When to start exercise and how

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Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything since I'm not knowledgeable. I get frustrated when I hear that everyone needs to lift "heavy" weights. In my ignorance, this sounds like heavy means heavy, not that it means heavy for the person's ability. So I hear a one size fits all directive. But my frustration is not based on any training and is probably unreasonable. So I apologize.

    @Whatsthemotive, you don't have anything to apologize for: That's completely understandable!

    Yes, I too worry that some people don't even consider strength training, because there are cases when people say "you must lift heavy", without explaining that means "heavy enough to be a challenge for you personally", and scare folks off from strength training who could really benefit from it. (Sometimes I comment on those threads, too!)

    I also don't like it when people say "don't just lift pink dumbbells" or "don't lift Barbie weights" or other dismissive things. I do see people at the gym sometimes lifting weights that are not really heavy enough to be useful for them at the reps they're doing, and that's not a great strategy either. (No way to know that they're not rehabbing or something though, but in certain cases it's kind of obvious.) But no matter what color a weight is, or how heavy it is in pounds/kg, if it's a reasonable challenge to the person doing the lifting, then it can be helpful to build strength.

    We start where we are, and progress from there. We can surprise ourselves with what we can accomplish long term, in a lot of cases . . . but we need to start, and we always need to start from where we are at the time. 🙂
  • Whatsthemotive
    Whatsthemotive Posts: 145 Member
    I'm using light dumbbells. I started with cans of food. I use 3 pound weights and 5 pound weights now, depending on the exercise that I am doing. I started at the beginning of the year. I'm doing my workout 6 days a week. I do 25-30 reps of the exercises that I do. The workout is one that is for people who are elderly, obese, or have mobility issues. I am 62, obese, and I have mobility issues. I think I'm being overly sensitive --for the reason you mentioned. It feels like people are dismissive of people who are at my level. Maybe it is better to "lift heavy" but I can't start there.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I'm using light dumbbells. I started with cans of food. I use 3 pound weights and 5 pound weights now, depending on the exercise that I am doing. I started at the beginning of the year. I'm doing my workout 6 days a week. I do 25-30 reps of the exercises that I do. The workout is one that is for people who are elderly, obese, or have mobility issues. I am 62, obese, and I have mobility issues. I think I'm being overly sensitive --for the reason you mentioned. It feels like people are dismissive of people who are at my level. Maybe it is better to "lift heavy" but I can't start there.

    If it challenges you to lift the 3 and 5 pound weights at the number of reps you do, then that is "lifting heavy". There's way more to it, and this isn't the thread where it's totally on topic, but you want those last couple reps to be difficult, but not scary-dangerous feeling.

    It sounds like you're doing fine. 🙂 I'd put you in the "you will surprise yourself with what you can accomplish in the long term" group, as long as you keep going, and keep that bit of challenge in the picture by gradually increasing weight or reps as that's feasible (and it sounds like you are doing that).

    (I'm 65, was obese until 59-60, and have some arthritis and a torn meniscus that limit me in some activities, so I hear what you're saying. I feel like general two attitudes can limit us: People being dismissive of where we are, when we are where we need to be to make progress; and people who have low expectations of how much improvement we can achieve with work and patience, because they think we're "too old". We, ourselves, can be among the "people" in either of those two groups, too. I'm glad to hear you're not holding yourself back in either of those ways!)
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,344 Member
    I'm using light dumbbells. I started with cans of food. I use 3 pound weights and 5 pound weights now, depending on the exercise that I am doing. I started at the beginning of the year. I'm doing my workout 6 days a week. I do 25-30 reps of the exercises that I do. The workout is one that is for people who are elderly, obese, or have mobility issues. I am 62, obese, and I have mobility issues. I think I'm being overly sensitive --for the reason you mentioned. It feels like people are dismissive of people who are at my level. Maybe it is better to "lift heavy" but I can't start there.

    Comparison is the thief of joy.

    This holds true for weights, too. What’s heavy for you may be light for me, or vice versa. Or may be child’s play for 90% of the people on this thread.

    I work out at a heavy metal, competitive gym. No one disrespects me, snubs me, or treats me any different because I can’t throw around the weight they can and am the anomaly who has no interest in competing. If anything, I get a lot of respect for being the old chick who keeps coming back time after time. And that’s if they even notice me at all. It’s not like I’m in their way often, camping out on the light end of the dumbell rack, lol.

    Me, I’m envious of the runners who blow past me, and the new yogi (former gymnast) who got a freaking handstand (!!!) her first week practicing. But I keep hacking away at it, and am so very pleased that I can do what I can do, and give it my best.

    Mobility comes with small steps and progresses from there. There was a brief period eight years ago I was on a walker. As my yoga instructors so often preach during class, “Be grateful for your amazing body and what it can do for you”. I’ve tried to take that to heart.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,847 Member
    I've been lifting weights off and on since the late 80s and have yet to "bulk up."