I've been very resitant about lifting...

MissGamerGirl
MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
BUT...I like some of the bodies I have been seeing lately and I know deep down that cardio alone won't get me there. I've just been denying it for forever.

I have been really stubborn about wanting to start lifting because to me it seems like a lot of work in the food department. I already measure, weigh, track, make good choices (well, the choices are improving - diary is open for viewing) - that isn't my issue. I'm told to do IF, to eat 1g of protein per pound, to cut, to bulk, to keep macros in percentages - GAH. It's just too overwhelming. I just want to eat healthy and lift without the headache and stress.

On top of my anxiety of food, I used the excuse of "I can't afford a gym membership." While this is true, it dawned on me...I am a full time student. I have a free gym on campus that I technically pay for in my tuition with a heavy lifting section. Why not give it a try there? I wanted to sign up for a weight lifting class but the time slots are not flexible with my nursing classes. I am going to e-mail an instructor to *see* if they would be willing to help me get the main lifts down so from there I can do it on my own. But I REALLY want to be shown, not just hope I understand from a book and some pictures.

I am purchasing The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess tonight and will read it before I set up the possible encounter. That way I have an expectation on form and whatnot so it's not all news to me when I get there.

My stats:

140 lbs, 5'6, 23 years old. Yes, I do not have "much" to lose. I am not considered overweight for my height category. I am in week 3 of C210k and I do that three days a week, Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones twice a week, and yoga once a week. Right now my macro ratio is 40/30/30 and I'm eating 1800 calories a day (which is my TDEE-20%).

My goals:

There is a very particular "look" I want for myself. I am not afraid of gaining some muscle or having definition. However, I want a more long and lean sort of look, not compact muscle (I'm not sure how to explain this). I am not after a 6-pack or fitness competitor's body but a flat tummy with some slight curved definition would be lovely. I want to be able to do push-ups and non-assisted pull-ups one day.

I do NOT want to give up running as I enjoy it but I know I will need to cut it down. I was thinking of lifting heavy 3 times a week, running 30 min HIITs twice a week (no more long distance running), and still keep my one yoga day. Is this reasonable? This should help lean me out, correct?

Now, how will my macro ratio and calories change? Can I still follow TDEE-20% or no?

I'm excited to try something new but it still gives me a little anxiety!
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Replies

  • DonnaW_78
    DonnaW_78 Posts: 76 Member
    Definitely give weights a go! I've been playing around with them for around 6 months now & I'm amazed at the changes to my body - all for the good. I've also ordered & am waiting for NROLFW which I'm really looking forward to reading. I'd suggest you get a trainer to give you some sessions in the gym & see how you feel about it. I can guarantee you'll love it. It's very empowering for a woman I think, doing weights. You definitely don't need to cut your cardio out too much either as it doesn't take a lot (weights-wise) to make a difference. Try not to overthink it all though ie food/macros etc. You seem like you have the healthy food side down pat :) Good luck.
  • snowmaniac
    snowmaniac Posts: 600 Member
    Yes, you can do TDEE -20% while lifting heavy, although considering that you don't have much to lose you may want to scale back to TDEE -10% to give yourself more energy for all the exercise you plan on doing. If you are eating at a deficit, lifting will maintain your lean body mass maximizing the ratio of fat burn to LBM loss. You won't bulk up eating at a deficit and it will limit your ceiling at a point.

    For a good introduction to the main lifts along with NROLFW, check out Stronglifts 5x5. The two workouts are both on youtube (30 minutes each), and he shows you proper form for the lifts. Working with an instructor to check your form as you get started is a great idea. I haven't read NROLFW, but Stronglifts starts off light and progressively adds weight allowing you to focus on form as you learn.

    When you get to the heavier weights, if you continue to progress you are going to need to allow your body sufficient recovery time, so take that into consideration as you reach your higher end considering all the other exercise you intend to do. You may have to adjust something at that point so you aren't over-training. Listen to you body and you'll be fine.
  • MissGamerGirl
    MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
    Wonderful advice! Can't thank you guys enough! :D
  • DonnaW_78
    DonnaW_78 Posts: 76 Member
    I'll take that advice too snowmaniac ????
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    I agree with Snowmaniac, 20% seems a bit aggressive and you're about to find a new world of challenge.

    I think the workouts in new rules are a little over complicated, but I think they start you off pretty basic. The main reason I like that book is because of it's approach to convincing you that lifting is a good idea and to help you over your mental barriers that are keeping you from trying.

    I'm an instructor and I would happily provide a one off session to coach the main lifts, but it would be with a view that you'd still need practise. Nobody gets good the first try. Practise practise practise.
  • MissGamerGirl
    MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
    Okay, I'll look into TDEE-10%. :) Should my macros change up a bit? Should I aim for 1g protein per lb of bodyweight?

    Also, I actually might drop my workouts down from 6 days a week to 5: 3 lifting days , 1 HIIT, 1 yoga. This may be more manageable for me, and help avoid overtraining.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    definitely take advantage of a free gym on campus.. great place to go and also to meet people (or ask them how to show you stuff).. I would try to have someone show you the moves like you said..

    As for the body you want, you will want to do a cut cycle to get there, eating in a modest deficit 10-20% from TDEE (1lb a week loss) and trying to get 1 g of protein per LBM.. so you said your 140 lbs, so try to get 110-120g of protein should be plenty... thats about it.. just work hard.
  • Poofy_Goodness
    Poofy_Goodness Posts: 229 Member
    I'm told to do IF, to eat 1g of protein per pound, to cut, to bulk, to keep macros in percentages - GAH. It's just too overwhelming. I just want to eat healthy and lift without the headache and stress.

    Don't over complicate. Yes, you do need to make sure you get enough protein, .8-1g per pound of LEAN body mass.

    You can still follow TDEE -20%. That's what I do. I see results. Make sure you hit your protein goal and your other macros can fall into whatever preference you have. I prefer fat to carbs so that's how I do it.

    Just start lifting. You'll wish you did it sooner.
  • Pain_Train
    Pain_Train Posts: 36
    Just start lifting. You'll wish you did it sooner.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member

    Just start lifting. You'll wish you did it sooner.

    x2
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    Yay, another female lifter!
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    STOP!!!

    Don't do TDEE-x%. Not yet, anyway. You say you don't have much to lose. In your case, the dietary guidelines within NROL4W will probably work very well.
  • jdaley90
    jdaley90 Posts: 259 Member
    Yay! You should be proud of yourself for starting! I've been lifting for about 2 years now (1 year learning, 1 year seriously) and it was the best decision I ever made for myself.

    I' am/was like you in a lot of ways. I'm 23, 5'4". They only things I really try to follow are eat within calories, eat 1g protein/lb og BW, and try to hit 40C/30P/30F macros. You can track at TDEE but I wouldn't go as deep as 20%. I personally think you could eat at 5-10% below TDEE and reach the look you are looking for without losing much more (if any!)

    I'd be absolutely more than happy to support you in any way I can. I have a pretty good knowledge base on lifts, diet, and beginner programs.

    Add me if you like :)
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    You have a free gym on campus with a heavy weight section?!??!
    What are you waiting for??
  • melmckay99
    melmckay99 Posts: 358
    NROL4W is a great book!

    I have similar stats to you, well at least I did untill I started lifting :). I am abuot 5'5"-5'6", started at 140lbs and am now bouncing around 120-125 lbs. I got down to about 115lbs at one point but I couldn't maintain it with the amount of food I like to eat :). I like running too. During the sumemr I was doing a 10K run once a week and even got my 10K time to just under 50 minutes! But now that winter is here (I live in canada), I can't find the willpower to run for that long on a treadmill so I do about 20-30 minutes on the TM everytime I go to the gym and before my lifting sessions.

    I'll put up my before and after pic in my profile so you can see the cahange I went through :)

    Good luck with the lifting and happy to hear you are on board ;)
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    I quoted myself instead of editing. Please see below. :)
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    NROLFW is a great starting point! Try TDEE -5 or 10% since you don't have a lot to lose, and for protein try 0.8 g/lb of body weight, or 1 g/lb of LEAN BM. Also, your protein and fat macros are a minimum, carbs can fill in the rest in anyway ( but fruits and veg, grains, etc. over the processed sugary stuff, obviously.)

    Also, HIIT affects your CNS the same as lifting, so doing that on your off days will end up being counterproductive to recovery. There are lots of ladies on here that lift and continue with their long runs.

    Have fun!!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,329 Member
    Just like weight loss, lifting weights is not nearly as confusing as you seem to be making it. Lift heavy for you with compound lifts, especially for a beginner (a program like stronglifts 5x5 is great for that), and eat a good amount of protein. All the other stuff can be helpful, but it is much better to get lifting rather than put it off because of confusion. Then you can fine tune the other stuff.

    Beyond that eat at a small deficit if you want to lose weight especially as you don't have much to lose. If you want to gain muscle eat at a small surplus 100-200 calories a day. Eating at maintenance will likely result in slow fat loss and slow muscle gain with the surplus energy coming from the fat you have.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    Re-post your question to this group. They are very helpful.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

    Your plan sounds reasonable to me. Good luck in reaching your goals.
  • handyrunner
    handyrunner Posts: 32,662 Member
    NROLFW is a great starting point! Try TDEE -5 or 10% since you don't have a lot to lose, and for protein try 0.8 g/lb of body weight, or 1 g/lb of LEAN BM. Also, your protein and fat macros are a minimum, carbs can fill in the rest in anyway ( but fruits and veg, grains, etc. over the processed sugary stuff, obviously.)

    Also, HIIT affects your CNS the same as lifting, so doing that on your off days will end up being counterproductive to recovery. There are lots of ladies on here that lift and continue with their long runs.

    Have fun!!

    I just wanted to reinforce about the long runs...i lift heavy and still continue long running each week. Many runners say lifting heavy is determental to your speed and thats probably true but im not headed to the olympics anytime soon and i just enjoy lifting heavy to much to give it up. For me it actually helps make my runs more doable...less muscle fatigue. The yoga is a good thing though because that will help with the tightening youll probably feel.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    BUT...I like some of the bodies I have been seeing lately and I know deep down that cardio alone won't get me there. I've just been denying it for forever.

    I have been really stubborn about wanting to start lifting because to me it seems like a lot of work in the food department. I already measure, weigh, track, make good choices (well, the choices are improving - diary is open for viewing) - that isn't my issue. I'm told to do IF, to eat 1g of protein per pound, to cut, to bulk, to keep macros in percentages - GAH. It's just too overwhelming. I just want to eat healthy and lift without the headache and stress.

    On top of my anxiety of food, I used the excuse of "I can't afford a gym membership." While this is true, it dawned on me...I am a full time student. I have a free gym on campus that I technically pay for in my tuition with a heavy lifting section. Why not give it a try there? I wanted to sign up for a weight lifting class but the time slots are not flexible with my nursing classes. I am going to e-mail an instructor to *see* if they would be willing to help me get the main lifts down so from there I can do it on my own. But I REALLY want to be shown, not just hope I understand from a book and some pictures.

    I am purchasing The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess tonight and will read it before I set up the possible encounter. That way I have an expectation on form and whatnot so it's not all news to me when I get there.

    My stats:

    140 lbs, 5'6, 23 years old. Yes, I do not have "much" to lose. I am not considered overweight for my height category. I am in week 3 of C210k and I do that three days a week, Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones twice a week, and yoga once a week. Right now my macro ratio is 40/30/30 and I'm eating 1800 calories a day (which is my TDEE-20%).

    My goals:

    There is a very particular "look" I want for myself. I am not afraid of gaining some muscle or having definition. However, I want a more long and lean sort of look, not compact muscle (I'm not sure how to explain this). I am not after a 6-pack or fitness competitor's body but a flat tummy with some slight curved definition would be lovely. I want to be able to do push-ups and non-assisted pull-ups one day.

    I do NOT want to give up running as I enjoy it but I know I will need to cut it down. I was thinking of lifting heavy 3 times a week, running 30 min HIITs twice a week (no more long distance running), and still keep my one yoga day. Is this reasonable? This should help lean me out, correct?

    Now, how will my macro ratio and calories change? Can I still follow TDEE-20% or no?

    I'm excited to try something new but it still gives me a little anxiety!

    I have to say, it sounds like you are approaching this wonderfully. Personally, I'd increase calories to =TDEE and then see how it goes from there.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    The rule with protein gets very confused by folks. It's actually supposed to be 1g per pound of LBM. But if you don't know your LBM weight, another good guideline is 1g per 0.8 lbs. So at 140, that's about 112g but as long as you try to get close to 100 you should be fine. Don't stress about the particulars too much - as you've said, that can get you bogged down quite a bit and make the whole process too complicated.

    As far as the kind of muscle you get, I wouldn't worry about that too much either. It's fairly tough for women to get bunchy muscles like men have. We just don't have the testosterone levels for those kinds of gains. Plus we naturally have more fat which softens the look a bit. And on top of that, as long as you're at a calorie deficit (or even maintenance once you get to goal), you won't gain any muscle, you'll just maintain what you have and gain strength and endurance as you train. The changes you may see in definition are more about fat loss so that the muscle becomes more visible.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Yes; come to the 'heavy' side :).

    Starting Strength or strong lifts a good start.

    If you're keeping on doing cardio, have a think about when you do which - either alternate days or make sure the cardio is after the weights.

    I think the c210k is fairly 'steady state', but do be aware your body only has so much 'recovery' potential, so if you were say doing a lot of intense hill-reps and mixing it with weights, you might be pushing your body a bit if at the same time also on a calorie deficit.

    While some people say 1g/1lg LBM, others go for just body weight, especially when on a deficit.
    I usually end up somewhere in-between.
    More protein isn't going to 'hurt', but for the same calories will also mean there's less carbs there for the body to directly fuel it's self from.
  • lrmall01
    lrmall01 Posts: 377 Member
    I'm told to do IF, to eat 1g of protein per pound, to cut, to bulk, to keep macros in percentages - GAH. It's just too overwhelming. I just want to eat healthy and lift without the headache and stress.

    As they say, Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Start out simple and build from there.

    IMHO when you start just focus on lifting, calories and protein. I haven't read the NROLFW but I'm pretty sure that all of those are covered in the book. Do exactly what the book tells you to do for at least 6 months and don't get distracted by anything else you read online.

    Good luck!
  • jodycoady
    jodycoady Posts: 598 Member
    Cardio and lifting are like peas and carrots. They just go so well together. You will love it. :drinker:
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    Cardio and lifting are like peas and carrots. They just go so well together. You will love it. :drinker:

    Peas must be the cardio. I ****ing hate peas.
  • MissGamerGirl
    MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
    First of all, I'm humbled by all the support I'm getting. Thank you all for your advice and friend requests! :)

    I went to the "gym" today and it's suuuper small compared to the gym of the last school I was in. In terms of the heavy lifting section, it's the smallest part of the already small room. I did not physically walk over to see everything, but I saw a good selection of free weights, a bench, and only one squatting rack. Maybe that's all I need but I will say that it wasn't much. At my last school, the weight section had its own room and pretty much had everything.

    It was suggested to me to go on Groupon and look for any Crossfit deals. I know that Crossfit gyms have one free day to try them out. It would be awesome to learn the lifts there.

    Can't wait to be a nurse so I could afford to go to a nice gym. Ha!
  • MissGamerGirl
    MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
    STOP!!!

    Don't do TDEE-x%. Not yet, anyway. You say you don't have much to lose. In your case, the dietary guidelines within NROL4W will probably work very well.

    I will check out what the book has to say on the subject, but why in your opinion do you feel the TDEE method isn't the best way to go right now?
  • ChancyW
    ChancyW Posts: 437 Member
    Everyone is going to give you different answers to the questions you asked...especially about the nutrition. I'm a vegetarian and have trouble with the protein intake rules yet I have managed to put on a good bit of muscle these past few months.

    I think trying to do it all at once can be overwhelming. Start with the weight training and then move more into modifying your diet. Trying to do too much too soon may leave you frustrated instead of excited.

    When I began weight training at a gym I was overwhelmed and embarrassed because I didn't know how to use the machines. Having a program (which you said you do) and watching some YouTube videos will help you know what to do. Don't let not knowing keep you from doing it. You'll get the hang of things really quickly!
  • snowmaniac
    snowmaniac Posts: 600 Member
    First of all, I'm humbled by all the support I'm getting. Thank you all for your advice and friend requests! :)

    I went to the "gym" today and it's suuuper small compared to the gym of the last school I was in. In terms of the heavy lifting section, it's the smallest part of the already small room. I did not physically walk over to see everything, but I saw a good selection of free weights, a bench, and only one squatting rack. Maybe that's all I need but I will say that it wasn't much. At my last school, the weight section had its own room and pretty much had everything.

    It was suggested to me to go on Groupon and look for any Crossfit deals. I know that Crossfit gyms have one free day to try them out. It would be awesome to learn the lifts there.

    Can't wait to be a nurse so I could afford to go to a nice gym. Ha!

    Is the gym you went to the one over at the athletic center by the stadium? Admittedly, I haven't been there in 25 years so they may have moved or changed it since I was there with the stadium renovation and all. They used to have a huge fitness center in addition to the exercise rooms in the various dorm buildings. If you weren't at the athletic center, look into it. See if it still exists and where it is located.

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