Recomendation for a book on weightlifting for beginners.

chawny77
chawny77 Posts: 9 Member
edited November 22 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hey all...looking for a book on lifting. How to start and come up with a plan for beginners and info on nutrition and calorie intake...any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Replies

  • blh202
    blh202 Posts: 31 Member
    Strong Lifts 5 x 5. Not sure if there is a book but there is an app and lots of information on internet. WONDERFUL beginners program. Start with bar and move up 5 lbs. each workout. This is a 3 day per week program and I love it. I'm in week 4 and seeing great results.
  • chawny77
    chawny77 Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you!
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    Staring Strength as outlined above is a great book on form etc. Starting Strength OR Stronglifts 5x5 are all you need in terms of programming at this stage.

    You could also get hold of New Rules of Lifting for Women. The actual programme I found to get too complicated, however the nutritional info is very good in it. Some people like Strong Curves but I've not looked at it.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    girlinahat wrote: »
    Staring Strength as outlined above is a great book on form etc. Starting Strength OR Stronglifts 5x5 are all you need in terms of programming at this stage.

    You could also get hold of New Rules of Lifting for Women. The actual programme I found to get too complicated, however the nutritional info is very good in it. Some people like Strong Curves but I've not looked at it.

    I bought Strong Curves, I like it, it explains in detail and lots of pictures. Very step by step.
  • chawny77
    chawny77 Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you so much for taking the time...I will get those two books and start with that. My highest weight was 250 and am down to 195 now. I love cardio (running) and pushing myself to go further...it got me this far. Now i want to build muscle and really had no clue where to start. I work at a high school on night shift and have a weight room so I would like to take advantage of this during my "lunch hour" :-)
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe.

    Links to purchase books (the one on the left, first) are at the bottom of the page: https://startingstrength.com/


    eta: I don't really recall much about Calorie intake, but don't worry about that, really. Input your stats/goals into MFP and use those, or use a TDEE calculator, such as the one over at Scooby's.

    There are also a multitude of copies on the secondary market. If Retail is too much for you.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Starting Strength is head over toes the best book/program I would recommend for any novice lifter that seeks to gain strength and knowledge.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    Ditto on Starting Strength. He goes into a lot of good detail on form and what to watch for. Also, Strong Curves if you want to add in some glute-specific work. Another good basic program to start with is here: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-beginner-weight-training-workout-routine/. (I'd recommend Starting Strength for the form and detail even if you don't use his programming).
  • edickson76
    edickson76 Posts: 107 Member
    Rip did video tutorials on all the main lifts, which are available on Youtube. Should be very helpful for proper form.
  • carolina9769
    carolina9769 Posts: 1 Member
    Starting Strength and I also like Mike Mathews for the broad seas he covers, check out both their podcasts as well.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited November 2017
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    The great thing about Starting Strength is that it does a really good job of illustrating how to do the primary compound movements...but as a program, it is really geared towards beginners who want to focus primarily on linear gains in strength and not much else.

    this is true. i skipped the whole section at the back of my edition where he goes through an example lifting routine for 'young angus mcsnort'. starting strength was my source for the 'how' of lifting, and also i guess for the 'why' of the 'how'. but for the programming part i took myself somewhere else.

    part of me wants to say too 'even if you're not interested in learning to deadlift or clean, buy the book and read it anyway for the sake of the entertainment.' he's dry as a bone when he gets technical, but if you actually read all that text it's full of easter-egg funniness too.

  • jaybeedoubleyou
    jaybeedoubleyou Posts: 5 Member
    the best book on nutrition ive read is the abs diet.theres a female version which isn't much different except for an added page or two.also bodybuilding.com has a bunch of different workout plans
  • Okiludy
    Okiludy Posts: 558 Member
    Starting Strength is also my recommendation. Age or sex should not matter much if reasonably healthy. I was 45 and 300lbs at 5'9" when I started it. The book is one of the best resources for the compound lifts. The program has worked for thousands from teenagers to people in their 80's.

    I would also recommend you listen to the Barbell Logic podcast and watch the videos from Starting Strength on youtube. The podcast is by 2 Starting Strength coaches and they go into the reasoning why you don't need isolation exercises or high amounts of volume but why recovery is as important as the lifts and progression. The videos will give you a much better picture of the lifts in motion.

    Ya, I drank the kool-aid and it tasted good.
  • harieta
    harieta Posts: 135 Member
    You could also try New Rules of Lifting for Women.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Okiludy wrote: »
    Ya, I drank the kool-aid and it tasted good.

    just don't drink the GOMAD if you're trying to maintain or lose weight.
  • Okiludy
    Okiludy Posts: 558 Member
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    Okiludy wrote: »
    Ya, I drank the kool-aid and it tasted good.

    just don't drink the GOMAD if you're trying to maintain or lose weight.

    Awesome!

  • chawny77
    chawny77 Posts: 9 Member
    Wow! Thanks everyone...taking notes. I'm 39 years old. I currently weight 195, (highest weight was 250) and would like to go down another fifty pounds. My whole adult life, I've never been under the 200 mark so this is all new for me. I'll take the time I need to study and do it properly. The chart tells me for my height (5'5) I should be at 140-ish...but i know that everyone is different and that 140 might not be for me...I already feel good and am able to run so anything beyond this point is icing on the cake...
  • ijsantos2005
    ijsantos2005 Posts: 306 Member
    Starting Strength works for all ages. Strength is the foundation of all athletic activities and should be pursued by any novice/beginner.
  • Vladaar
    Vladaar Posts: 147 Member
    I like Arnold Schwarzenegger Encyclopedia to Bodybuilding. I think it is quite full of knowledge for those just beginning in lifting for strength to those who want to gain muscle mass.
  • Lean59man
    Lean59man Posts: 714 Member
    Bill Pearl's "Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Men and Women".

    Check your local library.

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  • jesspen91
    jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
    I would recommend Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women. Both of these books gave straightforward advice and plans with lots of detail but in an easy language to understand.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    That link has a bunch of books, videos and links to programs to check out.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited November 2017
    I've got Arnold's and Pearl's books. Bought them both over 30 yrs ago, when they were 1st published.

    Haven't looked at either of them for years but they still would be useful if I needed to consider some isolation work or give myself a refresher on lifting options, but there's so much info in them that they really wouldn't be very useful for newbies; not focused enough.

    Starting Stength is designed for and targeted specifically towards newbies. It focuses on the 4 main compound lifts and tells/shows you exactly how you should do them and why. No other book does that.

    You can also supplement the book by watching the hrs of free instructional videos that Rip has posted on the Net. I've watched all of them and they're well worth the time.

    You can also join the Starting Strength forum for free where you can actually ask Rip questions that he'll answer personally.

    However, be careful if you decide to ask him something that's already been addressed repeatedly or involves something that's not part of the program. You'll get a very rude and non-PC response if you do. I seen it. LOL!

    If that's too intimidating, you can also ask questions of certified SS coaches or other forum members as well. However, they can be equally rude.

    Politeness and clean language generally prevail but are not strictly mandated on the SS forum. So, beware. If you think MFP is bad, you ain't seen nothing yet. ;)
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Starting Strength is excellent and it's a great program...that said, you need to understand what it is OP. It is a traditional strength training routine and basically a very novice intro to power lifting. I'm not sure of your age, but it may or may not be appropriate and it is going to solely focus on the barbell lifts and linear strength gains and not much else.

    I have some friends my age and older that have used New Rules of Lifting for Life which is geared towards middle aged individuals who, yes...want to get stronger, but also want to focus on things like flexibility, mobility, and balance, etc and/or who may have certain limitations as it provides for variations of different lifts depending on those limitations. It integrates a lot more into the program than optimal strength.

    The great thing about Starting Strength is that it does a really good job of illustrating how to do the primary compound movements...but as a program, it is really geared towards beginners who want to focus primarily on linear gains in strength and not much else.

    New Rules of Lifting for Life is the first book I got. I really enjoyed it as a starting routine. There is a flexibility in the routine which allows for varying levels of fitness and equipment availability. I was 39 or 40 when I started. I had never touched weights before and was concerned about hurting myself. The program was exactly what I needed as a starting routine.
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