@livinginhislight After not before? Interesting!
What's something you wish you started doing sooner/knew earlier in your fitness journey?
- Thread starter colwyn
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- female fitness
@colwyn Honestly, I wish I got into fitness with a healthier relationship with my body. When I started working out I had a lot of body image issues (I started working out because of my body image issues) and there was an element of obligation that I brought to everything I did. I had to work out to exhaustion, I had to work out to offset some weird perceived failures and not because it's actually cool and it's fun, and my limitations felt like a horrible hurdle instead of a stepping stone to improvement.
...I feel like I'm rambling but tldr, at risk of sounding cheesy I feel like building a constructive outlook has been a huge part of my fitness building so far, and definitely helped me in other areas of my life.
Also some more practical things I learned: being consistent is way more important than being consistently great, nailing proper form early on is gonna be a huge boom later, the average day is what matters in the long term, and working myself to exhaustion with cardio is just stupid.
...I feel like I'm rambling but tldr, at risk of sounding cheesy I feel like building a constructive outlook has been a huge part of my fitness building so far, and definitely helped me in other areas of my life.
Also some more practical things I learned: being consistent is way more important than being consistently great, nailing proper form early on is gonna be a huge boom later, the average day is what matters in the long term, and working myself to exhaustion with cardio is just stupid.
@colwyn 1) How much protein I would likely need to be putting on muscle.
2) That progressive overload and actual lifting programming is a thing.
3) How to brace for a lift.
And if, anytime in the ten years before I started lifting, someone had handed me a list of women who powerlift at any level around my height including their weight, lifts, and general body shape, my brain might have exploded in the best way.
2) That progressive overload and actual lifting programming is a thing.
3) How to brace for a lift.
And if, anytime in the ten years before I started lifting, someone had handed me a list of women who powerlift at any level around my height including their weight, lifts, and general body shape, my brain might have exploded in the best way.
shouldn%E2%80%99tbethishard
New member
@sk83n I've been avoiding lifting because of back pain/weak core issues. I still feel like I don't know how to properly brace my core- it's the main thing keeping me from more strength training.
How did you learn to do it properly? It's something you just kind of have to *feel* when you do it right...right? (sorry for the newbie-level question.)
How did you learn to do it properly? It's something you just kind of have to *feel* when you do it right...right? (sorry for the newbie-level question.)
@shouldn%E2%80%99tbethishard No worries! You might want to ask this in the daily simple questions thread for more info, but I think the easiest way to get a feel for what you want a brace to feel like is: cough, but stop in the middle. Feel how your abdomen is tight all the way around? That’s the general idea of bracing. Normally you’ll do it by taking a breath and then setting your muscles around that, not by coughing, but the coughing idea is the best description I’ve heard of what bracing actually is.
shouldn%E2%80%99tbethishard
New member
@sk83n SO HELPFUL! Ok so when I do this, my stomach feels kind of pushed out. Does that sound right?
I always heard form tips saying to suck in, or 'bring your belly button to your spine,' which is hard for me to even conceptualize, let alone actually attempt.
Coughing. I mean, that's so smart because it's a natural action that I can wrap my brain around and really FEEL and practice.
I always heard form tips saying to suck in, or 'bring your belly button to your spine,' which is hard for me to even conceptualize, let alone actually attempt.
Coughing. I mean, that's so smart because it's a natural action that I can wrap my brain around and really FEEL and practice.
@shouldn%E2%80%99tbethishard For a proper brace, your stomach should actually be pushed out! It shouldn't be full on distended, but definitely pushed out a bit and not that tucked/tight feeling that you're looking for in, say, yoga. It takes some practice! Here's a video by MegSquats further explaining it verbally.
@shouldn%E2%80%99tbethishard Yay! Bringing your belly button to your spine is... I’m not sure what, a yoga or Pilates thing. It’s not bracing for a lift, at any rate. Yes, bracing does push out, it’s not quite just taking a deep breath but it’s kind of liked that. You’ll see kind of a pushed out lower belly on people doing a heavy squat, for example.
So glad it helps and makes sense!
So glad it helps and makes sense!
shouldn%E2%80%99tbethishard
New member
flamethrower75
New member
@finleyk Completely agree. For a couple of years I only focused on lifting, which was fine enough but it didn't THRILL me so I never made much progress. Also I just have a wonky body and joints that didn't love lifting and I had to take lots of breaks. But I kept doing it because nearly all my friends who exercise are all about lifting, and the internet is always pushing it as the 'best' way to workout and build muscle.
When COVID happened I obviously couldn't lift, and I rediscovered my love of things like pilates, barre, dance cardio, and yoga. I had written them off for years cause of all the talk about how they don't really build muscle and you're never gonna 'bulk up' doing those things. But I don't... WANT to bulk up? I have good core strength and am reasonably strong for my size, I like the way I look doing these sorts of workouts, so why was I trying so hard to lift heavy when my body and brain didn't even like it that much?
Also, it's totally fine to not follow a 'plan'. I'm not competing for anything, I have no particular weight or aesthetic goals, so if I want to just throw together random types of workouts and do whatever I'm in the mood for that day, that's 100% okay.
When COVID happened I obviously couldn't lift, and I rediscovered my love of things like pilates, barre, dance cardio, and yoga. I had written them off for years cause of all the talk about how they don't really build muscle and you're never gonna 'bulk up' doing those things. But I don't... WANT to bulk up? I have good core strength and am reasonably strong for my size, I like the way I look doing these sorts of workouts, so why was I trying so hard to lift heavy when my body and brain didn't even like it that much?
Also, it's totally fine to not follow a 'plan'. I'm not competing for anything, I have no particular weight or aesthetic goals, so if I want to just throw together random types of workouts and do whatever I'm in the mood for that day, that's 100% okay.
@finleyk This was me. I completely respect that everyone has different goals and interests. I personally hated the gym. I hate counting reps. I hate being around people. I kept giving up on fitness.
Decided to try running last year despite all the "this is your body on cardio and this is your body on strength training" posts. I love running. I like doing exercise outside. I'll run, kayak, rock climb, do anything if it means being outside and not counting reps. And I run as often as possible now.
Disclaimer - still do some cross training but not as much as I should
Decided to try running last year despite all the "this is your body on cardio and this is your body on strength training" posts. I love running. I like doing exercise outside. I'll run, kayak, rock climb, do anything if it means being outside and not counting reps. And I run as often as possible now.
Disclaimer - still do some cross training but not as much as I should
@finleyk This was a key takeaway of my very early adventures in fitness. Just because everyone on Instagram is doing it, if it's not for you then it's not for you. Yoga is just a non-starter for me in every way, and I'd love to take the hours I put into trying to get as into it as I thought I should be and use them for some sport that I actually enjoy.
@colwyn The importance of rest days.
I'm a person who loves training and loves volume. I was in the gym 2+ hours a day 7 days a week. Skipping a workout would give me anxiety and I was afraid I wouldn't see progress.
The beginning of lockdown a year ago was an eye opener for me. My gym shut and at the time, I didn't have a home gym, so I was terrified of losing my progress. However, the past year has been my best year yet in terms of progress, despite only having about 3 months of actual gym time.
I still love training and I aim for 6 days a week, but I'm also an avid hiker and lifting after a 30+km snowy frozen waterfall hike is just hell, and I no longer feel guilty for missing training on those days.
I really wish I would've realized that rest days are where you grow, and other hobbies can take precedence over lifting once in a while.
I'm a person who loves training and loves volume. I was in the gym 2+ hours a day 7 days a week. Skipping a workout would give me anxiety and I was afraid I wouldn't see progress.
The beginning of lockdown a year ago was an eye opener for me. My gym shut and at the time, I didn't have a home gym, so I was terrified of losing my progress. However, the past year has been my best year yet in terms of progress, despite only having about 3 months of actual gym time.
I still love training and I aim for 6 days a week, but I'm also an avid hiker and lifting after a 30+km snowy frozen waterfall hike is just hell, and I no longer feel guilty for missing training on those days.
I really wish I would've realized that rest days are where you grow, and other hobbies can take precedence over lifting once in a while.
@giddeon82 Same for me but not quite as intense, I’d go often and I’d go hard and take on any “21 day challenge” (and the likes of them.) Cue to me just over a year into regular training and I’m on my third (mild) injury waiting to see how long this will take to let me start lifting again.
Mostly, I’m still afraid that I just won’t learn and this will keep on happening.
Mostly, I’m still afraid that I just won’t learn and this will keep on happening.
@giddeon82 Haha, as I was reading this I was wondering if I wrote this in my sleep - relate to this so much, especially the thought of trying to lift after a 30k waterfall hike. Love it.