Advice on Starting Lifting? Weird issues.

notfromarizona · July 2015

Hey! I'm 19, 5'8 or so, maybe a little shorter, and I don't know how to start lifting, or even if I want to yet. I run about 25-30 miles a week, this is my main exercise and I LOVE it. It is my favorite hobby I've ever had, and relaxes me immensely. I workout 5-6 days a week, and 2 of them I row on a stationary rower for about 30 minutes and jog another thirty. The other 3-4 days are just running, at least 5 miles.

So, I've lost about 90 lbs total in about a year. I look a lot better, but I am still very fat. It has come to my attention recently that I may be 5'7 instead of the 5'8 I believed, and also that my scale at home shows ten pounds less than the doctor's scale at my gym. (Note: I weighed myself with clothes on in the afternoon at the gym, and I weigh first thing in the morning -naked- at home.) This makes my possible BMI range from about 22.8-24.5.

So, I've been worried about getting skinnyfat due to my lack of weight training. Also my butt has diminished in the past month, and my boyfriend is into the whole "big butt" thing, so I'd like it to come back. According to EVERY fitness website I am doing everything wrong.

I'm vegan, and eat a relatively low amount of protein, very high carb.
1200-1500 calories a day depending on my run distance (10 miles? 1500. 5? 1300.)

I am not willing to stop being vegan, nor am I willing to start running less than at least 3-4 days a week. These things are important to me. It is possible to eat higher protein as a vegan, and I can probably get my intake up to *maybe* 80-100 grams a day with effort.

I want to start lifting, but I have lots of bone pain (weird for a teenager), particularly in my lower back and shoulders, so I'm afraid of hurting myself. Sometimes I use the safety machines at the gym, but I can only put it on the lowest weight for arms, sometimes even 25 lbs is too heavy. Same with core muscles. So I go back to running, because it's more fun, and feels infinitely more effective for me because I can go for a long time. I cannot afford a personal trainer to teach me, and I don't have any friends who work out to teach me either.

I guess I'm afraid of getting skinnyfat. Right now I'm still just fat. But I feel like I'm losing just as much muscle as fat and I'm tired of it. I'm currently in a plateau and figure this is a good time to make a change.

itsthehumidity · July 2015

Good for you for making such great progress.

I'm no doctor, or any sort of medical professional, and I'm not in a position to give medical advice. I'd get your pain checked out. My guess is that your dietary restrictions have caused this. I understand and appreciate what I imagine your reasons are for being vegan, but one look at our human teeth shows that we are omnivorous and will be most healthy when we eat that way. If I had to further guess, it's that it's your connective tissue or joints that are bothering you and you're missing some sort of key nutrients you'd otherwise get from animal derived sources.

In terms of lifting, first consult a doctor about that considering your pain issue. You'll get nowhere fast with safety machines you find at all gyms. Grab the book Starting Strength 3rd Edition by Mark Rippetoe and then get to work with barbells. The Gods of Iron will smile upon thee.

Good luck!

coonziee · July 2015

Hey! So excited to hear you want to lift, that's a great start. If running is something you love, keep doing it, but definitely add some other types of exercise these will improve your overall body strength, stamina, flexibility, etc. You do run quite a lot, have you considered other types of cardio too?

I used to be all about the running, quite frankly, the weight room was a little intimidating because everyone seems to know what they're doing. I was lucky and had a SO who was able to get me started but my advice would be to keep at it, you won't get better at lifting without persistence. Plus, it gets easier with time, I used a very simple lifting program to get started, and sometimes I had to youtube the move to make sure I was doing it correctly -while at the gym! Point is you have to have the mindset that you're there for you, who cares what anyone else thinks, plus, chances are no one is paying attention to you anyway.

You mention you can't afford a personal trainer, and that's totally fine! I don't know which gym you go to, but I know most gyms offer a free PT session with no obligation which may be helpful. I know at my gym there are personal trainers walking around all the time and I see they always welcome questions - no charge. For now I would suggest following some people experienced in this area on social media I personally really like Krissy Mae Cagney and Layne Norton who have been in the business for a while but break things down so they're easily understandable, they have great articles on their websites. Don't get intimidated by their physique. If you're a bit intimidated like I was by the weight room, you may want to watch some youtube videos on proper form so that you can feel more prepped and avoid injury. Another option is to take group classes at your gym - if they offer any- that would probably be an even better start to learning different strength training exercises.

Lastly, I don't see you well in the picture but I would love for you to stop saying you're still just fat, or skinnyfat. I'm sure you're gorgeous and you're well on your way to being healthy which is priority number one over physique.

Jennloella · July 2015

I both lift and run because I love them. I run 3 times a week, and lift 3 times a week, often on my lifting days I will run stairs or do some other cardio. I see no reason why you'd have to stop running if you love it. I'd get the pain checked out - if it just hurts when you try to lift you are probably just starting too heavy. Yeah it sucks in the beginning when you can barely lift the bar, but you have to start somewhere. I bet when you began running you couldn't run a whole mile? You can youtube videos to look at proper form and use a broom stick to practice. That's where I'd start if I were you since it's so new and scary - work on that form first. You can even practice then upload videos of yourself here for form checks.

kshama2001 · July 2015

When I lived in yoga centers I knew plenty of healthy, strong vegans. Yes, it does take more work to get in protein. What about protein powder? I'm not vegan but use Source Naturals, Pea Protein Power, which I assume is vegan as all it contains is Pea Seed Protein Concentrate. The same company also markets a product for vegans: Vegan True™ Vegantein Complete but I've never tried it.

notfromarizona · July 2015

I didn't even know vegan protein powder was a thing! I thought it was all whey, lol silly me. I'll look into that, thanks!

MakePeasNotWar · July 2015

notfromarizona wrote: »

I didn't even know vegan protein powder was a thing! I thought it was all whey, lol silly me. I'll look into that, thanks!

I would recommend trying to get sample packs of several different vegan protein powders before buying a large tub of anything. I used to use whey when I was vegetarian and when I went vegan, I assumed the protein powders would taste pretty much the same. Unfortunately, not by a long shot. IMO, soy protein tastes best, but I would like to diversify my protein sources so I keep trying new non-soy ones.

If you aren't eating seitan, consider adding it. It can be used like tofu and it is a much more concentrated protein source than tofu, tempeh, or beans.

DaddieCat · July 2015

I've seen some great advice in here. I'm also a Vegan and have been for a long time. I'm also a heavy lifter. I'm happy to discuss nutrition and programming with you, if you're interested. Feel free to add me and reach out if you are inclined. Otherwise, I'd echo the sentiments above and recommend a trip to your doctor if you are having pain.

ibnfaqir · July 2015

With low protein, high cardio and low weight lifting you will stay skinny fat.

slaite1 · July 2015

You mentioned bone pain-not just muscle pain. Do you have insurance? Or perhaps go to college where there is (likely) some sort of free clinic? I would get that checked out by a doctor and get recommendations before doing anything. It's one thing to be weak and have muscle pain-it is quite another to have bone pain.

itsthehumidity wrote: »

Good for you for making such great progress.

I'm no doctor, or any sort of medical professional, and I'm not in a position to give medical advice. I'd get your pain checked out. My guess is that your dietary restrictions have caused this. I understand and appreciate what I imagine your reasons are for being vegan, but one look at our human teeth shows that we are omnivorous and will be most healthy when we eat that way. If I had to further guess, it's that it's your connective tissue or joints that are bothering you and you're missing some sort of key nutrients you'd otherwise get from animal derived sources.

In terms of lifting, first consult a doctor about that considering your pain issue. You'll get nowhere fast with safety machines you find at all gyms. Grab the book Starting Strength 3rd Edition by Mark Rippetoe and then get to work with barbells. The Gods of Iron will smile upon thee.

Good luck!

OP didn't push her diet on anyone-donuou probably didn't need to push your view on her. Just because she is vegan does not mean her pain is derived from that aspect of her diet. Even if it is-it may be something easily fixable. Plenty of people that eat animal products have deficiencies and it's silly to say one dietary choice is inherently "healthier" than the other. The shape of our teeth certainly does not prove the healthfulness of any particular diet. Jeez.

AliceDark · July 2015

OP, it's fine to be a runner who does a little lifting. You can get a ton of benefits just from adding a few lift days per week into your running schedule -- you don't need to sacrifice the activity you love. You might think about swapping out the rowing sessions for lifting for a month or so and see how that works for you.

And don't worry about your starting weights. Everyone starts somewhere, and I guarantee that you'll be stronger on some lifts than other people at your gym, and weaker on others.

Typically, we'd recommend something like StrongLifts or Starting Strength, but I'm not sure if you'd be best served by a program that has you squatting at every session when you're already running so often. There are a few runner groups on MFP -- maybe one of the runners could give you some guidance with a good program? The New Rules of Lifting for Women could be a good book for you to read.

Have you looked into a bodyweight program, like You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning? You might like something like that better.

Advice on Starting Lifting? Weird issues.

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