Are there any weight lifters out there?

[sleeping queen]

Howdy,

My favorite form of exercise is lifting wieghts second is walking. I've tried pilates, but was bored, I'm not coordinated enough for aerobics. Anybody else like to do this form of exercise?

[Nathan1097]

I used to. I was doing the whole weight circuit for months, but now I'm doing judo and dont' seem to need the weight training. I was worried I wouldn't work all the muscles, but never fear- they all get worked (and then some!)

[Millie Ivy]

I have been for a few months and love it!!! I am considering quitting the gym and doing my own thing tho. I am on a tight budget as it is.

I am wanting to get into some type of martial arts/self defense or something like that, also!!!


Back to weights tho, I couldn't believe the difference in the way my body looks after a few weeks of regular weights! I lost 4 inches in a little over a month!

[SpiralChrissy]

Bella-
I quit my gym cause of $$ this week!
I'm going to try and do my own thing. I'm afaid I'll slip up!
But, I decided if I didn't go to the gym and I worked out myself, I could afford to go get a massage once in awhile!
Since it's warm, I think I can do it with walking, biking, yoga tapes and weight lifting.
Thanks to y'all for the weightlifting stories. I just started 2 weeks ago on light little weights. It helps to hear from others that it actually works!
Chrissy

[Millie Ivy]

I hear ya Spiral!!! The gym was great for cooler months when I couldn't get outside with the kids, but they love going for walks and they are getting to the ages that playing with them is much more of a workout anyway. One thing is I need to get some stuff for the house, like a balance ball, heavier weights, a new yoga mat, etc. Well, as long as I have the gym membership, I can't afford to branch out and do anything else!!!


So maybe I will rejoin in the winter, exept by then, my mom is getting a treadmill, yay! (I am a divorced mama living back at home)

So maybe we can have a support thread for "gym addicts anonymous"???:LOL

[Nathan1097]

Hey. I'm doing the same thing- newly divorced with kids back living with my mom! Its a strange place to be, but better than on welfare.... I'm back in school now too and if I can pull it off, I'm gonna get my first 4.0 report card!

[peacepie]

i started a few months ago, at home, the wieghts were cheap enough and theres so many excercises on line. i would love to have the influence of a personal trainer though! i'm sure my workouts would be more efficient.
however i do have some definete muscles in my arms and legs that werent there before. it is so exciting! i remember when i was in highschool and had acess to a wieght bench etc it was way more of a rush. i havent gotten to that level yet.
and my tummy is still so flabby its discouraging!! i've been doing 'the plank' more and looking for different excercises for the lower tummy. those muscles are there!
whats your favourite wieght escercise, do you just use the hand held ones, are you on 5 pound or higher? i was using 10 pd for my bicep curl but thought my arms were looking a bit bulky on the inside so i use a 5 for each 3 sets of twelve, every other day. sometimes i miss a day if i'm sore. i've just started wearing ankle wieghts too, for my side kicks etc.
are you doing cardio as well, to burn wieght?
keep it up, those muscles love it.

[Worldshakerz]

I love wieght training! I think it really is the ideal exercise for my body. Back when I was 19 I went to the gym five days a week..it was awesome. I was in such good shape then. That was almost 8 years ago now.

I just started doing weights again, here at home. My husband just today coached me through a whole work out with free weights. The work out consists of three triads (set of three exercises). I did two sets of each triad. I feel great...got that wobbly rubber feeling in my arms and legs but its a good sign!

[Millie Ivy]

Jennie, small world eh? I love bring back at home but it does have it's trials, right? I am not in school, my mom and sister and I have a store that we all run together so we all keep pretty busy. Nice thing is that between the three of us, my dad, my ex and friends, the kids never have been in daycare!!! pm me if you ever want to chat and share the single mama love!lol


peacepie, I like to read fitness mags and do the workouts out of them, Shape especially. I was doing a really intense weight lifting workout from the (I think?) March issue. I was doing Smith machine squats and chest presses with 10-15 added lbs, rows with 45, lunges with 10 lbs each hand, back extension with 25 lb plate, tricep cable pushdowns at 55lbs, biceps (concentration curl) at 15 lbs. and abs. plus some cardio, but I am not really trying to lose weight so i get quite enough cardio running after the kids and going on walks with the stroller!!! Sorry for the epic.....
I took off a week because we all had the flu but I will do the same workout for a couple more weeks before I quit the gym, then my body will need a break and I will do something lighter and more...... stretchy......


And seriously, I have solid abs and am at a healthy weight with a low body fat % and still have the post baby skin flap. There is a certain amount that is just stretched skin that only time will tighten. Mine has tightened quite a bit in the past year alerady but I still have it. Strengthen your core. I also am taking extra vit c and flax.borage oil for my skin and that has really brought on a difference in the past 3 months alone!


Sorry if any of this has been unintelligible, I am about to go to bed and I am exhausted!!!!

[sleeping queen]

Right now I'm doing the workout from Body for LIfe by Bill Philips. I only lift three days a week doing upper body one day and lower body the next alternating them. I've never been able to eat the six meals a day like he suggests. I don't seem to be hungry enough.

[kerikadi]

Hi there! I am a nationally certified personal trainer and I definitely prefer lifting to everything else. I love the idea of yoga but it is so damn boring, I can't get into pilates either :
I go to our local YMCA 3-4 days a week. I do cardio on the stairmaster my weight routine - back & bi's, chest & tri's or legs & shoulders and then more cardio on the eliptical trainer. I've lost 4 pounds in the last couple of weeks which doesn't seem like a lot but I am nursing two I'd like to lose another 6 pounds before my 35th birthday on 5/20

Keri

[FitnessMom]

I love to lift weights. I am currently lifting about 4x/ week. I am on a 3 day split. Day 1- back and biceps, day 2- chest and triceps, and day 3-shoulders and legs. I have been lifting seriously for about a year and a half, though I have dabbled in it for about 10 years. The 10 year gap between my children occurred because I went to university to learn more about fitness. I started university when my ds was in kindergarten, and I earned a B.Sc. in Health and Exercise Physiology. I also have a Resistance Training Specialty certification (AFLCA) and I am working towards becoming a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach through the NSCA.

I love learning about fitness. I make it my mission to try a new exercise at least once a week. I am having alot of fun developing a Strollercise class and a Baby and Me fitness class that I will be teaching at the gym where I am working, and at my local community center. I am so excited my first strollercise class begins on May 17th

ETA- I am currently in the process of losing weight. Last fall, I decided to eat more and add alot more muscle. Well, I did put on about 5 pounds of muscle(according to my fitness assesments), but I also put on about 10 pounds of fat . It is coming off so slow I wasn't really lean to begin with as I still had to shed some weight from my pregnancy.

Since the weather has been nice the last couple of weeks, I have been riding my bike to work(15 km one way), and going for walks on my days off. I actually hate doing cardio for the sake of doing cardio. Riding my bike is easy(even though it is almost all uphill) because it has a purpose, getting me to work :LOL : When I do cardio at work on my break, I do exactly 20 minutes on the v-bike or the elliptical ( I actually really like that machine -I just started using it about a month ago!!

[Levi's Mom]

I love free weights! My husband and I have a (very) mini gym in our basement. I'm trying to work out 5 days a week, but haven't lost any weight. I've been working out almost full-time for 2.5 mos., I took 2 weeks off after I broke my toe.

Here's my routine:
Monday & Thursday: Chest, shoulders, tri's - 20 mins of Pilates - 15 min elliprical trainer
Tuesday & Friday: Legs, back ,and bi's - 20 mins of Pilates - 15 min elliptical
Wednesday: 20 mins elliptical, 20 min Pilates.

I know I should do more ellip., but can't seem to get into it. I would love a treadmill, but to much $$.

I miss the gym, my favorite move was the cable row, loved the way it made me feel. I try to do it with a band, doesn't feel the same.

I can't get into bicep curls, any motivational advice? I tried pullups, but my wrists started to ache (I was a massage therapist for 5 years and I think I have a touch of carpal tunnel.)




Sarah

[Benjismom]

I am just getting back into weight training. When I have a hard time getting to the gym I try to do isometric exercises like pushups and tricep dips. I build muscle really quickly, but I don't mind.

Beth, Mom to Benji and Maggie

[sleeping queen]

I see we have some professionals here. I'm going to be 41 this year. Do you think I need to do anything different with my weighttraining than I did when I was in my 20's? Do I need to do more cardio. I walk three times a week pushing my twins in their stroller. That definitely adds resistance to my walk.

[IslandMamma]

Well hot dang, Laura, we have something in common! I also like lifting weights. Before the nursling came along, I was a fanatical rock climber and mountaineer, and lifted several times a week in training. Let's just suffice it to say I'm a bit out of the old routine now..

It's been hard enough getting any cardio, let alone lifting. I've tried yoga, too, but decided kickboxing was a lot more fun!

SQ and I have been known to do a little fencing over in activism..:

Benjismom, I also build muscle quickly. I used to be pretty self-conscious about being muscularly developed, but now (what I have left of it) I love it.... It feels beautiful to be strong.

[sleeping queen]

IslandMamma . I wish I looked more muscular. I'm tall and slim and it is really hard for me to add muscle. When I was young I was fairly strong I could bench, squat, and deadlift well over 100lbs on each of those exercises and still didn't really look muscular:

[Greaseball]

I did a search and found this thread...

I'm one of those people who "used to be" a lot more into weightlifting...it's my favorite form of exercise. Pretty much the only thing I can tolerate besides walking and biking - I'm antisocial and afraid of balls, so that leaves out all team sports, pretty much!

Since I can't lift anywhere near what I used to, I'm just doing things with 5 and 10 lb dumbbells at home. I don't really have the time or money to go to a gym now and I can do just about everything at home that I could there. My goal is to have huge freakish bulging biceps.

I'm also trying to replace all the strength I lost through 2 pregnancies of not lifting. I used to be able to do 50 pushups; now I can barely do 5. So every day I do what I can.

Does anyone use supplements? I'm talking stuff that's legal and stimulant-free. I've tried various protein concoctions but they taste so bad I can't get them down.

[thistle]

Weightlifting is by far my fave too. I am starting the Body for Life by Bill Phillips 12 week program on Monday. I am really looking forward to it. Even though our budget is really tight I am going to buy a weight set. A gym is defintely out of the budget right now!

If I get brave I will post my pics after 12 weeks.

thistle

[sleeping queen]

Thistle, would you be interested in a cyber partner. I have the book but I havent followed through ever with the 12 weeks. I do much better when I have a accountablility partner.