Worried about starting
Homemaker57
Posts: 106 Member
Hey ladies! I'm excited to start lifting but I'm also worried. 
I was going to start this weekend but hubby couldn't come as planned and I want help the first time. Anyway I have two major concerns:
What if I don't have good form? I've studied up on all the moves and I'm worried I won't be able to do everything right and I'll hurt myself! I seem to only be able to do a partial squat before my lower back rounds (butt tuck/wink) for example. If I can't even do it right without weight, then what?? How do I not suck at this and not hurt myself? Ugh I just get worried I'll jack it up and hurt myself...
Second, what if I can't do the starting weight? I know I can squat 45lbs but I don't know if I can do it 25 times. I doubt I can bench press 45lbs, when I used to try machines I couldn't do the incline press on its lowest weight! If I can do the starting weight but not for all the reps, should I stay at that weight and just keep trying? Or try to use a fixed weight barbell (I think all of ours have a curvy bar not a straight bar though) or use dumbells?
Thanks for any advice. I did read the stickies, I promise , along with Mehdi's blog and watched a bunch of form vids and am trying to read the monstrous PDF.
I was going to start this weekend but hubby couldn't come as planned and I want help the first time. Anyway I have two major concerns:What if I don't have good form? I've studied up on all the moves and I'm worried I won't be able to do everything right and I'll hurt myself! I seem to only be able to do a partial squat before my lower back rounds (butt tuck/wink) for example. If I can't even do it right without weight, then what?? How do I not suck at this and not hurt myself? Ugh I just get worried I'll jack it up and hurt myself...
Second, what if I can't do the starting weight? I know I can squat 45lbs but I don't know if I can do it 25 times. I doubt I can bench press 45lbs, when I used to try machines I couldn't do the incline press on its lowest weight! If I can do the starting weight but not for all the reps, should I stay at that weight and just keep trying? Or try to use a fixed weight barbell (I think all of ours have a curvy bar not a straight bar though) or use dumbells?
Thanks for any advice. I did read the stickies, I promise , along with Mehdi's blog and watched a bunch of form vids and am trying to read the monstrous PDF.
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I would stay with the bar only until your form is correct. Even after I added more weight, sometimes I felt that my form was lacking. If you're going to a gym, have someone watch you. Find a PT that can watch your form or even one of the guys or gals in the weight room. I worry too, that I'll not be able to get all of my sets in sometimes. Yesterday, I had longer breaks in between my sets than normal just to make sure I could get all of them in. For me, it's a mindset. If you psyche yourself out, you won't do it. I have to tell myself, "you're going to do this or you're going to give it your absolute best shot." Failure is ok. It's what makes us better and stronger. If you can't get all of your reps in, you stay at the same weight the next workout. After 3 fails on workouts, you deload and begin again.
Don't sweat it, you got this!0 -
1. Form takes time and many of us still have to work at it even after months of training. As for depth of squat before your lower back is rounding, that has to do with flexibility, not just form. Some people start with small plates (like a 5lb plate) under their heals to give them the extra range of motion. I would first start by trying to work on flexibility while the weight is lower. I've had to work on my flexibility a lot and have used the stretch recommended by Mark Rippetoe in Starting Strength. You can see how he has someone start with it in this video about using hip drive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yha2XAc2qu8 I will always spend some time sitting in this stretching squat before I add weight.
Form is important and poor form can lead to injury, but that is why you start with lower weights. Spend the time with the lower weight to focus on form. Have someone watch or take a video and post it here for comment. This is a great place to get feedback. Plus a video lets YOU see your form and not just take someone else's word for it. Don't worry about sucking at first. Yes, not getting hurt is important, but you can't let the fear get in the way of starting. It is a learning process and you will learn best by getting in there and doing the reps and adjusting as you need to.
2. If you can't get through the 5x5 with the bar, start with a fixed bar of less weight or dumbbells. Not all women can start at the bar, but most of them can lift much more than it after a round of SL. Over head press (OHP) will be the other hard one to start at the bar with. And while 25 reps sounds like a lot, it isn't 25 all at once. Take each set on its own. Just try to focus on the 5 reps. 5 isn't that much, is it? Take ample rest periods between sets. 90 seconds to start and up to 5 minutes if you need to.0 -
Don't forget that it's 25 reps spaced out over 20-25 minutes (depending on how long your rest periods are)!
Also, if you can't do the bar to begin with on the press or bench press, I'd start off with dumbbells. If you're lucky your gym will have 2.5lbs increments so you can really get a good feel for it and go up 5lbs at a time and not 10 (since upper body strength tends to be our weak points) Same with rows, do single arm bent over rows until you can comfortably do all reps with 20s or even 25s and then switch to the bar. (It might take not even take you 2 weeks to get to that point!)
If your gym has lighter bars or pvc pipes or anything with not too much weight and straight, you can do squats with that to begin with. Although I'd get the form down doing bodyweight first. If you can't get low enough, you might wanna space out your feet a bit more. And make sure to push out your knees as you go down. Don't try to keep your back straight up. Then get under the bar and see how many reps you can get. If it's less than 3, I'd keep doing bodyweight for a bit (10-12 reps per set should give you a good basis). Or again you can do squats with dumbbells and begin light.
It's hard to really get the form down until you actually try it, really. But typically the bar only shouldn't present any form of danger to you unless you do stupid things with it *cough*likerunintoitwhentryingtogettotheplates*cough*
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Just do it! (I think I've heard that somewhere... heh)
As suggested - get a trainer at the gym to review with you how to do each exercise - that's what I did! And when they tried to show me the wrong thing (straight leg deadlift) I whipped out my phone and said, "No, THIS!"
Even in subsequent workouts - as I added weight I'd ask them to come review my form.
There's a lot of ego in the weight room -- but I don't bring any, I'm there to learn and improve and I'll do whatever I need to to achieve those goals.
Don't be discouraged if your starting weight is less than the bar. For me - I was able to start with the bar, but for OHP and BP it took a LONG time to add weight. Start where you're able and watch great things happen!0 -
As suggested - get a trainer at the gym to review with you how to do each exercise - that's what I did! And when they tried to show me the wrong thing (straight leg deadlift) I whipped out my phone and said, "No, THIS!"
Even in subsequent workouts - as I added weight I'd ask them to come review my form.
THIS!0 -
First of all I want to say THANK YOU for the complete lack of snark. I know you probably get a lot of newbies scared about starting, but you check out the thread anyway and answered my questions and were totally nice and friendly about it. Thank you so much
I feel better about the part where it's okay if your form isn't perfect at first, because you're not going to instantly injure yourself by doing one poor form squat with just an empty bar. I suppose it's okay to not be perfect the first time and I won't throw out my back or something with the light weights. I'll just stay at the low weights until I get my form down. Which will hopefully be soon because I feel like you need heavy weights to get results and Lord knows I wouldn't be doing this except to get results!!
Is it weird to take videos in the public gym? I don't want someone getting bent out of shape. I know I've seen signs at some gyms but I guess that's in the dressing rooms (which obviously makes sense) and it's okay out in the gym?
I'm going to work on some stretches tonight and we'll see how tomorrow goes! I don't have a PT but I have my hubby and he's been doing quite a bit of weight training in the army and seems to have a basic grasp on the concepts. I'm also spending way too much time reading about proper form...0 -
So I did my first workout with 5x5 today!! I was pleasantly shocked that I could row and bench the 45lb bar, for all sets and reps! So happy
Doing the bench press made me feel a kink in my lower back though. I think I arched too much? For the last set I had hubby put plates under my feet so I could push from my feet and that helped me not arch so much. The bench press was definitely the hardest! But I totally rocked it.
Also there was a gal next to me that benched 95lbs! And she was tiny and adorable and sleek. I was so inspired.0 -
Congrats on getting your first workout under your belt! Let the fun begin! :happy:0
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So I did my first workout with 5x5 today!!
Yay you!0 -
congrats and welcome you will love what you have started...0
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I made my husband look at diagrams and videos and then watch me. It did take a little bit of time and I deload any time I feel like my form is getting sloppy.
You'll be fine, it is easier than you think.0 -
Congrats to the OP and thanks for all the comments. My husband and I are starting SL tomorrow and I'm a bit nervous too. I have lifted a decent weight in the past, but it's been a long time and for the OHP and Bench Press specifically I'm wondering about adding weight each week. Is it okay to add every week instead? I'm also concerned about stalling weight loss since I have so much to lose, but I really enjoy lifting and how it makes me look and feel. I have never done squats below parallel but I was taught to let the bar touch my chest. I'm going to read through all the sticky notes here again and watched Mehdi's videos. I hope to report and "I did it!" post tomorrow...0
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So I did my first workout with 5x5 today!! I was pleasantly shocked that I could row and bench the 45lb bar, for all sets and reps! So happy
Doing the bench press made me feel a kink in my lower back though. I think I arched too much? For the last set I had hubby put plates under my feet so I could push from my feet and that helped me not arch so much. The bench press was definitely the hardest! But I totally rocked it.
Also there was a gal next to me that benched 95lbs! And she was tiny and adorable and sleek. I was so inspired.
Congratulations on getting that first workout done!
We're all stronger than we think we are! On my first workout, I was surprised at how much I could actually lift.
Now, the bar feels like it weighs nothing.
And I can carry my sleeping 5 year old up the stairs far more easily than I could before.0 -
I really really wish I had this group a week ago!
You are all awesome!0
