Surprised that she loved it
So this is the second week of my lifting class (sorry Francine that I couldn’t do one at a time that worked for you!).
And I’m loving it. But the best part is…SO ARE THEY!
And I don’t think all of them expected to…
I have one participant, Lois, who is also one of my personal training clients. We started working together in August and I’ve watched her get stronger and fitter and more confident in herself each and every time we meet.
And while Lois never gives up and is always willing to give an exercise a shot, I have to admit that I was blown away by her strength and determination in our lifting classes so far.
We’d stuck to a lot of functional weight training in our personal sessions together and hadn’t yet done barbell bench press, barbell deadlift or barbell back squat.
But last week, Lois attempted all of them for the first time and excelled! I was more impressed/excited/proud than I could even express to her at the time.
And she continues to impress me. At the class today she deadlifted with the best of them. And she survived the killer auxiliary lift circuit we did, making the necessary modifications, but never giving up.
And the best part is that after both workouts, she has walked up to me and said that it was hard, but that she enjoyed it!
I think it surprised her actually how much she enjoyed lifting super heavy weights!
So if you’ve been shy about heavy lifting, give it a shot! I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how much you love it.
Also, I just want to give a big shout out to all of the members of my class. You all are AWESOME! 🙂
P.S. Lois if you read this post since I know you occasionally visit Man Bicep….KEEP IT UP! I’m so proud of you! 🙂
Posted on April 11, 2012, in Benefits of doing "man" exercises, Man Biceps, Workout and tagged bench, Deadlift, heavy weights, lifting class, lifting heavy, Squat. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Man Bicep 
Love it! Thanks Cori! Your class is awesome 🙂
You did awesome today!!!
I’m still a bit intimidated by the “heavy weights”, especially doing it all alone, but I’m giving it my best shot. I’m never sure how much weight to attempt and then sometimes embarrass myself by trying a little too much and then having to remove weights.
I have a question for you. I cannot do a chinup yet, and I think I need to get a band to help me do assisted ones, but there are many different ones. How do I know how much resistance to get? I’m not even sure I could get the band around the bar at my gym since it is so high and I’ll probably fall flat on my face trying to figure out how I can do it, but I’d at least like to give it a shot.
I know this comment is really long, but I just wanted to add that I enjoy your blog even though I’m not even close to (or do I ever want to try) living the paleo diet. And I also do long sessions on the treadmill because I’m a long-distance runner and I enjoy it. I know it’s not necessarily helping me have a better body, but I have to find a balance between lifting and running, because I’m not willing to give up either.
For one, never be ashamed to have to drop down in weight. Two, ask a trainer to work with you! The best way to master form and figure out the correct weight is with someone helping you!
Do you have an assisted pull up machine? That would be best to use. If you don’t, I would get the thickest band available at this point. I would think a 2 or 2.5 inch one would be good (I think that this the thickest one available). You can either put one knee in it or actually even stand in the band. Be careful though…you don’t want to fall on your face! 🙂
And thank you for reading!!! While I’m definitely a fan of heavy lifting, I don’t think you should EVER give up running if you love it. Just work in some weights so that you get stronger for running and prevent injuries!
If you have any other questions, let me know!