights, I feel confident, strong, and happy. I do a little bit of running just because of desperation to drop some pounds, although that would happen anyhow over time as long as you're eating reasonably.