Hello y’all. I am taking a break in the midst of my workout and thought to write this post. I recently increased the weight of the two dumbbells I’m using, so now both of them are 6kg.
I definitely notice the difference from 5kg each, and even though I can’t finish all of my workouts because of exhaustion, I don’t want to beat myself up too much over it. I’m getting stronger each time I workout, and eventually I’ll be able to finish them all fully.
Anyway, I’ve been strength training for a few weeks now and I notice a difference. Maybe it’s delusion or wishful thinking, but I like my body better now, I feel stronger and more energetic. I’ve been thinking about picking up boxing as well, and my dad just ordered one of those big boxing sacs that you punch (like you see frustrated husbands doing in shows), so that’s fun.
Y’all got any exercise stories to share or advice for beginners like myself? Any other women in here who strength train? Would be fun to hear from y’all, no matter who you are. (: Cheers!
Congratulations! I want to point out that going from 5 to 6 kilograms is, in fact, a huge jump. That is 20% more than what you were doing before, which is literally huge. That is a big accomplishment – and also, you won’t have to jump by that much in the future.
This is an unfortunate paradox for people at the beginning of their workout careers: the smaller weights are harder to move up in, because each step up is actually a pretty large percentage increase.
going from 5 to 6 is 20% more going from 6 to 7 is 16.7% more going from 7 to 8 is 14% more and so on
So eventually the next weight will only be like 10% more than the previous weight, and that’s a much more reasonable amount to increase by. If each new dumbbell set feels way harder than before, just know that the next step up will be easier than the last one you just did.
Congrats on the progress, keep it up! I started lifting weights for the first time during Covid and since then I’ve turned into that annoying person who won’t stop talking about the benefits to anyone who will listen. Before long people will start to notice, and you’ll be asked to lift and carry heavy crap
Before long people will start to notice, and you’ll be asked to lift and carry heavy crap
I hope so! Nothing would be more validating honestly. Sometimes when I go grocery shopping with my parents they’ll ask me “is the grocery bag too heavy? You want help?”, like, I’m the one practising with 12kg in my hands haha. I get why they ask though, they mean well.
Picking up heavy crap is our hobby now so its nice to be asked :D
I‘m a guy but i started doing pullups some weeks ago. At first i was able to do one clean and then an ugly one and now am able to do 5-6 clean ones and one ungly one. Pretty cool how fast you are able to progress. I noticed it improved my posture as well, which i like :)
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Thanks! You know, sometimes I feel a bit demotivated seeing when people are able to lift 80+kg, I don’t know how they do it haha. Maybe I’ll get there someday, though I doubt I’ll be able to lift two 40kg dumbbells lmao.
How long have you been strength training? Have you learned some stuff over the course that you probably should’ve known at the beginning?
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Related - are there any active lifting communities on Lemmy? I think I signed up to a couple a while back but haven’t seen a single post. Looking at these comments, it looks like we have a number of people interested in the topic.
I’m a dude so maybe this doesn’t hold up for you but when I first started I’d get discouraged from putting in tons of hard work for weeks and even a month or two and not see significant progress in the mirror. But would have people complimenting me after about a month.
You’ll feel your gains long before you notice in the mirror. And other people will notice your gains long before you’ll see them. So don’t let that discourage you! I didn’t see progress I wanted for many months. (But I also had terrible nutrition which didn’t help)
Thank you for this I actually needed to hear it! :))
I recently started my health improvement journey too. First swimming, then a mixed strength training swimming program.
I think the key is anything you can sustainably do long-term has the biggest life improving dividends.
and even though I can’t finish all of my workouts because of exhaustion
You are completing your workouts, if you’re putting your body to the point where you’ve reached exhaustion, or technical form failure, you have created the right stimulus for your body to improve and adapt. That’s a success
You didn’t mention anything about your diet, I just hope you’re taking enough protein, so that you’re maintaining and enabling your body improvements.
I found having an exercise buddy has been a great help in staying consistent
I remember talking to a (now ex)friend years ago about exercising together because I only really dared go to the gym if I wasn’t alone. Honestly, at this point I don’t think a gym is necessary for me, and sharing my progress/hearing how others are doing on the fediverse is kind of like having an exercise buddy anyway.
Thanks for your kind words. (:
