Advice for someone kinda starting out...

jdp21

Hi. So, I haven't used this site in a *very* long while. I've been on and off again for years. In more recent years, I'd been using Weight Watchers, but I'm on and off with that as well.

I am a 29 year old male and I currently weigh around the heaviest I've ever weighed in my life (245). I signed up for the gym a few months ago, but the past couple of months I hadn't been going. For the first month I was going fairly consistently, and was pretty much exclusively doing cardio with the intention of eventually getting a personal trainer, which I think I'll still do. However, trainers are costly and I'm not rich.

I guess I'm just looking for advice on what to do, where to start out, etc. I do wanna get into weight lifting and whatnot, but I am honestly *clueless* when it comes to what to do with exercises, how much to do, how long to do it for, and so on. So, any advice is necessary.

My "short term" goal right now is to get under 230; my long term goal is to be around 180 (I'm also 5'8"). Alternatively, I'm satisfied with weighing more than that, provided that weight is more based on muscle and less on fat haha. But I'm really just trying to get one foot in the door...

Thanks for any help!

dewd2

If your goal is to lose weight, the first step (and most important) is to get you diet in order. Are you tracking your calories? If not, start now. See how much you are eating compared to how much you are burning and make a plan to eat less than you burn. No need to follow any specific diet, at this point calories are the enemy.

Once you get your calories in order, work on nutrition (nothing from the fad of the day, just get enough protein and fat and let the rest fall where ever it falls).

While you are doing this you can start working out as well. Lifting will help keep the muscle you have while you lose and cardio is good for the heart and lungs. Again, no need to follow the fad of the day workout. There are many options listed in the stickies here to get you started.

Good luck.

DebLaBounty

Does your gym offer a group weightlifting class? I just started one called BodyPump. I told the instructor before my first class that I was a complete beginner and she was great at helping me pick out the weights to start with. I began with ridiculously low weights but all those reps really challenged me! If you don't have access to a class, have a gym trainer show you how the machines work. It's their job.

timtam163

Some suggestions:
1) make sure you're enjoying exercise. Grab a buddy, make a pump up playlist, find exercises that make you feel good.
2) make sure you aren't avoiding the gym because you don't eat enough; lack of energy can keep you on the couch. Up the protein at least.
3) get exercise outside of the gym.
4) be open-minded; be that one guy in your yoga class or spin class if you enjoy it.
5) Just get a foot in the door. At a minimum, tell yourself you'll do 5 minutes. It'll get easier once you do.

jdp21

Just wanted to say thanks for pointing me to the stickied threads at the top; somehow I didn't really notice them. They led me to Bodybuilding.com where I've been following the 30 day beginner routine; this is day #7 and I'm already feeling better physically.

canadianlbs

^^^^ nice. once you're started you'll probably find that you get your own bearings and that leads to you slowly collecting knowledge and experience, which leads to starting to open your own doors. there are quite a few different types of 'lifting', so keep your mind open and you'll probably find your own niche.

i have some very general kinds of advice.

1. don't get intimidated. or maybe 'don't be so demoralized if you do find yourself feeling intimidated, that you back all the way off and give up'. said because i have a feeling intimidation happens to all new lifters, eventually. especially the solo ones.

2. don't mentally limit yourself. lifting is done by ALL kinds of people, of all body types and all stages of life. so learning by observation and being around other lifters is great, and it's one of the perks of working in a public space. but it can have this downside if you allow what others are doing to define what you yourself 'should' or 'can't' do.

3. on getting a trainer, that took me a year to get around to. i wasn't confused about the kind of lifting i wanted to do, luckily - i took one look at the compound 'power' lifts and fell in love. but i sure was about how to get help and how to find someone i'd want to learn from. so one of the useful things that i did with that year was observe a lot of trainers working with clients in the public space where i was doing my stuff. when you're brand new and don't have your bearings that's really useful, because you get to a) learn a little by eavesdropping, and b) start to fine-tune your own specifications for what kind of trainer you want, by observing the thigns that you like and don't like about anybody you watch.