Building muscle?

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sweetxsour35
sweetxsour35 Posts: 177
in Fitness and Exercise
I don't do any strength training currently, and I've been on a plateau for a while. I want to start building muscle, but I don't know where to start. I've heard countless weight-lifting techniques but I'm unsure which ones are actually effective.

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  • sapalee
    sapalee Posts: 409 Member
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    Pick things up, put things down

    j/k,

    I got started with weightlifting through crossfit, you could search their moves, mostly olympic lifts. I've heard the New Rules for Weightlifting for Women is really good too, ordered a copy the other day but it hasn't come in yet...
  • sweetxsour35
    sweetxsour35 Posts: 177
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    I've been wanting to try crossfit for a while now, but crossfit places where I live are hard to come by and expensive as well, maybe I haven't looked hard enough?
  • rhondariha
    rhondariha Posts: 4
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    There are tons of free sites online from Jillian Michaels to Bob Harper that give great weightlifting/toning exercises. Just make sure you only lift 2-3 times per week to give your muscles a chance to recover. I personally use a DVD workout system, but as long as you make sure you hit your major muscle areas, biceps/triceps, chest/back, hamstrings/glutes/thighs, those are the most popular ones to start out with. OH, and don't let people scare you and say don't lift heavy, you should do low reps/high weights OR low weights and lots and lots of reps if you want to see great results. Women just don't have the testosterone to build big massive muscles, no matter how heavy you go! :) Good Luck!!!
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
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    bodybuilding.com has a great source of exercises and workout programs that you can follow
  • Deval619
    Deval619 Posts: 6
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    Hi
    you could also read a book called " BRAWN" amazing book for building muscle and such hope it helps.
  • Trail_Addict
    Trail_Addict Posts: 1,350 Member
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    increase your calories
    lift really heavy things (compound moves - squats, deadlifts, bench pr, military pr, push-ups, pull-ups)
    low reps
    follow your workouts with protein intake
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
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    The New Rules of Lifting for Women is also pretty popular and if it's anything like the standard one, it's a good read with lots of info on technique and form and would be well worth your time and $$.
  • RajwaJ
    RajwaJ Posts: 191 Member
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    bodybuilding.com has a great source of exercises and workout programs that you can follow

    This! I recently came across this site from a post on here. Some great workouts and plans to follow. :) Or look into a book called 'New Rules of Lifting for Women'.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    1) Lift heavy
    2) Eat in a surplus of calories.

    It is possible in certain circumstances (new to lifting and / or obese) in which you can build muscle in a deficit, but this won't last forever.
    If you want to lose weight (fat) as well, it's probably easiest to focus on one thing at a time. Although, there is no reason not to start lifting now! Regular lifting, even while losing weight, helps maintain the muscle you do have instead of losing it, and you may even gain a little in the beginning :smile:
  • sweetxsour35
    sweetxsour35 Posts: 177
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    I'm going to give Jamie Eason's LiveFit program a try.

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