I’m always excited to see when you post a comment because I know there is going to be great information. The advice on weight and reps is very much needed. I increased to 65lbs and even though I couldn’t do 12 I was still pumped that I did 6. I am going to have bad and good days but I see the progress. Thank you very much for being supportive and motivating to me!
You are most welcome. I love lifting, I love to share my experience with lifting, and I love to see other people have success with lifting.
Be pumped. You did good work today. Try to do better work tomorrow.
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I have been avoiding my log for a couple of days…
I wasn’t sure what leg exercises my trainer had me do Friday night so I was waiting to post. He had me do a lot and I was like jello after and the next day as well! I haven’t felt that sore in a very long time but it was good stuff 
Today was a rest day because I’ve been fighting a sore throat and it caught up to me hardcore this morning. I’m going to see how I feel tomorrow but doing some kind of workout regardless.
Work or exercises?
How’s that sore throat?
Fantastic advice.
If only everyone would take this to heart.
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@MarkKO …I apologize but am not completely sure what you mean. He had me do different lunges, goblet squats, split jumps, and other things that I need to figure out terminology on. All I know is it was a lot and an ass kicking workout.
My throat is still pretty sore this morning but I’m giving it a little time to see if it’s just allergies. Thank you for asking 
Is yours feeling any better?
@ActivitiesGuy …I couldn’t agree with you more!! @twojarslave gives me great advice all the time. Even something simple gives me an encouraging push to want more. Much appreciated!!
@countrygirl2016 you answered my question anyway. He had you do lots of different things, which of course as a lot of work. I’m always curious why trainers often seem to think it is a good idea to have their clients do many different exercises. I guess I’m the opposite, I always figure it’s better to get good at a select group of exercises before exploring new ones if you need to. But, that’s just my opinion and based on my view of training as something done to improve performance. I don’t care about training being fun or interesting.
Throat still hurts, found NSAIDs help though. I’ll see a doctor tomorrow. I’d go today but I don’t want to miss deadlifts and apart from the pain I feel fine.
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I don’t care about training being fun either. It’s only an hour and I can suck it up for that long. I am not sure how I should be training but I definitely feel the pain. There is a big mix of different exercises and names!!! I try to remember everything but my main concern is doing it correctly. Do you have any core recommendations? I want to hit it harder for sure.
I left work early today and probably doctor tomorrow if I’m not any better. Let me know what the doctor says for you if you go.
So the shake getting better in your opinion?
Heavy weight is a relative term for each person…as long as your seeing improvement then take pride in it.
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My shake has been doing a lot better when I focus less on the problem and more on my grip and shoulders!! I still have hand tremors but not like I’m running a jackhammer like before. I’m thankful that I can increase my weights because of the control. Thank you for asking.
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I think the best way to pick what tools you use is to decide what you want to build - in other words train to achieve your goals, so it’s pretty essential to have definite goals, with little benchmarks to hit along the way.
IMO a good rule thumb is to do some kind of squat, some kind of press, some kind of hip hinge (deadlift if possible) and plenty of row variations. Carrying things and walking around can be excellent too.
The second step is to pick what assistance work you do: these exercises are chosen based on what will help drive the main movement and keep you balanced and healthy. They are much, much less important. Pick two or three for each main exercise.
For example, let’s say you pick the front squat for your squat. That’s your main movement. Then you pick some assistance work: lunges, GHR and back raises. In terms of priority, the front squat is in first place. That’s the one thing you focus on, and the one you want to add weight or reps to. The lunges, GHR and back extensions are only there to help you front squat better. You don’t care too much if you’re adding weight or reps to those, as long as you are improving your front squat.
I hope that makes sense.
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This is great advice. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with anything you’re doing now. I did a lot of light dumbbell and machine work for months before I ever started playing around with barbells. You’re even ahead of me as a beginner, because you’re already squatting.
I started playing around with barbells because I thought about my goals and I thought about what I wanted to get out of my time in the gym. I reckoned that if I was going to go, and I was going to be consistent, I wanted to make sure I was lifting in an efficient and effective way to build as much muscle as possible, given my time constraints. That’s when I ditched the leg extension and started to figure out how to squat with a bar on my back.
Like MarkKO said, compound lifting - squatting, deadlifting, pressing and pulling - is generally considered to be one of the best ways for lifters, especially beginning lifters, to get stronger and add muscular bodyweight efficiently. I should definitely do more loaded carries too, but I’m not right now. I have in the past.
But I still believe that the best lifting is the lifting that you do. If the challenge of compound lifts does not appeal to you, embrace another challenge.
I’ll also encourage you to think about a more specific goal. “Tone” is probably a common goal for many women, but think about what you really mean by that.
There are two things we can all do to favorably change our body composition. Gain muscle and lose fat. That’s it, unless you are interested in surgery. You can’t really “tone” a muscle. You can make it larger and you can make it stronger. You can reveal more of it by shedding bodyfat. You can improve your conditioning, which will almost certainly result in shed bodyfat. You can eat foods that will support all of these goals as well. You can do nothing at all besides eat very well and still lose fat. Plenty of tools in the toolbox.
It all depends on what you want to do. So think about what you really want. Do you want to hit a certain bodyweight? Certain numbers on certain lifts? Add muscle mass? Lose fat? Once you really nail down what you want to do, you will be in a much better position to take advantage of all of the articles, collective knowledge and support that can be found on this website.
Knowing exactly what you want to do allows you to be more certain that you are taking the right steps to meet your goals.
That’s my $0.02.
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AWESOME 
Alright so I need to have specific goals throughout the whole process not just the big picture of more muscle tone. That makes sense and will push me harder.
Do a few things and not a whole menu. When I do squat, press, hinge, rows, do I still bounce back and forth between sets? That’s what I’m doing now but it’s a ton of things in that hour. Also, When it comes to carrying do I just get heavy weights and start walking?
Your example was wonderful and much needed. I’m pretty sure I get the idea of where I need to go. I’m thinking as cheesy as it sounds about making a workout calendar for the week. I need structure!
It’s crazy how the simplest things have not even crossed my mind!! What your saying is also completely outstanding advice and you can give it anytime. I need to read articles and come up with my personal goals throughout. Honestly it is a little overwhelming not being familiar with lifting and putting a goal on it. I want it to be realistic but makes me work for it. I’ll see what I can come up with and post it. I know weight loss wouldn’t hurt even though people say I’m in shape I’m not where I want to be. Thank you very much!!
And yet another has fallen victim to the addiction of weightlifting. 
Keep up the good work and enjoy the journey!
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I am loving my new addiction before I would get off work and feel exhausted. Now I immediately take my booty to the gym and get freakin high off the energy!! It’s a great feeling to be proud of yourself. I look forward to learning new advice from everyone and eventually hope to show off my progress. Thank you for the support!!
I think being honest with yourself like this is a big advantage!
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The doctor I saw (who ironically lifts competitively) had me take today off work and get some rest. I am starting to feel like myself again but am going crazy doing nothing. I decided to meal prep for the rest of the week and read articles onT-nation. I have been learning an outstanding amount of information and feel I have a better understanding of lifting. I found out the correct time to increase my weights and also new techniques. This is a pretty badass website!! I may not be able to go hard today but will do some exercise tonight to feed the addiction. Thank you to those who wrote the articles and those with descriptive logs… I took many notes 
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This is a good thing. It is very helpful to find a medical professional that is understanding of your goals.
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I agree… I forgot to mention female competitor in her 50’s. She looked 35 and amazing! I didn’t know there were females in my area doing this. She said her and some other ladies do it at a huge home gym they put together.