What weights shall I start out at?

lemonsurprise

I'm planning to buy some dumbbells but have no idea and what weight I should start at?
I've read that females are fine to lift heavy, rather than long sessions of tiny weights so id prefer to go straight in with that. I haven't ever lifted before and I barely excersise so it's all brand new.
If somebody could just advise me on roughly what weights I should be looking at so I don't over do it.

Also, is lifting classed as strength training? And is strength training any excersise where you add more weight yourself through kettle balls etc

marissanik

Lifting could reaslitically mean a variety of things. Normally lifting includes a combination of barbells, machines, and dumb bells. Free weights seem to be more popular for effectiveness but lots of people use machines too.

If you're working out at home, I used to do Jillian Michaels workouts because they had cardio and strength mixed. My sister started out wtih 3lb weights. I started with 5lb and worked my way up to 12lb for her workouts (the girls in her video use 8lb I think). All depends on what your goals are and what workout routine you plan on following.

lovebig30

the rule of thumb is it should be a weigh that you can lift for 10 to 15 rep for as many set that your doing with the last few reps being hard. its hard for another person to tell you what weight is heavy for you. a lot also depends on the exersice your doing on some arm ones iam still at 5lb others iam almost ready to move to 25lb dumbbells. if nothing else go to the store and give a few a try get one that gives you some challenge.