Heavy Lifting Exercises and Shoe Questions

ShowPoodleGirl · September 14

I have been out of the gym for many years. I would like to lift heavy and do a bit of cardio. My goal is to go to the gym at least 3 times a week. I started back Sept 3rd and have so far gone 3-4 times a week.
Last time when I was working out I had been doing Stronglifts 5x5, and not sure if I want to go back to that or not. I'm at a Planet Fitness, which isn't the most ideal place for heavy lifting but I wanted to start here for the location convenience and cost to be sure I'm committed to going for a while and then reevaluate if I need a gym with better freeweight options.
I'm wanting a workout routine with upper body one day, lower body another day. I'd like a simple routine. I've seen some fitness people do all sorts of different exercises every time they hit the gym and unless that'd be super benefitial I feel like I lean more toward the group that does those basic core exercises (like squats and deadlifts) each time and try to progress on it.
I finally felt comfortable enough at the gym to get on the smith machine today and I feel like I'm happy with the exercises I have chosen for lower body. Squat, Deadlift (currently trying romanian I think it's called but not sure if I prefer them to normal deadlifts), reverse lunges, and hip thrusts. Would you add or take away from this with different exercises?
Upper body I still haven't solidified. Bench press for sure. In stronglift you also did barbell row and overhead press. But I know that there's a lot of other typical exercises like bicep curls, and tricep kickbacks. Thoughts?
Last question I had is, do I need 'sport shoes' for the gym? I have tried over the past week to get 'proper' shoes but after trying on dozens of pairs at The Running Room that feel comfortable, when I have tried a couple pairs at the gym they just don't fit right (I have very wide feet and even the 'wide' shoes aren't quite cutting it), where as my slip on sketchers I haven't had issues with. I don't know if those types of shoes are supportive enough for lifting and some cardio.
Thank you.

Retroguy2000 · September 14

I'll reply later re the workout.

Strongest Man on Earth and former World's Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper recommends cross training shoes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMoVpperw0Q

Retroguy2000 · September 14

ShowPoodleGirl wrote: »

I feel like I lean more toward the group that does those basic core exercises (like squats and deadlifts) each time and try to progress on it.

I finally felt comfortable enough at the gym to get on the smith machine today and I feel like I'm happy with the exercises I have chosen for lower body. Squat, Deadlift (currently trying romanian I think it's called but not sure if I prefer them to normal deadlifts), reverse lunges, and hip thrusts. Would you add or take away from this with different exercises?

It is wise to focus on compounds, as you say. From what I've seen and read, the Smith machine has its uses, but it's not ideal for deadlift type exercises because of the bar path and reduction in need for stabilizer muscles. If it's all you have, then I suppose you have to make do. It's not a deadlift per se, it's a Smith machine deadlift. Not the same thing.

RDL is a great exercise.

Here's my split for reference. It's every other day, working out at home.

Upper day is 8 sets for back, 8 sets for chest, split across 2-3 exercises for each. This includes DB bench and fly's, barbell row, chest supported DB row and weighted pullups. Finish with DB lateral raises.

Lower/Arms day is 4 sets of barbell squat movement, 3 sets of DB lunges which include forward and reverse lunges, DB standing calf raises, DB shoulder press, and finish with arms. One of these days I do RDL's too. The next time I do DB leg curl with the bench on decline. The arms work is supersets and short rest periods with EZ-bar curls and EZ-bar, and DB's, including EZ curl, EZ JM press into close grip press, DB preacher and DB one armed French press. The kickback is one of the worst tris exercises btw.

ShowPoodleGirl · September 15

Thank you. Cross trainers are what I have used in the past so I'll have to do more searching for that.
I could do the deadlifts with dumbbells possibly, I would have to see what weights my gym has.
Thanks for the info!

Lietchi · September 15

I use simple sneakers similar to these:

Certainly for anything with lower body - les cushion means more stability.
(Downside is: not good if you want to run to warm up - either have different shoes for that or choose a different way to warm up 🙂 )

AnnPT77 · September 15

Lietchi wrote: »

I use simple sneakers similar to these:
Certainly for anything with lower body - les cushion means more stability.
(Downside is: not good if you want to run to warm up - either have different shoes for that or choose a different way to warm up 🙂 )

That's what I was thinking, too. I would think bike, elliptical, maybe some other machines would be less sensitive to shoe type. As a rower (who machine rows when she must, i.e. river frozen

), I know rowing machine isn't shoe sensitive. Personally, I usually machine row in sock feet, though that's eccentric.

claireychn074 · September 16

I use lifters for my Olympic weightlifting stuff, but I used to be powerlift (squat and deadlift in particular) either in socks or barefoot shoes. It depends on your ankle mobility really. Squishy shoes (like running) aren’t very good for lifting as they don’t give you the foot stability you need.

It’s not unusual to have two pairs of shoes for different exercises but you could also consider crossfit shoes. They’re firmer than running shoes but softer than WL ones. Have a look at Do-Win for WL shoes (cheaper than Nike or Reebok) and Innov-8 for crossfit shoes. Also worth checking out FB Marketplace as people do sell secondhand shoes and you can save a tonne of money that way.

nossmf · September 16

Ahh, the choice between doing lots of different exercises or the same couple ones over and over. There's pros and cons for each:

Repeating forever:
Pros - lots of practice to perfect technique, easy to gauge progress
Cons - (usually) doesn't hit every muscle, can grow boring over time

Lots of change:
Pros - variety drives excitement, hits every muscle from a variety of angles
Cons - difficult to master technique, difficult to gauge progress

While social media influencers may prefer constant jumping around in order to attract paying audience members, lots of old-school lifters will tell you to pick just a few exercises, from 3-5, which hit all the muscles, and stick to them for several weeks, or better months. Be open to trying new exercises from time to time, but the core basics should remain the same. We get our variety not from always trying new exercises, but from doing the same ones but with small tweaks...a squat day using 3x10 or 5x5 will have VERY different feeling!

I suggest trying a variety of exercises, find the ones which feel the most natural and cover all the basic movement patterns, and stick with them for at least 3 months. At that time pick ONE exercise to swap out for something different (but still has the same basic movement pattern) and commit to it for 3 months.

Hobartlemagne · September 17

A seated triceps extension machine works the tri's better than kickbacks.

ShowPoodleGirl · September 19

Thank you everyone for the advice!

Heavy Lifting Exercises and Shoe Questions

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