dear fellow featherweights, this seems to be just the right thread to get some encouragement....

after having done cardio for a few weeks now, fitness improving and weight dropping nicely, I decided to start lifting in order to support my joints and other structures adequately. I felt the need for that for two reasons:
1. I picked up running and know from unpleasant experiences in the past that my knees need to be looked after properly.
2. after a year of school I'm back at work at the hospital. My back is yearning for some more strength.

Oh well, I had an appointment with a trainer to show me the basics and it was so disheartening to realize how incredibly weak I am. He said he'd "go easy on the weights".... yeah, right. I felt horrible and laughed it away but to be honest, I could have cried and I wanted to get out of there ASAP. He said it'd take me some time to figure out the ideal weights but he put on too much on every machine but one. that didn't help much.

I'd very much like to start lifting but I'll need a good kick up my backside to go back to those evil machines.

binge n yoyo - The only way you'll get stronger is to go back and keep lifting! Don't let that experience deter you... let it empower you and motivate you.

Sumire - I have no grand delusions about how I'll perform during the Tough Mudder; I'm going to suck. It's 12 miles of running (which I can maybe do half of) and obstacles involving heights, fire, and electrocution. I am afraid of heights and the other two sound crappy! I just want to finish within a few hours. :)

I like your "attitude of gratitude" motto very much. I wish I were better about maintaining, but I find myself in constant cycles of wanting to add more muscle and then cut down again. It's exhausting! Maybe on my next trip overseas I can do that... it's easier with no scales, no cute clothes, and no internet forums to influence me. :)

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I'm getting bored with these CrossFit classes I attend with my unit. They are all so similar! Today was 4 rounds of 5 cleans, 10 pullups, 15 pushups, 20 squats and then a 400m run. After that we did abs.

I CRUSHED the next best time by a full two minutes. Meh.

Oh, and on a whim the other day, I decided to try to do this (successful... and easy at that)

http://www.movingstillnesspersonalfi.../Crow_Pose.jpg

Little NSV!

Hello feather lifters!

I haven't been around for a while, but I'm back again. I've gotten a bit squishy after having to take 6 weeks off from NROL4W to train a Half Marathon. I can't wait to get back into lifting now, running is fun but will never replace lifting in my heart.

I'm glad to see a few faces I remember such as sontaikle and sumire. You girls are so far ahead of me now!

I can't promise to be a regular poster but I'm going to try :D

binge n yoyo: I've told this story before, but the first time I went to lift in the gym, I tried to do 10 pounds on the chest fly machine. Couldn't budge it. I had to take the pin out and do the machine at 0 pounds, using just the weight of the apparatus. I was so embarrassed! But I didn't let that stop me, and here I am a couple of years later, much stronger and much much smaller! Keep at it.

JossFit: Ok, fair enough on the Tough Mudder... but I bet you still ain't gonna be back of the pack. :lol: Nice job on the yoga pose. I tried that one a long time ago and found it hard-- wonder if I could do it now.

fromthebox: Welcome back! :) A half marathon is awesome, hope you had fun doing it! Good luck getting back into the lifting-- a bit of time away makes it all the sweeter.
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I took 3 days off from exercise because I was feeling so beaten up. Started fresh yesterday. I'm continuing the push/pull split I've been doing, but with a more varied rep scheme (1st 3 weeks 4x10, then 3 weeks of 4x6, then 4x8, then 4x4). I've been doing low volume higher weight while I've been cutting (3x5 mostly, sometimes even 2x5). Four sets of ten reps yesterday was an ego killer! :lol: It was a really tough workout, but I enjoyed it.

I went for a run later in the evening yesterday. Forced myself to keep it to 3 miles. I need to restart at lower mileage and build up slowly. It's hard when you're already relatively fit-- my lungs & leg muscles are ready to go, but I know I need to take it slower so my joints/etc get used to the pounding. Last week I ended up doing 21 miles total after only being back to running for a month, and that was not a great idea-- aches and pains all over the place.

Hi all,

My overhead press is SO weak...25 lbs plus the bar (a skinny barbell, not Olympic bar), but I moved up to 50 lb for bent-over DB rows which feels like a huge accomplishment.

sumire It's really hard not to overdo it when you know you are physically capable of pushing yourself. How did the 3 day break work for you? You're a machine.

JossFit You sound like you've outgrown your Xfit class...two minutes ahead of the second best, huh? CONGRATS on hitting that crazy yoga pose...I definitely don't have that in me yet (maybe I will someday).

fromthebox Woooo half marathon is awesome! Did you already run it? I like lifting a bit better than running too, though both have their place. I don't get how anyone does ultramarathons without boring themselves to tears.

binge n yoyo ugh I know how it feels when you start out and can't do anything...but the progress is exponential and you'll improve every single time you lift!

Thank you so much for the support! I'll go back and get stronger!

krampus: My overhead press is lame. Hoping I'll make some progress there soon. A 50 lb dumbbell row is super awesome! My 3-day break was much needed. I've been feeling much less machine-like the last month or so. The little break plus lots more food is working out well already.

binge n yoyo: Go you! :)

Good sweaty lifting workout today. I didn't have the stamina problem that I did a couple of days ago. More food = more awesome. My legs are still crazy sore from the barbell split squats I did 2 days ago.

New PR on my deadlifts today... whoot!

My dang foot is doing something weird though; running seems to make the top of my left foot swell up a bit. It's not painful, except that my shoes/boots put pressure on it. Amazingly, I managed to snag a doctor's appointment for tomorrow afternoon to have it looked at.

Military doctors though. *sigh* They'll probably just tell me to rest it and take some Motrin and won't actually have a clue what the problem with it is.

Congrats on PR JossFit! I hope you figure out what's going on with your foot. My knee feels borked - not the knee so much as something interior. Yuck.

sumire More food = more awesome indeed. I often feel conflicted about deficit calories + getting "good enough" workouts.

Kicked my own behind with renegade rows today. I want to do MORE already!

yeah, I have a doctor visit today to see what the deal is. Likely they'll tell me nothing useful today, but hopefully I can get a referral to a real doctor.

What is the deal with your knee? Have you seen anyone for it?

I think I put too much pressure on it running down a steep hill. Just taking it easy and seeing if it goes away on its own - it's not a super sharp pain, just feels like an internal bruise.

YAY, I did it! I went back yesterday and faced the machines. Was half as bad as expected as I adjusted the weights to something more reasonable than what that lovely trainer-person suggested.
Going back on friday!

Wow I've never seen this thread before!!! :)

I will be a featherweight after Halloween (baby due Oct 29th) and plan on a powerlifting competition in February 2013 (I have trained for many years). Look forward to joining! :) Not sure what my featherweight loss goal will be yet, it's impossible to say.

Found a really good blog with lots of tips for strength training and scientific analysis :D

http://builtblog.wikidbody.com/2007/...takes-a-while/

Can I count as a weight lifter? I primarily like to run but I do p90x 3 times a week to try and learn the basics... Legs and back today and by the end of the workout I had done 66 pull-ups! I had to tell someone but how random is that if I just call up a friend to brag about how many pull-ups I did? Haha

Krampus and jossfit- I hope those injuries heal up soon!!

Sacha- good luck with the new baby! :)

JossFit and krampus: Feel better, gals! Nice link, krampus.

binge n yoyo: Go you! Keep at it. :)

sacha: Welcome to the thread. I've long been inspired by your story, posts, & pics. Take care of yourself & the little bun in the oven!

danzingurl77: Everyone counts in this thread, but especially somebody who just did 66 pullups. :D
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Did NOT want to lift or do anything today (felt fine physically, just not in it mentally), but I forced myself to go to the gym. (Commitment not motivation, commitment not motivation... :)) I probably would have wussed out on my split squats, but I was working in with a guy who was doing good mornings at 95 pounds and I was so not going to change out plates to something lighter than that. :lol: So I did 4x8 at 95 pounds. I was somewhat pleased.

I feel like I've hardly made any progress in quite a while, though. I know I was (intermittently) focused on fat loss for a few months... and I know that for a while, I've been dealing with some pretty stressful life issues (with accompanying anxiety/depression) and not enough sleep (insomnia)... I know I should just be proud of myself for keeping up the healthy lifestyle. But dangitall, I'm tired of not instantly catapulting to she-hulk status. :p Rant over, blessings counted, etc.

I am NOT doing a great job posting in here am I? LOL

I've been pushing some fairly heavy weights lately, and hitting some new PRs randomly due to my increased calorie intake during September. That is fantastic, but due to the extra body mass I'm hauling around my pullups are starting to suffer!

So, now I'm going to employ some more advanced training techniques to cut down the pounds (21's, drop sets, etc.) and prioritize pull-ups at the beginning of each weightlifting session (well, most of them... 3 days a week I'll do those first).

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Sumire - I realize this is in no way a 'lightbulb' statement, but sometimes it's worth saying; just getting to the gym is half the battle. I have found that sometimes those days I really don't want to go end up being some of my best workouts, sometimes they suck, and sometimes they REALLY suck... but I've never once regretted doing a workout. Even if I feel defeated just FINISHING is good for me mentally.
I think whether it's adhering to a 'diet' or sticking it out in the gym day after day, we all experience burn-out or fatigue at some point. The trick is working through those patches and coming out stronger (both literally and figuratively) on the other end.

Danzingurl - Everyone is welcome! Those of us that post in here regularly try to use some pretty intense weights, but it's all relative. Those P90X workouts and kick your ***!

Sacha - That's so exciting about your Halloween baby! I'm super impressed that you're already planning on doing a powerlifting competition just 3-4 months later... wow! Have you done them before?
What has your training program looked like during your pregnancy?

Thank you to sumire and jossfit for the warm welcome! ;-)

Sumire- I hope you start to see and feel some progress soon! It's so frustrating to feel stagnant...

Jossfit- way to go on the new PR's! I came across your bodybuilding.com transformation success story and I've got to say I'm very impressed and inspired!!

I just realized- this week is my last week of P90x, and I don't really know where to go from here! I have p90x 2... But I've heard a lot of great things about the NROL... With a gameplan I can totally push myself and improve but if I were just to walk in to the weights section of a gym with nothing but my own very limited knowledge I would probably cry and run away :P any suggestions of how to create a new program for myself??

I am pumped for my workout today!

Back when I joined my gym I got kind of talked into signing a year contract for personal training. Just 2 sessions a month, but I've regretted it ever since (because of the money). That being said, I LOVE my trainer, and my workout today is with her. I definitely workout much harder when she trains me, and she's very encouraging. It also doesn't hurt that she is 41 and looks younger than I do, and has a body that I can aspire to.

Anyway. I posted this pic over in the resistance training forum, but I love it so much I wanted to post it here to.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...133/edited.jpg

I have to say that the last picture in there is right up my alley. :) Her waist is a bit wide for my taste, but I'm diggin her arms... good stuff!

JossFit: Thanks for the much needed wisdom / reminder. One day & one workout at a time... Hope your workouts are still going well & your physique shaping up like you want it.

danzingurl77: I finished NROL4W earlier this year. (Prior to that I was also doing P90x/Tony Horton One on One stuff, and then a few months break where I was only doing very basic maintenance lifting.) I really enjoyed NROL-- it gave me some structure, made me work harder and lift heavier, and helped me get my bearing in the weight room.

LockItUp: Nice pic. :lol: Hope your workouts are going well. (I noticed in another thread that you hit "normal weight"-- I should congratulate you over there, but hey, I'm here right now, so CONGRATS. :))
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Still plugging along, lifts edging up ever so slightly. Running going well. Did a couple of 4-milers this week at 9:40min/mi pace, and a 7-miler at 10:45mm. My times are almost not embarrassing to me now. ;)

I swear, though, my body just likes to do the opposite of what I want it to do. Toward the end of my few months of fat loss, I was run down and beaten up and I had stopped losing quickly, so I decided, ok, I'll maintain, and I'm even ok with gaining a little. More food!! And ever since, I've been struggling to keep my weight up due to anxiety issues. I know, first world problems, but blah.

Hi everyone, I'm new, I've enjoyed reading this forum and love hearing about how strong you all are, partly jealous but mostly inspired. I'm not sure I should be posting here because I have inflammatory arthritis and have a lot of challenges with lifting heavy, can't do dead lifts or anything that loads my spine too much, also have to keep within the 12 rep range. Today though I pushed 100kgs, 200 lbs on the leg press, up from 60kg /130lbs 2 months ago, so am quite pleased with myself and wanted to share (:

Share away! "Heavy" is all relative to you and your abilities. :)

Today was interesting... in spite of being in the midst of doing Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook program, I was hitting some pretty heavy weights during my workout today. Not PRs per say (that's not what I was aiming for) but definitely not less than usual, and actually more than my normal on some things like leg presses and front squats.

I imagine over time (though this is a short program) that will fade, but it's nice to see that the program is working as it should and strength/muscle loss is not a factor!

Ack. It's been forever since I posted on 3FC. Been kinda crazy at work and I went to New York Comic Con last weekend and had a blast. Being a thin costumed person is certainly so much fun, I have to admit.

I've been keeping up with my lifting and maintaining 110.6-112.4. Not really cutting back or adding more when I hit the high end or low end, but it just seems to be where I naturally fall. I have a weigh in this morning though, so let's see if Comic Con did any damage, haha! (although I didn't eat anything except my own food, so why would it?)

Hopefully I can stick around this time. I miss all you ladies! :)

Mogzillo: Welcome! The thread is a bit quiet these days... come tell us what awesome things you've been up to. :D

JossFit: Glad your body's keeping up! Keep being rad.

sontaikle: Good to see you! I noticed your absence and assumed that life must be busy. Glad you're juggling everything and getting some fun time in. :)
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I had a seriously uninspiring strength workout yesterday (numbers down a bit), but I wasn't too surprised. I had taken a week off strength training, run 7 miles the night before I lifted in the morning, and my weight is slipping down again. That's all ok. I made it to the gym, and that's what matters. I think I may try to aim for 2 long sessions per week instead of 3-4 short sessions and see how that goes.

Today I'm going to be doing some hiking, and tomorrow more running. Yay. :)

I just want to make an announcement/share an NSV...

I packed a suitcase for vacation and realized today that I can easily lift it over my head with no assistance from my legs. Kind of reminded me that THIS is the best benefit of regular strength training.

Way to go!

Yeah, that's awesome, Krampus. :) I should take this as motivation-- I've been really, really inconsistent with my strength training (though consistent with my running) lately.