Strength training program for weight loss, how to?

dubist

it was suggested i post this here.

I just started my 200 lbs weight loss.
Just lost 5 lbs in 4 days which has kicked me into high gear, and a nice boost to the motivation part of my brain.
I have no idea what i should be doing and can't fit a trainer into the budget this year. but do have $20-30 for equipment
I have 20 lbs barbells already.

From what I have read I don't want to strength train more then 3 times a week to 20- 45 mins each workout.

Q;
When doing strength training what should your heart rate be at?
When your muscle still slightly sore from the workout 2 days ago should you still train?
Is their food you should eat on days you strength train and cardio vs days you just do cardio?
I don't have the best core or upper strength but a do have the kick of a oxen. how should this effect my work out?

Cheers

jakejacobsen

I don't think there is a proper heart rate for lifting (but I am fairly new at this) you do want to keep moving when your doing a reps but take a pause betwine sets.

If your sore from lifting trust your body push but not to hard. If I am sore I use my judgement and usually push through it. You get to know your body sore form lifting is good, from injury slow down let it heal.

Protein protein and more protein when lifting it helps your muscles heal. I use a protein shake following my work out 26g of protein I use it because it is easier for me at the gym. Or eat lean protein foods.

As far as having a week core, I would take some of the money you have to spend on equipment and get a exercise ball. I then would use it for crunches the ball should be able to give you some great ab workouts in the pamphlet or video that comes with it otherwise Google it. I used to work my abs daily on the ball in my previous lifting regiment and it can kick your but you will no the next day if you can add some weight or more sets or reps.

I will be posting a beginner work out soon (the one I am going to do). Other great exercises are squats and lunges, push ups, and I am sure there are more with little equipment but my mind is going blank. You can also utilize things like caned goods for smaller hand weights till you get a few more bucks to invest in work out toys.

Best of luck to you

caveats

Q;
When doing strength training what should your heart rate be at?
When your muscle still slightly sore from the workout 2 days ago should you still train?
Is their food you should eat on days you strength train and cardio vs days you just do cardio?
I don't have the best core or upper strength but a do have the kick of a oxen. how should this effect my work out?

Heart rate -- I wouldn't worry about getting to a target heart rate. Strength training is different from cardio in that respect. I would pause between sets until you feel ready to do the next set, then do it. Now that I have improved cardio, I am pausing for less time between sets. But definitely sometimes, in the latter sets, I still need to pause longer. I pause for as long as it's necessary for me to feel like I can get quality reps in and not be a danger to myself or others in the gym. Once you're experienced, if you want to reach a target heart rate, then re-examine that question.

Sore muscles -- Get to know your body. Like jakejacobsen said, if you're injured, don't push it. If you're not injured, push it. Two days is enough time to rest and you should be fine. In fact, you need rest time to grow those muscles, so don't skip your rest days either. IF, however, you experience pain during your workout for a particular move, stop and move on to something different until you can confirm either via rest or doctor that it is not an injury.

Food -- The thing about strength training that is also radically different from cardio is that the "afterburn" from strength training lasts a LOT longer than from cardio. Your body takes advantage of rest days to actually build muscle as part of the recovery process. So, really, there aren't days you should eat one thing vs. days that you should eat another. You should just be consistent about meeting your macronutrient targets. A common macro ratio that people use is 40/30/30 -- 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein. I would say that for you, an easier method may be to first try to hit a certain protein goal -- 0.8g per pound of bodyweight, minimum. 1g/lb is even better. Then the rest of your calories can come from wherever.Your body needs the protein to build that muscle. Don't cut out too much fat, as you will need fat to regular hormone production.

Weak core/upper body -- Not sure how to answer this question as I'm not sure what you're asking here. If you're asking what to do to strengthen these muscles, then I would say do presses/rows, either on machine (I'm not a fan, but I do use them sometimes) or dumb bells. You may need to start with little weights and build up from there, but it is much more advisable to start with small weights and learn proper form than to jump into heavy weights and build bad habits. I'm also a big fan of compound exercises vs. isolation exercises, and I would say that for you, who is just starting out, compound is the way to go because it will work several muscle groups at once and keep you balanced. If you focus too much on isolation moves, you may get out of balance (a common mistake is to overwork biceps and then have really weak triceps in relation to those biceps.)

Cathleenr

it was suggested i post this here.

I just started my 200 lbs weight loss.
Just lost 5 lbs in 4 days which has kicked me into high gear, and a nice boost to the motivation part of my brain.
I have no idea what i should be doing and can't fit a trainer into the budget this year. but do have $20-30 for equipment
I have 20 lbs barbells already.

From what I have read I don't want to strength train more then 3 times a week to 20- 45 mins each workout.

Q;
When doing strength training what should your heart rate be at?
When your muscle still slightly sore from the workout 2 days ago should you still train?
Is their food you should eat on days you strength train and cardio vs days you just do cardio?
I don't have the best core or upper strength but a do have the kick of a oxen. how should this effect my work out?

Cheers

your profile goals indicate you plan to be 1500 calories below your daily calorie burn. do you mean you are intending to take in 1500 calories LESS each day than you need? that is not a good plan while attempting to build muscle.
if your goal is primarily fat loss, the strength training is valuable to build lean body mass and you will need to have adequate protein on a daily basis, fats to support that and carbs for energy.

as for particular areas to build, if you are asking what exercises you should do for your core and upperbody, the ones mentioned by the poster above are fine, as are variations of the plank, weighted sit ups (if your lower back will support that), cleans and deadlifts. those last 2 moves involve more than one major muscle group, but proper form is essential in order to prevent injury.

MisterDubs303

I would suggest leaving at least 4 days between working out the same muscles based on a recent article that I will try to find and edit back into here. Research is showing that most muscles continue to rebuild much longer (recover more slowly) than previously thought.

I do:
Monday : Core (lower back and abs)
Tuesday: Arms and Back (upper)
Thursday: Chest and Shoulders
Friday: Legs

...and some sort of cardio just about everyday (after strength training) whether it be a 5 mile walk or 30 min. each on StairMaster, Treadmill, and Stationary bike.

nsimportant

Oky this Full Body workout that You can do at home is a blast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPoupuqPwqU

Like he said do it 3-4 times a week.

He has tons of quality videos.

Do some cardio for 15-30 min too.

When doing strength training what should your heart rate be at?

Honestly who cares just dont take too long rests between exercises or you will cool down.

When your muscle still slightly sore from the workout 2 days ago should you still train?

If its deep pain rest if it just uncomfy warm those muscles abit and they will stop feeling sore

Is their food you should eat on days you strength train and cardio vs days you just do cardio?

Eat a good carbs + protein meal after any high intensity workout like HIIT or strength training.
For normal jog and any type of low to mid cardio you just eat normal veggies and meat stuff.
And supplement with fish oil if your budget can handle it.

I don't have the best core or upper strength but a do have the kick of a oxen. how should this effect my work out?

Well on the full body workout focus most of your energy on the core+upper body workout.

snookumss

If you haven't done this before, I would suggest getting the 30DS for like 7 at your local walmart or online for even cheaper! ... *ahem ahem*

This is a great overall body toning/weight loss workout. I've only done a week (tried doing it in combination with some much harder strength training and overworked myself.

dubist

thxs for the great replies! helped loads.

nsinpotant
i like that video. good to have some humor.

irridia

if you aren't already walking 30min a day at least 5 days a week, start, best pace you can manage. When that gets comfortable add stairs and pick up the pace for as long as you can and then slow down.

Once you start feeling some stamina then you can start with some lunges, I did lunges with curls, then add weights to it, try to increase 5lbs each session, if you can't do that drop to 2 or even 1 lb increases.

Beginning exercises:
lunge with left leg curl with right arm and the opposite 10 reps total 5 sets. That works out to 5 reps each side.
do overhead presses.
once you can do those then its time to start 5x5 which is barbell exercises
work out A workout B
Squats Squats
Overhead Press Bench Press
Deadlift Bent Row

Always follow workout A with workout B and A follows B
start with just the bar a standard bar weighs 15 lbs and it's what I started with.
Olympic bar is 45 lbs unless its a shorter one, I think standard is 7'
add 5lbs everytime you completely do 5 sets of 5 reps
do 3 sets of a lower weight warm up 2 more of a slightly higher weight and then your 5 sets of your working weight.
rest minimally during warm up and no more than 1 min between sets of your working weight.
do the complete exercise before going to the next one. Do them in order. Make certain form is good before progressing. search you tube for so you think you can deadlift and so you think you can squat also search Mark Riptoe for form.

It's hella empowering to successfully do a weight you didn't think you could do. Make certain your protien intake is adequate. Multivitamins, Vit D & E along with fish oil are all you should need besides protien powder which is best for after due to absorbtion rate.

I had a long layoff due to an unrelated injury and started at the weight I left off at due to my spouses influence. I was so sore the next day I could barely walk on my next work out I still could barely walk and didn't think I'd be able to lift the same or better but once I did the first set of my working weight the soreness was gone! I had tried heat and stretching and nothing pushed the lactic acid out but doing the same thing that got it there in the first place. The next day I was only minimally sore. So on soreness as long as it isn't joint centered, push past it. If it hurts worse then stop, if it is better or the same then keep going.

You can do this! Just make it a priority and push yourself to do it every time. Since I started the strength training I have kind of fallen off my diet (indulging in carbs more often than I should) and due to other issues, somewhat fallen off my routine as well and yet my measurements have mostly either stayed the same or decreased. Weight fluctuates a lot but from what I have been able to tell that is normal with someone with my medical issues and for women in general.
Good luck!