I'm a girl who wants to start heavy lifting... advice?

lyndsei

bump!

ArroganceInStep

Responses in line

How to maintain proper form - check out youtube videos of the exercises. If you're lifting solo try to film yourself doing the lift so you can compare to said youtube videos later (I have a kickstand on my ipod and it works pretty well when I want to check form). If you have a specific program you want to do, I or any number of folks on here who know this stuff better than I do can give a few video suggestions. Have you decided on a program? I know you said you didn't want a book, but the best advice I can give you to help with lifting is to decide on a program and follow it.

How to know what weights to start with - start as light as possible, so just the 45 lb bar with squats or bench (if that's still tough use a smaller bar or do body weight to build a baseline) and increase every time you lift. It should be extremely easy for the first few weeks at least so you can work on perfecting your form. I restarted lifting again this year, and for the month of January I was lifting about 25% what I'm lifting this month just because I wanted to make sure my form was still right.

Safety info - start light, check videos talking about form, always err on the side of safety, especially if you're lifting alone. If you're very strict with form, the lift may be harder but you will be less likely to get injured.

Do I need gloves? - When you get to very heavy weights, I find gloves to be more of a liability than an assist. It's much harder for me to grip with gloves than with bare hands+a little chalk. That being said, as a guy I don't care if I have a ton of calluses on my hands. I'd say start without gloves, and see how it impacts your hands. If it makes them too rough or whatever, get gloves. You certainly don't 'need' them though.