suggestions for beginning strength training?

khartman353

so, i'm really rocking my cardio out lately, but i have no idea what to do for strength training. i've never lifted weights before and going to the area of the gym with all the lifting equipment is SUPER intimidating! any suggestions on what exercises to do/how to get started?

panther87

i would start with the gym's manager or a trainer on site, see if they can set up a free program for you and show you how to use the weights. I go to a gym and they set up strength training programs for free. and if/when i need a change they will do that for me also for free. just ask and see what they can offer. Maybe splurge and hire a trainer for 1-2 sessions of training to get the hang of all the weights and how to use them. some one else may have other sites to visit. Good luck.

ErrataCorrige

I work at a gym and the last thing they want is to get sued over an injury from improperly used equiptment. All gyms should be happy to provide you with one free training session with an on-staff trainer, just so that they know that you know how to use the equiptment properly. Just ask. It is well worth it. You will learn to do the exercises correctly, and how not to damage yourself or the equiptment.

Go for it! Weight training really ramped up my weight loss!

austinusn

Hi - I think the best place to start might be the machines if they are available to you, rather than free weights. The machines give you more control so you are limited in your movement, and can't injure yourself as easily.

One thing that cannot be over emphasized enough is you are working out muscles that are not use to being worked out -- so you will probably be sore. Try not to tackle every machine at once, rather, concentrate on 1-2 body parts. take is SLOW, and try to do at a weight that you are comfortable doing about 15-20 reps with.

If you venture over to the free weight area, pay no attention to the male gorillas who are usually in their natural habitat lol. Most of them will be lifting weights that are WAY too heavy and therefore their form is out the window. Better to stick to a weight you can do with proper form and higher reps. If I see someone with nice arms for example, I will glance over (trying not to be too obvious) and try to figure out what they're doing.

Take it slow, proper form, light weights that you can do a high number of reps, and only a couple body parts at a time. It won't be so intimidating after that!

Good luck!

minnshark

Try this: http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbeginners/a/begstrength.htm
Paste the link into your browser.

david1956

Ditto what's been said.

Something to note (looking at those beginners exercises) is to watch that you progress from biggest to smallest muscle groups. It's common to see people who are trying to figure it for themselves wandering around doing everything in a random order.

Back exercises tend to also work biceps, chest woks shoulders and triceps to some degree, shoulders also work triceps. So you need to work the biggest groups before the supporting smaller muscle groups are exhausted. For example, it is difficult to hit your lats effectively if your biceps are already screaming.

So something like Legs, Back, Chest, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Lower back/abs.

If you don't get a personal trainer, watch that advice you get is from someone who understands good form. i.e. maintaining good posture, smooth slow repititions etc.

DON'T, especially as you advance and become more confident, ignore small muscles that don't look impressive but are easily injured such as rotator cuffs. Twice a week at least, everyone should do some light exercises on those muscles to finish up. Shoulders and rotator cuffs I'd say from observation are the most problematic area in which people can start getting irritating niggles, especially if they're ignoring good form. There's no reasons for injuries when weight training properly.

Azdak

Lots of good advice here.

Let me add: Your body will start to adapt with relatively low amounts of weight. Your intitial goals should be to learn proper form, get a feel for what muscles are targeted by specific exercises and allow your muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, etc, get used to the new loads you are placing on them. Don't let anyone talk you into going out and doing, for example, 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions on day 1. Or doing any routine that will leave you beaten up for sore for 5 days afterwards. Start with loads that are just heavy enough so that you can feel the target muscles working. There is no need at first to work to "failure". Give yourself 6-12 sessions to get used to a lifting routine before you start to do "real" lifting.

But: make sure that once you get through that initial period, your strength workouts are focused and that you are progressively increasing the workloads.

hill242

I'll just suggest a very resourceful website for weight lifting that helped me out immensely when I was getting started.

www.stumptuous.com

khartman353

WOW! thanks for the advice everyone! when i go the gym tomorrow, i'll def see if one of the trainers can show me how to use all of the equipment. and i've actually been thinking about hiring a personal trainer just for a few sessions to not only help me out with strength training but also to create some different work out routines so i'm not alwaus doing the same things over and over again!