Getting back on the right track

[FrenchWoman]

Dear Mr Rippetoe,


I'm a 44- year-old French woman and I started powerlifting
in March 2019.


I'm writing to you in the hope that 1) you might take the
time to read my message.

2) you might accept to help me.


I will try to be concise.

I've always been very sporty, got into different sports since
I was 20: dancing, surf, tennis and above all running (hills), a sport I've
developed a passion for. Running was the only way for me to get away from the
stress of the mad world we live in. I went running 3 times a week for many
years and everything was well until I turned 42. I felt I didn't recuperate as
fast and I started to suffer from chronic muscle soreness apparently caused by
lack of rest between running sessions coupled with running shoes that were not
the best ones for me. Nothing serious according to my GP.


In March 2019, I decided I wanted to do powerlifting after
viewing a video of an elderly woman training on the Starting Strength youtube channel. I
thought to myself " I want to be like her when I am her age".


So I went to the local gym where they taught me the squat,
deadlift and bench press. After a couple of months I wanted to go further so in August I joined another
gym where the coach made a programme for me and suggested I should train hard, set a few goals and go to a powerlifting meet.

I went to my first
powerlifting meet ( for beginners) last october. My weight is 57 kilos.

- - squat: 47.5 kilos

- - bench press: 32.5 kilos

- - deadlift: 75 kilos




2nd powerlifting meet on November 9th.

- - squat: 57.5 kilos

- - bench press: 35 kilos

- - deadlift: 75 kilos



Unfortunately over the past few months, my glutes and my lower back have started
to get sore but I went on training. Powerlifting has helped me get physically but also mentally stronger. Now it's hard to stop.


The problem is that I'm scared of getting seriously injured if I go on lifting so heavy for me. I think that I didn't
give my body enough time to adapt to the heavier weights.


I'm still training but I lack passion ( because of the soreness in my lower back). I want my muscles to heal so I have decided to slow down and unload the barbell.


I've been to powerlifting competitions and I know I won't
get medals at my age, it's too late for that. But I'm determined and VERY consistent. What I want above anything else is
getting stronger and remain strong for as long as possible. I'm thinking long
term.


What do you advise me to do? Stop lifting ( and I'll be the
most unhappy woman in the world) and wait until the back pain goes away? Or go back to square one, and adapt my training: maybe unload the
bar and focus on technique?

Thank you for taking the time to read my message.

I wish you a very Happy New Year. Bonne Année.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Read this and post the answers.

[Steve R]

Unfortunately over the past few months, my glutes and my lower back have started
to get sore but I went on training. Powerlifting has helped me get physically but also mentally stronger. Now it's hard to stop.


The problem is that I'm scared of getting seriously injured if I go on lifting so heavy for me. I think that I didn't
give my body enough time to adapt to the heavier weights.


I'm still training but I lack passion ( because of the soreness in my lower back). I want my muscles to heal so I have decided to slow down and unload the barbell.


I've been to powerlifting competitions and I know I won't
get medals at my age, it's too late for that. But I'm determined and VERY consistent. What I want above anything else is
getting stronger and remain strong for as long as possible. I'm thinking long
term.

This is very simple. You need a coach who will be responsible for your programming.

Feeling beat up and sore is a common occurrence when you train. It happens to me near the end of most training cycles. A coach will recognize slow bar speed, form deterioration and slow recovery as signs that a training cycle is near an end and a new cycle must be programmed, usually starting with a significant de-load.

It is so much easier to follow your coach's program than to try to program yourself. That's why most coaches who train are programmed by other coaches, often in other locations.

In-person coaching is ideal but if there isn't a coach available where you live the next best solution is one of the many online coaches who have placed ads on this website.

Training is hard enough without the worry and frustration of trying to program yourself. Delegate that job to a professional and then just follow the program.

[FrenchWoman]

Good evening,

I have attentively read the article for novice lifters and here are the answers to the first three questions.

1) I rest for 2 minutes between sets.

2) I train 3 times a week.
Tuesday: squat ( I generally add 5 kilos on the squat between workouts)
Wednesday: bench press ( I add 2.5 kilos)
Friday: deadlift ( I add 5 kilos)
But that is not a rule because if I'm feeling tired I don't add any weights.

3) Sleep: I get to sleep okay but I often wake up at night, and that kills me so I VERY RARELY get 7 or 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Food: I never calculate my calorie intake. I'm not vegetarian so I eat a bit of everything. I have three meals a day.

- breakfast: in France we have baguette, butter and honey + tea with milk
- lunch: leaves +pasta or rice +eggs or lean meat ( I rarely eat red meat) or fish + vegetables
- dinner: same as lunch but a smaller portion + fruit or yogurt or cheese
in between meals: gallons of tea, fruit, mineral water
- food supplements: magnesium, cucurmine, cod liver oil, olive oil.

I weigh 57 kilos and I have no idea how many calories I should eat in order to recover from the stress of training and get stronger. I eat when I'm hungry and that's it.

There is a coach in the gym where I go and his coaching is part of the subscription fees so he coaches other people. It's hard to find a powerlifting coach near where I live ( south west of France) so an online coach would be perfect but to be honest that is something I can't afford.

I haven't lifted for two weeks to give my body a rest ( although I continue to do core exercises like the plank every day).

I want to go back to square one so I will try the Starting Strength programme and see how it goes.


Thank you for reading and responding to my post.

FrenchWoman

[Nockian]

Please 'afford' a coach. If you really want to get stronger the outlay is worth it. They will sort out your diet, lifting technique, injuries and customise your program, getting you on a path which you can begin to self guide. The cost is always an issue until it's justified by achieving your goals-those of us who have hired a coach probably all went through the same thing as you did on cost, until we reached a point it became very clear that we were not going to succeed, or were going to get injured trying.

As an idea of cost for online coaching it cost me £390 for 12 weeks, that's just over £30/week, or around £10 per session if you are training 3 times per week. No brainer, if you can afford gym membership, a PC, mobile phone, lifting shoes, belt, chalk, straps and wraps, then what's an extra £10 per session for a few months ?

[Steve R]

I weigh 57 kilos and I have no idea how many calories I should eat in order to recover from the stress of training and get stronger. I eat when I'm hungry and that's it.

You probably need about 125 grams of protein each day to recover from your training. Eating only when hungry and only until you are satisfied is probably leaving you far short of adequate protein intake and perhaps calories as well.

I find that eating enough protein to support muscle growth is hard, monotonous work. Also, it wouldn't be possible for me to keep track of protein and total calories without using a smart phone app such as MyFitnessPal. An app such as this is indispensable.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Diet, rest between sets, not actually doing the program, several reasons why you're stuck. Read the article again.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Bonjour Madame,

It's hard to find a powerlifting coach near where I live ( south west of France)

I had the same problem when I moved to France (I live near Antibes).
The only proper gym I found was a WL one not far from Nice, but opening times were not suitable, so I started training at home. For what is my experience, coaches in WL gyms are usually better than those you find in commercial gyms; you won't be able to follow the SS program, but you will still get plenty strong under their guidance. Might be an option worth considering, if all else fails.

Bonne chance,

IPB

[FrenchWoman]

Bonsoir IPB,

Thanks for responding to my post and giving me a new outlook on things.

I'm very happy because I've learnt quite a lot since I joined the Starting Strength forum, particularly about diet and sleep / rest, which are a very important part of training.

There is a WL coach in the gym so I'm sure he'll be able to help me follow the SS programme. He taught me the technique of the squat / deadlift / bench press ( power clean and barbell row) but the programme he asked me to follow wasn't adapted.

I made mistakes as well: I didn't eat enough ( sometimes I skipped lunch at work or just had a salad) so here I am, trying to put more meat on my bones... my body is less sore and I'm more determined and motivated than ever!

A bientôt

FrenchWoman