No, I hadn’t, either, until just shy of a week ago.

As y’all know, I’ve been doing the Couch to 5K training program along with the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, whilst mixing it up with the Wii (using sports (boxing, bowling and tennis) and Fit (aerobics, balance, and strength).

This has been good for me. I’m not complaining. After a two week scale stall (though I was losing a half inch each week in measurements in my bust, hips, and waist) I stepped on the scale yesterday morning and found myself down almost three pounds this week. Yay, me!!! 🙂

A couple of weeks ago I heard about the New Rules of Lifting for Women, so I checked it out earlier in the week, and while doing that, I stumbled upon the StrongLifts 5×5 program. This program, while written primarily for men, can be done by women, as well. (The gross majority of Mehdi’s audience is male.) I did a little more research and found that this program is pretty cut and dried, and IDEAL for someone like me, who can’t remember complex workouts in my head.

Being a member of MyFitnessPal.com, I did some checking and found a group for women that ARE doing the StrongLifts 5×5 program and boom! We were off to the races. I wanted to do this. The only problem was that I had NO barbells or weights, nor did I know what a freaking squat rack was. So I watched videos. I read literature. I watched MORE videos (especially the ones on form – it’s better to start really light with proper form than to jump in heavy with piss-poor form. Bad form causes injuries, and we all know I don’t need that).

Well, you know me…I am the Google queen, so I did a little research. Turns out that there are TWO types of barbells; Olympic (bars are approximately 44 lbs. in weight) and Standard (bars range in weight size). I was mentioning my interest in lifting to She Who Shall Not Be Named, and it turns out she actually had an extra standard barbell and some weight plates that she was willing to GIVE to me, provided I pay them forward at such time as I can afford to go out and get an Oly set. Okay…fair enough.

After searching the hell out of squat racks, I found myself at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Garner on Friday night, and ended up coming home with a rack that not only has a bench, but accommodates squats, as well. (Picture below.)

The newest toy in my fitness arsenal.

The 5×5 program is so simple it could be perceived as impossible, but I don’t think that it is. There are two workouts; A & B. Both have a warm up period, and workout A is 5 sets of 5 reps of the following: Squats, Bench Press, and Barbell Rows. Workout B is 5 sets of 5 reps of the following: Squats, Overhead Press, and Dead lifts. I know it sounds overly simplified, but here’s the catch; each workout, you add 5 pounds of weight to the bar.

For someone like me – an overweight weakling – this is virtually unthinkable, but I’m going forth, anyway. It’s more challenging and more fun than the 30 Day Shred (sorry, Satan…errr…Jillian…It was fun while it lasted, but I’m moving on to heavier things).

I have NEVER lifted anything heavier than a 6.6 lb. dumbbell in my entire life, so when I say I was working with 10 lbs the other night, I am not kidding. I mean WORKING…The squats are a killer…Especially if you go below parallel. Tonight I increase the weights by 5 lbs. Pray for me. 😉

Need more info?  Go to THIS WEB SITE and check it out for yourself. Download the 5×5 report and read it yourself. If it doesn’t make any sense to you, then don’t do it, but if it does? Give it a go. What have  you got to lose?

While I may be the oldest on my mud run team, I refuse to be the fattest or the weakest.

Until Next Time…