Beginner's guide to Weightlifting plans: Part 2- Basics and Making a routine

AlinaRose17

I am working on getting my certification through ISSA at this time, so I am hoping to be in a position to be able to help people along in their fitness journey a bit better once I accomplish that. As my ability to instruct from that position is still in its early stages, admittedly, my best source of information comes from what I have learned from my own experience and reading. I will post my own routine in the next few days in order to give an example of a plan- I suspect that some might find that more useful than a barrage of information.

Sam_I_Am77

mustgetmuscles1 wrote: »

redfisher1974 wrote: »

It was no knock towards you, But the regulars here tend to pull stuff apart if it does not meet what they think is right. You will see.

You say that like its a bad thing. The "regulars" do tend to pull stuff apart. That is a good thing in my opinion. If the advice cant hold up to scrutiny and cant be backed up with solid information then maybe its time to do a little more research.

The OP's post is just a shot gun blast of information. Some of it is fine and parts of it are questionable, especially since it is directed towards beginners.

I imagine someone will come in and do a complete dissection of this but that will take some effort. It is easier to just say ignore this and pick a proven beginner program until you become qualified or you find someone that is qualified to create or tweak your own.

I wish I had the time to have a good conversation about this thread, but unfortunately I do not. In short, there is a lot missing, some things that are not good (i.e. training to failure all the time). As I sit here and think about this, I'm thinking this would be a huge thread that in MS Word would probably be at least a dozen pages and that would still just be my personal take on training beginners based on my education and experience. It's something that I would be interested in doing but not something I have time for in the near future.

My recommendations to beginners:

1. Cookie Cutter Programs: When in doubt find something pre-made that has some backing. StrongLifts5x5, Starting Strength are great beginners programs because they are simple, not because they are the best but because they are easy to implement. I personally prefer 5/3/1 over all of them, but perhaps that's because I have a very solid understanding of it beyond what is presented in Jim's books. I'm not going to get in a debate about beginner / intermediate programs, those are just my thoughts take it as you will.

2. Live Training: Throughout the last year of my education I have been in-school with many trainers and strength & conditioning coaches. Based on what I know and have learned from these individuals, the better certifications for trainers or S&C's are from...
- National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA): Either the Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) or NSCA-CPT.
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM): Either the Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) or the Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). They have a Corrective Exercise Specialist certification as well, but that individual might work with just specific populations of people but not saying their experience isn't relevant to all. Of course, experience plays a huge roll in this as well. They also have a certification tailored towards training in an MMA environment which is probably bad-*kitten* but I know nothing about it, so I can't really speak to intelligently about that certification.

You can definitely have bad CPT's, education isn't everything by any means but starting with somebody that is certified from a strong organization is a good starting point. It's kind of like hiring somebody with a degree from Harvard versus somebody with a degree from XYZ community college.

That's just my thoughts on this subject. I don't mean any disrespect to the OP, my suggestion would be to do more research on this subject because this is not complete and post something more cohesive and applicable to the general population.

ForecasterJason

Sometimes on my lifts, my last couple reps will be slow, but I'm still just barely able to execute the full movement. Would you consider that failure, or in essence a good place to stop?

dbmata

ForecasterJason wrote: »

Sometimes on my lifts, my last couple reps will be slow, but I'm still just barely able to execute the full movement. Would you consider that failure, or in essence a good place to stop?

Failure is failing on a rep. Like having to do the roll of shame, drop a deadlift, or drop a squat.

ForecasterJason

dbmata wrote: »

ForecasterJason wrote: »

Sometimes on my lifts, my last couple reps will be slow, but I'm still just barely able to execute the full movement. Would you consider that failure, or in essence a good place to stop?

Failure is failing on a rep. Like having to do the roll of shame, drop a deadlift, or drop a squat.

So for exercises on a machine (like the bench press for example), it simply means not being able to push the bar, correct?

dbmata

That would be my definition.

AlinaRose17

I usually consider failure to be the point at which I cannot complete one more rep while maintaining proper form.

dbmata

and failure is often in our heads.

Anecdatum: today was doing dl stance box squats at my hip height for DL. I was at 118% my squat 1rm, hoping to get 5 singles, I did two singles, and finished with a triple. That second double was almost a missed lift.

All in my head. you get the brain right, the body will follow.

No_Finish_Line

here's a suggestion for beginners that are too timid/intimidated/confused/overwhelmed:

use machines.

gasp!

that's going to be an incredibly unpopular statement, and does nothing to help you devise a 'routine'... but there is significant less chance of injury from choosing too much weight, losing control, or even terrible form.

is it optimal, of course not. but if its the difference between thinking about starting to exercise and actually exercising its quite a step forward

dbmata

Naw, use machines, if it builds confidence and ensures adherence...

Hell, I use machines to work on some asymmetry I have.

ForecasterJason

For performing compound lifts that are heavy enough, I only have access to a machine, so that's good news for me. I do have a pair of dumbbells that I have started using for bicep curls after I get in my compound lifts.