Starting a Lifting plan - Female (help!)

MrsGraves1987

I know there are plenty of comments on women who lift etc, I have been searching the forums this morning. However, I have yet to find the information in one place :brokenheart:

Please can any of you girls who lift at home, help me with the following questions?

I still have pounds to lose, about 35lbs to get me to healthy, 14 lbs to my current goal. I HATE doing Cardio Will lifting alone help me lose weight? (I obviously know I will have to eat at a deficit).

I am purchasing a weight bench and 30kg weights on the bar?? (This may not be the correct lingo, please bear with me!)
Is there a plan anywhere that I can follow to help on where to start with this equipment - i.e, how to successfully carry out the lifts?

I also have dumbells - is there any other equipment I need as a beginner?

I've been doing 5:2, to help me lose some weight with no exercise. What is the best way of eating to follow when lifting? I have read, eating at TDEE minus 20% - intermittent fasting and mainly paleo diet is the best way to go - can you please confirm whether this is correct?

How many days a week, and for how long should I incorporate to see results quicker? (I know that losing will take time, I'm fine with that - just want it to be as fast as it is healthy to be).

Thank you for any advice, help, links, information you can point me to

GCFan12345

Hello there fellow weight lifter!

I started weightlifting around 2 years ago after my boyfriend told me that cardio was just pointless, and I haven't done cardio since.

I have made up my own plan.

I go to the gym around 4 times a week and use a squat rack.

I do bench press, overhead press, squats, deadlifts, dips and I use the Lat Pull machine.

If I had stuck with a healthy eating plan the whole time, I would be at my goal weight.

I started my diet again on Thursday 7th, and I have already lost 4lbs.

30kg would be fine for bench press and overhead press, but if you were looking to do deadlift and squats, then you would probably need a heavier weight.

Just go easy and gradually build the weight up and stick to a healthy eating plan and you will notice a difference!

I find YouTube can be quite good to see how other women lift weights, so you could have a look on there also.

Hope this helps and good luck

Emma

clambert1273

New Rules of Lifting for women... Starting Strength also..

There are 2 groups (that I am familiar with) that concentrate on lifting. One is Eat, Train, Progress and the other is NROL4W group I belong to both and just started the NROL on Monday. I find both groups to be extremely educational.

MrsGraves1987

Thank you both for your help! I'm really excited to get into lifting. I'm going to join those groups now, thank you :flowerforyou:

YouHadMyCuriosity

From what I understand, and am trying to implement- don't undereat! Staying at a deficit is great, but don't try to eat 1200 calories- you will possibly lose weight fast, but it will most likely hinder your progress in your workouts. Eat "enough" protein- there are many different opinions on how much is "enough", but certainly do not end your day with a low number of grams like 40. Look around online, and see which opinion you feel is going to work for you (some opinions say 1 gram protein per pound of lean body mass, some say even 65 grams should be fine if you're not lifting for hours.) Pay attention to proper form, and don't over do it your first day- make sure you don't injure yourself or make yourself so sore that you can't move for a week.

LishieFruit89

You don't need to do IF or eat Paleo to lift.
Eat in whatever manner you prefer that keeps you going and helps you hit your calorie & macro goals.
If that's Paleo, fine. If it's pop tarts & pizza, fine.

ETP is a good group.
There's a Stronglifts for Women group as well.

discoveredamber

You should read "You are your own gym" by Mark Lauren. It is a body weight training book for men and women.He has 4 10 week programs. I havent started it yet but he is an army trainer. I borrowed it from the library. It has the programs lined out. and all the exercises you need in detail.

SuperCrsa

Eating wise: I am using Tdee -20% at the moment.

Can I give you one warning, don't be discouraged when the scale doesnt move! When I started lifting about 2 months ago my weight went up about 2kgs and stayed there for 6 weeks. Stubbornly! BUT week 7 I dropped 2.5kgs. So dont let that scale mess you up! Take photos and measure

I started lifting at home using the program in this article: http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-ultimate-female-training-guide.html

Searched Youtube for guidance on form, take you time before adding the weights. Learn your form properly, do it in front of a mirror, video yourself to see what you are doing. I think this is one of the negatives of working out at home alone, It took me a lot longer to learn form properly.

I dont know your strength, but I went from cardio only to starting strength training and a 30kg weighted bar would have been too heavy for me, (for bench presses or squats) I ended up in this weird place where the I had were either too heavy or too light. Have a look into that before you buy..

And definitely EAT!! Fuel that workout!

Enjoy! :flowerforyou:

MrsGraves1987

Thank you for all the helpful comments.

I have just ordered New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. I will see whether I can find the Mark Lauren one. I found a short exercise regime on Youtube that he has done before, it's only a 15 minute workout with three 5 minute workouts, but it was really good.

I'll look into getting a Squat bar instead of a bench - as I've read this is good for beginners. I'll hopefully work my way up to having both, and I'll look for a barbell with add-on weights aswell so I can start small.

It's really the eating plan I am struggling with, but I know in the long run it's deficit so I won't worry too much. After months of trying to lose weight and watching what I eat, it'll be difficult to up the calories. But I know I have to do it so I shall! It's just how much to? I'm 5 ft 3 and live a very sedentary life. My TDEE is 1750 so minus 20% makes it 1400? Is this enough?

LishieFruit89

Thank you for all the helpful comments.

I have just ordered New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. I will see whether I can find the Mark Lauren one. I found a short exercise regime on Youtube that he has done before, it's only a 15 minute workout with three 5 minute workouts, but it was really good.

I'll look into getting a Squat bar instead of a bench - as I've read this is good for beginners. I'll hopefully work my way up to having both, and I'll look for a barbell with add-on weights aswell so I can start small.

It's really the eating plan I am struggling with, but I know in the long run it's deficit so I won't worry too much. After months of trying to lose weight and watching what I eat, it'll be difficult to up the calories. But I know I have to do it so I shall! It's just how much to? I'm 5 ft 3 and live a very sedentary life. My TDEE is 1750 so minus 20% makes it 1400? Is this enough?

You calculate your TDEE to include your workouts.
So if you plan to do 3 workouts a week, you chose the value that includes that THEN subtract the 20%.
Then you don't need to worry about tracking your calories burned during exercise and eating them back

discoveredamber

Good luck. I plan on starting his program as soon as I finish my current one.

MRSpivey

You may want to message and friend MayraH26. She lifts at home and is very dedicated!

MrsGraves1987

[/quote]
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You calculate your TDEE to include your workouts.
So if you plan to do 3 workouts a week, you chose the value that includes that THEN subtract the 20%.
Then you don't need to worry about tracking your calories burned during exercise and eating them back
[/quote]

Thank you for clearing that up, I should know this by now I know!! I will re-calculate my TDEE and go from there.

Thank you all again!

glreim21

Some great advice already posted. With only 35 lbs to go, I would suggest a 10-15% cut from your TDEE, 20% is a bit aggressive. I am following the New rules of Lifting program, you will find some great information in that book.

MrsGraves1987

Ah ok - that makes sense, thank you! I will re-adjust :happy:

clambert1273

I pieced together my home gym for under $400. That didn't include the dumbbells and I went all out on those and got the Bowflex Selectechs .. not cheap lol

I have the rack, bench, plates, swiss ball, steps etc... I found a good list on the group so I went to town lol I do everything at home as I have this "thing" about gyms and me in public working out lol Plus I am not patient to share :bigsmile: