DaniH826 Member

I would have probably had to step out because giving an incredulous stare followed by busting out in hysterical laughter in a customer's face would be considered highly unprofessional.

I'm definitely going to get and do BB. I do have dumbbells that go up to 35 lbs and so I might shell out the extra few bucks for (S)Hero just as a long-term thing. I did a few sets of dumbbell rows with 25 lbs yesterday and those felt pretty badass compared to my tenners, so I'm definitely hooked on heavy dumbbell work…

The only reason to even hold your breath would be the Valsalva maneuver, which pumps air into your tummy and helps you stabilize your core. Otherwise, holding your breath does absolutely nothing and isn't anything magical that's required for lifting. You can just as well inhale during the descent and exhale during the…

I did OHP 3 times a week for a long time and didn't seem any worse off for it. A typical workout for me would be squat, bench, deadlift, then OHP. Or squat, bench, power clean, row, then OHP. The Stronglifts police will not come after you if you OHP more than "you're supposed to" per some spread sheet. It's a fabulous…

Well, I'm being told by a local coach that numbers are irrelevant. I gave him my piddly numbers, and he says I should sign up for our PL meet and go for it anyway. The association that is doing our women's meet in September really just encourages any female of any age to grab a barbell, start lifting, and get into the…

Show-off. :huh: Also, CONGRATS!!! :drinker: Great numbers! @Vegas -- Nia Shanks is still rolling around in my brain, and when I get a free second I'm going to make a decision on which program I want to buy, and then go for it. But, I've spent last week grieving, and this week getting a home business out of the starting…

I'm at 85 for squats and 70 for benches, and so that's pretty close for me too. I have/had a pretty weak core that I've had to let catch up. It'll happen when it'll happen. Always choose form over added weight. The weight will eventually add itself anyway as long as you make sure to progress upwards regularly. I don't…

You can either let your insecurity pin you in a corner, or you can pick up a barbell and just go for it and adjust as you go. The best program is one that you actually do. and stick with. I lift from home and made Rippetoe my personal couch. I devoured his book and videos and am constantly rechecking my form by using the…

It's totally normal. Put the scale away and focus on weight progression on the bar, not on the scale. Weigh in every few weeks, because the weight fluctuations that come with weight training due to glycogen/water storage and so forth, will make you crazy otherwise ... My scale is in my closet now. I go by how my clothes…

Yea one barbell is usually much easier than 2 dumbbells of the same weight, because you have to do additional balancing with dumbbells, plus the even weight distribution and having less to think about and focus on just makes the bar a whole lot easier (in my opinion). Choose free weights over machines would be my personal…

You guys are too fricken cute.

Fixed for the ladies. :happy: Couldn't agree more. :drinker: I was at a power lifting meet recently and watched a 60-some-year-old gentleman deadlift over 600 pounds. Unreal.

I think VegasBaby used a couple trash cans for a "squat rack" or somesuch. I used to prop my bar on recycling bins when I first started. Who cares? At the lower weights, it doesn't really matter. If you're lifting from home, get creative. Pick something stable that you can lay the bar across, load it up with some weights,…

Took a week-long break due to some personal stuff, got back to lifting yesterday and am definitely feeling it today. Onward and upward! Welcome to the newcomers!

I think you should do whatever isn't going to burn you out and make you quit. Stronglifts may be too aggressive for you; it may not. You won't know until you try it. If you love Zumba, stick with it, but you should definitely do some sort of heavy lifting/resistance program to gain strength and prevent injury and health…

It really depends. You could do some cardio-based stuff on Saturdays like interval training for endurance purposes and so on, and that would be completely fine, as long as it's not heavy lifting aimed towards strength gains, because your muscles and nervous system do need that 48 hour period to adapt to the stressors you…

Yep. Everybody assumes our set is my husband's. Nope, not so much. Step aside boys, it's my lady lair! :drinker:

Hey, I know the feeling. It's quite exciting, isn't it?

You want to mimic the height of a 45 plate on the bar, so roughly 8.5 inches (ish) or 22 cm (ish). The idea is that when rowing with the 45 lb (20 kg) plates, you shouldn't need to prop up anything but just rest the bar with the large plates on the floor. The standard 25 kg Olympic plates are supposed to be 450 mm in…

You can absolutely squat further down, or even stand further upright, and as long as you keep your back straight, they're still all barbell rows and will still work your upper body. But unless your upper body is parallel to the floor, you wouldn't be doing Pendlays and you wouldn't be working the specific muscles that the…

Well if that's what you believe, then I've got you all fooled, especially the "kind" part. :laugh:

They definitely look like standard weights to me, so my guess is that the bar is also going to be standard, even though he's calling it "Olympic". Which is fine, as long as it's what you want and you're willing to deal with it. $750 is really not that bad of a price for what you're getting. But what you're not getting, is…

I've never even done Stronglifts and they keep me around, so I'm pretty sure you're safe. :laugh:

^^ What she said. Also, congratulate yourself for those 55 lbs and don't sweat it. Because you're completely normal, and the secret you're asking for doesn't exist. As a woman, you will usually fail on the OHP first, and you will progress on it the slowest. That means keep doing what you're doing, make sure your form is…

You're welcome. Power cages are a lot cheaper than Smith machines anyway, and much more functional. For what they spent on that Smith machine, they could probably have purchased several power cages, plus bars, plus plates, plus benches, plus dumbbells plus kettlebells, and etc., and kept a lot of people busy at the same…

The benefits of barbell squats are immense, and your gym should get rid of the Smith machine immediately, It ruins people's form, forces them into an unnatural movement pattern and creates more problems than it solves. Replace that thing with a squat rack, like, yesterday. When squatting you're moving a weight through…

My bum has definitely scooched up some. Which at 45 makes me happy. Better than the other way, I say! :drinker:

Y'all's numbers are making my head spin! Awesomeness all around!! :flowerforyou:

"Hypertrophied" basically means "overgrown". It means the big, bulky muscles that body builders work for. There's a lot of women body builders out there that like bigger muscles on themselves also. But,a lot of that isn't achieved with weight training alone. At some point, to look "big" as a woman, you have to consider…

Generally speaking, high weight/low reps gets you stronger (1-6) Moderate weight/median rep range gets you hypertrophied, and it's what bodybuilders do (6-12 reps) Lighter weight/higher rep range gets you endurance (12 reps and above). You can of course switch things around and combine them, but unless you focus on one,…