Things I've Learned About Strength Training

caat1rules

Great post, but I don't totally agree with #7. You can make muscle gains without eating a high calorie diet.. If you are in tune with your body, you know the tipping point. Once you find this fine line, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

LorinaLynn

All I need to know about strength training (aside from not getting hurt) is that IT WORKS! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/i-don-t-want-to-be-bulky-221294

PoochPottery

Love it! Thanks!

quietHiker

Thanks for the information I definitely need to do more strength training.

lily1972

13. Cardio=weight loss, lifting=fat loss.

I have reached my goal weight before (129 pounds, I'm 5'5.5" and "big" boned) and I wasn't happy with my body.
I then gained it back (I'm a yo-yoer lol).
The next time I wanted to lose I did P90X and got down to 132 and I LOVED my body! I still did a ton of cardio (which sometimes isn't the best when trying to retain muscle), but my 132 pound body was SMALLER than my 129 pound body!

Just wanted to put that out there for all the ladies who slave on the treadmil, yes you will lose weight, but to hold onto the muscle you have, strength training is the key!

I was afraid of looking like a female Hulk LOL My personal experience is this: lifting without cardio made me look bulky because I wasn't eating right and held on to the intra-muscular fat; then I finally changed my eating habits, did some cardio, lost the weight and began lifting heavy... What a difference!! I too weight the same as in my twenties, but my body composition is completely different and I'm smaller (and in waaay better physical condition than I've ever been!) People are amazed when I tell them I'll be forty this fall and have 5 kids :bigsmile:

Thank you for posting this info - it really needs to be said!:flowerforyou:

minnesota_deere

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

harlanJEN

Great stuff ... !

cel81xtreme

Good post. EGO lol
Im 6months into strength (get big) training. Ive read and tried everything. Im still learning my body but i like to think ive aquired enough knowledge over the past 6 months to put together decent work outs and know how to pace my self.
Add me check me out always open to suggestions.

Butterfly3730

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

Excellent post. The best post I read on the forums in awhile. Thanks for posting. I've just started strength training (again) and I will save this post. Thanks!

mikethom

Good post, and timely as I'm looking at trying to add some strength training to my normal routine (cardio).

Thanks, Mike

BigBoneSista

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

Didn't give his credentials? What he posted is common knowledge.

0RESET0

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

Ummm, you don't have to have credentials to post personal experience.

Here are my "credentials". http://www.jefit.com/forum/showthread.php?10716-Sean-s-SL-5X5-training-log

Butterfly3730

Awesome post (# 6 is my favorite. Like the phrase "Hey guys - watch this!" is the leading cause of most ER visits!). I am in month 2 of the Chalean Extreme program, which I LOVE. She really stresses form and the way the workout is designed, you should not plateau because it changes every month. I still have about 100 pounds to lose, but I have seen noticeable changes to my body already, and cannot wait to see whats under there once all the fat comes off!

I'm doing CE as well. I've worked with personal trainers in the past but I LOVE this program. I have alot to lose as well and already noticing a difference.

Emancipated_Tai

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

THIS!!!!
:laugh: :laugh:

mikethom

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

And who are you to be giving advice, what are your credentials? :laugh: What you've just done is paraphrase the intent of his first point. Frankly, most of what he said was just good, basic, common sense advice.

MIke

eayal002

you have learned well fuzzy san,

Good post.

almc170

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

If you take the time to do some research, you'll find a lot to corroborate what he's saying :flowerforyou:

mikeyrp

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

Whilst you are right to be concerned about taking advice from people who don't qualify themselves, I cant see how that can be applied to this post.... his first rule isn't "do my program" its "do a program written by a professional"

Furthermore this post isn't titled "Things you should do if you want to strength train" - its "Things I have learned..." - I think sharing your experience is really important to the MFP forums: people are free to dispute specific points if they disagree. From the tone of the post
I imaging the OP would encourage people to challenge his rules if there is something we can learn from it.

On a final note - I've seen some really bad advice from people who claim to be sports and nutrition professionals. I'd rather hear feed back from an amateur who's done their homework than a professional who's in it for the money.

thefuzz1290

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

Whilst you are right to be concerned about taking advice from people who don't qualify themselves, I cant see how that can be applied to this post.... his first rule isn't "do my program" its "do a program written by a professional"

Furthermore this post isn't titled "Things you should do if you want to strength train" - its "Things I have learned..." - I think sharing your experience is really important to the MFP forums: people are free to dispute specific points if they disagree. From the tone of the post
I imaging the OP would encourage people to challenge his rules if there is something we can learn from it.

On a final note - I've seen some really bad advice from people who claim to be sports and nutrition professionals. I'd rather hear feed back from an amateur who's done their homework than a professional who's in it for the money.

Yup, this is 10+ years of personal experience and practical application (though not for several years...which is why I'm here lol). I've tried pretty much every type of workout program: cardio only, high reps/low weights, high weight/low reps, 5x5, bodybuilding splits, push/pull, circuit, and various magazine workouts. I've also tried practically every type of legal supplement that has come out in the last 10 years, not to mention wasted my money on several fitness products that have flat out not worked (electronic ab stimulator anyone?).

kir911

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

If you take the time to do some research, you'll find a lot to corroborate what he's saying :flowerforyou:

He may not be a fitness professional or credentialed but he hit the nail on the head. My husband is a fitness professional and he would say everything that the poster did.

tuffytuffy1

Stronglifts 5x5 is the best beginner program I've seen so far.

I have to echo this. I started off doing New Rules of Lifting for Women, but switched to Stronglifts 5x5 a month ago. I LOOOOOVE Stronglifts, love the results, love the simplicity of the program. New Rules was a good read, and I liked the first few stages, but I find Stronglifts much more effective. With New Rules I was kind of 'guessing' at how I should increase the weights, and with Stronglifts, it's all laid out for you.

I have done a lot of YouTubeing, watched a lot of Rippetoe's form videos, and got some help from a trainer at my gym to get the form down. That's important for a newbie.

I work out with a trainer 3 times a week but want to move down to 2 sessions to save money. I googled Stronglifts 5x5 and didn't find a "program" that I could literally use in my house. Does anyone have a link to the program I could look at? Thanks!

ktfitzgerald

Thanks for that post! I actually really needed to read this because my nutritionist yesterday was stressing just how important strength training is in losing weight compared to cardio. I mean she was really, REALLY stressing it - because of the long term calorie burn. I was wondering if you have a good site or recommendations for beginners to find strength training programs.

Or else then I am one of those without a plan and I end up wandering aimlessly to the cardio machines and never touch a dumbbell. But I want to incorporate both this time and see what I can do to lose these pesky 20 pounds and stop yo-yoing!

Stronglifts 5x5 is the best beginner program I've seen so far.

I just looked this up and am so excited to get started on it!! Seems so simple, I think I can actually do it!

wellbert

Thanks for that post! I actually really needed to read this because my nutritionist yesterday was stressing just how important strength training is in losing weight compared to cardio. I mean she was really, REALLY stressing it - because of the long term calorie burn. I was wondering if you have a good site or recommendations for beginners to find strength training programs.

Or else then I am one of those without a plan and I end up wandering aimlessly to the cardio machines and never touch a dumbbell. But I want to incorporate both this time and see what I can do to lose these pesky 20 pounds and stop yo-yoing!

Stronglifts 5x5 is the best beginner program I've seen so far.

I just looked this up and am so excited to get started on it!! Seems so simple, I think I can actually do it!

Check out Rippetoe's starting strength too He has better credentials, and it includes a lot more information on technique (Vs start strength text is 60% telling you how great it is)
Also heard on BB site that 3x5 is more sustainable long term.

In any case, it's good to read both and find what works for you. I like Stronglifts' suggestion of rows instead of Rippetoe's power cleans, for example.

thefuzz1290

Check out Rippetoe's starting strength too He has better credentials, and it includes a lot more information on technique (Vs start strength text is 60% telling you how great it is)
Also heard on BB site that 3x5 is more sustainable long term.

In any case, it's good to read both and find what works for you. I like Stronglifts' suggestion of rows instead of Rippetoe's power cleans, for example.

The only reason I didn't mention Starting Strength is because power cleans are very difficult for a beginner to do...heck even for advanced lifters its difficult to master.

sagardner70

bump

medennison123

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

That is all about personal goals and what the individual is trying to achieve. Not a guideline.


IMO do the research yourself don take this information just how it sits.

qkidney

Great post!

erickirb

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

That is all about personal goals and what the individual is trying to achieve. Not a guideline.


IMO do the research yourself don take this information just how it sits.

No, high reps low weight will give you very little results regardless of goals.

Rep ranges should be 3-6 for strength, and 8-10 for size. No reason to go more than 12 reps, or you are basically doing cardio, not strength training.

laurarpa

Starting Strength is great for tips and diagrams and long explanations on why it's best to do lift a certain way, etc. He's quite wordy both in the books and on you-tube demos but it's helpful stuff to know. The kindle version was a deal compared to the book and reads well on an iPad if you have one. I'm using New Rules of Lifting (for Women) but Starting Strength gave me the confidence to get started until I can get a few sessions with a personal trainer.

autumnk921

Bump....I am bumping this so that I can read it later...


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