Hello y’all. I am taking a break in the midst of my workout and thought to write this post. I recently increased the weight of the two dumbbells I’m using, so now both of them are 6kg.
I definitely notice the difference from 5kg each, and even though I can’t finish all of my workouts because of exhaustion, I don’t want to beat myself up too much over it. I’m getting stronger each time I workout, and eventually I’ll be able to finish them all fully.
Anyway, I’ve been strength training for a few weeks now and I notice a difference. Maybe it’s delusion or wishful thinking, but I like my body better now, I feel stronger and more energetic. I’ve been thinking about picking up boxing as well, and my dad just ordered one of those big boxing sacs that you punch (like you see frustrated husbands doing in shows), so that’s fun.
Y’all got any exercise stories to share or advice for beginners like myself? Any other women in here who strength train? Would be fun to hear from y’all, no matter who you are. (: Cheers!
Biggest advice I have is, NEVER feel bad about cutting exercise short if something feels off or too sore/tight. Not only does it generally help to keep motivation up when a “lazy” day isn’t a big negative on the track record, but staying healthy is unironically the best way to keep up an exercise regiment.
Getting laid up for a few weeks or getting hurt will have a WAY bigger impact than even skipping entire exercises on a day. It’s also really important not to rush back in to exercising too hard when recovering. Especially when you get older and older.
Also if you ever pause or stop for a while, go really easy when getting back in to it!! I’ve hurt myself several times, and it’s basically always been trying to rush back to where I was. (or simply pushing too hard on things that don’t even need a spotter). Let slow aches heal even if it makes a whole lazy week. Some athletes let minor injuries go for months and keep playing until one day the muscle/tendon/bone finally just gives, and now they have a major injury from something minor.
I utterly cooked my forearms and couldn’t work out for six months simply because I somehow managed to push them really hard without feeling it in the moment, once, during one day of exercising. Like my pain receptors were just turned off. No noises or creaks or pain or anything. The muscles did it, without slowing down much at all, but it was like those stories of big adrenaline rushes: They do something crazy like lift a car, and are literally disabled for months after. Felt like my elbows were being torn in half with minimal strain after for over six months. (could be some arthritic condition showing up, but interesting that it’d be right after straining the area a ton).
Also stretches! For similar reasons. More than being flexible, it helps prevent injuries.
Thanks for the advice! I agree, that you should definitely take it slow when reintroducing yourself to an exercise. I have a bad habit of rushing things and wanting to see change immediately, but this time around I make sure I stay patient until the results slowly start showing. It’s enough that I feel physically good to know that my exercise routines have at least some impact.
I would like to start weight training at home and have no idea where to begin. Do you have a particular routine? Do you have any advice?
Keep in mind I’m also a beginner, so I’m sure there are people here with better advice than mine. But I would say, start out light with a weight you know you’ll be able to handle. Gradually work your way up to heavier weights, heavy enough to keep you sweaty but not so heavy that you can barely lift them at all.
I have made up a simple routine, where I do different exercises every second day to keep the variation. I start out with squats (both with and without a dumbbell), train my biceps and triceps, throw in reverse crunches in every session, and usually I end my routine with hip thrusts or goblet squats. I made this routine up on my own, aka I don’t pay for any subscription or something like that. Definitely research what exercises stimulate the body in the best way, but I can say with some certainty that squats never hurt.
Dumbbells and a bench/couch you can beat up go a loooong way. The “adjustable” dumbbell weights with the plates can be a big cost/space saver, too.
Otherwise, start slow and easy and slowly build up a routine you like. Learn new exercises when you can, and slowly flesh out your routine so it’s whole-body over the cycle.
Personally, I do pushers one day, pullers the next day, leg day, and core/cardio day, then repeat ad. infinitum. It’s mostly broken up so that only one “side” of a movement gets sore at a time. Makes going through the day to day stuff a lot easier when at least some muscles for any given normal motion aren’t sore! (although nothing makes a sore core less sucky to deal with!)
Also stretching is way easier/less painful when only one side is ornery if you overdid something.
Me ✋ I’ve been lifting for a year now, so idk how qualified I am to offer advice, but I’ll say don’t lift in running shoes, the barbell is easier to lift than it may seem, and consistency is king. Oh, and make sure you sleep and eat enough. I have noticeable biceps and my forearms no longer fit into my fav shirt… but nobody notices my arm gains because of my boobs lol
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Thanks! You know, sometimes I feel a bit demotivated seeing when people are able to lift 80+kg, I don’t know how they do it haha. Maybe I’ll get there someday, though I doubt I’ll be able to lift two 40kg dumbbells lmao.
How long have you been strength training? Have you learned some stuff over the course that you probably should’ve known at the beginning?
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Related - are there any active lifting communities on Lemmy? I think I signed up to a couple a while back but haven’t seen a single post. Looking at these comments, it looks like we have a number of people interested in the topic.
If you want free training programs: liftvault.com
Keep it up! My wife’s been power lifting for years and she’s still improving just through consistency (also there are things you can do once you hit plateaus but you’re quite a bit away from that for now).
