Weightlifting - where to start

Deresha1977

Hi. I'm 39 years old and formally obese but still overweight. I've lost close to 7 stone in a year through pure and simple calorie counting. I took up running and now run 5k 3 or 4 times per week. I've reversed my diabetes and am no longer a diabetic.

Next issue. Filling some of my moderate excess skin with a little more muscle to reduce the flabby bits

Would wrist weights while running do anything at all or is that expecting something for nothing.

I have access to a gym, so where to begin? How often? How many reps etc. I see people talk of reps of 8 (x 3) but with most weights 5 x kills me. Is reps of 5 not effective?

Open to new thinking.

ldwatene

wow that is amazing. I never knew one could reverse the effects of diabetes. well done on your success so far.

As for your question about where to start with weights. You are at a very early learning stage with a super general question that could be answered in so many correct ways so I'd suggest spending some time researching a little bit on the net...

To begin with you want to decide on how many days a week you are prepared to lift weights and then search for a specific workout for that many days, most workouts actually include rep ranges for the workout but if not google rep ranges as well and pick the range most suitable for you. 5 reps is very effective but as I say may not be right for you. Also using a rep-range it helps you to know when to increase those weights, once you hit the higher end of the range it's time to up the weights. Good luck!

jemhh

There are two books by the same authors that you may want to check out. They are Strong and New Rules of Lifting for Women. The authors are Lou Schuyler and Alwyn Cosgrove. They are good beginner books.

There's also a thread in the gaining weight section that lists a bunch of lifting programs categorized by type.

You do not need to lift for sets of 5. I started with dumbbells and would do a set of 12, a set of 10 with slightly more weight , a set of 8 with slightly more weight , and then a set of 12 with the first weight. There are so many ways to do it. I strongly encourage you to follow a program or meet with a trainer who will build you a program. I did the latter and it was well worth it.

middlehaitch

Here is a link to a lot of the most popular programmes
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Read through and see if there is one that suits your needs.

I started with nerdfitness, a bodyweight programme, then a dumbbell routine, and finally moved on to a barbell programme.

5x5 routines are the most popular but others, like AllPro- rep increase before weight increase (I use this one), work well too.

I personally don't think there would be a lot of benefit from wearing wrist weights while running. You would do better doing alternate days running and weights.

As you are at your goal weight you may find this thread interesting.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

Cheers, h.

canadianlbs

i got mark rippetoe's book starting strength from a terrific mfp member. i was already doing the 5x5 programme and i stayed with it for a year before going to 3x5 and then wendler. but ss filled in so many of the gaps in my knowledge back then that i credit rippetoe more than mehdi for my first year.

5-rep sets is effective; in fact it's one of the most-commonly recommended formats for strength.

the idea is that you can choose any set 'length' you like, but you adjust your weight to whatever will allow you to get through a set of that length. it should be challenging enough that your system will realise somethign is happening that it needs to adapt to, but still doable enough that you can a) get through the whole set and b) get through the whole set without sliding into poor form.

and c) go back a day or two later and do it again your system doesn't really adapt to things that aren't happening on a consistent basis, so this part might be the most important of all for success.

roughly speaking, people usually classify 5-rep sets as what you would do if you were going for straight-up strength, since you can use more weight and 'push' harder against that barrier. supposedly you won't grow as much physical muscle mass doing this, although of course you'll grow some. and longer sets in the 8-12 range are done with lower weight but they tend to be seen as the 'hypertrophy' format, i.e. the one that does trigger your system to grow more actual muscle mass.

idk if that's even still the current thinking, because exercise physiology knowledge moves fast. and most of the info you see out there is still geared towards men who grow more muscle faster than most women do anyway. but you can definitely get stronger and collect some muscle with 5-rep sets if they challenge you.

Deresha1977

Thank you canadianlbs. Interesting reading.