I don't like lifting, but love the results. Advice?
jennybearlv
Posts: 1,519 Member
The title explains my dilemma. I did Stronglifts for six months and am finishing the Strong Curves beginner program this week. I'm not sure where to go from here. I don't want to lift weights, but I want to look like I do. I like the way the strength helps me in my other activities. Are there any fun alternatives to picking heavy things up and putting them back down again? I do a bunch of stuff for cardio depending on the weather: running, skating, kayaking, cycling, hiking, and I'm hoping to pick up skiing this winter. I guess being indoors not moving around much makes me bored.
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Add some strength training while you are doing your cardio. If I am trail running I will grab a random large rock or downed tree and carry them in alternating positions. Get creative make it fun. Make yourself some home fitness equipment like atlas stones, sandbags, tractor tires , sledge hammers. Best of luck!!5
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You can use odd implements or strong man type things. Bodyweight/gymnastics type movements can be done outside if you have a pull up bar and just a little space. Or you could just pare down your strength routine to the bare minimum. Deads, squats, either bench or OHP, rows or pull ups. That way you won't be quite as bored, but still have strength1
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gearhead426hemi wrote: »Add some strength training while you are doing your cardio. If I am trail running I will grab a random large rock or downed tree and carry them in alternating positions. Get creative make it fun. Make yourself some home fitness equipment like atlas stones, sandbags, tractor tires , sledge hammers. Best of luck!!
I think that is a little too hardcore for most people on here but it sounds like you are having a blast.
OP, you can swim, it will tone you up. Have you thought about joining a circuit class? I hear those are fun and motivating. Have you tried kayaking?4 -
Perhaps you can find a group exercise class that incorporates a fair amount of resistance work? I took a boot camp/circuit class that combined HIIT or tabata series, body weight exercises, and weights. It was fast-paced and occasionally incorporated team exercise - pushup competitions, burpee challenges.
It improved the shape of my body better than anything else I've done, and with only 2 hours a week with a fun group of people.1 -
gearhead426hemi wrote: »Add some strength training while you are doing your cardio. If I am trail running I will grab a random large rock or downed tree and carry them in alternating positions. Get creative make it fun. Make yourself some home fitness equipment like atlas stones, sandbags, tractor tires , sledge hammers. Best of luck!!
It sounds like you are having fun. I wish I had that kind of space on my property.You can use odd implements or strong man type things. Bodyweight/gymnastics type movements can be done outside if you have a pull up bar and just a little space. Or you could just pare down your strength routine to the bare minimum. Deads, squats, either bench or OHP, rows or pull ups. That way you won't be quite as bored, but still have strength
I actually come from a gymnastics background and if I remember correctly was very muscular and strong without ever touching a weight. I've been messing around with some tumbling this summer when it's been too smoky and hot to go outside. After 25 years the muscle memory is still there, but the flexibility and strength to move my 200 pound self are not. Definitely something I should consider working on.
I did enjoy the bodyweight exercises in Strong Curves, but all the reps and exercises not so much. Pull ups are a long term goal of mine and I really enjoyed making some progress towards that. There is a park in town that has pull up bars, parallel bars, and some things I can't identify. Maybe I should look into bodyweight exercises for park circuits.
The simplicity of Stronglifts was a plus for me, but I plateaued on all my lifts at fairly low weights. I would be open to something with all compounds I can get done in 90 minutes a week like SL. Might be good for this winter when the parks will be a bit soggy.gearhead426hemi wrote: »Add some strength training while you are doing your cardio. If I am trail running I will grab a random large rock or downed tree and carry them in alternating positions. Get creative make it fun. Make yourself some home fitness equipment like atlas stones, sandbags, tractor tires , sledge hammers. Best of luck!!
I think that is a little too hardcore for most people on here but it sounds like you are having a blast.
OP, you can swim, it will tone you up. Have you thought about joining a circuit class? I hear those are fun and motivating. Have you tried kayaking?
I do swim and kayak. I'm not really into toning, but more interested in building strength and muscle. Getting stronger for swimming and kayaking would be a bonus.Perhaps you can find a group exercise class that incorporates a fair amount of resistance work? I took a boot camp/circuit class that combined HIIT or tabata series, body weight exercises, and weights. It was fast-paced and occasionally incorporated team exercise - pushup competitions, burpee challenges.
It improved the shape of my body better than anything else I've done, and with only 2 hours a week with a fun group of people.
I am so bad about classes. I know for some people having that appointment will get them to go, but I'm a bit of an exercise loner who shows up whenever she feels like it.0 -
Bouldering or climbing?
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I highly dislike both of those programs, they make me hate lifting. Try a few other programs because you might be like me and just seriously dislike those two. If I had started with Stronglifts or Strong Curves I probably would have given up on lifting.
Here are two that I personally enjoyed:
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lee-labrada-12-week-lean-body-trainer.html
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout
I've also enjoyed programs very similar to this:
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shortcut-to-size.html
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You sound like a candidate for crossfit... be warned not all boxes are equal, shop around, take full advantage of their intro sessions, get references, and check credentials of the trainers before you commit1
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RavenLibra wrote: »You sound like a candidate for crossfit... be warned not all boxes are equal, shop around, take full advantage of their intro sessions, get references, and check credentials of the trainers before you commit
Everything I know about Crossfit I learned on the internet. Since my idea of Crossfit is doing burpees and kipping pullups until I puke what is a Crossfit workout really like?4 -
Find something you do enjoy. Fitness/Exercise will only become a part of your life (and not a chore) if you enjoy it!2
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jennybearlv wrote: »RavenLibra wrote: »You sound like a candidate for crossfit... be warned not all boxes are equal, shop around, take full advantage of their intro sessions, get references, and check credentials of the trainers before you commit
Everything I know about Crossfit I learned on the internet. Since my idea of Crossfit is doing burpees and kipping pullups until I puke what is a Crossfit workout really like?
It can vary greatly from box to box, and day to day, but you can get an idea from crossfit's mainsite. Some days you strength train, some days you'll do more gymnastics work, some days a mix. A lot of places use the format of a warm up, then strength or skill work, then a metcon.1 -
You need CrossFit in your life. Their are 14 gyms in the Reno area. Try a few out before deciding on one. Have fun, use your fitness.0
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jennybearlv wrote: »The title explains my dilemma. I did Stronglifts for six months and am finishing the Strong Curves beginner program this week. I'm not sure where to go from here. I don't want to lift weights, but I want to look like I do. I like the way the strength helps me in my other activities. Are there any fun alternatives to picking heavy things up and putting them back down again? I do a bunch of stuff for cardio depending on the weather: running, skating, kayaking, cycling, hiking, and I'm hoping to pick up skiing this winter. I guess being indoors not moving around much makes me bored.
I hate cardio!!!! Seriously, I absolutely hate it. I do it anyways because of the results.
I tell myself to "suck it up, so you'll never have to suck it in."6 -
Am I the only one who had Ronnie Coleman pop into their head, upon reading the OP?3
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Yoga. I'm always amazed at how fast I get stronger thru yoga. I find lifting incredibly boring, but yoga forces me to focus and I love it!2
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Intervals. Maybe you'd like classes like Tabata, etc.0
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Love this thread! I'm in the same boat, I keep trying to get into a lifting routine but never stick with it as I get bored. I love HIIT bootcamp style workouts where there's a combination of cardio and body weight exercises. I also can second yoga. I'm always surprised I how sore I can be after a power yoga class.
The best I can think of is to just try different things until you find something that sticks. Good luck!!1 -
Lifting is not my favorite thing to do, but getting into Olympic lifting was a game changer in that regard. Every session starts with my Olympic movements...after that, I do whatever else my trainer has for me...I'm already there, so I might as well.
I also like that I have some days that are just my Olympic lifts followed by some pullups and dips and I'm pretty much in and out. I've recently gotten into rock climbing as well which is a great full body workout that combines strength, cardiovascular, and endurance...and it's hella fun!1 -
Watch videos where people workout whereever they are. Pull ups at Playgrounds, tricep dips on benches, "wall" pushups on trees....you get my drift.0
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MikeinNOLA wrote: »You need CrossFit in your life. Their are 14 gyms in the Reno area. Try a few out before deciding on one. Have fun, use your fitness.
Wow. 14? We have a population of like 200000. I will check that out.cwolfman13 wrote: »Lifting is not my favorite thing to do, but getting into Olympic lifting was a game changer in that regard. Every session starts with my Olympic movements...after that, I do whatever else my trainer has for me...I'm already there, so I might as well.
I also like that I have some days that are just my Olympic lifts followed by some pullups and dips and I'm pretty much in and out. I've recently gotten into rock climbing as well which is a great full body workout that combines strength, cardiovascular, and endurance...and it's hella fun!
I've always thought Olympic lifts looked fun, but I'm afraid of breaking my floor. Maybe I need to look for a gym where I could learn the lifts.
I keep seeing rock climbing and bouldering coming up. I live in the mountains so I'm sure that's a thing around here. I'm just not really sure how to get started.
Thanks for all the responses. You are giving me a lot of ideas.0 -
I never thought I'd be a crossfit person, but here I am joining a crossfit gym...
At my gym, classes usually start with a strength portion. A frequent strength portion might me 3 "Cluster sets" of 3x1 @ 90% for a movement like squats, snatch, OHP, etc. (or 3x3 at 80%, basically something heavy, taking your time) which I think is really fun!
Then the WOD includes things like lunges, muscle ups, pull ups, etc. Everything can be scaled to your abilities, while remaining challenging. Instead of muscle ups you might do assisted pull up and dips. For me, those are still going to be challenging.
My coach recommended pacing according to the workout - not just going so hard you puke! (Ex- If you have to do 30 pull ups total, don't go to failure on your first set, do enough that you can recover quickly and continue.)
A lot of the things they do I am not able to do yet, but we found the alternatives that are still going to challenge my strength and conditioning and allow me to work up to the RX workouts over time.
I'm not sure if that ended up sounding as "fun" as I feel it is, but yeah. I think it's going to be a really interesting way to strength train!1 -
I have to agree with the crossfitty-type recommendations...I have a 6-week program (4 days a week, but I just do 2, and then take a class a couple of times a week) drawn up for me by a "bootcamp" personal trainer, and it is a great mix of the basics (rows, squats, DLs, etc) and the obscure/entertaining (garhammer raises, swiss ball stuff, different planks, different plyometrics, etc.). On different days, I have a metabolic focus (higher reps at lower weights), lactic acid focus (slow lifts), density focus (AMRAPs) and strength focus (low reps at high weigh). It has kept me entertained, interested and engaged for a year and a half. It's not crossfit, but it has such a wide variety of workouts, that it feels similar.
I am especially amused by things like DB windmills, DB snatches, medicine ball exercises, and anything else that seems like it would have been performed by a man with luxuriant moustaches in the old-timey days:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2016/04/06/oldtime-strongman-exercises/
The drawback is that my lifts are not increasing like they would if I were doing Stronglifts or some such, but on the bright side, I am 44, and I have plenty of runway for progressing in the coming decades while looking pretty toned.
I would also agree on the rock climbing and yoga as great complements, alternated with weighted exercises.0 -
I love crossfit because of all the ways it made other activities easier. It made me more aware of how to engage my muscles during day to day activities. I have no issues putting my carry on in the overhead bin...and usually end up helping a few other people. I was shoveling snow last winter and on one scoop felt a twinge in my back, realized my form was crap, and was able to reset and finish the job without injury. I love that awareness.
But I do agree with everyone about choosing a reputable, effective box. My first box had amazing coaches and my results were awesome. My second box was substandard comparatively. A lot of the advice at the box conflicted with my experience and might have caused injury if I hadn't known better. I did some research and learned 99% of the coaches in the second box were only level 1 certified...so basically they were rookies who were learning along side me. It's okay if one or two are at that level, but it's bad to have a whole staff of newbies.3 -
I agree with the CrossFit recommendation.
There's a strength portion of the workout which is ever-changing in lift, number of reps, pauses, etc.
The workout is also ever-changing so it never gets boring - gymnastics/body weight movements combined with Olympic lifting and conditioning.
It's addictive and there's always someone who can lift more or do more than you, and that's motivation (for me).
It's also measurable and that's awesome.
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jennybearlv wrote: »I actually come from a gymnastics background and if I remember correctly was very muscular and strong without ever touching a weight. I've been messing around with some tumbling this summer when it's been too smoky and hot to go outside. After 25 years the muscle memory is still there, but the flexibility and strength to move my 200 pound self are not. Definitely something I should consider working on.
This is my motivation. I love gymnastics and looking forward to getting back to some variation. I motivate my patchy weightlifing at the moment by reminding myself that it will give my tumbling and acrobatics a boost when I'm in a place (geographically, not just physically) where I can get back to it. There's so many varieties - circus, trapeze, silks, tumbling, pole, parkour, acroyoga - I figure I - and anyone - can find one that will work.
Another option might be martial arts, which involves a lot of muscle building outside of weight lifting. I've done taekwando, boxing and krav maga at various points, and enjoyed all of them much more than draggin myself into the gym to lift weights.0 -
jennybearlv wrote: »MikeinNOLA wrote: »You need CrossFit in your life. Their are 14 gyms in the Reno area. Try a few out before deciding on one. Have fun, use your fitness.
Wow. 14? We have a population of like 200000. I will check that out.cwolfman13 wrote: »Lifting is not my favorite thing to do, but getting into Olympic lifting was a game changer in that regard. Every session starts with my Olympic movements...after that, I do whatever else my trainer has for me...I'm already there, so I might as well.
I also like that I have some days that are just my Olympic lifts followed by some pullups and dips and I'm pretty much in and out. I've recently gotten into rock climbing as well which is a great full body workout that combines strength, cardiovascular, and endurance...and it's hella fun!
I've always thought Olympic lifts looked fun, but I'm afraid of breaking my floor. Maybe I need to look for a gym where I could learn the lifts.
I keep seeing rock climbing and bouldering coming up. I live in the mountains so I'm sure that's a thing around here. I'm just not really sure how to get started.
Thanks for all the responses. You are giving me a lot of ideas.
My wife and I currently climb in a gym. We spent some time just getting comfortable and using auto belays and recently took the top rope belay class and got top rope certified so now we're using ropes and playing in the "big boy room"...next up will be lead climb.
Our gym offers guided outdoor excursions as well for a price...I think from there, you just start getting to know people and where to go, etc. I'm going outside in October with a buddy of mine in Colorado Springs who is an avid climber...it will be my first outside.
In RE to the Olympic lifting, I was fortunate to cross paths with my trainer a few years ago...not only does he teach the movements, they are a basic component of his programming for all of his clients from young to old. When I dabbled in crossfit years ago, they offered an Olympic lifting specific class...it didn't have all of the other typical crossfit WOD stuff, just the lifts.
In regards to your floor, you'd need a solid base like a concrete slab and then an Olympic platform...these can be purchased and also made DIY pretty easily.
Olympic lifting is all kinds of fun.2 -
I just visited the Crossfit website and am feeling very skeptical now. WOD looked fine then there's this photo of a group running with weighted vests. WTF? Then I scroll down to some text telling me not to eat sugar. Oh hell no. Then it goes into some fun sounding strength activities, okay. Then it goes into cardio and gets weird from there. It's this the kind of woo I should expect from Crossfit or are some boxes more based in reality?
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jennybearlv wrote: »I just visited the Crossfit website and am feeling very skeptical now. WOD looked fine then there's this photo of a group running with weighted vests. WTF? Then I scroll down to some text telling me not to eat sugar. Oh hell no. Then it goes into some fun sounding strength activities, okay. Then it goes into cardio and gets weird from there. It's this the kind of woo I should expect from Crossfit or are some boxes more based in reality?
This goes with what we were saying about trying different boxes. Mine offers nutrition classes as a separate option. I didn't sign up for that so I never have to listen about Paleo this or that. You'll never have to run in a weighted vest unless you choose to. My brother just started doing that to make his short runs more challenging (he is in SUPER great shape) but I do not see that ever happening for me. I will also never do Spartan races as I do not want to jump over things on fire.
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Like I mentioned, things will be scaled. Some WODS include weighted vests, but you always have the option to do something else. Any WOD at my gym is written out 3 ways - RX, "Gold", and "silver", and you can even pick and choose beyond that so you're doing a workout that fits your needs.jennybearlv wrote: »I just visited the Crossfit website and am feeling very skeptical now. WOD looked fine then there's this photo of a group running with weighted vests. WTF? Then I scroll down to some text telling me not to eat sugar. Oh hell no. Then it goes into some fun sounding strength activities, okay. Then it goes into cardio and gets weird from there. It's this the kind of woo I should expect from Crossfit or are some boxes more based in reality?
There is some diet "woo" out there, but I've also seen Games athletes saying how carbs are great, and eating ice cream. During my intro classes my coach didn't say a word about diet, or try to kindly suggest that things would probably be easier if I were lighter. (He did mention that they "don't really 'drink the kool aid' here" though, if that counts.) They seem pretty down to earth, and like someone else mentioned, most people there are "training for life."
Different boxes will vary. I think you can walk into any gym and find PTs that speak fluent woo, but there's also really great ones out there. Just a matter of finding a good one.1 -
My box doesn't really tell us what to eat, although when I had some recovery issues at the beginning they suggested eating more protein which helped.
Weighted vests would be RX (for the most seasoned athletes), so I've never used one. All workouts are scalable. I have a morbidly obese friend who went with me for awhile and they were able to help her modify as well. That's just to say that it's all based on your own personal ability level, and my fitness level and strength have dramatically increased with CrossFit. Not to mention, my muscles look nice.
Sherry2
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