Newbie Lifter
Kittyfeliz
Posts: 290 Member
Hi ladies! I'm new to this group as well as lifting in general. I just started StrongLifts 5x5 yesterday and I'm so excited already! The biggest issue I've come across so far is that I have very limited flexion in my ankles so I can't get passed a chair height position when I squat. This has always been an issue for me, I've never been able to touch my toes or do a decent down dog in yoga because my ankles/hamstrings are so tight. I've found stretches to help but I'm worried this is going to hold me back. Anyone else have a similar issue?
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Replies
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Welcome! Loads of good information here, and a great group of ladies. I can't give advice on your tight hamstings except stretch!1
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Have you tried putting a fractional weight, like a 1.25 or 2.5 lb weight under each heel when you squat? I hear the slight elevation is often helpful for tight ankles. If you end up liking it and stay with lifting long term, there are also shoes made for squatting that have a slight heel lift. Definitely continue stretching though, and don't raise your weights until you have form down. Better to go slow that get hurt from a form issue!1
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you might find that the rows and deadlifts help your hamstrings stretch out a bit, over time. i do squat with the special shoes (except i can't squat), but deciding whether to buy them or not is kind of a personal call. i held out for more than a year, and i'm not really sorry i did since up till then i just didn't know if perhaps it was a soft-tissue thing that was going to improve. lifting shoes are expensive
you're definitely not alone with this problem. google should give you a range of different options to look into, as far as figuring out how to approach your own version of it. and imo, making sure that you stretch gently AFTER a workout goes a long way to persuading your body to repair the muscle in a 'longer' form.1 -
Still loving it?
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I am but only got two workouts last week since I started Wednesday and had workout 2 on Friday. I was sore most of the weekend but feeling great. Happier than ever, positive and hopeful. I swear I can already feel the slightest difference sometimes when I touch my shoulders or other muscles! Maybe that's in my head - lol! But I missed yesterday's workout and couldn't go today since I have a sick toddler at home. Hoping he's feeling well enough for the gym play area tomorrow, I REALLY wanna get back at it!2
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The soreness goes away if you keep at it regularly! Hope you made it back to the gym. Feeling your muscles is addictive. I can't wait to have super strong biceps, and one of my hipbones is reemerging when I lay just so!2
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Had 5 workouts now, added planks to the last workout too just for fun. Feeling great and a little sore today. Wednesday I'll be squatting 70, it's pretty exciting adding more weight! And I got fractional weights which I'll definitely be needing for Overhead Presses and Chest Presses. The thing I'm most worried about is how much to eat. I need to lose weight but at the same time, I know I need to eat enough to make muscle. Maybe I shouldn't be focusing on eating at a deficit yet? Or maybe I should, I have a good 30 pounds of basically fat. It's a little alarming because I've gained a few pounds (I know, I shouldn't have looked) and I'm scared to gain more since I doubt I've gained 3+ pounds of muscle yet! LOL1
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Ok, those 3 pounds are gone now, must have just been water. I'll stop looking at the scale now! I decided to go with 1500 calories. It's easy for me to do and 150 calories less that my TDEE so I'm not going to be shedding pounds left and right but I will slowly over time and I'm OK with that. Workout 6 today! I love going to the gym... I've never said that before. LOL2
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muscle grows slowly for women. you see various claims and even the ones that are aimed at the testosterone population can be unrealistic.
realistic numbers that i've come across seem to be at most a pound a month for women in their 'new' phase, and then it slows down to about half a pound. those are 'optimum' numbers, i.e. the highest reasonable growth you can expect while doing everything 'right'.
you can still get pretty darn strong for a while - well, compared with most people's starting points anyway. i stuck to my deficit while i was new, and i think i started to eat about six months later when continuing to get stronger was more interesting to me than losing a little more weight.
so tl;dr: staying in deficit won't stop you dead in your tracks. it might put an early ceiling on your rate of progress, and it might slow the rate down a little bit too. so really, it's kind of a personal call.
i get the 'love' thing :tongue. last place on earth that i ever thought would come to feel like my second living room.1 -
Thank you for that information, now I know what to look out for!0
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