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[PoodleGirl]

I'm new here and have been away from the gym for many years. I have spent my life yo-yoing in weight and fitness and am really hoping this time it sticks.
Back around 2015 I was my most fit. I was lifting heavy, and I ran multiple mud races including the Tough Mudder and was generally in the top 1/3 time for females. And then I fell off track and am now at my heaviest.
I would like to lift heavy and do a bit of cardio. My goal is to go to the gym at least 3 times  a week. I started back Sept 3rd and have so far gone 3-4 times a week.
Back in 2015 I had been doing Stronglifts 5x5, and not sure if I want to go back to that or not. I'm at a Planet Fitness, which isn't the most ideal place for heavy lifting but I wanted to start here for the location convenience and cost to be sure I'm committed to going for a while and then reevaluate if I need a gym with better freeweight options.
I'm wanting a workout routine with upper body one day, lower body another day. I'd like a simple routine. I've seen some fitness people do all sorts of different exercises every time they hit the gym and unless that'd be super benefitial I feel like I lean more toward the group that does those basic core exercises (like squats and deadlifts) each time and try to progress on it.
I finally felt comfortable enough at the gym to get on the smith machine today and I feel like I'm happy with the exercises I have chosen for lower body. Squat, Deadlift (currently trying romanian I think it's called but not sure if I prefer them to normal deadlifts), reverse lunges, and hip thrusts. Would you add or take away from this with different exercises?
Upper body I still haven't solidified. Bench press for sure. In stronglift you also did barbell row and overhead press. Thoughts?
Last question I had is, do I need 'sport shoes' for the gym? I have tried over the past week to get 'proper' shoes but after trying on dozens of pairs at The Running Room that feel comfortable, when I have tried a couple pairs at the gym they just don't fit right (I have very wide feet and even the 'wide' shoes aren't quite cutting it), where as my slip on sketchers I haven't had issues with.  I don't know if those types of shoes are supportive enough for lifting and some cardio.
Other things about me are that I show and do sports (obedience, rally, scentwork, agility) with my 2 standard poodles

[Artemis Prime]

Hello and welcome! Tough Mudders are impressive.

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:27 PM, PoodleGirl said:

I'm at a Planet Fitness, which isn't the most ideal place for heavy lifting but I wanted to start here for the location convenience and cost to be sure I'm committed to going for a while and then reevaluate if I need a gym with better freeweight options.

A solid plan, but Planet Fitness isn't the worst place to work out long term either. Mitchell Hooper did a video where he worked out in a Planet Fitness, and got a really good workout in without drawing any ire from anyone for lifting heavy. If you prefer free weights, that's totally cool, but you can also get a really solid workout in on machines. 

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:27 PM, PoodleGirl said:

I'm wanting a workout routine with upper body one day, lower body another day.

I recently started a program with an upper/lower split, and I'm really enjoying it. (It's the Candito Linear Program, but feel free to ignore if you don't need more options cluttering up your decision-making process.)

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:27 PM, PoodleGirl said:

Squat, Deadlift (currently trying romanian I think it's called but not sure if I prefer them to normal deadlifts), reverse lunges, and hip thrusts.

Very solid exercise selection.

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:27 PM, PoodleGirl said:

Upper body I still haven't solidified. Bench press for sure. In stronglift you also did barbell row and overhead press. Thoughts?

If you want to be really thorough with your upper body lifts, I'd recommend a horizontal pull, a vertical pull, a horizontal push, and a vertical push. Bench, barbell row, and OHP gets you 3 of the 4. A lat pull down or some pull up variation would round that out, but it's not absolutely necessary.

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:27 PM, PoodleGirl said:

Last question I had is, do I need 'sport shoes' for the gym?

For beginning lifting, probably not. If ankle mobility is an issue, a raised heel squat shoe can really help, but you can get by fine without it. For deadlifting, flat shoes are generally best to give you a good ground connection. You also don't want too much padding to interfere with force transfer. Chucks are very popular in some circles. I wear zero drop barefoot shoes in the gym and like them a lot. Your Sketchers may not be ideal lifting shoes as you advance, but if they're serving you well now, I wouldn't fall too far down the lifting shoe rabbit hole.

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:27 PM, PoodleGirl said:

Other things about me are that I show and do sports (obedience, rally, scentwork, agility) with my 2 standard poodles

Very cool! I do some backyard agility stuff with my dog just for fun, but didn't have the time to get up to competition level. It's a lot of work, much respect to you.

 

 

Final comment: most of the action on the forums takes place in the Five Week Challenges. We're in Week 2 of one now, but there's no wrong time to write up some goals and jump in.