What's a balanced lifting routine?

cassienoe

Hey all-
I'm thinking about forking out the money to join a gym to help see some progress. I want to start lifting heavier but do not have the home equipment to do the job. I've been doing the 30 day shred for the last few weeks but I am wanting to try something else to change it up, and to be honest some of the strength moves aren't challenging enough with my current barbells I have at home.

I have no idea what a good starting point is. Can you experienced lifters offer some advice? I'm wanting to change my body composition and get rid of this excess fat I carry around my belly and thighs. I've read that lifting heavy is the way to go.

Thanks in advance.

FrnkLft

Equal weight in each hand lifted over your head with feet planted evenly on a tightrope... 10 reps.

JK

Take your pick:

Stronglifts 5x5 (simple structure, flexible routine, compound exercises that hit everything and steady progression)

or

New Rules of Lifting for Women (More like 30DS but focused on weight lifting. Kinda complicated, but probably more accessable to someone who likes 30DS type stuff)

ninerbuff

One that hits all body parts.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

TheGymGypsy

I'm doing Jamie Eason's Livefit program from bodybuilding.com. It's great for beginners and hits different muscle groups 4 days a week.

cwolfman13

Look into pretty much any beginner lifting program. I'm partial to Starting Strength...Strong Lifts is similar...pretty much same exercises but SL is a 5x5 format, whereas Starting Strength is a 3x5 format. Both of these programs are great beginner programs as you get a lot of exposure to the big, compound lifts that should be the foundation of any routine as you become more advanced.

I also recommend programs like this because you can make exceptional strength gains as a newbie with these programs...so when you move on to a more advanced routine, whether it be for strength or hypertrophy...you already have an awesome foundation built up.

My wife did New Rules for awhile...she actually enjoyed reading the book and it was an eye opener for her to some extent...but she actually enjoys doing Wendler's 5/3/1 program with me more...but a lot of women really like New Rules.

Alehmer

Balanced - works every muscle group, hopefully through big compound movements.

You don't necessarily need weights to do serious strength training either. Check out beastskills.com and gymnasticbodies.com for some specific skills and progressions for building to them.

Pictured, does not lift weights, only lifts himself:


There's a lot you can do with just the floor, and even more you can do with a cheap set of pushup handles that operate as parralettes.

marksizzle

Hey there!

You will want a good balanced workout. Below I will share what my gf and I are currently doing at the gym.

We do 3 weeks of toning where we do high reps lower weight (3 to 5 sets of 8-10 reps) and the 4th week we do a strength week 5 sets 5 reps higher weight.

Monday we do Back and Biceps. Typically 3 exercises for each body part, so 6 exercises total.
Wednesday we do Chest and Triceps.
Friday we do Legs and Shoulders.

On Tuesday and Thursday we do some running short or long and anything we may have missed or have time for such as an ab or forearm workout.

Really though its all about finding out what works for you. Maybe try a few of the suggestions on this post and determine what works best. You can lift weights or run or lift your body weight (ala crossfit). Find something youre comfortable with!

GOOD LUCK! (: