How much weight for barbell?
- Thread starter noraw
- Start date
Catchick65
Cathlete
Hi Nora,
Hmm, not an easy question to answer. Have you done the 1RM's yet? Silly question, you would need a barbell and dumbbells for that. Most "starter" barbell sets are 55 pounds I think, so that's where I would start. Actually, that is exactly where I started. I need to add 10-20 pounds to that now that I am beginning meso 2. How strong are you? That's another question to consider. Have you done much weight lifting? Whatever you do, don't over do it. Listen closely to your body and modify. I don't know if this helps much, maybe gives you more questions. But, I tried.
Respectfully,
~Catchick65
aka Renee
Hmm, not an easy question to answer. Have you done the 1RM's yet? Silly question, you would need a barbell and dumbbells for that. Most "starter" barbell sets are 55 pounds I think, so that's where I would start. Actually, that is exactly where I started. I need to add 10-20 pounds to that now that I am beginning meso 2. How strong are you? That's another question to consider. Have you done much weight lifting? Whatever you do, don't over do it. Listen closely to your body and modify. I don't know if this helps much, maybe gives you more questions. But, I tried.
Respectfully,
~Catchick65
aka Renee
Shadowpup
Cathlete
Good point on the 1RMs - that's actually how I decided the same question, last year. I picked a bar and enough weights to go to my 1RM. It's a good thing, because my 7RMs in STS meso 3 ended up being about the same as my original 1RMs.
Do you have a bar? Some come with plate sets. I went with a barbell kit from Walmart that someone posted about here; apparently that style was used in earlier Cathe dvds. it came with 100 pounds. Cost effective with free shipping
Others like the Troy lite system. I don't think that one is as strong.
Speaking of strength, the strength of the bar is important. My original is rated to 140 pounds but I found it began to bend at 130 (it's two hollow rods overlapped in the middle). My new barbell, from Cap, goes to 250. It's solid. The first bar weighs four pounds, while the second weighs 16, so that also makes a difference in how many plates you need to buy.
The other thing someone here reminded me of us to be sure I thought about whether I wanted an olympic or a universal size bar. That also affects bar weight.
Do you have a bar? Some come with plate sets. I went with a barbell kit from Walmart that someone posted about here; apparently that style was used in earlier Cathe dvds. it came with 100 pounds. Cost effective with free shipping
Others like the Troy lite system. I don't think that one is as strong.Speaking of strength, the strength of the bar is important. My original is rated to 140 pounds but I found it began to bend at 130 (it's two hollow rods overlapped in the middle). My new barbell, from Cap, goes to 250. It's solid. The first bar weighs four pounds, while the second weighs 16, so that also makes a difference in how many plates you need to buy.
The other thing someone here reminded me of us to be sure I thought about whether I wanted an olympic or a universal size bar. That also affects bar weight.
Autumn68
Cathlete
Well for me I started with benching 30# and squatting hardly anything (hating leg w/o's maybe I did 20). Now I could have pushed it to do more but I didn't have enough weights anyway.
Now I'm benching 72# for chest and 72# for squats too (a coincidence). So it's good to have enough weights so you don't have to worry about going as heavy as you when when it's the right time. I saw a sale on a barbell with 100# of weights for $33. at Walmart. Even if the barbell is cheesy and you don't use it, the weights would be useful for any bb (except for Olympic size bb of course). It's good to have a few small weights so you can just go up a little if you want (2's, 3's, if you can find them). - autumn
noraw
Cathlete
Thanks so much for the great info! I ordered the Troy lite bar and it comes with a total of 40lbs, so i think I will buy a few more plates just to be ready for increase. I am currently wrapping up CLX so I am used to doing some weight training, although not with a barbell, that one is new to me, so I had nothing to compare it to. I'm not so sure I'll be able to go so high, I'm pretty petite, 5'2" and 105 lbs, but we'll see, I'm sooo excited about this program!!
Thanks again!
Nora
Thanks again!
Nora
Autumn68
Cathlete
Thanks so much for the great info! I ordered the Troy lite bar and it comes with a total of 40lbs, so i think I will buy a few more plates just to be ready for increase. I am currently wrapping up CLX so I am used to doing some weight training, although not with a barbell, that one is new to me, so I had nothing to compare it to. I'm not so sure I'll be able to go so high, I'm pretty petite, 5'2" and 105 lbs, but we'll see, I'm sooo excited about this program!!
Thanks again!
Nora
You'd be surprised at what you could do. Cathe is small too and look how much she can lift. If you don't take male hormones, you wont look like a muscle man...Anyway make sure you get something to wrap around the bb for your neck. I got something recently, before that dh gave me a little foam thing we wrap the pipes up with. Good luck, autumn
L Sass
Cathlete
I was talking with a gentleman at my gym and he said that while most people cannot, they SHOULD be able to at least squat their own weight. As you work up in STS you'll probably need those extra weights. Like Shadowpup I'm also lifting more than my weight. Just a concept to keep in mind.