women who heavy lift, advice please :)

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LoeshaElizabeth
LoeshaElizabeth Posts: 96 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
ok so after a little advice on here ive looked up some websites and have decided to do the 5x5 program on strong lifts but on a wednesday and a friday as i can ony get to a gym on a wednesday thursday friday (have a young baby and no child care on other days)
i was then going to do hiit twice a week and cardio like swimming/ walking whenever i feel ike it.
what kind of results have you seen?
does this sound like a good program?
they suggest adding 2.5kg a lift, if i reach one im struggling with should i stick to that weight until i can do it comfortably?
how do i warm up?

feeling pretty excited about starting! but super nervous about being stared and laughed at :/

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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    You should increase the weight as soon as you can do the same weight 5x5, if you fail try same weight next time, if you fail a second time, then deload (lower weight and build back up). That said, if you have the option of increasing the weight by less than 2.5kg, if you get all 5x5 but really struggled too, then by all means increase by the smaller amount.
  • nknjansen
    nknjansen Posts: 33 Member
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    Yay strong lifts!

    I did like the program, and the app is the best I've ever seen for tracking exercise. I have since switched to periodization work.

    If you can only do two days, then do what you can. Some is better than none.

    I would invest in microplates - a set of four 1 lb (half kilo?) plates to move up no more than 2 lbs each session, especially for the upper body workouts. I added 10 lbs to deadlift, 5 to squat and 2 to OHP, bench and rows each time.

    There are warm up sets in the app (lighter weights until you reach your working set), which should be enough. The stronglifts website also covers all this.

    No one will laugh and stare, and if they do they are crappy people and would be laughing and staring at anyone - it's not personal.
  • just_another_day
    just_another_day Posts: 23 Member
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    I think your plan sounds fine. I started out doing SL and had great results. I really fell in love with lifting.

    As was said, you should only increase weight once you can do the full 5x5 at a certain weight and with good form. Increase by as much as you feel comfortable, even if it's only 5 pounds.

    As for a warm up, do the same exercise at a lighter weight. Either just the bar or use dumbbells.

    Good form is more important than increasing weight. Be sure to have a notebook or some way to record how much you've lifted every workout (i think there's a SL app). I also like to make note of how I felt doing the lift and whether I think I could increase weight next time. Best of luck!!

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