Never lifted weights. Zero Arm Strength. How to begin?

NewChapterInMyLife

I have never had arm strength. It's the weak part of my body. I've never even been able to do a " girl pushup" . I have 2 lb.weights and 5 at home. I need to put them to use. Should I start with 30 mins a day with my 2 pounders? 15 with my 5 pounders? Or try to lift " heavy". I'm just really confused but want to get arm strength and toned. How do I begin?

collectingblues

I'm similar -- I love my cardio, but was encouraged to do some strength training, and although I had decent functional strength (can do gardening/lift heavy machinery without help), I wasn't happy with my upper arm strength.

I invested in some pieces -- a standard bar, and weight plates -- and read New Rules of Lifting for Women. The little two or 5 pounders are *something* but they're really not going to help you make long-term gains. I used to think they would, but I'm now firmly in the camp of actually lifting heavy stuff and progressively overloading.

PowerliftingMom

Lift heavy because 2 lb and 5 lb. weights won't do anything for you. I went from being obese for 30 years to cardio for a year, then powerlifting and I'm 59.

NewChapterInMyLife

Ok next question if anyone sees this: How to start heavy lifting? When I'm such a weakling...lol

Purplebunnysarah

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

There's a beginner dumbbell workout listed there. Start with what you have and increase based on what you are able to do, as per the program.

giantrobot_powerlifting

NewChapterInMyLife wrote: »

Ok next question if anyone sees this: How to start heavy lifting? When I'm such a weakling...lol

Someone will provide a link, but pick a program. I recommend Starting Strength. Load progressively. Do all your reps. Work compound movements like squat, overhead press, and deadlift first, to isolation movements (bicep curls), and never do cardio.

Or hire a strength coach and they'll get you sorted out quickly.

PowerliftingMom

I worked with a trainer and used machines until I progressed to free weights.

SCoil123

I started with 4 core lifts and just the bar. The bar is 45lb at my gym. For my overhead I actually used what they call “the baby bar” because it’s 20lb. They have that one set aside separate. Honestly, I was a little embarrassed at first running to grab it but I got over that.

The lifts I started with (and still build workouts around)
Squat
Deadlift
Overhead press
Bench press

My weight for each has increased gradually at different rates

lorrpb

You start where you are and progress from there. "Heavy” lifting means what’s heavy for YOU. That number is different for everyone. If 5 lbs is heavy for you, that’s ok. Start there and work up from there.

collectingblues

lorrpb wrote: »

You start where you are and progress from there. "Heavy” lifting means what’s heavy for YOU. That number is different for everyone. If 5 lbs is heavy for you, that’s ok. Start there and work up from there.

Truth.

When I started, I was only able to handle 5-pound weights for step-ups. I was *thrilled* yesterday when I was able to finally move to 10 pounds. It's not a lot, but for me, it was a big improvement.

EatLikeAHuman

I lifted for a while before I injured myself and stopped for years (due to a form mistake - I was squatting my body weight when I injured myself but I bet I can't even do the bar now! ) . I started with the little 5 and 10 lbs weights. Doing that gave me the strength to move onto heavier weights. It's very okay to start small if you have very little strength. You'll be surprised at how quickly those 5 anf 10 lbs weights feel way too light. You'll want to increase your weight to get that OOMPH feeling!

I'm getting back into it myself and I'm as weak as I started several years ago. I'm broke and can't afford a gym so all I'm using is body weight and small 10 and 15bs kettlebells and I'm still seeing progress. Im almost able to do a full, proper pushup again!

You'll run into a lot of "if you're not lifting literal cars over your head on day 2 you'll never make progress". It's true you should be challenging yourself and lifting what feels heavy to you. Sometimes that 5 lb weight feels heavy to you. Or when you start squatting you may only be able to do the bar. That's okay! It's heavy for you!

Good luck on your journey and keep it up because we need larger weight rooms in women's gyms.

stanmann571

Can you pick up a can of soup or a jug of milk?

Those are 5 and 15 lbs respectively(approx).

If you can't. Then it's ok to start with the sissy weights. The reality is most people don't need the 2/5 lb weights and can and should progress to 15 or 25 or 35 lb bells very quickly.