You Gotta Start Somewhere... Log

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerful Women
1

A few weeks ago I posted with some questions, and many thanks for your kind and excellent answers.

A recap–I have not lifted consistently since high school, lo these many years ago. I am now in a quest to improve my health after a series of traumas–losing my hsuband after a two year long battle with a particularly nasty cancer, resultant financial meltdown due to the above, ACL/cadaver graft replacement in October, almost losing my life to pulmonary embolism after surgery, an unexpected move to a new home 80 miles away. I put on a lot of weight, and got quite out of shape through this all.

I am ready to begin my new life, to emerge from the cocoon of the past, hence my user name. I have the very great fortune to have a live-in personal trainer at my disposal, as well as a professional level gym onsite.

After much aggravation with a move that took way too long, I FINALLY had my first training session in the gym last night!

I hesitate to post my pathetic numbers, but everyone has to start somewhere. I have been maniacally reading all of the threads here in this forum, and you are all so helpful to one another, including judicious kicks in the butt when warranted.

Feel free to laugh at me behind my back, but try to be kind :wink:

Last night we trained chest and arms. My upper body strength is pathetic. My boyfriend/trainer has a 71 year old mother who can outbench me! As I said, you need to start somewhere. These numbers are from memory so I might get them wrong.

–10 min warm up, treadmill. I was pleased my lungs did not give me trouble. The embolism (I call her Nelly) still sits in the middle of my chest, extending into both lungs.
–BP–I am still learning technique, so we kept the weights pretty low. 45 x 8; 55 x 8; 65 x 8; 65 x 8.
–Incline BP–my technique on this really sucks, but I am learning! 45 x 8; 55 x 8; 55 x 8 I think that is all…
–dumbell curls–10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 8.
–Hammer curls–15 x 10; 15 x 10; 20 x 10.

I think that is all…our training session was quite a circus last night. We had an audience that consisted of my Great Dane, BF’s Chihuaha, BF’s mom, and a neighbor man who dropped in with his lab cross…my Great Dane is such a big wimp, he kept trying to sit on my lap whenever I sat still.

I will get brave and have BF take some pics of me in my current appalling state, and maybe once I lose some weight and put on some muscle I will be brave enough to post them. Though I just might make someone go blind from the horror…

I do not have any specific goals right now, other than to start being active and start eating better. I know that BF has more specific goals for me, and plans to add exercises each week, and have specific activities slated for each day of the week.

2

Hi, and welcome!
I’m a newbie myself & I’ll leave the advice to more experienced folks, but let me at least say I admire your courage. You’re doing something remarkable.

3

[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Hi, and welcome!
I’m a newbie myself & I’ll leave the advice to more experienced folks, but let me at least say I admire your courage. You’re doing something remarkable.[/quote]

thanks for your kind words, Alisa! I do not know about courage, but I am willing to give it my all.

Tonight was another 10 min on the treadmill to warm up, then my vpt (very personal trainer, lol) had me try some squatting, no weight, just to get a feel for the form. I suck! Hehe. Seriously, I could really feel it in the knees. He had me try the stance and squatting about a dozen times, then decided to have me do some deadlifts.

Again, we were working more on form than anything else. He had me try both sumo and conventional styles. The sumo style was much more natural for me. I could not seem to get my heels back with conventional style, and the weight seemed much heavier. It was only 75 lbs. It did not feel heavy, but I struggled to keep everything in my head each time–head up, heels back, chest forward, etc…VPT is very patient with me. I lost track of how many times we did this–dozens! It makes sense that repetition is the key, to develop muscle memory so I do not have to simultaneously think about everything!

Sadly, I did not do leg presses tonight. I LIKE the leg press. I actually feel like I can DO leg presses.

Whew. Now I am off to check on dinner–surf and turf on the grill, NY strip and salmon. Last week, we were having blizzards, tonight it is warm enough to grill!

4

[quote]Chrysalis wrote:

Last night we trained chest and arms. My upper body strength is pathetic. My boyfriend/trainer has a 71 year old mother who can outbench me! As I said, you need to start somewhere. These numbers are from memory so I might get them wrong.

–10 min warm up, treadmill. I was pleased my lungs did not give me trouble. The embolism (I call her Nelly) still sits in the middle of my chest, extending into both lungs.
–BP–I am still learning technique, so we kept the weights pretty low. 45 x 8; 55 x 8; 65 x 8; 65 x 8.
–Incline BP–my technique on this really sucks, but I am learning! 45 x 8; 55 x 8; 55 x 8 I think that is all…
–dumbell curls–10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 8.
–Hammer curls–15 x 10; 15 x 10; 20 x 10.

[/quote]

Thank you for making my July 2nd, 2008 self feel inadequate. I dug these numbers up for you just so you can see that we all start “somewhere” and that your boyfriend’s 71 year old mother could also out-bench me then. These are from July 2, 2008…

A. Bench Press - 4x5 - 65lbs for all - 75s rest.
B. Push Press - 4x6 - 22.5/22.5/22.5x5 (failed on 6)/20 - 60s rest.
C1. DB Flyes - 3x12 - 10lbs - No rest.
C2. DB Laterals - 3x12 - 7.5lbs - 45s rest.
D. Tricep Pressdown - 2x6/12/25 - 70/35/20lbs - 60s rest.

“Pathetic upper body strength” is all relative. Clearly 9ish months ago, my upper body strength was pathetic and I still think it is. Never being satisfied is how you keep pushing yourself for more. Now I dare you to call your numbers pathetic again - I will kick you in the ass :smiley:

5

thanks so much for taking the time to post, and taking the time to dig up these numbers. Oh, and threatening to kick me in the ass, too! Sometimes a good ass-kicking is what a person needs.

I feel so fortunate that my boyfriend has 25 years of experience he is willing to share, but when he moved 15,000 lbs of weight last night to my 4000 or so…

Not that he makes me feel inadequate, far from it. He tells me how good I am doing, how proud he is, how much he is enjoying having me in the gym with him.

Again, thanks!

6

I like the title of your log. We all sucked at first. I spent months doing cardio and light weight high reps thinking I’d get a smashing hot bod from all that work!
You are lucky to have an experienced teacher and a man to share a common interest with. Good luck with your goals and your new life!

7

[quote]Chrysalis wrote:
AlisaV wrote:
Hi, and welcome!
I’m a newbie myself & I’ll leave the advice to more experienced folks, but let me at least say I admire your courage. You’re doing something remarkable.

thanks for your kind words, Alisa! I do not know about courage, but I am willing to give it my all.

Tonight was another 10 min on the treadmill to warm up, then my vpt (very personal trainer, lol) had me try some squatting, no weight, just to get a feel for the form. I suck! Hehe. Seriously, I could really feel it in the knees. He had me try the stance and squatting about a dozen times, then decided to have me do some deadlifts.

Again, we were working more on form than anything else. He had me try both sumo and conventional styles. The sumo style was much more natural for me. I could not seem to get my heels back with conventional style, and the weight seemed much heavier. It was only 75 lbs. It did not feel heavy, but I struggled to keep everything in my head each time–head up, heels back, chest forward, etc…VPT is very patient with me. I lost track of how many times we did this–dozens! It makes sense that repetition is the key, to develop muscle memory so I do not have to simultaneously think about everything!

Sadly, I did not do leg presses tonight. I LIKE the leg press. I actually feel like I can DO leg presses.

Whew. Now I am off to check on dinner–surf and turf on the grill, NY strip and salmon. Last week, we were having blizzards, tonight it is warm enough to grill!

[/quote]

Welcome to the Iron game! You have been through alot in the past couple of years and stress will take it toll on the body. I am happy that you are going to take it back ;-).

As for your numbers, my daughter once dated a boy that she could out bench – and her bench was only 75 pounds at the time. So, YES we all start some where. It is the starting that counts, the keeping going, the I will survive and live no matter what, that counts. You have that, you have continued to thrive…through it all. Don’t forget that part. What you are doing is nothing short of heroic. Many people would have just stopped living, given up, when faced with all that you have been in such a short amount of time. But you did not! Bravo!!!

Now, as for having a difficult time with squats and deadlifts – could it be your flexibility? Just a thought that you might need to add is some stretching, maybe try some plates under your heels until you are flexible enough to go down as well. :wink:

Malinda

8

Welcome to the forums. Like you have stated and everyone else has agreed with, we all start somewhere. I’m looking at your dumbell incline presses thinking “I hate you”. Like Court, my upper body remains a challenge.

The key is to keep doing what your doing regardless of whether you think you’re a star or not.

I can’t tell you the number of men I’ve heard say they’d like to compete (for instance) but wouldn’t because they wouldn’t get a medal based on what other people are lifting. Personally I find that pretty weak minded.

Based on what else you’ve written, you seem to have enough mental strength to do whatever you desire.

9

[quote]dianab wrote:
I like the title of your log. We all sucked at first. I spent months doing cardio and light weight high reps thinking I’d get a smashing hot bod from all that work!
You are lucky to have an experienced teacher and a man to share a common interest with. Good luck with your goals and your new life![/quote]

Thanks,Diana! I have read your log, too, or at least part of it. I really love the camaderie on this forum, and how willing everyone is to be supportive and encouraging, and deliver a good ass-kicking when necessary!

Heh, at 43, and two babies later (the “babies” are 25 and almost 22 now :0) “smashing hot bod” is not one of my goals. Fit and healthy…yes. I do like cardio activities, and I LOVE hiking. Dr cautioned me to be careful with some of the extreme hiking I like to do…not that I am in the shape for that rigt now!

THanks again forthe encouragement!

10

[quote]Firebug9 wrote:
Welcome to the Iron game! You have been through alot in the past couple of years and stress will take it toll on the body. I am happy that you are going to take it back ;-).

As for your numbers, my daughter once dated a boy that she could out bench – and her bench was only 75 pounds at the time. So, YES we all start some where. It is the starting that counts, the keeping going, the I will survive and live no matter what, that counts. You have that, you have continued to thrive…through it all. Don’t forget that part. What you are doing is nothing short of heroic. Many people would have just stopped living, given up, when faced with all that you have been in such a short amount of time. But you did not! Bravo!!!

Now, as for having a difficult time with squats and deadlifts – could it be your flexibility? Just a thought that you might need to add is some stretching, maybe try some plates under your heels until you are flexible enough to go down as well. :wink:

Malinda
[/quote]

Thanks, Malinda. Yes, I doknow that my flexibility sucks bigtime,a nd that has a lot to do with my trouble with squats and deadlifts. A lot of it, too, is a lack of core strength, esp abdominal muscles. It will come along as long as I keep on keeping on!

Thanks for the kudos. I guess it never occurred to me to give up–you just gotta keep on plugging along. Biological imperative.

11

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
Welcome to the forums. Like you have stated and everyone else has agreed with, we all start somewhere. I’m looking at your dumbell incline presses thinking “I hate you”. Like Court, my upper body remains a challenge.

The key is to keep doing what your doing regardless of whether you think you’re a star or not.

I can’t tell you the number of men I’ve heard say they’d like to compete (for instance) but wouldn’t because they wouldn’t get a medal based on what other people are lifting. Personally I find that pretty weak minded.

Based on what else you’ve written, you seem to have enough mental strength to do whatever you desire.[/quote]

Hi, thanks fo the encouragment! THe incline presses were with a bar, not dumbells, if that makes a difference. I do not care about being a star, just doing the best I can, and making myself proud.

I am so proud of bf’s mom, for example. She turned 71 on Thurs, and did her first meet in March. She bench pressed 88 lbs, setting a new record in the state for her age and weight. Awesome! There are SO many benefits to lifting, esp for women.

I am also so lucky that my BF is patient and gentle and willing to share his wealth of knowledge. And also lucky that our gym has only three members, five if you count the dogs;) I can look like a total dork without anyone else seeing, hahaha!

12

A very frustrating day. Today’s task was to move the horses. That is the very last task I have for my move to be completely done.

SInce the horses actually belong to my daughter, I met her and her boyfriend in town, 55 miles south of where I live now. We picked up the trailer, and got it almost all the way to the old place, 25 miles further south. We lost a u-joint, leaving the drive train flapping in the wind.

We found the right parts back in town (GRRRR) and got the thing patched up enough to drive. We then spent an hour trying to catch overexcited horses, and another hour trying to load them into the trailer.

One of my mares is a very large, very tall draft cross. She simply would not fit on the trailer no matter how hard we tried. Frustrated, we put them back in the pasture and will have to try another day.

I am incredibly frustrated.

On a positive note, I got quite a bit of cardio today, got my heart rate up nicely and sweated a ton.

Tomorrow we will get up early and train. BF had to work all day today on his feet and was exhausted.

13

I’m jealous of your horses!!(even if they live far away) Riding was my favorite thing to do growing up.

Happy Easter, and Happy Training!!

14

[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
I’m jealous of your horses!!(even if they live far away) Riding was my favorite thing to do growing up.

Happy Easter, and Happy Training!![/quote]

Happy Easter to you, too. My BF is working today, and my family is 55 miles away. My daughter and her finance might come visit. I am spending the day cooking. Even though it is just the two of us, I am going to make a full Easter dinner. Leftovers are a good thing! I am also making a big pot of meat sauce. Since I have a 55 mile commute each way from work, it is good to have dinners made ahead for the week.

We had a bit of a lazy morning, spent some time in the sunshine walking the dogs. We had an extra today–three dogs, two people, it was a riot. Last night I took all three of them out by myself.

15

After a hiatus of several days due to the last dratted tasks of the move from hell, I was able to get back into the gym today.

I have to work the next two nights, 12-9, so we decided I would do a bit of an overall session tonight, and mostly cardio the next two days.

Warmup, ten minutes on the treadmill.
Leg press (my favorite):
100 x10, 190 x 10, 240 x 10, 300 x 10
I am back to doing what I did before my ACL replacement six months ago.
Bench Press: still working on form.
45 x 10, 55 x 8, 65 x 8, 75 x 5
Felt pretty good-- 75 was pretty heavy!
DL: again, still working on my form. It is coming a little more naturally now, though I still have to think, a LOT.
75 x 10, 75 x 10, 85 x 5, 105 x 6. I had to do an extra one because the fifth one sucked donkey balls, ha.

I need to get some shoes that work for DL. I did it barefoot tonight. Friday, when we go into town, we will look at some heelless shoes.

I also helped load and unload the bars. I can’t lift the 100 lb plates high enough to safely load and unload, so limited myself to the 45’s and below. My boyfriend did the same lifts I did tonight, so we had to load and unload between each other. A bit of a pain, but good practice for me.

I was told I chatter way too much. I guess that means shut up and lift! Ha.

I was also told not to disrespect the plates. It is not like I insulted them…“Hey you weakling plate, your mother is a pie plate…” I assume he means don’t forget how heavy they are and drop them on my foot, or something…let’s just say, Grace is not my middle name.

I had so much fun tonight, spending time with my guy in the gym.

16

No, it means not to disrespect the bar. Like using your foot to move the plates and the bar. LOL!

17

[quote]biggjames wrote:
No, it means not to disrespect the bar. Like using your foot to move the plates and the bar. LOL! [/quote]

Ok, I will remember that, ha.

This morning I took the dogs for a one mile brisk walk, only pausing to do my civic “doody” and pick up after them.

Then a brief session in the gym:
dumbell curls: 10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 6, 20 x 4
The 20s are almost too heavy. I had to pause between the first six and the last four. Apparently we have ordered something called platemates that will allow me to jump less than five pounds. I am such a wimp!
Hammer curls: 10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 10. That is all I had time for, because I have a 60-90 minute commute to work and have to be there at noon. Again, the 20s were a tad heavy, but I managed it. The last one or two were NOT pretty.

18

[quote]Chrysalis wrote:
biggjames wrote:
No, it means not to disrespect the bar. Like using your foot to move the plates and the bar. LOL!

Ok, I will remember that, ha.

This morning I took the dogs for a one mile brisk walk, only pausing to do my civic “doody” and pick up after them.

Then a brief session in the gym:
dumbell curls: 10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 6, 20 x 4
The 20s are almost too heavy. I had to pause between the first six and the last four. Apparently we have ordered something called platemates that will allow me to jump less than five pounds. I am such a wimp!
Hammer curls: 10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 10. That is all I had time for, because I have a 60-90 minute commute to work and have to be there at noon. Again, the 20s were a tad heavy, but I managed it. The last one or two were NOT pretty.[/quote]

I think it’s great if you can get smaller plates. At the pl club I trained at, they had 1 1/4 lb plates. For my bench they were great for small increment increases. In the commercial gym, I sometimes use jogging wrist wraps that weigh 1lb each and wrap them on the bar.

There’s nothing wimpy about smart training :slight_smile:

19

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
Chrysalis wrote:
biggjames wrote:
No, it means not to disrespect the bar. Like using your foot to move the plates and the bar. LOL!

Ok, I will remember that, ha.

This morning I took the dogs for a one mile brisk walk, only pausing to do my civic “doody” and pick up after them.

Then a brief session in the gym:
dumbell curls: 10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 6, 20 x 4
The 20s are almost too heavy. I had to pause between the first six and the last four. Apparently we have ordered something called platemates that will allow me to jump less than five pounds. I am such a wimp!
Hammer curls: 10 x 10, 15 x 10, 20 x 10. That is all I had time for, because I have a 60-90 minute commute to work and have to be there at noon. Again, the 20s were a tad heavy, but I managed it. The last one or two were NOT pretty.

I think it’s great if you can get smaller plates. At the pl club I trained at, they had 1 1/4 lb plates. For my bench they were great for small increment increases. In the commercial gym, I sometimes use jogging wrist wraps that weigh 1lb each and wrap them on the bar.

There’s nothing wimpy about smart training :)[/quote]

Thanks for pointing out I am smart, and not wimpy :slight_smile: I guess these things are magnetic, and stick to the dumbbells.

20

Howdy! Stopping by to say hi.

Your horse story brought back many memories…ones I don’t miss!