I’ve been lifting weights for almost 8 months now. When my husband and I joined the gym near our house for the new year, I was pretty overwhelmed. I had no idea what to do, and was so intimidated by others who did. I just went to a weight machine and lifted what I could.
The next morning, my body was on fire. Everything was sore. I thought I was doing well. 🙂 So, I kept at it….twice a week, I’d do the machines, almost every machine. I went from 10 lbs. to 50 lbs. in a matter of 7 months. I was so proud of myself…my body was changing. In talking to my husband and a few friends, I was told that machine weights aren’t really the best way to go. Sure, it’s a work-out, but if I wanted to see better results, I had to move to free weights.
So, last week, I did it. I moved to free weights.
AKA I went to the “big boy” weight room. Scary, y’all. The people in there are LEGIT, and here I am with my ‘I’m still 300 lbs.’ self esteem.
First thing I did was grab 2-25 lb. dumbbells to do chest flies. I figured since I did 50 lbs. on the machine, 50 lbs. in free weights was my level. HA! I could barely lift the weights to chest level. I went down to 15…I could barely lift them, much less do a full-on chest fly lying down. So, 8 lbs. it was. I went from 50 lbs. to 16 lbs., and still felt like I was working like crazy. That’s an example of one exercise I had to go WAY down in weights for. I know 16 lbs. sounds like nothing, but y’all…the soreness was back. Hurt so good (I’m crazy, I know).
Fast forward to this week. My friend and I decided that we definitely need more structure in our weight lifting routines. Personal trainers are expensive, and if we could find a work-out online (preferably free), all the better. Lo and behold, my friend found this work-out on a bodybuilding website. It’s by a trainer named Jamie Eason, and the program is called Live Fit.
It seems like a great program, and in reading the forums on MyFitnessPal, there are excellent reviews.
There are three phases of the program and in total, the whole program is over in 12 weeks. 🙂
The only issue I have with the program is that Phase One contains NO cardio in it. I know I’m supposed to trust in the process, but I can’t give up running for 4 weeks. I think I’m just gonna run 2x/week for a mile or two, just to keep a good baseline going, since my first half is about 6 months away (gulp!).
I also won’t be following the diet plan. I will keep cleaner eating in mind (which I should be doing anyway), but I’m just gonna continue with my calorie counting throughout the program. I may not have optimal results, but I’m sure I’ll see something. I started the program yesterday (took measurements), and I’ll admit, it was weird focusing on one area of the body (triceps/chest). However, I really feel it today. It hurts to stretch!
If you lift weights, do you follow a program?
I worked with a trainer for 6 months and loved it. I missed it but didn’t have it in the budget to sign back up. On Sunday, I started following the strength training program outlined in Kara Goucher’s book. I was sore Monday and Tuesday but now I feel fine. It’s a 4 week program with increased weight and decreased reps.