Long time nerd, new to forum

[gymell]

Hi all, I'm a 5'6" 130 lb woman, 43 years old. I've been a nerd for a long time, and into fitness for about 10 years, the last 5 or so more seriously into weightlifting and healthy eating (Paleo-ish but not super strict about it.)

My nerd credentials include owning a Commodore 64 in junior high and programming BASIC on it, installing Slackware Linux on my 386 PC in 1994, and working for the last 13 years as a Java developer, among other things.

In spite of all of that, I've also been pretty active and outdoorsy my whole life. Growing up, I was always thin and athletic. When I graduated from college and started working in the corporate world as a programmer, it took me a while to figure out that spending all of my time sitting in front of a computer, eating out, and watching a lot of TV was a quick path to becoming overweight.

After 4 years of that (and about about +20 pounds), I realized I needed to do something about it so I started running and weightlifting on my own. I ate healthier and lost the 20 pounds. That path eventually lead me to a boot camp style group fitness program, then CrossFit and weightlifting. I did the NROLFW program, Starting Strength, etc. In the last year I've lifted in two Olympic weightlifting meets and one powerlifting meet. My numbers aren't anything impressive, but it's fun to attain my own personal goals, and it gives me something tangible to work toward.

I feel like I've come a long way, but I enjoy talking with like-minded people because there's always something new to learn. And I like hearing about what others are doing, so I look forward to exploring this forum!

[AKLulu]

Welcome!

[Hammlin]

ohai there! welcome! Olympic lifting meets? you're hardcore!!!

[gymell]

Heh, I'm definitely not hardcore, just working with a coach who's very passionate about the lifts, and encouraged a bunch of us from his gym to enter a couple of meets. I was pretty terrified but managed to make it through both meets. The powerlifting meet was my idea, something I wanted to try for a while and it was really fun! I plan to do another one this year.

[gymell]

Thanks, AKLulu I like your avatar. One of my other nerdy endeavors is bird watching.

[AKLulu]

Haha, thanks.... it's a recent change in response to a recent thread (located here for your reading pleasure). I love birds too, but I'm nothing like an avid bird watcher. I was able to identify most of the birds back home, but Oregon is a whole new... bird park...

[Morrigainz]

Hi! Welcome! I am impressed by both your nerd cred and your lifting cred

I am working on New Rules of Lifting for Women right now (just over halfway through stage 2) and I have developed a love/hate relationship with it. Depending on how I feel when I'm done, I may pick up Starting Strength or start running again...we'll see

Anyway I'm sure you will have plenty to add to discussions around here!

[gymell]

Funny! I learned a few new things by reading that thread.

[gymell]

MirGSS, I went through the whole NROLFW program right when it first came out. It's a great way to get started with weightlifting! I remember the first time I tried to front squat during one of the workouts, I couldn't even do the bar because it felt so awkward and painful on my wrists. And now my 1 rep max front squat is 150lb - 20lb over body weight.

[katscratch]

Welcome, fellow Minnesotan! Ah, Commodore....we were not so cool in our house, we had an Adam and a TI-99/4A...BASIC and LOGO

Your avatar pic is way badass, btw!

[gymell]

Whereabouts in MN are you? I'm in the Twin Cities, Bloomington to be specific.

Before my ultra cool Commodore 64, we had a Wang computer (my dad was a programmer.) It was a single unit, with a tiny green screen and a cassette tape drive. Then later we had an Apple IIe. I never did any programming on those, but I guess they got my feet wet with computers and lead me down the path (with a lot of detours) to my eventual career.

Hopefully it won't be too long before I have an even more badass avatar picture, with YELLOW plates, meaning I can snatch 45kg! My current PR is 41kg, which I just hit tonight.

[Book]

Yay, Minnesota! We're northern metro, though. Just north of Forest Lake.

My fiancée is talking about getting into powerlifting meets, too. Did you notice the virtual meet they're running here in a couple of weeks?

Yeah... a 64 was too high-class in my household. I rocked the Vic-20, wrote a craps program on it, as I recall. Now I test software.

Nice to meet you!

[Guest Aomame]

In the last year I've lifted in two Olympic weightlifting meets and one powerlifting meet. My numbers aren't anything impressive, but it's fun to attain my own personal goals, and it gives me something tangible to work toward.

Hi! I am new, too. New to this website and the sport of powerlifting. As Book mentioned, I was looking into powerlifting meets just today When I was running I did 5K races 2-3 times a month -- I liked have something to "train toward", so to speak. I am like, NEW NEW, (literally started last week) so my numbers would SUCK -- but I think it would be way cool to go to a powerlifting meet.

Anyways -- welcome, fellow Minnesotan!

[gymell]

Howdy! I just joined the forum, so I'll have to check out the virtual meet. I lifted in the MN State Open which was held in Mankato in February. It was a blast! I was nervous, but it was less stressful than the Olympic meets because I feel a lot more confident in the power lifts. I made all of my lifts and even had a couple of small PRs.

I believe there will be a local meet here in town this summer. There was one last year in August. I haven't seen it announced yet, I plan to lift if they hold it.

I had a friend that had a VIC-20 back in the day. Fond memories.

[Corbab]

Everyone beat me to the compliments! Still: Welcome! Sweet avatar! Olympic meets? Jealous! Hope you enjoy yourself here!

[gymell]

Aomame, numbers really don't matter, everyone is very supportive regardless of experience level. It's definitely easier to make progress when you have an end goal. I trained the specific lifts for a month prior.

I had never attended a PL meet before I lifted in one, only Olympic meets. But I did a lot of reading about the rules and commands, and when I trained I did it with all that in mind, pausing/waiting at the appropriate times, etc. I saw many lifters miss lifts at the meet due to not following the commands! And not hitting depth on squats. I practiced squats deeper than required, so there would be no question. The announcer even commented on my "super deep" squats.

Anyway, I encourage you to take the plunge and enter your first meet! Keep an eye on thepress.org for upcoming meet info.

Here's a photo of my final squat, 77.5 kg (170.86 lb.) I lifted in the 60 kg weight class as a masters lifter.

[timmoon]

Awesome! I like that you do lifting meets. I remember doing 5k races and stuff and even though I didn't win medals it was so motivating and really helped me to push myself during workouts.

[gymell]

Thanks, having a goal to work toward definitely makes it more interesting. That's probably true for most things. I was a music major in college, and I know that I always worked harder (and made more progress) when I was preparing for a recital. And it's good to support the sports (both PL and OL) and the more people involved, the better. Plus I think it's just a good thing personally to learn something new and challenging. I know I'm not ever going to be competitive, especially in the Olympic lifts, but how many people can say they've even done it?

[So Late So Soon]

Welcome!

[katscratch]

I'm in south Minne

Congrats on the PR!! Those yellow plates will be on the bar in no time!