I had to laugh today. I went to Walmart and bought this little set of two dumbbell bars and the set included 40 pounds of weights.

This nice older gentleman behind the counter said to me "don't you lift that, let me get it" and proceeded to come around the counter to put my weight set into the basket for me.

He was being courteous. He was being a gentleman, kind to a lady, I couldn't fault him for it at all. In fact I really think it is nice to encourage that sort of behaviour, but considering I can bench press 60 pounds, pull down 120, and stiff legged dead lift at least 40, I didn't exactly think I needed the help.

Still it was a sweet gesture.

It did make me laugh though. I mean I'm buying the weight set for the express PURPOSE of lifting them. Duh. How funny. (I hope the poor old guy didn't hurt his back putting it in my cart!)

Ha ha ha ha ha! He probably thought you were buying it for your HUSBAND! Old stereotypes die hard!

Thanks again for sharing that triceps exercise- I REALLY feel that one!
Hugs,
Kat

What? Women lift weights? When did this happen

Good for you, what are men good for anyway

My wife is getting into it also, it's really cool

Here's another one for you that you will really feel (go easy on it though because you do too many at the beginning and you might not be able to walk!).

Find a small step or something that can elevate your toes and the balls of your feet about 2 or 3 inches off the ground. Put the balls of your feet on the step, and your heels on the ground. Lean forward a little and stretch out the backs of your calves. Then shift your weight from your heels to the balls of your feet and then stand up on your toes. Lower your feet and touch your heels back to the floor.

The first time I did that one I did 4 sets of 10, and I had trouble walking for a few days afterwards. So don't do too many reps to start with. It is an easy excercise, but you will feel it. After it gets too easy you can add a dumbbell in one hand to increase the difficulty. Or you can do it with toes pointed outward or pointed inward to work a slightly different part of the leg.

Thank you, Sherry. I hate to be a "Yes Butt" person...but.......I can't do ones like that, because of chronic Achilles Tendonitis. I wear elastic ankle braces, high top hikers, and keep on keepin' on, but it ain't great...I am anticipating improvement when I lose more weight. So far the first 60 lbs off hasn't changed much with that problem.

We have a lot in common- I really am an exercise nut- ran a marathon once, and used to climb stairs at the hospital, 6 floors x 10 reps, using the elevator down to keep my heart rate up! That's nuts! I think that has a lot to do with the tendonitis and knee problems- I always continued stuff like that even when I was overweight, until it got too bad. Ah well, you play, you pay! Now I am raging with impatience, but have to watch what my ankles and knees are saying, so alternate the Cardio-Glide with upper body workout with dumbbells. Nothing hurts from the waist up, so I'm a little tougher on myself there!

Hope it gets better- my dream is to run again someday. I have outdoor interests (archaeology) so need to be able to hike. I can walk 3 miles, could go 4 or 5 if something were chasing me, but get some sciatic pain after about a mile. So will stick with the Cardio-Glide until I have lost more....sigh...

Hugs,
Kat

I spent nearly the entire night -- when I should have been sleeping -- reading a wonderful website found here:
http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html
By a woman not only very helpful about women lifting weights, but a good writer and personality as well.

I took the advice here about finding a small weight (I had 2, 10lb coated handbells I dug up) and doing something while lying in bed. I was so gentle and careful.

Then I started laughing. I crack myself up. What a freakin drama queen I am sometimes!

And I also realized that I am more than capable of building myself an appropriate bench to fit me, using 2x4's, and then padding it however I want, if I really need one.

I was feeling bad when I posted something a couple days ago, and it carried through, feeling sorry for myself and Oh So Worried about what little I could do, when I climbed into bed.

That's not a norm. On the assumption I haven't just eaten 17 things I have food allergies to, no protein for days, hardly drank any water for 2 days, and not gotten enough sleep -- I do that to myself now and then, and then I can barely move -- but outside of that bogus self destruction stuff, I am really not that bad off.

I get out and mow my yard, and spend a couple hours every 10 days or so doing the walking tour of super walmart with my kid (sheesh, who needs a track? lol). I know many people much less overweight than I am who would have a pretty hard time with it. (Not that mowing isn't hard - for inconvenience reasons related to terrain and weather - but it hasn't killed me yet; and walking sucks only for side-effect reasons - sweat, chafing, and lower back pain - not for muscles/cardio reasons).

If I am eating sufficient protein (at least 100g/day -- though adequate would likely be more like 200g) I actually have pretty decent strength just due to having to move this weight around. Turning over in bed (with someone sleeping next to you, so you have to turn in place) essentially requires almost reverse bench pressing about 200+lbs fer gawdsakes, which might explain why I have to 3/4-wake up to do it....

Though I used to be highly athletic, that was somewhere back in the Neolithic Era. I am considering going to Walmart and buying a few free weights. For arms/shoulders, not legs. Even partial leg lifts or partial knee bends (done right) function almost as squats considering my current poundage!, so the weight of my body alone is significant resistance exercise.

I am one of those really weird people who has always *loved* weight training in the off-and-on years I had a chance to do a little. Not sure why. So I'm excited about it again, Krista's website was downright inspirational for me.

I read a bunch of stuff yesterday about loose skin, mostly from weightwatchers and stomach-stapling people. It was simply horrifying. I should be glad nobody posted pictures I suppose.

I realize this skin thing will be a profound issue with me, though I confess, I am hoping a diet that is NOT lowfat will slightly reduce the extremity at least a tiny % (the dry, non-elastic skin is a pretty common thing in 'regular' lowfat dieting, but skin's in better shape on the higher protein/fat diets I've read about). I am not into surgery, let alone have I got the money to revise every part of my body, and the thought of major scars frightens me, but it really only took a night of sleeping on it to decide that I would rather have baggy skin I can at least partly hide in clothes, or significant scars, than 300 extra pounds of flesh.

The hard thing is that I really want to do this NOW, yet am waiting on a client check, so I can buy the needed food and some needed supplements. I'm taking the time to clean out some carbs from the kitchen (by gifting, not by eating, lol!), cleaning the kitchen so cooking is more workable, and jazzing my little girl (Rykah, who is 6) up to "help mommy" by eating good food with me. A little bit of easy intro exercises I can do, though, so I am doing that until I get my stuff, that makes me feel like I am accomplishing something.

PJ

Way to go, PJ! That's the spirit! But remeber, it doesn't HAVE to be perfect (You remind me of myself- nothing will ever convince me of THAT! ) Just do it!

By the way, 10 lbs is a REALLY BIG free weight to start with!

Hugs,
Kat