stubborn_girl

Hi there! I hope there's someone who can help as these topics don't seem to get much answers. After a long break I started running again at the end of May. I'm not at the point of a structured training 4 times a week. But I need some kind of strength training to prevent injuries and keep my back pain free. I just struggle with finding the right program. I had a look at every book I bougth in the last 10 years but nothing seems to work. I need something with few repetitions and heavier weights to do 1-2x a week. My schedule looks something like this: Monday easy run Wednesday inverval/sprint Thursday short run Saturday easy long run I would love to go back to the gym - wasn't there for 2 years. Could Starting Strenght work if done 1-2 times a week? I know I won't make huge progress but would it be harmful or risky in any way if done with way less progression than written down?

I don't know how many times I did this before, but here I am, starting all over again. After three years of mostly no sports I try my best to get back. I started running in spring and got to the point where I really much enjoy it. I'm up to 4 runs a week and here to check how to incorporate strenght training. :)

Hi fellow rebels, I‘m getting really frustrated at this point. After 1.5 years of not getting my ass from my couch to start training again I finally managed to stick to NROL4W. Til March when my gym closed. It opend again in July. I was sick of doing Stage 1 again and bought Strong. Which I did til last week. When my gym closed again. :( I really really need a well balanced programm without Equipment. And I can‘t find anything that fits. Too many jums and lunges and my knee hurts, not enough booty, ab and back strenght and my neck gets cranky. Is there anything you would recommend? Most „non equipement“ workouts need more equipment than my regular weight lifting routine... budget is tight. Please help me. :(

@Defining Thank you! Thats the best advice ever and I don't know why I didn't think of this myself I've read the article and know I'm trying to put together 2-3 workouts that I'm gonna love. Without exerices I dread, without exercises I can't do due to health issues. Perfect! The NROL4W book has a great selection of exercises sorted by body part. I'll see how this goes and let you know if it did work.

Thank you. Just to make it clear: it's not too strenous so that I have to have a break every few weeks. It's mostly loosing my motivation, business trips etc. that comes in the way. And yes, doing some weight lifting is good for my upper body, but not too much weight. I've got some herniated discs at my cervical spine, so DL and Squat (even heavy) is fine as long as I build it up slowly in small steps.

Hi there, just a few words about my background. I used to do a lot of martial arts for 11 years til 15 months ago. I had to stop cause I head health issues (herniated discs). Until then I used to do some bodyweight exercises and hit workouts during summer and some running an weight lifting during winter (1-2 times a week) on top of my 3-5 martial arts courses per week. For the last year I struggled a lot with finding something else to do. I need some sort of weight lifting to stabilize my discs. And I need some sort of cardio simply cause I feel better if I do some running from time to time outside. As I'm on and off training (weight lifting for 4-5 weeks and then stopping for 1-3 weeks) I never really see any results. I know it's my own fault but it's frustrating as hell... I gained a few pounds which I would like to loose again. I miss martial arts, but starting again isn't an option. I tried Starting Strenght (in the 3*5 girls version) NROL4W, Strong Curves....but... 5*5 is kind of boring, I wanna have more exercises. NROL4W and Strong Curves are too many exercises. Maybe it's just that loss of my beloved sports, maybe I'm just lazy. But I'm frustrated, I want to find something that fits, I wanna be fit again, I wanna be strong, I wanne be able to run 5-10 miles... and I can't stick to any routing. Anyone had this kind of problem or an idea what to try next?

I have to eat every three hours to stop me from snacking and binging late. It helps a lot to have my last planned meal around an hour before bedtime so I dont get hungry before going to sleep. for me thats dinner, for you it could be a late snack. like veggies, cottage cheese or something like that.

I eat veggies too with " Kräuterquark" to dip it (think that is curd cheese with herbs and onion). I have 1 slice of whole wheat bread with a tbs curd cheese and 1 tsp jam before workout. Sometimes I eat just plain cottage cheese. Or I'll make a bunch of protein pancakes and take one or two with me (works if you have a fridge at the office - they consist of protein powder and eggs) There are a lot of recipies for homemade protein balls. Usually protein powder with nut butter and chocolate or something. Using google will give you tons of recipies to try.

I would avoid those bars. There heavily processed, have lots of additives and artifical sweeteners. Just not an healthy option. You can use them as an "emergengy snack" when you can't have any other snack at all. like when Travelling or going on a hike for several as. I had trouble getting enough protein too. How much do you wanna eat? I switched to a caloric deficit last week but still manage to get over 100g of protein every day. My day looks like this Breakfast 7 am / ~ 35 g of protein - cup of coffee - 1 slice whole wheat bread with camembert (look for one with less fat - I buy it at Aldi) Snack I 10:30 am - 1/2 waffle (to get my carbs and make it til lunch without killing someone) Lunch 12:30 / ~ 50 g of protein - Protein (chicken, beef or cheese) - veggies (ofte brokkoli or mixed veggies) - rice ( microwavable - basmati or mix) - salsa Snack II 15 pm / ~ 15 g of protein - bell pepper - dipped with 200g of "Kräuterquark" - I think that is curd cheese with herbs? (low fat from Aldi) Snack III 18 pm ( pre workout) ~ 5 g of protein - 1 slice whole wheat bread - with a tbs curd cheese and a tsp jam ( german version of pbj I think ) Dinner 21 pm ~ 25 g of protein - salad - 200 g of cottage cheese - ball pepper, olives, avocado, tomato ... -> 130 g of protein AND ~ 1700 kcal, but that depends on your goals and needs. you can modify your cals by using more fat & carbs. Works for me. I try to get my protein and plan my meals around that.

They don't. I bought some I searched through the SS-Forum and the book to see when to introduce Power Cleans.Rippetoe suggests for women not doing Power Cleans until they can DL at least 200 lbs. PC should be around 35% of your DL, and if those 35 % are less then the olympic bar plus some plates, you can't do PCs. Sounds reasonable to me. My gym doesn't have bumper plates nor platforms. But I will try to incorporate Power Cleans. They look like fun plus some explosiv power would be useful for martial arts. As for rows... don't like them. Never have. I think in the beginning stabilizing my back for DL, OHP and Squats should be enough for my back. Doing Pullups and chinups also targets those back muscles. and when I switch to PCs, I may try back extensions.

Without reading anything but your first post. I know what you mean. Weight lifting helped me tremendously with my body image. I had (and sometimes still have) problems here too. I think I'm squishy and have too much fat at some parts of my body. But it's all just in my head. Lifting helps me. It not only helps me towards that physique I'm after. Few weeks after I start lifting I can see my body more the way it is and love myself for what I am. Not hate me for what I'm not. Don't know if thats a hormonal thing. But never got that effect from cardio, no matter how much I ran.

Don't overtrain your abs. Strong abs need a strong back for balance. As others have said, it's simply a matter of low bodyfat - and genetics. You don't have his genetics, so even if you train your abs a lot and reach a loooow bf, you still won't look exactly like bruce lee.

I would suggest trying a yoga class if you can make that happen. Increased my flexibility a lot! Going there 1-2 times a week since January. Didn't realize I have tight hips before When I started I could just touch the floor wih straight legs and now I'm not far away from being able to touch my knees with my forehead. And I can do a solid headstand for over a minute, just for the record. If I can't get to yoga class, I have 2 DVDs for pratice at home (yogaworks - good stuff). But I would highly recommend to see a yoga teacher for at least 4-5 sessions before beginninh practice at home. And it's good to get your form checked from time to time so you don't hurt yourself.

Thanks. So I read Starting Stength while lying in bed for the last 8 days. And decided to try it. Maybe it was a sign from the weight liftig gods that I should start another program [emoji6] I will take it slow with progression. i won't compromise on form. Was injured several times in the last years - don't need any more of this. @Discon No, usually I can't take a video. No tripod and afraid some bro might step on my phone if I leave it on the floor. But a friend of mine trains at the same gym, I may see hin on Sunday occassionaly. I'll ask hin to make a vid, even if that seems strange. So I'm gonna start not too heavy and do the following progression: Deadlift, Squat 2.5 kg OHP, Bench. 1 kg I won't do the row though, as it hurt my back last time and in SS you're supposed to just dealift for the first weeks. Love to deadlift So I'll go for that. For the Pushups: I can do 15-18 with good form and squeeze out 2-4 on top if it's necessary. So I'll try the clapping one as Gainsdalf suggested (nice username ). And I won't do them at the gym. I'll do them at home, at the office etc GTG-Style. Maybe someday I can do them clapping and jumping with my feet up like the pros. (not the bros) I bought a pullup- bar and installed it at my bathroom door (who needs to close the bathroom anyway when you can so pullups instead?) Tried some assited ones as well as chins and a neutral grip. Maybe I won't do them at the gym either, just to cut down time at the gym. If I want to switch my training to mornings, I have an hour at most. So just SQ / Press / DL / Dips and SQ / Bench / DL / some core work. Thanks guys. Hope to be able to lift again this sunday (doing nothing at all for this long really sucks). Bye, Mel

Hi there! First the necessary information according to this forum: Fitness Goals Exercise Preference I want to lift heavy. So I choose 5x5 as a starting point. Have the app and done 2 workouts last week before getting sick (tonsillitis) - still need to rest, no training, lots of meds. Current Physical Stats female 32 169 cm (is this 5'5"??) 63 kg (139 lbs) 25 % bf according to navy tape method and handheld measuring thing in my gym) Previous Training History tried a lot over the years - NROL4W, Men's Health Power Training, Strong Curves, Starting Strenght ( minus power cleans... Also tried some BW programs ( boring as hell) and Yoga (love it). used to run between April and September for 5-10 km 1-2 times a week. each programm for 6 weeks to 6 months, some multiple times. Yoga for 6 months now and still training. Current Training Starting Stronglifts 5x5 1 Week DL 40 kg (90 lbs?). SQ 22.5 kg (50 lbs) Bench 20 kg (45 lbs) Row 30 kg (66 lbs) OHP 20 kg (45 lbs). all lifts felt easy except the row. Current Diet mostly vegetarian but started eating chicken, beef and salmon again 2200 kcal ~ 95 g protein / 155 g cabs / 90 g fat ( 20% / 45 % / 35 %) Current Resources/Limitations Gym Membership - joined two weeks do I can weight train as I dont have equipment at home and dont want to buy any ( Squat rack, olympic bars & plates, bench, pullup bars etc. Working 8-17 mo-fri , teaching kids wingtsun on Tuesdays (2 hours), attending wingtsun wensday & friday evening (90 min each), boxing saturday 2 times per month (90 minutes), yoga class usually monday evening (90 minutes - ashtanga style, very exhausting). sometimes kind of tabata/HIIT Tuesday evening (sandbag, barbells, bw exercises, sprints etc. for 90 minutes) with a friend. yeah.... trying to go to the gym tuesday after teaching, Thursday and Sunday. could be only thursday and sunday some weeks. The lifts in my first two workouts felt easy. minimal DOM at lower body, lots in upper body (arms and chest, not much in the back). but I had to go down wih the weight for the rows. more than 30 kg was too much for my lower back to handle. I chose assisted pullups ( wanna be able to do at least 5 dead hang unassisted til summer), dips, pushups (to punch harder), planks and hanging knee raises (for my core and the latter also for grip strenght) as assintant exercises. I have some questions: 1. how much should I increase the weights for each lift? 2. should I do more pushups or more difficumt ones? the 5x5-app wants me to do weighted push ups - not going to happen! 3. Do you think those assistant exercise make sense for my goals? 4. Any other suggestions, critic etc? 5. My TDEE is around 2400 kcal. Does that sound reasonable? Wanna lose some fat ( look best around 20%) and therefor going for 2200 per day. Thanks for reading all that Double thanks for replying! And sorry for my typos, not a native speaker!