SL 5x5, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Sumiblue
Posts: 1,597 Member
I love lifting! I love SL because it's simple and not very time consuming. I haven't even lost a lot of weight or reached my goal yet but I feel a huge change has happened. First of all, I love to work out now. I can't wait to get in the gym to lift. I have done classes, cardio, old school calisthenics at the track with friends, worked out with gym buddies, videos at home, etc. I couldn't stick with any of it long term. Or even for a few weeks consistently. I am in my second week of SL and I am rocking it! I know I am stronger; progress through the program tells me that. My muscles are emerging and I carry myself differently. The biggest change is I don't have guilt about eating. I am feeding my body good food so I can go lift heavy! I do try to stay within my macros but I do not stress out about a glass of wine or an occasional dessert. Also, if I see my scale weight go up I just shrug. I'm gaining muscle. My measurements are going down now so who cares if I weigh a lb. or two more. The mental change in wanting to be (and feeling) strong is so much more empowering than the pursuit to be thinner. At 45 I feel like I like my body and what it can do for the first time. That's a gift! That's my opinion, anyway. I'm going to go eat something good so I can deadlift 150lbs tomorrow. I'd love to hear your stories of how lifting has changed not only your body but how you think.
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I could have written pretty much exactly that ^^.
Here's something I wrote about this very topic (from mid-November):
This has been an incredibly hectic week. I had to interview someone for two hours on Tuesday, had a paper due today, have a presentation tomorrow, and another one Saturday. This is on top of the normal load of hundreds of pages of reading and ten hours of research assistant work every week. It's one of those weeks when it just feels like it's not all going to get done, and when I have to be OK with not making it to the gym.
But tonight....
I NEEDED to go to the gym. It wasn't: "Oh well, let's go ahead and mosey over there, because, you know, why not?" It was: "I don't have time, I have a million other things I should do in that hour, it might not be the smartest use of my time right now -- but I NEED my workout!"
So I went. I blew off some school stuff and had the most fantastic night at the gym. Everything clicked. I felt strong and solid and focused. I upped all my weights and hit all my reps.
And in the middle of it all, I realized... I'm not f*cking around anymore. This isn't a fad. This isn't something I'm doing for right now, knowing I'll most likely fall off the wagon next month. Working out, eating well, and losing weight are finally, finally! my top priority.
I have been waiting so long for this moment. I've spent years, literally more than a decade, wondering why -- when I wanted to lose weight *so badly*, when I could say without hesitation it was what I wanted MOST IN THE WORLD -- I still couldn't make it a priority.
And today -- today is that day. I'm not sure I can actually describe my emotions right now, but I can tell you...
I feel AMAZING.0 -
I am not as elegant with words, but I am, look and feel fantastic since I started lifting. I have tons more confidence and truly take no one's *kitten*.0
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YES! I have really had a hard time making my fitness a top priority. I have put everybody and everything ahead of me. But now I've put my health at the top along with my husband and daughter. I've finally managed to do that without feeling guilty. I think it sets a good example for my daughter, too. It's not just physically healthy to make working out a priority but mentally healthy, too. I am much happier and more relaxed after my workouts! I think I really resented my self-imposed last place position on the priorities list. It sucked! I was really stuck in the rut of "I will get my *kitten* together when the time is right, when I have time, when I finish X, when my kid is in school". Guess what? It never happens. Something else always pops up. You have to just say "I'm taking this time for myself".
I don't think my husband really believes that I'm sticking with lifting, yet. He kind of just smiles and nods when I tell him excitedly what I lifted on a particularly good day. But, who could blame him. He's been through it before when I tried all the stuff I mentioned in my post above. He'll see when I can deadlift him, haha! I'm planning on continuing my workout schedule even while on vacation. Already mapped out where my gym's location is when we go away. :-D0 -
i guess what i like about it is this feeling that i've just reached a point where it's 'right'. you know? and it feels really cool. not saying i couldn't start lifting at 80 if that's how life went. but it's a fact that at 49 i'm looking down the barrel of probably the last part of my life where my body is going to respond this readily to extra 'stress' i.e. lifting, by building more nerves and more muscle for me.
it feels good and i'm really glad that i thought of doing it. doesn't feel like i'm making a feeble too-little-too-late kind of move, or trying to do a desperate last-chance-for-gas kind of pitstop. doesn't even feel like i'm trying to get back whatever version of me i was when i was half the age i am now. it just feels like i'm still me just like i've always been, and this is just part of me being maximum me.
i love the fact that there's no reason why i shouldn't be able to lift, if i feel like it. i love things like that. it's like this sweater of mine which is made out of yarn so fine that it's like dental floss. when i thought about doing it, i got fascinated by the fact that it might be 400 stitches around and 15 rows to an inch, and making it was going to be like hiking across the gobi desert in a hobble skirt . . . but even so, if i just cast on the stitches and kept on knitting, eventually some kind of sweater would grow. lifting's like that. prizes are nice, and so are milestones. but i also just like the fact that all you have to do really is go in and lift.0 -
I completely agree, i am at the same point, i don't want to blow off my workouts anymore and it makes me feel so much better. Last night i took a selfie at the gym because i was feeling extra confident and posted it...i haven't done that in MONTHS!!! i am finally ready for it and ready to commit and LOVE feeling stronger and more confident with each workout.0
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Another vote for looking forward to the gym now! I had my first lifting dream last night.0
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canadianlbs wrote: »lifting's like that. prizes are nice, and so are milestones. but i also just like the fact that all you have to do really is go in and lift.
Yes. This exactly. Lifting is zen for me. The process is the point. It's also totally working in terms of taking inches and some pounds off, but it's just something I go and do, me working against myself. Winning.0 -
I love the simplicity. I stayed away from lifting because I was under the impression that it was pretty much all isolation work. That can get complicated and time consuming fast. The idea that I can learn 5 lifts and do them 3 times a week for 30 - 45 mins and add a few things here or there as I see fit really speaks to me.
I love the way I feel and the changes I can already see, physically and emotionally.0 -
Plus, now I know all of you kick *kitten* b*tches.
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Lifting gives me a way to push myself, and to remain healthy, strong, and independent as I enter into the 50+ category. It's all about quality of life for me. Learning and having fun with all of you is a big part of this
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I wish I could love it the way you all do. For me, I do it because I feel like I have to. I'm always glad I did it, but I would rather not. It doesn't help that I have to do it after a long day at work, either.0
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@arabianhorselover, that's how I feel about doing cardio! Working out late in the day after work can be hard. I'm working out at home now so evenings actually are better for me. My husband can entertain our daughter while I work out. I'm still loving it. I listen to podcasts while I work out and I so look forward to the "me time".0
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I walk at home on the weekends, but I don't have any space to exercise there otherwise.0
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Bumping because I didn't want to start a new thread :P
For once in my life, I look forward to going to the gym. Every other time I tried it was a chore. Something I "should" be doing to lose weight, not something I wanted to do. Now, I can't wait for the next time I go in. Rest days are torture, I am impatient to see if I can do the next work out. When I failed on OHP, I was a little pissed, but I wanted to get back in there and see if I could do it next time, and I did!
My eating has changed. I switched to TDEE - 15ish percent depending on the calculator you use. Last time I tried to lose weight, it was just all about cutting calories. A bit of meat and lots of veggies, and I would make sure to save a some to have wine at night or a treat or whatever. Now, I aim to hit my protein target. That takes priority. Usually. once I do that, the fat and carbs fall where they may, and I don't want the treats as much at night. I am not willing to sacrifice nutrition to save calories. While I knew I should eat more protein before, I rarely hit 60g, because I was saving calorie allowance for crap. Sure I lost weight, but I never lasted long. Eventually, the rest of the food increased, and they treats stayed. Now I want to fuel my body, not just cut calories.
But the big thing is my daughter. She will be 5 next month. We were in a store looking for fractional weights, and she picked up these 5 lb dumbells and lifted them up and said "Look Mom, look how strong I am!" and I realized this is what I want. As she grows older, I want her to be proud of being strong. I want her to see me proud of being strong. I don't want her to see me just dieting to lose weight. I want her to say to herself at 12 "I am strong" not "I am skinny", or "I am fat". I spent so much of my adolescence feeling like being skinny was all I had, that I developed disordered eating because I was so afraid to lose that. I never ever want that for her.
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I love the fact that the young 20-something year olds on my hockey team ask me what I'm doing to look so good. I'm explaining TDEE and SL and it just makes so much more sense than the stupid things they are doing. And I'm strong and still playing a competitive level of field hockey at 46 years old (as a goalie, but still). Bring it!0
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mymodernbabylon wrote: »(as a goalie, but still). Bring it!
whaddaya mean, 'but still'? my kid played catcher on ball teams and goalie in any other blacktop sport he joined in with, and there's nothing 'but still' about someone with that kind of coordination and speed.
plus, i'm speaking myself as a person who can catch hell out of a ball but can't throw or hit one to save my life ;-)
just dropped in on this thread to mention a couple of side-effects i really like. it's gotten me taking my calcium tabs and my vitamin d. being 49 and hearing about osteoporosis and menopause and all that never made me do more than just buy the bottles and take a couple of them every now and again when it occurred to me. but lifting puts the whole thing into immediate right-now focus for me, in a way all those vague future-based threats never did.
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I am totally digging this program as well. I used to lift weights (machines) before I had kids 4 years ago... I had no direction or real program, I just kinda walked around the gym and did stuff. Now, knowing exactly what I need to do with a clear start/finish is awesome and feels like more of an accomplishment. And I also figured out that I like the barbell because of all the geeking out you can do to research form and this and that...There's an intellectual stimulation to it as well that the elliptical just doesn't offer. So glad I found this group as well!0
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Yes, yes to all the above! I am totally geeking on learning about lifts, nutrition, macros. If I could show this much interest to other areas of my life I'd be unstoppable, lol. My 3 yr old likes to play in our exercise room (supervised) & proudly talks about how strong she and mommy are. Someone told me I was buff the other night, omg! I haven't heard that for about 10 yrs! I have never been very consistent with working out-until now. I've got my husband getting into it, too. Yay!0
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I won't repeat all the reasons I love it -- you can scroll back and read my post if you're curious -- but just a big fat yes to all of this!
xo,
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Love this post!!
Lifting gave me strength and certainly not just physically. It also taught me determination, commitment, patience, how to set goals, and has humbled me on more than one occasion.0 -
@Sumiblue, great post. It got me thinking about how I arrived here.
The moment I realized that I loved lifting was when I added a new piece of furniture to my living room: a heavy duty squat stand. I started getting serious about physical activity late in 2011 when I joined an outdoor bootcamp, transitioned to kickboxing, found resistance training, and from there moved on to lifting weights. My dietary habits had to match up to the activity level, so I also started learning about macros, reading nutrition labels, and logged religiously etc.
Running 3 miles in 20 minutes generates my cardio high, but making a PR on a lift is just so empowering that it gets addicting.
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I may need to recant my boo's on overhead press, or write a little ode to the lift. I must admit that I never gave my shoulders much attention except to grumble cause my straps slide down easily with certain bras and shirts. I was checking the spot where the bar rested from front squats cause it's not used to having 65 lbs on it and I do think my shoulders are coming along nicely from these lifts. I may need to pay more attention to them from now on.0
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Since I started lifting I am not scared to workout with my husband in hopes I can keep up! I just wish I had listened to him about weights years ago...
He keeps saying "I am so glad you started lifting, now we wont have to argue about whether or not to get a squat rack when we buy a house, I know we will cause you want to use it more than I do!"0 -
i was poking myself (ahem) this morning while waiting for something or other to happen . . . as one does once one gets all caught up in the lifting mindset.
and i discovered a layer of tissue that i've never had before, in the outside zones of my knee. used to be i could just press straight down through my skin and be 'touching' the ends of my tibias/fibulae where they join up. but now there's a definite slippery, different-feeling layer between my skin and the bone . . . and i think it's tendon.
you always think in terms of muscle when you think about strength, or at least that's how i think. but for some reason this is the first real hard-core epiphany, to realise that i'm not just doing that. i'm developing an envelope of tough, resilient tissue that is enclosing and protecting my entire skeleton . . . not just the sections of it that happen to have an actual muscle between them and my skin.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »i'm developing an envelope of tough, resilient tissue that is enclosing and protecting my entire skeleton . . . not just the sections of it that happen to have an actual muscle between them and my skin.
And also building your skeleton too (bone mineral density)!!0 -
I LOVE lifting! I started out clueless. Felt like Screech in a room full of Slaters haha! I accidentally began doing the SL on Saturday thinking it'd be every other day, rather than 3 days a week. So I've had to mentally force myself to be okay two days off lifting in a row. I'm trying to do other machine exercises and cardio once a week. While I was in lose weight mode, I barely ate any protein and rarely met my food goals. Now I see my food as fuel and focus heavily on my protein. Trying to balance calories now is a challenge mentally... total mindset switch. I'm excited about the way I'll look and I am excited about being able to be stronger...0
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ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »And also building your skeleton too (bone mineral density)!!
well, yeah. but somehow this was transformative. to me it's like bones and muscles have always been there. i'm adding to them and that's neat in itself but not really surprising to me. the tendon/ligament thing is just different. in a way my mind's fooling itself, but it honestly is like 'i've created something that wasn't there!.'
idk, maybe it's the rheumatoid arthritis factor. it deforms your joints by eating your own cartilage - and to some extent by stretching and weakening the connective tissue that keeps bones aligned. so to me this is a very very big deal. i'm adding an extra 'skin' around my whole skeleton that will help to keep all its parts in the right relation to each other, even if i do get inflammation and/or deformity at some point down the line.
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Did a sprint workout for the first time since starting SL. I got a LOT faster, simply from lifting heavy in legs.0
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It's so very important for women to do weight bearing exercise. I keep telling my mom this. I have some arthritis and hope I can help keep it from really becoming a problem later on in my life. That's interesting about the knee tendon @canadianlbs. No doubt the squats work and toughen tendon and make them more prominent. Anything we can do to protect our joints and bones is worth the effort.0
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