help badly needed for clueless newbie

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  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Do read New Rules of Lifting for Women. Choose compound movements which work multiple muscles over machines which work one. In particular doing leg curls and so on instead of squats and deadlifts is neglecting your stabilizing muscles in your core.

    I would also note that recent studies have found that static stretching on the same day as lifting slows down muscle recovery.
  • brendanwhite84
    brendanwhite84 Posts: 220 Member
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    rheddmobile wrote: »
    Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Do read New Rules of Lifting for Women. Choose compound movements which work multiple muscles over machines which work one. In particular doing leg curls and so on instead of squats and deadlifts is neglecting your stabilizing muscles in your core.

    I would also note that recent studies have found that static stretching on the same day as lifting slows down muscle recovery.

    +1 for compound heavy lifts. Women should not worry about getting bulky (if any women here have ever worried about that). I'm a tall guy with a lean frame and obviously higher testosterone than any of you and I have busted my *kitten* on heavy free weights to achieve a decent toned look that I couldn't even remotely describe as bulky.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    rheddmobile wrote: »
    Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Do read New Rules of Lifting for Women. Choose compound movements which work multiple muscles over machines which work one. In particular doing leg curls and so on instead of squats and deadlifts is neglecting your stabilizing muscles in your core.

    I would also note that recent studies have found that static stretching on the same day as lifting slows down muscle recovery.

    Excessive static stretching before a workout can hurt performance. People are better off doing it after a work if anything. Below is a pretty good write up on stretching/warming up.

    http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/warming-up-prior-to-resistance-training-an-excerpt-from-strong-sculpted/
  • EsmeMary101
    EsmeMary101 Posts: 154 Member
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    Thank you. I appreciate the replies. I really am a bit clueless. I don't fully understand alot of it. I've just been piecing it together as I go along. I've read the links and I've ordered the book. Is it naive to think I can do it myself or should I get help? I really don't want to be wasting my time or worse, injure myself. I'm happy to put in the time and effort as long as I'm going in the right direction.
  • brendanwhite84
    brendanwhite84 Posts: 220 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Coleteo wrote: »
    Thank you. I appreciate the replies. I really am a bit clueless. I don't fully understand alot of it. I've just been piecing it together as I go along. I've read the links and I've ordered the book. Is it naive to think I can do it myself or should I get help? I really don't want to be wasting my time or worse, injure myself. I'm happy to put in the time and effort as long as I'm going in the right direction.

    I started strength training completely by myself by buying some home gym equipment and using an app. The good thing about that particular app (Stronglifts 5x5, which I don't use anymore because I hate squats and it overdoes them IMO, haha) is that its creator provides pretty decent form advice on the app / his website.

    Edit: There are also good form videos on YouTube for the big compound lifts.

    I really think you'll find you can do it yourself. Feel free to PM/add me if you want some advice from a habitual loner who's made some good progress in weightlifting without using a personal trainer or setting foot in a commercial gym.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    Coleteo wrote: »
    Is it naive to think I can do it myself or should I get help? I really don't want to be wasting my time or worse, injure myself. I'm happy to put in the time and effort as long as I'm going in the right direction.

    you don't sound like the kind of person for whom such a thought is naive. could be judging you by myself, i guess.

    i was heading for 49 the first time i touched a barbell. started doing stronglifts after a few months of flailing around, and i did it 'alone' [except for good ol' mark rippetoe and a whole ton of google/youtube] for a little bit more than a year after that. at that point i realised i was never going to figure out my squat problem alone, and went looking for a trainer. [he hasn't been able to figure it out either, three years in, btw].

    i don't mean to sound cavalier about the risks of lifting, but to be honest my own experience was: there's a fair bit you can safely learn by pure trial and error - IF you are conscious, prepared to pay attention to your body and able to learn from whatever it's telling you. any reputable programme is progressive, which means you don't just wander in and rip your own body weight off the floor on the very first day. most people get time to study how it's affecting them and make adjustments as they go along.

    i guess the tl;dr is: there isn't really an 'it' with lifting. it's not like getting to the top of mount everest where you either did or you didn't. or maybe it is. there's still a fair way you can go towards getting there, just by yourself.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Compound exercises. Program like starting strength or stronglifts5x5. Eat at maintenance or slightly above. Decent protein intake. 1 year to see some results.

    Lifting 3x a week. Better to do cardio, yoga or pilates on the other 4 days. If doing a strength program, my suggestion is to keep cardio at low intensity.
  • EsmeMary101
    EsmeMary101 Posts: 154 Member
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    canadianlbs wrote: »
    Coleteo wrote: »
    Is it naive to think I can do it myself or should I get help? I really don't want to be wasting my time or worse, injure myself. I'm happy to put in the time and effort as long as I'm going in the right direction.

    you don't sound like the kind of person for whom such a thought is naive. could be judging you by myself, i guess.

    i was heading for 49 the first time i touched a barbell. started doing stronglifts after a few months of flailing around, and i did it 'alone' [except for good ol' mark rippetoe and a whole ton of google/youtube] for a little bit more than a year after that. at that point i realised i was never going to figure out my squat problem alone, and went looking for a trainer. [he hasn't been able to figure it out either, three years in, btw].

    i don't mean to sound cavalier about the risks of lifting, but to be honest my own experience was: there's a fair bit you can safely learn by pure trial and error - IF you are conscious, prepared to pay attention to your body and able to learn from whatever it's telling you. any reputable programme is progressive, which means you don't just wander in and rip your own body weight off the floor on the very first day. most people get time to study how it's affecting them and make adjustments as they go along.

    i guess the tl;dr is: there isn't really an 'it' with lifting. it's not like getting to the top of mount everest where you either did or you didn't. or maybe it is. there's still a fair way you can go towards getting there, just by yourself.

    Brilliant, thank you. I'm delighted to hear that. I would prefer to get on with it by myself.
  • EsmeMary101
    EsmeMary101 Posts: 154 Member
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    misnomer1 wrote: »
    Compound exercises. Program like starting strength or stronglifts5x5. Eat at maintenance or slightly above. Decent protein intake. 1 year to see some results.

    Lifting 3x a week. Better to do cardio, yoga or pilates on the other 4 days. If doing a strength program, my suggestion is to keep cardio at low intensity.

    Thank you
  • EsmeMary101
    EsmeMary101 Posts: 154 Member
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    Thank you all. I really appreciate the advice and insight. The more I read the more I look forward to getting started.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Do read New Rules of Lifting for Women. Choose compound movements which work multiple muscles over machines which work one. In particular doing leg curls and so on instead of squats and deadlifts is neglecting your stabilizing muscles in your core.

    I would also note that recent studies have found that static stretching on the same day as lifting slows down muscle recovery.

    Excessive static stretching before a workout can hurt performance. People are better off doing it after a work if anything. Below is a pretty good write up on stretching/warming up.

    http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/warming-up-prior-to-resistance-training-an-excerpt-from-strong-sculpted/

    Yep. Thinking on this subject is evolving so quickly that believe it or not, this information is already outdated. The discovery that static stretching before a workout doesn't benefit performance or prevent injury is fairly new, and got most pros to swap their recommendation to static stretching after a workout. Then even more recently studies looked at doing it after a workout and found that it reduces blood flow to the muscles, slowing recovery and potentially increasing DOMS. The most current recommendation is to do it on a different day entirely.

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