Starting at the Gym Pt.2

Let’s cover a few topics that may come up when you start working with weights. These are just a few things that I worried about and what I found out about it.

What to wear:

We have all seen the pictures of the great looking girl in tights and a sports bra rocking the six pack abs and not an ounce of fat. If I put on that outfit I’d look more like the Michelin guy then those women. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but you get the picture.

Most of us are going to the gym because we don’t look that way. So what do we wear?  You need something you can easily move in, that won’t bunch up and get in your way. I started out in athletic shorts, a sports bra, and a T-shirt. Not glamorous but functional. And hey, there are some really fun T-Shirts out there. Just look around and find one that expresses you. Add in Yoga pants for when it’s cool and you are good to go.

This is one of my favorite shirts. Get it here.

Shoes are another issue. When lifting weights, you don’t need the kind of shock absorption that most athletic shoes are made for. You need something flat and solid. The options range from Converse Chuck Taylors to Vibram Five Fingers to bare foot. Personally, I’ve seen it all. I wear a cheap pair of Converse from Target for Squat days and a nice pair of New Balance Minimalists for other days. And of course there are super expensive shoes just for weight lifting, but unless you are competing, don’t bother.

Accessories you might need are a small towel to wipe down and a water bottle to save you from running to the water fountain. Or you could look at those trips across the gym as extra cardio. A timer can really help with rest periods as clocks are usually few and far between. I use an app on my phone that was free. And lastly, have a pen and a clipboard to write on so you can keep track of the amount of weight you used.

The most important thing is do NOT forget to remove your rings. Here is a shot of my hand when I forgot to take off my wedding ring before Chin-ups. Not a pretty sight. Luckily, it healed fairly quick.

Gym Etiquette:

Ok, what are the rules of this place? Because no one wants to look like an idiot stumbling around and making people mad.

1. Put up the weights you have used. Sadly, this is a huge issue in most gyms. People pack eight 45lbs plates on a leg press, do a few reps, and walk away. Leaving the next person (like me) that only needs two 45lbs plates to unload six of them. Not an easy task for most people that are starting out. Since I’m short, I still feel uncomfortable trying to remove plates over my head. If you need to ask for help to remove heavy plates, that’s okay, but DON’T be the person that causes the problem for the next user.

2. Clean up your station. Different gyms have different ways of cleaning, but at least wipe up the sweat with a towel. Nobody wants to lay back in sweat to do some bench presses.

3. It is OK to ask to work your sets in. “Working in", means, if you need a piece of equipment and someone else is using it, that you share time on it. This usually works best when the other user is taking longer breaks. Pull-up bars are a perfect example.

4. Everyone will miss a lift. That is what Safety Bars are for. Even the biggest guy has done the “roll of shame” when trying a squat without a spotter. You need to push yourself and that is what safety equipment is for. Learn how to use it, set it up and don’t feel bad if you need to use it.

5. Music- Feel free to listen to your own; if you don’t like the gym selection. I like to talk with my partner and the other people, so I generally just ignore the music if I don’t like it. If you need it for motivation, plug in the headphones and go for it.


As always, thanks for reading and please come back and share.

Rest Week

It’s been quite for me this week. I’ve taken it off from the gym to give my body a chance to recover. After 16 weeks straight of working out 4 days a week, this old body was starting to complain a bit. An ache here and a strain there were starting to add up to handfuls of Advil. Not good for the liver. So when my husband got a new tattoo and needed to let it heal, we decided to take a week off.

Everyone should work in time for their body to recover and as we get older it may be a bit longer than those 20 year olds. Listen to your body and don’t feel bad when you need to back off a bit. Recovery is how we grow muscle. So if you never rest you can't get stronger. Your days off will benefit you as much as your work days.

Another time to back off would be for illness or a sudden injury.  Or even a big deadline that you have to put time into meeting. Don’t let taking a small break for other things in life ruin your outlook.

I’m not saying it will be easy. I am jonesing to get back in the gym like a crack addict. I’ve had to drop and to push-ups just to not feel so guilty. I know I am not doing anything bad, but breaking my routine is like quitting caffeine when I was pregnant.

Here is a link to an article that probably does a much better job at explaining why you should rest than I do: 

When to take a break?


Just make sure your little break doesn’t turn into a long hiatus. Once you take some down time, it can be easy to start making excuses again. Use the time to do a few things you have put off. Walk your dog more often or just stroll the neighborhood and see what has changed. Clean house even if it is not springtime.

But at the end, get back to the gym. I know I’ll be counting down the days until I see everyone again.

Getting Started at a Gym

Not everyone is ready to walk into a gym and start lifting weights and I’ll address how to get started if you are not in my next post. But once you are I hope this helps to smooth the way.

I know exactly what you are thinking. “I have no idea what to do in the gym!” Well, I’m here to help you. When you walk into the gym you will see all the ladies in the Cardio section. They are walking on the treadmill, watching TV or listening to music. Some are even talking on the phone or reading. The same thing is happening on the elliptical and recline bikes. There is a sense of safeness in that part of the gym. You can head over there and trudge along and no one will look your way. Or there are the classrooms full of Zumba participants that you could hide in the back behind.

Those are the easy options.

The safe options.

Off in the distance is the unknown area of free weights. There are big guys and big dumbbells. Strange looking bars are racked up. There are no women, or very few. Walking over there seems so scary. You don’t want to be laughed at or stared at. But if you want to make huge difference; this is where you need to be. So take a deep breath and walk in. I’ll tell you about my first time.

I had done P90X at home, so I had some idea of using dumbbells, but I had not used a barbell. I had gotten a list of exercises off the internet for beginners that I wrote on notebook paper stolen from my kids. I went over and got a pair of dumbbells and started doing my exercise. I was really self conscious that first time. Glancing in the wall sized mirror, I noticed to my surprise that NO ONE was watching me. Most had headphones in and others were talking with their friends, but no one was really paying attention to me. It was much more anonymous than feared. For the main part, everyone was polite and helpful. Did I get a few odd looks through the weeks? Yes, I did, but no one said anything discouraging.

Let me give you a big hint. The really serious guys, that are lifting crazy weights, are usually the most helpful ones. They understand how hard it is to lift weights and that you are making an effort. Many will be glad to answer questions. If you can take a friend with you, it will be that much easier. And if you can find a gym that caters to the serious lifter, they will be even more help.  Even if you are a beginner, they can show you form and cheer you on.

I’m now going to a gym that focuses on Powerlifting and it’s the most welcoming place I have ever worked out. I don’t bench 340lbs like some of the guys, but they all greet me when I show up and ask how I’m doing. They cheer my PR’s and joke around. It would not matter to them if I was squatting the bar only. They respect my effort and dedication. That is the environment I hope you can all find when you are ready.

Next post I’ll cover where to start if you are not ready to lift weights right off the bat. Then later we will review the equipment at the gym and what it is for.

Work Out of the Day

Here is my workout today. It is mainly accessory work for arms.

Disclaimer: These workouts were designed for me and are not meant to be used by others as they focus on my weaknesses and you each may have different needs.

Mobility Warm Up and Foam Rolling

Bench press:
10 x 73lbs
10 x 73lbs
10 x 73lbs
10 x 73lbs

SuperSet #1

Incline Dumbbell press
10 x 20lbs
10 x 20lbs
10 x 20lbs

Dumbell Curl to Overhead Press
10 x 10lbs
10 x 10lbs
10 x 10lbs

Tricep Press with plate
10 x 15lbs
10 x 15lbs
10 x 15lbs

SuperSet #2

Overhand Lat Pulldown
7 x 60lbs
7 x 60lbs
7 x 60lbs

Underhand Lat Pulldown
7 x 60lbs
7 x 60lbs
7 x 60lbs

Face Pull
10 x 60lbs
10 x 60lbs
10 x 60lbs

Superset #3

Bent Over Dumbell Row
10 x 20lbs
10 x 20lbs
10 x 20lbs

Scarecrows
10 x 3lbs
10 x 3lbs
10 x 5lbs

Extras

Goodmornings
10 x 65lbs
10 x 70lbs
10 x 70lbs

Toe Touches
3 sets of 10

Reverse Crunch
3 sets of 10

Introduction

   My Name is Linda Baxter. I’m the 40 something mom of two teenagers with a full time job. I like to lift heavy things, challenge my body, read about fitness and help others move in a new direction.

Early Years

   When I was younger I spent many years on the cardio cycle. I took Jazzercise, Step-classes, ran 5K’s, walked, and Zumba. If it was a new trend, I tried it. But I never looked like Cindy Crawford or Christy Brinkley. Of course it didn’t help that I’m 5’1”. But when I was young it was easy to stay fairly thin with just cardio. Then I had kids. And I don’t have to tell the women reading this what happened to my body. Weight gain, stretch marks, and loose skin showed up and just would not leave. I was never obese but pleasantly plump would not be a stretch. No matter how much I ran on the treadmill or climbed the Elliptical the weight would not budge and my self esteem sank lower. I did starve myself down to close to pre-baby weight once in my 30’s but no one can maintain that type of diet and back it came with a vengeance.

40’s

   At 40 I had a DEXA scan for bone density baseline. At 42, I had another and it showed the expected bone loss women start to develop. Nothing the doctor was worried about but I did not want to be a hunched over old lady. Several friends broke bones just doing routine things. So I started looking for something new to do. At the time there was no gym near me, so I tried P90X. What a revelation that was. I worked out till I almost puked and lifted dumbbells. I realized how sad it was that I could not do a pull up at all or plank for 30 seconds. Tony Horton and crew started me on the road to a new way of looking at fitness. But you can only do DVD’s for so long and luckily a gym opened nearby. I started New Rules of Lifting for Women and found how fun it was to lift weights. I started reading about weight lifting and getting stronger. While I didn’t lose weight I lost inches and my body started to become tighter and look younger. I was the only woman in the free weights section and got lots of strange looks, but I pushed on. Soon I could do a pushup and lift heavier weights.

Plateau

    But after two years I was stuck making no progress. I was unable to increase my squat and my bench press was in slow motion. Sure I looked better and was stronger but I wanted to go further. I did a lot of reading on line and found a gym near my work that focused on strength training. I also found a trainer that would train me like his male clients and he showed me how my form was wrong on practically everything from squats to push-ups. Just a few months in I’m hitting new PR’s and learning to focus on my progression in the gym and not just the scale.

Progress

    Now I measure those problem areas to see progress and try to stay off the scale. I’ve learned to eat a ton more protein and stay away from snacks. I’m also lucky enough to have enlisted my husband into my love of lifting and have a great workout partner in him.

   I went back for a repeat DEXA scan this year and was stunned to find that not only had I reversed my bone loss but it was now better than the baseline. I had gained 7lbs over 5 years but lost 3% of my body fat. The results are amazing. Now I’m training for Powerlifting and having the time of my life.

    Am I an expert in fitness? No, but I love to learn and I hope to share my knowledge and motivate some other over 40’s to get started on a road that can change their life. I hope you will follow along and get answers to some questions and feel more confident about starting weightlifting. Feel free to contact me or ask questions