Back in the gym-God I'm weak

Went to te gym on Sunday.  I was amazed that I ran 1.5 or so on the treadmill and didn't break a sweat.  However, when I started lifting, I was incredibly weak.  Since junior high, I've always used 135 pounds as a warm up when benching (10 to 15) reps.  On Sunday, I couldn't do five reps.  Is something wrong.  I know I've lost 100 pounds, but should I be this weak.  I feel great and am hoping strength and muscle will come back.  I have decided to go back to machines, start off light, and make sure my form and technique is perfect.  Hopefully this works.  Has anyone else experienced this loss of strength.  By the way, I'm getting in decent protein and feeling great otherwise.

It was my experience that if you stick with it, the strength will come back.  I felt weak when started back at the gym.

I think thats pretty normal. As much as we try not to loose muscle mass when we drop the weight, some is lost anyway.  Our new lives necessitate a re-building or re-habilitation process. How well we succeed depends on how well we follow the rules of diet and exercise. I'm 15 months out and am not yet as strong as I was prior to WLS. However I have much more stamina which puts me way ahead of the game IMO. The strength is slowyly coming back as I continue to work out. I'm 55 YO and I think these things take longer for people my age and older. You appear to be younger so I suspect you will enjoy results faster. Doug

No sweat, joneswood! (Hahahaha)  Seriously, this is pretty normal IMO.  In 1995, after losing 150 lbs.in 8 months on my own eating plan, I started working out - walking the treadmill and weight training. I had always above-average strength  when it came to weight lifting, probably partially because of my sheer mass. However,  was shocked at just how weak I was. when i started resistance training after the weight loss. I had to use 95 lbs. for my warm-up on the bench press, as opposed to the 135 I had always used in the past. And the 95 lbs. was TOUGH! Anyways, I did a lot of research and then switched my workouts from the basic big 3 (bench, squat, and deadlift) to a routine based on dumbells and machines. My strenght started to climb very quickly, and within about 8 weeks or so my strength was back to the appropriate level.  To gain stength as well as better work the stabilizers, try a dumbell routine, vary the exercises for each muscle group each session, break the workouts down by body parts, such as: Day 1 - Chest, shoulders, tris + cardio Day 2 - cardio only Day 3 - back and bis + cardio Day 4 - cardio only Day 5 - Legs + cardio Day 6 - cardio only Day 7 - cardio only Try something like the above routine for about 2 weeks, then do a week of machines. The machines let you concentrate on pushing heavier weights, thus gaining strength, because they do all the stabilizing for you. Alternate between the two routines for a couple of months, gradually increasing the weight for each exercise. You should see signifigant improvement in your strength.  Be persistent, and be patient, and keep a positive attitude.   It will pay off! Hang in there brother!! (Sorry for such a long post!)

I hear you loud and clear. Eight years ago I was benching 435 and squatting 545. But I was also weighing in at about 335 - 340. I didn't really like being that heavy but every time I tried to cut my calories it hurt my w/o stamina and increased recovery time. So I used lifting as an excuse not to diet. I quit lifting at all about 6 years ago and just started back last month. So I think I was probably pretty weak before surgery due to 6 years of inactivity but losing 120 lbs in 4.5 months can't have helped any. I can still do 10 reps at 135 but it ain't a warm up any more. It feels like what 10 reps at 315 used to feel like back in the day. I'm up to 3x10 @ 135 and then I'm through. It's embarrassing but like every thing else we'll just have to work through it.

I'm no lifter but the other day while changing my ho****er tank with my Father, who is in his 60s and been on disability for awhile, and he did most of the lifting.  It was pretty humiliating.  Going to have to work on that.  But in the 200lbs I lost I am sure there was a lot of strength that went with the bulk. Jim D

I've been back at the gym for a week now but only doing cardio because I've been too scared of just this issue! Well yesterday I thought I'd try the dumbbells and see where I was at...it was a big shame. I was forcing myself to lift weights 20% less than what I was doing very easily pre-op. And after that I was BEAT!

I signed up with a trainer but I think I'll hold off at least until May so that I can get some strength back. I don't want him thinking I need to start on the baby dumbbells and take it light. I'm paying for him to transform me, not walk me through recovery.

I really hope I can get everything back up in the next two weeks or so. I feel your pain bro, I can feel it...

hey joneswood, i just had to respond to this one! my response is, whoa, whoa, whoa! 135 pound bench is respectable. did you know that's the national average for guys who lift? guys like Jfish are the exception and his old weight of 435 well, only a few guys in my gym in LA could do that! there is nothing to be ashamed of if you got right on the bench and lifted 135 after so long and you topped out at that weight.

a couple things here. first, we're older and don't have the strength, period. next, at our age it ought to be about good form anyway to prevent injury. i learned from a lifter a long time ago to leave the ego at the door. he said if he could make a weight of 45 feel like 85 then who cares? he's right. if you lift full range of motion, no bouncing and work the negative then a 135 bench will feel like a ton. period. i always struggled to bench 225 and 135 is still my warm up. but i've been at it for a while. i don't bench heavy anymore because it simply hurts. i bench around 205 if i want to go heavier. yeah, i could go a lot more but i don't. i'll use dumbells or a machine to flat bench differently rather than go up in weight. i also use a wide grip so i don't have to lift so far off my chest and i never bang it off either. that's a good way to wreck your sternum and get a deposit there. i'm all about protecting my shoulders now and heavy benching doesn't help. so i guess i'm past the days of trying to lift heavy. i go for control and i seem to get good results.

of course in time you'll get stronger and be able to lift more. bench was never my strong lift ever but i can lift a lot heavier in other exercises but i don't. i use negative or pyramid or anything that doesn't try to kill me! you know, the bench is what everyone, even those who don't lift, ask us how much we can lift. it's the holy grail of lifting. i always sucked at it and had a complex....lol. now you want to talk about curls or squats? carbonblob

Thanks everybody.  I guess I just have to work at it.  I feel normal now because I was concerned that maybe I was sick or something.  Will just focus on form and protein.

I'm less than three weeks out of surgery, down 40 pounds. I got permission from my doc to resume lifting on Tuesday, and while I found the walking not a problem, I really noticed the weakness when I lifted, too. Especially on the military press. Struggled to do one set of 10 reps. (Pre-surgery, did 2-3 sets). Everyone else I've talked to in the WLS lifting community has a similar story, and same advice: Be patient, it will come back. Best to you!