Need help finding a fitness program

sheembarks

Hi everyone! I'm new to this group and am hooked on exercise after a few months of consistency. I'd like to get on a program to start seeing more results, but am not sure which one to try. I do all my workouts at the gym. We have a huge gym with all the amenities, but I am not confident enough to do very much in the free weight room, where all the men workout. I know this sounds silly, but I have a good 40 pounds to lose and feel like all eyes will be wondering what I am doing in a room I don't belong in.

1. Should I suck it up and pick a Bodybuilding.com plan that requires I go into the free weight room?
2. Do you have another plan you love?

I appreciate all your feedback, thanks so much!
Kim

DawnEmbers

Short answer: Yes. Free weights are great. The rest are okay too but seriously, don't be afraid of the lifting section. Most of the guys there won't notice you much anyways. I started listing when I weighed over 200 lbs and I'm only 4'11.5" so that's quite obese. It has taken losing over 50 lbs to get almost to the overweight category for my height according to the BMI scale. But lifting weights has been great for my figure and confidence. It's awkward the first couple of times but once you get used to it, you'll have no problem going in and lifting. Going in with a program to follow will help and if there is a trainer who can show you form the first time or two, that might be good because you will really want to work on how to do the lifts in the beginning.

I haven't used a bodybuilding.com plan though I do now have a profile on there. You will want a beginner routine, certainly, but in the forums they tend to recommend some of the same programs lifters in the forums here recommend. New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, Stronglifts, Strong Curves or Ice Cream Fitness.

I started with Stronglifts because it's the most simple of the ones I looked over. Just need to learn 5 lifts and that's all you do, 3 per day. The site is free and there is an app if you use those but I write all of my lifts in a notebook with a pen. Ice Cream Fitness is similar but with a few accessories. New Rules of Lifting for Women is a good book and quite the workout, which is varied over 7 stages. It will teach you many different lifts and the back portion that shows all of them is a handy resource. I'm on Stage 5 in New Rules of Lifting for Women now but looking forward to doing a program more like Stronglifts again.

The lifting room is for anyone. So, get some music, ignore the others and lift. You just might surprise yourself with what you can do.

sheembarks

Thank you! I'll check out the 5 lifts!

innerSKINNYme

Yes - suck it up. I have 50 lbs. to lose and I use the free weights every time I go in. I just do my thing. Believe it or not, not too many have a problem with that. Most of them just do their thing and I've actually had a couple of the guys give me pointers to help me out on a couple of them to give me more bang out of my buck.

As far as workouts, I really haven't found one yet. I do go onto the sites and look up the different types of lists (bodybuilding.com is one of my favorites). I do the research on what each one works (muscle group wise) and try to incorporate all the muscles. But I would like to find a program myself.

kimberwolf71

I have a friend that had huge success starting out with Jamie Eason's LiveFit program (free on Bodybuilding.com). I was seeing some results in my first few weeks, but wasn't able to stick with it (easy program, just bad motivation and prioritizing on my part). I loved that the eating plan was "clean" and simple. Actually, I found it was too much food for me to eat (what a switch!!).

stephanyah

I second Jamie Eason LiveFit - love that the first phase is no cardio! Music really helps to ignore when people look at you. They will but it's just a curiosity kind of thing - you'll see people copy you which I find really fun! Following a program really helps with the confidence.

Right now I'm doing p90x and you can easily use some of those workouts at a gym. Just find the sheets online.

giusa

Here's a great place to start, this post is in the Most Helpful Post/Must Read Section in the main forum - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308750/so-you-want-to-start-lifting-great/p1