Day 1 of Lifting Like a Girl!

Well not really day 1 as this was sort of playing at it.

I used an old barbell workout program for girils I found on pinterest which I had used before with low weights and I used heavier weights.

Understanding the weight you should lift as a beginner

This for me, was about seeing what weight I should start with. As a beginner nobody tells you how much you should be lifting (especially as a woman). So you have to use a little trial and error to be honest.

The workout I did is below but I did all the exercises from workout 1 and 2 today 5 (exercises) x 5 (reps) x 5 (sets).

https://www.behance.net/gallery/A-Visual-Guide-To-StrongLifts-5x5/7569641

I started off with the 15 barbell. I did the first set easily so I knew straight away that this was too light. I tentatively crept back into the men’s side of the gym to get the next weight up (17.5) and scurried back to my safe side of the gym!

The 17.5 was better but still not enough of a challenge, I again completed the whole set easily. I couldn’t face going back to the scary side of the gym so instead I carried on with the 17.5 but rather than doing 5 reps of each exercise per set, I upped it to 8.

The last set was really hard but still doable.

So I know I need to up the weight quite a bit next time in order to feel close to failure on the last rep of each exercise. The flip side of this is that I am currently using the readymade barbells, but they only go up to 20, so if I’m going up to 22.5 or 25 then it means I need to use the proper weights with a bar and separate weights.

Before starting weight lifting - be prepared

My learnings from today:

• I am massively intimidated by the men’s free-weights side of the gym. I am quite a confident person ordinarily, but in this situation I’m not. I need to get over that!
• This workout program is going to give me a good idea of the weights I need to use and I did build up a sweat, but it’s not enough to get me to where I want to go, so I need to look at a more intensive program like http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-ultimate-female-training-guide.html or http://www.niashanks.com/womens-beginner-strength-training-guide-lift-like-a-girl/ 
• To do some of the exercises in that program I need to learn how to use some of the equipment in the gym which I don’t usually venture near. For example, I would like to do pull-ups but I don’t think I would even be able to do one currently. I need to get someone to show me the pull up machine initially whilst I build my strength up and also show me correct form for the exercises. That means booking a program and telling someone that I am going to start lifting weights. That’s a bit scary!

Daily goals for a healthier life

Aims today:

1. Drink two litres of water (not including the water in the gym)
2. Only eat the food I brought with me to work – no cheating (that is 3 mini paleo quiches with an almond flour crust, a banana, 10 almonds, a tuna salad for lunch)
3. Do a weights day at the gym

Happy lifting :)
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