Did 70/80/90’s on flat db press today. 90’s were a bit of a stretch. I was hoping to have someone spot me so I could go lower, but no such luck. Anyway, most weight I’ve done since pre-COVID. Scale says 174.8.
I do lift weights - then I ache for days so can’t lift anything again (or barely walk!) for days afterwards…
That soreness goes away if you keep it up. In fact, most serious lifters “chase” that feeling, because it’s rare after you have been doing it for awhile.
That’s interesting re people actually chasing that feeling!
I agree! The major thing i learned from this thread is that there are people who actively like all the things i dislike about weight lifting.
It’s not the soreness per se. It’s just that if you are really sore a day (or often two days) after lifting, you know that whatever you did, you did it right. It’s an indicator that the exercise you performed is working.
First off - congratulations on the new personal post-Covid best!!
Yup. One person’s play is another’s torment! I also, psychologically, like the slight ache.
FWIW, people who exercise regularly complain about pain a lot less … literally a higher pain tolerance, and are less likely to disabled by it.
My WAG is that it isn’t exercisers perceive pain any differently but that a little soreness is normative for them, even a positive association … not so much for the sedentary folk.
And it varies by exercise type apparently:
Subjects were 19 endurance athletes (triathletes), 17 strength athletes (weightlifters and throwers) and 17 non‐athlete controls. Quantitative measurements included: heat‐pain threshold, heat‐pain tolerance, cold pressor pain ratings, temporal summation of pain (TSP) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM). …
… strength athletes had higher heat‐pain threshold than endurance athletes whereas endurance athletes had higher heat‐pain tolerance and stronger CPM than strength athletes, and lower fear of pain levels. Longer training time correlated with TSP in endurance athletes but with CPM and heat‐pain tolerance in strength athletes. Conclusions Although athletes in general seem less responsive to noxious stimuli than non‐athletes, the type of sport differentially affects pain perception; whereas endurance‐based sport is associated with improved pain inhibition, strength‐based sport is associated with reduced pain sensitivity
Discussed in the article are other studies that demonstrate that the decreased pain responsiveness does not lead to the exercise selection but follows from it. Please note that responsiveness is what is measurable, not perception.
I was doing leg curls on a machine yesterday, and this diminutive older woman came over to me and said “I saw what you were doing the other day! You must be the strongest guy in the gym!.” (Far from it, actually). I think she saw me doing “windshield wipers,” which you don’t see people doing very often. I’m trying to work them back into my routine, but it will take some effort to become good at them again. Anyway, it was nice to receive some unsolicited props.
(BTW: the guy in the video is much better at them than me, but that’s the goal).
Oh my, I’m a very long way from that!
But after a month or so please do let us know if you have started to get through your plateau!
Will do!
BTW - Even though this is a “weight lifting” thread, I’m a big believer in body-weight exercises. I think that they are great equalizers - I’ll never be as strong as a 300 lb. powerlifter, but I might be able to do more pull-ups than them. And, the nice thing about them is they don’t require much equipment. In fact, a lot of parks have everything one needs to get a full-body workout, doing pull-ups and dips and leg raises and pushups, etc.
(Actually that one was a shout to @JaneA who said she would try the approach I suggested; I’m hoping in a month or so she can see and report back new strength results! But definitely you too!!! )
I just tried windshield wipers. I consistently do my rings work and lots of various sorts of core … but dang. Zero full ones and maybe two back and forth to halfway. They are not kidding calling them “an advanced exercise.” You are an inspiration. I have a new target to aim for and fail at! Thanks!
And FWIW I completely agree about body weight strength exercises.
It’s going well! I’m beginning to feel some progress in my upper body and my legs are going strong. I feel like I turned a corner–I really want to get to the gym. I’ve been going three times a week for a couple of weeks or so. Thanks for asking!
Bravo!
Because I can’t lift anything more that 5kg at a time. Also because I am too busy doing school stuff on the weekdays (and weekends) to go to the gym
Yay!!
Good article in the Washington Post today about aging and strength training. I don’t know how to link it since it’s behind a paywall.
Should I care about hypertrophy versus strength? I don’t much care what my muscles look like–I just want to be able to use them.
Two part answer:
First at our level it doesn’t matter much. Whatever we do we will see both improve.
Second though is how it may matter: you care about using them, and means strength (along with power and endurance, which are not completely the same thing). Gains there will be most motivating and are fairly easy to measure so focusing attention on that as a metric makes the most sense. It will give you the “attagirl” feedback that helps the habit entrench. By the time those gains slow down, which happens eventually, the habit is likely able to sustain itself with inertia.
And if you notice firmness in the mirror and clothes fitting sharper, get some compliments … bonus!
This article (as requested? Gift link) suggests increasing benefit from strength training up to 120 minutes a week, then no further benefit or detriment.
But if I do fifty heavy deadlifts as single reps one minute apart, which none of the studies did, and I often do, it involves under three minutes of lifting but takes an hour. I believe it should involve only time spent lifting.
This exercise ‘sweet spot’ is linked to greater longevity
A new study pinpoints how many minutes per week of strength training might help people avoid death from conditions including heart attacks and Alzheimer’s.