Well as a woman an being able to do 15 pullups and handstand pushups for reps, you are definitely incredibly strong. I met someone like that recently, she can press her own weight (105) in kettlebells over her head for at least 10 reps, and do pullups etc.
Having competed just a bit in both, I still say there’s less politics in weightlifting and track than point-based or heavily refereed sports.
cheers
Ok, on a machine. That’s WAY different. You never know how those things are calibrated, and they take out stabilization.
Becca, if you were as strong as we were thinking you were, there really wouldn’t be any politics. You’d be so much better than everybody else in your weight class that there wouldn’t be anything political about it.
Plus, unlike sports of form, like ice skating or what have you, the judging of weightlifting is pretty simple. Either it got up there, or it didn’t. The winner is quantitatively determined with clear rules.
Taking nothing away from your abilities, the machine explains a lot.
When I said 190 is inhumanly strong for a woman, I wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. I really meant that if you could do that, you were a freak of nature and should seriously consider taking up oly-style lifting full time.
Ahhhh. Yes, a machine is a lot different. That is at least believable.
never trust machine weights. the day i could only chest press 120 10 times 24 hours after benching 180 10 times (early college) was the day i stopped trusting machines. i think it was the same week the military press machine funked up my shoulder, which means it was the same week i gave up on machines for anything other than calf raises. 
That’s why I don’t use them much, no need to activate the core. And never going to a proper gym means not having access to free weights. And handstand push-ups are plenty hard enough to do.:eek: 
Stances work the legs just fine, as well. Especially when you add a weight vest and leg/arm weights.
And thank you all again for your advice and general help.
… Ok. You guys actually did get me thinking about finding a trainer and learning how to lift. it took a while ,but I started lifting about 3 weeks ago. I’ve yet to master the art of taking photos of myself, so the only one I’ve got that shows anything is this one. It isn’t all that good…
I’ve been told it will take about 6 weeks before I see much gain. But I’ve already noticed some cuts I didn’t used to have. Is that normal?