anyone else into weightlifting?

hiya everyone! wow, new boards to play on! woohoo... i am 23 mos post op open rny and got into weightlifting in january. i'm wondering if anyone else is into it, what your sets are like, goals, how have you changed your eating and/or supplements since lifting... stuff like that... {{hugs}} kate

I had RNY 6-29-01. Have gained 10 lbs and feel disgusting. I use weights to work out with aerobics, such as The Firm. So don't know about reps and such.

I am almost one year post op and have lifted weights off and on for the last 7 years. I did not change my eating or supplements once I started lifting because I already ate a higher protein diet, as well as have been using supplements and drinking loads of water for the past 15 years. I use a different supplements now than I used to, been using them for the last three years, but that was not a change because of weight lifting. it was a change because I found out that no matter how good of quality of vitamins that I take, as long as they are in capsules or tablets my body does not absorb them. I have seen them pass through me and was rather vitamin deficent in spite of taking loads of viatmins and that was BEFORE my open RNY. so I changed to a balanced vitamin supplement that is in one product that is in powder form so when you mix it with your liquid and drink it your body can absorb it within 10 min. I have had a resolution of many things that have plauged me for years prior to my op. and since my op, both set of blood tests have come back great. in fact the last set, my doc said that he had never seen a more PERFECT set of blood tests in his life. having said all that, I have in the past kept my weights light enough so that I could do three sets of 15. Keeping the reps high and the weights lower allowed me to keep my rests shorter and get a certain amount of aerobic workout along with the weights. before my op, I wanted more muscle but not at the expense of increasing my weight because regardless if it was fat weight or muscle weight, the weight full stop was too much for my frame. now that I am so much lighter, I am considering going a bit heavier with my weights and keeping my sets between 7-12 reps so that I can get some bulk in certain areas. I suppose if there are some areas where I want to bulk and others where I just want to tone, I could do a split routine. some with heavy weights and some with lighter. you can do that can't you? I need some muslce on my arms, specifically my triceps that seem to be lost in the excess skin and what fat is left on my arms. now that I can see the muscles more I can see that I barely have a tricep. haha and I want to increase my chest muscles some more too. what do you do for abdominal work? specially being post op? I have such an excess of skin there, as well as a pouch of excess fat above and below my belly button. I have two stomachs and it seems to be the last vestage of where the weight is really being held. I want to lose about 43 more pds before I consider having my tummy tuck and as far as I am concerned just about all of that needs to come off that tummy. I look really trim with a great shape from the back, but the side and front you can see the serious apron that I have. when i really suck my stomach in hard, I have a better shape and definition but I can't hold it in for much time. I also have trouble doing any push ups, and those are girls. I think both of those are related to abdominal strength, correct? just saying that you are going to do stomach cruches, well if your abs are almost non existant, are cruchnes where you should start? or something a bit easier so that you don't do yourself some damage? I am not convinced that I can do an abdominal crunch correctly with these weak muscles. let me know about your sets and your ab work. Melisa Morrison Success is the BEST Revenege!

Hi, I am seven months post op and am working with weights. My husband has different muscle groups broken down and I am on a 3 day cycle for weight lifting so each muscle group gets two days of rest before being worked again.  Reps done in each excercise are 15, 12, 10, 8, and six with gradual increases in weight until the last set of reps are dificult to achieve but achievable.  We set up charts and keep track of our weights carefully. If the last set becomes easy, we put a plus sign next to it and the next time we work that muscle group we increase the starting weight.  I also do crunches everyday and the recumbant bike every day.  I was taking 3-4 smartforme chocolate protein drinks a day besides what I manage to eat and vitamins, but have increased this to 4-5 a day. They each contain 15 grams of protein. Hope this helps, Sharon 253/168/144 I've lost 14+ inches off waist and hips, 10+ off chest etc.