When/How to start lifting (for a woman, male advice welcome)

MzMayah86
MzMayah86 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello All,

So I am trying to FINALLY get my body in optimum shape. Right now I weigh about 193, I am 5.5 and 28yrs old. I have been overweight for a while, since maybe around the time i started developing so 12yrs old i started showing signs of a weight problem. I used to suffer from asthma pretty badly when I was young and so i never was big for cardio heavy activities such as running. However, i have grown out of asthma as i haven't had meds for it since around 12-13yrs old. My question is about the fat: I would like to have a great routine that builds lean muscle and strength while i also can build up my endurance for cardio. I tried the elliptical yesterday and was huffing by the 4min mark (for shame). Anyone have any suggestions on how to start? Also, should i just be focussing on cardio? I want to do weight training because I have been made to understand that building that lean muscle will make my cardio workouts more effective. Please Help this confused soul lol! Thanks in advance!!!

P.S. Where do i get the ticker thingy's that show your progress?


Thanks!

Replies

  • refinedredbird
    refinedredbird Posts: 208 Member
    Lifting is always a great idea and it gave me much better results than cardio ever did. I started with Stronglifts 5x5 which consists of alternating routines of squats, overhead presses and deadlifts one day and squats, bench press, rows the second day while adding 5lbs of weight each session and doing 5 sets of 5 reps.

    For my diet I try to focus on protein most. The only time I do cardio is just to be able to eat more calories on days I am more hungry and to go outside and get fresh air. I also am a very active yogi and yoga has helped me burn fat, increase flexibility and has improved my emotional health as well.
  • MzMayah86
    MzMayah86 Posts: 3
    Thanks! So that I understand the stronglifts, if i start with 5lbs today, i would be at 10lbs tomorrow and so on? When would I stop adding weight? Do you mind if I ask what you are lifting now?

    Thanks
  • runnergrlfl
    runnergrlfl Posts: 82 Member
    Thanks! So that I understand the stronglifts, if i start with 5lbs today, i would be at 10lbs tomorrow and so on? When would I stop adding weight? Do you mind if I ask what you are lifting now?

    Thanks

    You start with the bar, not with 5lbs. This link has a great explanation.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Thanks! So that I understand the stronglifts, if i start with 5lbs today, i would be at 10lbs tomorrow and so on? When would I stop adding weight? Do you mind if I ask what you are lifting now?

    Thanks

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

    Here is the summary for stronglifts...

    But no you don't start with 5lbs for these exercises you start with 45lbs...then move to 50 except for the deadlift where you start at 90lbs.

    You stop when you hit failure, which means you can lift the weight for 5 reps for 5 sets..with at least 90sec rests between sets.

    I do the same program and I started at the following:

    60lb Bench, Row and Squat, 45lb OHP and 90lb DL

    Currently I bench 120lbs, 120 for rows 85 OHP, 180 squats, 200 DL.

    I have had a plaging injury so my numbers aren't as high as they could be for squat and DL...

    I've been lifting for 7 months...eating on average 1700 calories a day.

    But you wont build muscle at a calorie deficet.

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