Lifting for a Beginner

Calamitycazza

Firstly, I wasn't sure if I should post this in the exercise forum or here, so I decided to post in both!

I want to start lifting, but I have absolutely no idea where to start! My goal is to lose weight at the moment so I have already upped my calories from 1,300 to 1,700 because I know I'll need the energy. I have the bench/weights/squat rack etc, I just need help starting out!

I have a basic Idea of a workout plan, it goes a little like this:

Workout A : Squats 3 sets - 8-10 reps
Bench press 3 sets - 8-10 reps
Overhead press 3 sets - 8-10 reps

Workout B: Squats
Bench Press 3 sets - 8-10 reps
Dead lift 3 sets - 8-10 reps
Chin ups/pull ups 3 sets - 8-10 reps

The workouts will be changed around. So week 1 will be:

Mon: Workout A
Wed: Workout B
Fri: Workout A

And week two:

Mon: Workout B
Wed: Workout A
Fri: Workout B

Should I make any changes to this?

I understand that I need to start light, light enough that It's a little bit easy, then build up. Would it be best to add an extra 5kg weekly, or less than that?

Also, tracking my workouts, It seems very daunting to me as I haven't a clue how it should look! I've been doing tons of researching online, but I'd rather get advice from professionals before I do anything.

Basically I need a full beginners tutorial on what exercises I should do, creating a workout plan and how to track my progress! I've tried lifting with a friend (he's been lifting for two years) and I really enjoyed it and found myself wanting to try harder so I can lift more, so I decided to take it on myself.

I know there are a lot of questions, but I want to make sure I get everything right! Also if there is anything else that you think I've missed or will be helpful, please let me know!

Thanks

Unknown

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jimmmer

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

Strong curves, Starting Strength, Stronglifts, All Pro's SBR, NROL, etc

Any of those will give you results if you stick with it consistently and eat enough/sleep enough.

ETA: confusingly it seems you're looking to lose weight. Same info as I gave above, but eat a lot of protein and maintain a small deficit. Commit time and patience and enjoy the process....

lishie_rebooted

jimmmer wrote: »

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

Strong curves, Starting Strength, Stronglifts, All Pro's SBR, NROL, etc

Any of those will give you results if you stick with it consistently and eat enough/sleep enough.

ETA: confusingly it seems you're looking to lose weight. Same info as I gave above, but eat a lot of protein and maintain a small deficit. Commit time and patience and enjoy the process....

This.

You've essentially laid out Stronglift, kinda.
just do Stronglifts.
at least for a few weeks, then if you want isolation lifts, do ICF 5x5. It's a bastardized version of SL

DancingMoosie

It's ok for a start, but not sure how a beginner would do 3 sets of 8-10 pull-ups. I agree with posters above, It's looks a lot like stronglifts. Follow SL 5x5, it tells you how to progress as well.

GalaxyDuck

Check out the Stronglifts 5x5 Group for women:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

There is a sticky thread in there that gives an overview on starting Stronglifts that is tweaked to work better for women starting out. It's a well rounded program. I agree with the posters above that it's good to start with a tried and true program (and stick with it for the duration) before putting together something on your own. Also if you are just beginning I don't think 3 sets of 8-10 pulls ups is realistic. It can take a lot of work to get to that point if you don't already do some sort of upper body strength training.

ndj1979

jimmmer wrote: »

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

Strong curves, Starting Strength, Stronglifts, All Pro's SBR, NROL, etc

Any of those will give you results if you stick with it consistently and eat enough/sleep enough.

ETA: confusingly it seems you're looking to lose weight. Same info as I gave above, but eat a lot of protein and maintain a small deficit. Commit time and patience and enjoy the process....

cosign

lisalsd1

I don't bench and ohp on the same day. I'm also not going to deadlift and ohp on the same day. I have a day for each (plus a squat day). Yeah, look at something like Stronglifts. All the "work" has been done for you with a program like this.

griffinca2

I agree w/Robbo_79; just want to add that once the weight you are using become easier to lift (i.e. lifting is a breeze)--increase your weights (and if you can't increase the reps). Also, what I saw in a women's fitness mag several years ago that if you had trouble going up to the next weight, try to do as many reps as you can w/it (even if it's only one or two); increasing the reps every workout.

FitForL1fe

is that StrongLifts? lol

grab StrongLifts, Starting Strength, or NROLFW and let them take care of setting up your program

FitForL1fe

Robbo_79 wrote: »

Probably far too much to cover in one reply, but you're on the right track.
Above anything make sure your form is good, i.e. your technique for lifting, especially with free weights, form is more important than weight at this stage, also you only need to vary your workouts and days once every 4-6 weeks, not every week, your body needs a bit of repetition to build the strength and mass, around 4-6 weeks change it up to shock it into more growth.

It depends what you are trying to a chief with lifting, if its all over toning/building muscle or just certain target muscle groups as your workout above will only work certain muscles, not others.
Also try and use as many compound exercises as possible rather than isolation as these build muscle quicker. and more of it.

do you take supplements? creatine, protein and BCAA's are the most essential when lifting, these will help with recovery and build lean muscle.

to find out your ideal weight to start with, find your ORM (One rep Max) which is the heaviest weight you can manage for one rep, then start at 50% of this, aim to do 3 sets of 6-10 reps, per exercise, no more than 3 or 4 exercises per muscle group.

for toning/strength, do lower weight, higher reps, and to build mass, lower reps, higher weight.

Hope that helps a bit

think you flipped that around, yeah? high reps for hypertrophy and low reps for strength

AychoVee

Sounds good, but increase the reps 10-12 with weight you won't have to strain with on each rep. Nice for and complete all reps.

Brolympus

OP, the bulking sticky is a great place to start:community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners/p1

Also, this guide is very helpful too: acaloriecounter.com/building-muscle.php

In general, for a newbie, there isn't a whole lot you can do that won't help you get stronger. Your first 2, 3, maybe even 4 months you will experience "noob gainz" and will be able to build strength and maybe a bit a new muscle while losing some fat as well. Your body will catch on after awhile though, and you will be forced to pick between fat loss or muscle gain.

That being said.....I don't understand why you increased your calories. Granted you can lose some fat and build muscle in this phase, but you could lose more weight if you weren't inputting more cals (if weight loss is your goal). As long as you are not is a severe deficit (more than 750 cals below maintenance), there is no reason to increase cals in a weight loss phase. It's all a mental game.

Unknown

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