Hey Em. Fellow weight-lifter here. If you don't mind sharing, how do you usually go about your weekly workout routine (pre/post-workout as well)? Are there any sports or skill-sets (e.g. certain martial arts, dance styles, athletic events/competitions, etc.) you can see yourself attempting in the future?
I was going to sayĀ ābold of you to assume I have a routineā but as this is an ISTJ blog this is actually very reasonable of you to assume. Sadly, Iām in a slightly weird spot right now so hereās the brief rundown:
Pre-2017: worked out semi-regularly, but primarily cardio and body weight stuff with some light weights when I did.
Early 2017-early 2018: tried out powerlifting, loved it, did it regularly with a Stronglifts program
Early 2018: life intervened, moved to an apartment away from my decent gym, high stress, etc, took an extended break.
Like August or September 2018: signed up for new gym through work. Plus = cheap and not crowded, minus = no squat rack or bench racks and also itās closed during holidays.
December 2018: because the gym was closed, sort of got back into running but continued lifting to the best of my ability given the tools I had
April 2018: left off running due to weirdly bad seasonal allergies Iād never had before, upped my weightlifting again
Currently: have gym access until the end of the month, will be moving again soon, would like to continue powerlifting but will be in between apartments in training for new job for a bit so my life wonāt settle down until August/September. Ask me again in a few months.
Anyway: right now I am not doing much other than the main three lifts, adapted for what I have. I should warm up, but I donāt really other than maybe some bodyweight squats, and then I sort of count squatting as the warmup for my deadlift and bench. Post-workout I walk home, which is a 15 minute walk, so I pretend that counts. Occasionally if I have my shit together on the weekends for a longer workout Iāll do some cardio or maybe some minor bodyweight things, but as mentioned Iām preparing for a big move and change so Iām trying to keep my workouts to a short length so that Iām more likely to do them.
Content of the workout is: 5x5 dumbbell squats with 35 lb dumbbells on each shoulder. I canāt quite hoist 40 lbs on each shoulder yet; that might be my focus if I find myself in a hotel with a gym with only dumbbells and no barbells.
Deadlift: currently focusing on this as itās the only lift I can truly do. Iām doing a smolov Jr. these past few weeks so the sets/reps vary, but previously it was 5 sets, however many reps I could do at the weight. Iām doing the Smolov Jr. to break 200 lbs as my current 1RM is about 195. Again, once Iām resettled, I hope to focus on really increasing the weight but right now I canāt do enough of the supportive/accessory stuff to really shoot for a major goal and I suspect I wonāt have barbell access for a bit. During that time Iāll probably do a lot of dumbbell RDLs.
Bench: No rack, so I have to be able to clean and press the bar to do a bench press and Iām afraid to go too heavy and break my face. So currently stalled at 75 lbs though Iām slowly upping reps (5 sets, currently 6 reps but tomorrow Iāll probably go for 7). Again, will switch to dumbbells and pushups to maintain what strength I have until I can join a real gym again.
Once I join a real gym, Iāll probably find my new level and do a 12-week lifting program a la Stronglifts (which is how I started; I may try out Starting Strength instead just to see what itās like) and set a baseline/regain any lost strength, and figure out next steps from there. Because I took a pause and was figuring stuff out in 2017, I feel like I never quite hit my linear progression plateau, so Iād like to actually reach that point before I explore more intermediate options.
I donāt like team sports, and I really like gym time as an alone time so something where Iād need an instructor, like dance or martial arts, are probably out. I have taken a karate class and I liked aspects of it, but the thing is I donāt like the spiritual/meditative element of a lot of martial arts - and I respect that itās very integral to said martial arts and I wouldnāt want to bastardize it to meet my personal workout needs. I will probably get back into running (Iām slow, but I have decent stamina) as Iāll have at least a week or so with absolutely no gym but plenty of time. Iām also not very competitive when it comes to exercise; I spent so long being the worst at gym class that I sort of stopped caring as a defense mechanism, and in the end it worked out because now I want to set goals but I really do only compete with myself.
