Foxy Does the Weights

It has to be said that I did begin my bodybuilding journey with lots of trepidation.  I had to confront all the common misconceptions that accompany the bodybuilder stereotype.

For example:
"Only guys do weightlifting though - I don't want to look butch",
"I have seen the women who lift weights, they look so muscled and gross.  They must lift heavy weights - I don't want to look like that so I won't lift heavy weights"
"Do I have to drink protein shakes now?"

After doing quite a bit of reading on the bodybuilding website, I found that there are plenty of women who partake in the sport and many women who have written articles on various aspects of bodybuilding - from training splits to correct nutrition.  On further searching the rest of the web, I discovered quite a lot of literature about women who lift weights, and why women should indeed do weight lifting.

So, as mentioned in a previous post, I found a programme (one that is endorsed and run by a woman) and wrote down each exercise for each day of training.  Writing down the programme is easy.  The tricky part was my inability to connect the name of each exercise to what it looks like.  Also important to me was to avoid looking like a complete novice.  I didn't want to adopt incorrect form (which my research tells me is an injury risk) or choose too heavy a weight which would then cause me to fail immediately and rather dramatically.

A useful feature of the bodybuilding site is that it holds a database of videos to illustrate each exercise.  This is perfect if one is unsure of how to complete an exercise or what the correct form should be.  So, to prepare myself, I watched the necessary videos and drew little stick figures to make sure I remembered what to do.  I felt prepared and excited.

My first training session in the new year (2014) was going to be a weightlifting one. The training split for that day was chest and triceps.  I honestly thought that lifting weights was such a boring pursuit - that is until I tried it.  On my previous visits to the gym, while I was working up a sweat on the elliptical trainer, I had watched intently the way in which the men in the weights section were doing the same movements repeatedly.  It looked incredibly dull and I never thought I'd give it a shot.

When I found a free bench and set myself up with the weights I'd need for my session, I found that it was not boring at all.  I was concentrating on counting reps per set, I was concentrating on my form, and I was listening to music I enjoyed.  I was surprised at how much fun I was having, and how good it made me feel.

Another fantastic feature of the bodybuilding site is the ability to track workouts that you have completed.  If one is following a preset programme, the workouts are simple to track.  You simply choose the workout of that day from the list and input all the data from your session - how many kilograms you lifted, how many reps you completed per set, and how many sets you completed.

After tracking my first workout, I felt a sense of achievement and I couldnt wait to hit the gym for my next session.

xoxo

Foxy