Iron is forever :)

Well, it’s been two years since I last had a proper workout, so I think it’s about time I moved my ass and got back to the gym. I’m Martina, 29, a novice lifter (or better yet: I WAS a novice lifter two years ago), from Slovenia, Europe and in 2012, I suffered from a nasty shoulder injury, so I had to take a break from weightlifting. Time has passed, and because iron is forever, I’m back. :slight_smile:

In June 2011, I first followed Starting Strength program (starting off with, for example, 50 pounds deadlift and finishing off with 110 pounds deadlift). On August 2011 I shifted to Wendler’s 5-3-1 (finishing off with 210 pounds deadlift on January 2012).

I’m returning back to the gym this December, and I would really love to ask you a few questions before I even enter the gym all over again. What are my goals? I want to be strong, I want a feminine physique, and I’m not afraid to use iron during the process. I also want to cut fat.

Can you help me? Where do I start? How should I plan my workouts? One of my old workouts looked like this:

103 bench
170 squat
92 press
210 deadlift
108 front squat
120 power clean

I always added some bodyweight exercises, and besides weightlifting 3-4 times per week, I also did cardio about 2-3 times per week, sometimes sprints, mostly the fartlek run.

What do you think? Should I go back to Starting Strength, skip directly to 5-3-1, do nothing of the above? Where do I start?

What about my nutrition? I’ve read so many books and articles on nutrition, but it seems that the more I read, the more I get confused.

I’d really appreciate your help. Thanks! :wink: