Strength training: Where to start?

1372665

Hi,

I'm new to strength training. I want to start, but I'm kind of lost...

I was told to do 1 day Legs, 1 day Push, 1 day Pull-- with 1 day of rest or cardio in between. I did Legs yesterday: calf raises, leg curl, walking lunges. 15 reps, 3 sets of each.
The legs workout only took me 30 mins and I think it's too short... should I add more exercises on? Which ones?
How long does a strength training workout last?

What are some good butt workouts?
The primary place where I want to lose fat is my stomach. Should I add in an abs day?

Also, what workout plan do you recommend? I want to lose fat all over, and gain muscle.

KatyFace9801

I would start with circuit training and a really easy way to find circuit training routines is pinterest. I'm sure you could even just search "weight training circuit". You'll find workouts laid out for you.
A circuit will be like 3 workouts done so many reps and repeat three times. so like an example may be
* 15 front raises with weights
* 20 jump squats
* 20 weighted russian twists
repeat 3 times

But I KNOW you can find tons of circuits on pinterest. Good luck!

CariS001

BEST glute workout, in my mind (and a great overall weight program) is Strong Curves by Brett Contreras. Also really like New Rules of Lifting for Women. Both are fantastic books that go through a solid basis in lifting.

dnamouse

^^
Ditto to the above.

I follow New Rules at the moment - it sets everything out for you, full body workouts 3x a week.

I've heard good things about Strong Curves too.

53welshlady

There are also 2 groups on here you can join
NROLFoW and Stronglifts 5x5 for women. Lots of good help available there.

kelseyhere

I found this 4 week program online for free that I really liked: http://www.fitnessrxwomen.com/author/callie-durbrow/

Simple moves, doesn't require a whole lot of equipment. There are 3 workouts a week with one optional conditioning workout.

People will tell you all kinds of splits, do legs and back together, then abs and shoulder, blah blah blah. I just do upper body days and lower body days, and try not to train the same muscle groups two days in a row. That is really the only point behind splits, is making sure your muscles have enough time to recover before you work them again.

I have also done New Rules of Lifting for Women and liked that program. In general, fitnessrxwomen.com has a lot of weight lifting workouts, and definitely some booty-focused ones so check it out.

michelleepotter

I just started reading Body By You, which is the version of You Are Your Own Gym for women. It's completely bodyweight exercises, which is good for me because I don't have access to a gym. There's also an app that goes with it.

My understanding is that strength training workouts don't take as long as cardio because they don't work the same way. With cardio, you're looking to burn calories, which only happens as long as you are working. With strength training, you are trying to tear down your muscles so that your body has to build them back up stronger. The real work of that happens while you are resting.