DaniH826 Member

I think you should try it and then evaluate. You can pre-analyze it all you want, but unless you actually do it, there's no telling. Alternately, you could use a heavy dumbbell and do extra reps on bench presses and overheads and rows, and just do them with one arm, on the days that you do those anyway (fatigue…

I guarantee you that if you watch any Mark Rippetoe video on Youtube that you can find on the lifts, as well as Mehdi's videos, as well as reading up on how to perform the lifts, you will know more about it than most people at your gym, including all the guys. Grab a barbell and go do it. The longer you wait, the more your…

Make sure for OHP and bench press, that you press evenly (as much as possible). My left side had to do some catching up too, and still does. I never go up higher in weight than my left side can lift as solidly as my right.

What do you mean "the first week"? My weight still does that after 4 months. :laugh: I try to only weigh myself now after 2 full rest days, to get a close estimate. Otherwise the constant water/glycogen/whatever fluctuations just make me crazy. Welcome to weight training. The scale won't be your friend, except to maybe…

Hey, no problem! Actually yoga is the only thing that's kept my lower back in check for the past 10 years. so I'm not giving it up. If that means that I can't lift super heavy, then I'm cool with that. Plus I'm a western practitioner and I doubt very much that my version of it has an effect on my BMR since I don't practice…

I tend to look at yoga and barbell training as symbiotic, i.e. mutually beneficial. :smile:

If you're at goal weight, just eat at maintenance. Try it for a while and then reevaluate. Lifting at a deficit can lead to a stall in progression, which is something people who wish to lose weight have to deal with. You need fuel to lift heavy, so make sure you get it. If you're at goal weight, use that to your advantage…

^^ I basically made Rip my personal trainer, and went to the book and/or his videos with my many questions, and watched them over and over again to familiarize myself with proper form. During the first few weeks of lifting, I had my tablet in the garage and would pull up the videos for each lift and would play them while I…

I do yoga and do extra core work that way. It helps. You can try glute bridges, planks, back extensions, etc., to help strengthen your core muscles. Alternately, you can just increase weights slower and let your core catch up that way, because heavy squatting etc. will work your core. It really all depends on how…

I'm quite happy to not be doing heavy back squats 3x/week anymore. Right now once a week is enough. Am having some fun with lighter varieties such as overheads and goblets though. Today I skipped lifting cause I was in the mood for some serious yoga, and I actually managed to make it all the way through Rodney Yee's Power…

Alright, so I'm currently trying spreading the 4 big lifts out over 4 days and doing dumbbell/barbell/kettlebell complexes also. That means yesterday I did 5x5 squat plus a barbell complex, today I did 5x5 bench press plus a dumbbell/kettlebell complex, tomorrow will be deadlifts plus some sort of complex, and Friday will…

Used to be 3, now 4.

It is very technical, and certainly not an easy read. I was able to get mostly through it only because the technical aspect of it was exactly what I was trying to get my head around. But, I can see why someone would just give it a superficial read-through, shelve it and then revisit it later when they're at the point of…

How do you even know that the dudes and that trainer at your gym lift with correct form? Have you watched any of them do the lifts to judge for yourself if they're even knowledgeable enough to coach and bring correction?

I really only have one goal for June: Build up my endurance without negating my strength gains. I've started doing complexes and will be spending the month there, but also plan on doing the main lifts still on a regular basis in some fashion with the heavier plates so I stay strong.

Fabulous!! Thank you! :drinker:

I think if you focus on eating for nourishment first and pleasure second, and replace things slowly with healthier choices, you'll eventually arrive at a place where you'll be eating mostly nutritionally. Many people end up changing things too drastically and then "fall off the wagon" because they can't sustain those…

Why don't you go ahead and read the stickies above? Tameko put a lot of information together that should be very helpful to you. Also, welcome! As a general rule, if you lift heavy weights, focus on making sure you get enough protein into your system. Usually about 100 g per day or so should do you as a minimum. Did you…

Squat: 100 (triple digits woo!) -- made it to 85 DL: 135 (BIG PLATES WOO!) -- got those to 130 Bench Press: 75 -- got them to 70 OHP: 55 -- and 52.5 for those Hey, not bad. I'll take it! Going to spend June doing circuits and pushing for endurance, and then back to more strength works in July. At least that's the plan…

BAM! Keep it up !!!!

Unless somebody's paying you to compete, get it into your head that your competition ought to be against yourself, and so just make sure you train enough to watch your numbers improve, and don't worry about what other people are doing. If I'm paying to run a 5K, then I'm going to run/walk it at whatever speed I can muster,…

My scale is in my closet now. I take it out from time to time, and we mess with each other for a few minutes, laugh heartily, and back to the closet it goes. I daresay I'm a little less crazy than when I used to step on my scale several times a day and allowed those numbers to dictate how I'd feel about myself that day.…

Oatmeal with applesauce, raisins and brown sugar, in vanilla soy milk. Mmm mmm good.

I find it's best to ban the scale to a corner in some closet and only bring it out on occasion, and focus on performance numbers. I reckon if I stick with lifting and challenging my body, and nourish it accordingly, weight and measurements and body fats are going to eventually pan themselves out along the way. If you're…

Sounds like a sprain/strain. Treatment would be as above. If not better in a few days, go see a doc. Seems I'm forever nursing some sort of sprain/strain/muscle knot, bruise, cut, etc. My body is a veritable cornucopia of boo-boos. :glasses:

Ya can't change genetics. It'll come off how it'll come off, and it'll redistribute how it'll redistribute. Usually the area you want to shrink first, will be the one to shrink last. Oh well, whatever motivates us to keep going, right? :laugh:

What's more concerning is that this is something I'd expect a teenage girl to go through, not a 32-year-old professional who should know better. Put your big girl pants on, lady, and seek help. Come on. You've got this. You're a capable woman. There's nothing you can't do. I'm rooting for you! I've come out of anorexia and…

I'm seriously checking into Nia Shanks because she's ADD like me and I like her idea of switching programs around regularly to stay interested and continue to make progress. I want to branch out into different types of deadlifts, squats and so forth and continue to have fun and stay motivated, now that I have the basics…

Ernestine is a 75-year-old bodybuilder and was in her 50s when she started training: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/12/fitness-ernestine-shepherd-oldest-bodybuilder_n_1589092.html Also: http://spotmebro.com/5-badass-bodybuilders-over-70-years-old/ At 35, you're in the prime of your life, so why not look the part?…

Darling, you're skin and bones. You look gaunt, not fit. I agree with you needing professional help, a nutritionist and definitely a medical checkup. You may "feel" fine, but please go make sure that you actually are fine because our feelings can betray us. I don't know what you're trying to do to your body but it's going…