Trying to get into Strength Training - begginers.

steffipaulina

I'm looking to get into a good strength training routine. My cardio is great, I do a lot of biking, walking and running. But I want to start getting more muscle tone as I feel I am 'skinny fat'. What would you suggest? I know a lot of people have 'leg day', ect. I am up for any routine, I just don't know where to start.

jrowens3224

I'm reading the New Rules of Lifting for Women, and LOVING it. I would start there! It gives you an easy routine to follow.

navyrigger46

New Rules, Starting Strength, Stronglifts, pick up a book and start there. Look at the lifts on You-Tube for form. Elliott Hulse @ Strengthcamp on You-Tube is highly recommended.

Rigger

jimmmer

Run out and grab a copy of Starting Strength - detailed info on the form of all the main compound moves.

It also has a programme laid out in the book that tells you what lifts to do on what day.

You don't really need to split out to body parts (e.g. Leg Day, or upper/lower days) when you're a beginner. That's for when you can no longer recover from full-body training (a bit later on).

jorralee

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/jason-blaha-ice-cream-fitness-5x5-novice-workout

For mass and strength. It has the right amount of frequency for a beginner/novice as well.

jimmmer

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/jason-blaha-ice-cream-fitness-5x5-novice-workout

For mass and strength. It has the right amount of frequency for a beginner/novice as well.

Yeah, but it's basically just SS with accessory lifts.

You may as well just get SS and then you get all the fantastic info about the lifts too.

MissLolicakes

I agree. You don't need to worry about splitting your workouts up by body part, especially at first.

My advice is to go to the gym, walk up to the first machine that has weights attached to it, set it to a lower weight (try something like 10 or 20 to begin with-- you can always go higher if you feel like it's not enough!), and try it out. Go for maybe 20 reps, stretch the muscle out, then if you feel like you can, do 20 more. When it starts to get really difficult, stop and move on to a different machine. After a few days of this, your body will start to tell you which muscle is itching to be worked first!

I like to alternate between muscle groups during my workout. I do one exercise for arms, then one for legs, then one for abs or back, then back to arms, then legs, etc. I find it helps me do more that way, because while I'm doing legs and abs, my arms are resting, so by the time I get back to my arms, they're ready for anything!

The only things you have to be careful of are: 1- Don't try to lift more than your body is ready to handle, and only increase your weights when the current weight starts to feel "too easy". 2- If you're not sure how to use a piece of equipment, ask someone or watch someone else use it before you try it. 3- Be sure you work both sides of your body evenly. 4- Work the entire muscle group, not just one muscle (if you're doing arms, don't just keep doing biceps curls every day-- make sure you also get your triceps, deltoids, etc. so the muscle group as a whole is balanced and properly functional). and 5- As you build muscle, your metabolism will really start to increase a lot, so you will feel hungry more often. Make sure you get enough to eat (don't worry-- a person who strength trains has a much higher BMR than someone who doesn't) because your body's going to need it!

Congrats on your decision to start strength training! I hope you really enjoy it!!

lbencomo

I'm reading the New Rules of Lifting for Women, and LOVING it. I would start there! It gives you an easy routine to follow.

Thanks for the tip on the book I went and bought it

steffipaulina

Thanks! i'm going to buy some books soon and get on this!