The 5 Best Tips For Starting To Lift Weights

I was comparing gym habits with a coworker the other day. She weight trains, but "wouldn't be caught dead" in the main weightlifting area (vs. the women's only section). That got me thinking, what are the top things I wish I had known when I started lifting weights?

1. There's Nothing Wrong With Lifting in the Women's Section
Um, provided you're a woman, I suppose. This area is usually far less busy, generally quieter, and consequently you'll have more equipment options. In theory. If you're comfortable here, rock on.

2. The Main Section Gives You More Options
A women's section may be missing crucial equipment - I'm talking about no bench press or squat rack, more often than not. Can you work around it? Yes. But if you're paying for the full gym experience, you should feel comfortable taking advantage of everything the gym has to offer.

3. Don't Be Afraid of the Bench Press or Squat Rack
Yes, these machines are intimidating at first. There are no diagrams on the side, and as a free weight machine you may feel like you're more likely to injure yourself or drop the weights. However, it is infinitely worth it to master these exercises. Start light, ask for help, and don't be afraid to go slow.

4. Get a Spotter - or Just Ask for One
Having a spotter is like adding plus ten to your strength for every lift. Last week, with no spotter I dropped the weight for my six set after three; today, I pushed 15 pounds more with my spotter there. It's a weird mental thing, but it works. If you don't have a regular gym buddy, don't be afraid to ask for a spot from a trainer or even someone working out near you. Just remember to ask in between sets (you'd be surprised how often people talk to me in the middle of a set!), and look for someone who is a) strong enough to do it and b) looks comfortable with the exercise you're doing. Asking someone to spot me for a squat in between his free weight shoulder raises has backfired, and there's nothing worse than having a spotter you don't trust (minus ten to strength).

5. Find a Gym Buddy
Gym buddies are great. They push you to go on days you don't want to, they help you push more weight, and they keep you accountable if you're slacking. It never ceases to amaze me how willing others are to help you out and share knowledge, so take advantage! Just make sure you find someone you can trust and ideally who matches where you are in your training (at least relatively).

Day 47: I Will Breathe

Starting Weight - 152.4lbs
Day 6 - 148.1 (-4.3lbs)
Day 13 - 147.7 (-0.4lbs)
Day 20 - 146.6 (-1.1lbs)
Day 27 - 145.8 (-0.8lbs)
Day 41 - 146.4 (+0.6lbs)

Total Lost = 6lbs

Tom's Weight - 216lbs
Day 20 - 206lbs (-10lbs)
Day 27 - 206lbs
Day 41 - 204lbs

Total Lost = 12lbs

Day 28: 5 Tips For Choosing Protein Powders

Hurray and huzzah!

Let's talk a bit about protein powder. I wasn't a big fan of including protein powder meal replacements in my plan because I believe eating whole food is usually better for you. However, there are a few points to consider when selecting a product that can make it work for you. P.S. I am not a nutritionist, I just play one on the internet.

1. Use
What are you trying to achieve? Do you want a meal replacement or a meal additive? For a meal replacement, you'll need to have a protein and carb component, but an additive (as in, you're making protein bars, muffins, ice cream, whatever) can (and probably should) be straight up protein.

2. Goals
Are you trying to cut weight? Put weight on? Where do you lack in your daily macros? If you find you're often over on carbs, make sure your supplement doesn't have too high of a carb count. If you find you can never hit your protein levels, look for products that will help you achieve your numbers. Is your diet low in carb? High in protein? Balanced? I recommend breaking out a day's worth of food on a tracker program like MyFitnessPal.com so you can see which products will work best with your eating habits.

3. Preferences
I am very sensitive to consistency. A powder that doesn't dissolve well is not for me. Also, consider what you're mixing it with; if you plan to mix with milk, the taste may be masked somewhat, but in water, all you're going to taste is the powder flavour. I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners, so I look for products that don't use aspartame, sorbitol, or sugar alcohols (or that are at least low in them).

4. Sensitivities
I'm lactose-intolerant (or sensitive, or something), so I look for powders that are low in lactose. Based on trial and error, I know I have trouble with whey protein unless it's an isolate or isolate-blend.

5. Don't Switch Unless You Have To
I learned this one this week. I switched flavours (not even brands) and hated the new one. Once you find a brand and flavour that works for you, only switch if something changes, or you get so sick of it you can't stomach having it anymore. Ideally, your supplement provider will let you test out the flavours in store before you buy (like Reflex does) or have a good return policy (like GNC does).

If you're curious, I currently use the BSN Syntha-6 powder as a meal replacement in the Chocolate Milkshake flavour and GNC Whey Iso-Burst in French Vanilla for making protein bars/ice cream (apparently this product is no longer on their site?).

Day 27: I Loves Me Some Cheat Day

Starting Weight - 152.4lbs
Day 6 - 148.1 (-4.3lbs)
Day 13 - 147.7 (-0.4lbs)
Day 20 - 146.6 (-1.1lbs)
Day 27 - 145.8 (-0.8lbs)

Total Lost = 6.6lbs

Tom's Weight - 216lbs
Day 20 - 206lbs (-10lbs)
Day 27 - 206lbs

Total Lost = 10lbs

Day 20: Cheat Day and Weight Update!

Wooooo cheat day!

Starting Weight - 152.4lbs
Day 6 - 148.1 (-4.3lbs)
Day 13 - 147.7 (-0.4lbs)
Day 20 - 146.6 (-1.1lbs)

Total Lost = 5.8lbs

Tom's Weight - 216lbs
Day 20 - 206lbs (-10lbs)

Total Lost = 10lbs

Day 18: Does Living Clean Mean No Social Life?

Yesterday we went to a dinner party at our friends' new house. This is one of the hardest parts about living clean: socializing. It was a BYOM (Bring Your Own Meat) barbecue, so I could control that. I offered to bring salad, so I could control that. But when you're actually there and the lovely hosts have out snack food and keep offering you wine, beer, whatever you like, it's hard. Really hard. And these are people who get being on a clean living streak - she was until very recently a national level athlete. But even the people who get it can't make it easy you on. It takes a lot of dedication and, to be honest, deciding on an acceptable level of cheating.

We went and I did not have a drink. I ate the food I had brought with me, in the portions I had planned, but I did have probably five tortilla chips with the guacamole the hostess made. Not exactly on script, but I did manage to avoid dessert.

Just have to keep on truckin'

Day 15: Protein-y Recipes

First, a quick weight update!

Starting Weight - 152.4lbs
Day 6 - 148.1 (-4.3lbs)
Day 13 - 147.7 (-0.4lbs)

Blech, the dreaded weight loss plateau. Trying not to think about it too much.

I tried this recipe today: Protein Packed Super Fudgy Brownies. I modified it to leave the icing out and subbed vanilla protein powder for the sugar. They turned out fluffy and cake-like, but not very chocolatey. I think it needs chocolate protein powder and maybe a bit of Stevia (although I hate using sweeteners).

Tomorrow I am going to try Protein Ice Cream because it sounds AMAZING. The quest continues to find high protein, low carb, lactose-free recipes.