Heavy Lifting - Where to start?

Jessamine

Couch to 5k worked wonders for me because it told me exactly what to do. Is there something like that for lifting? I feel stupid asking this question and I feel stupid walking into the gym with no clear direction on what and how to lift.

So far I've done squats, arm curls, and lunges with 15-pound hand weights.

suzikay12

This is the same problem I'm having! I don't really know where to start for heavy lifting, so I don't start at all. (I dabble at home, pretty much same as you) Also, I wish there was a gym etiquette guide to lifting so I don't end up being the person doing curls at the squat rack or whatever annoys serious lifters.

kaylagirl12

I want to start heavy lifting too - the results I've seen so far are amazing! I do a lot of cardio right now, and do bicep curls and crunches, but I know absolutely nothing about lifting.... I'd love to see some advice for beginners!

spazofthedead

Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both are very similar and very effective beginner lifting programs. I'd recommend reading Starting Strength regardless of the program you choose, however. There's a lot of good information in there.

Also, I wish there was a gym etiquette guide to lifting so I don't end up being the person doing curls at the squat rack or whatever annoys serious lifters.

This might help? http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/Fitness#Iveneverbeentoagymbefore.WhatshouldIremembertodo (copy and paste the entire link even though it looks completely silly)

andrea9873

bump

AirCircleI

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a good book to start with.

jagfan

Bump

George1567

I agree with the book "new rules of weight lifting for women", it is on my night stand right now and I'm a guy. I used many of the new rules techniques in my own workouts and my wife has had solid results from that approach .

Not sure the stronglifts 5x5 "program" is the way to go for a woman to start out, this is just my opinion??? The 5 x 5 lifts are all great core lifts (squats, deadlift, bench, bent over row, standing overhead press) that for sure are good for all genders, its the progressive loading that I think will cause the hang-ups.

spazofthedead

Not sure the stronglifts 5x5 "program" is the way to go for a woman to start out, this is just my opinion??? The 5 x 5 lifts are all great core lifts (squats, deadlift, bench, bent over row, standing overhead press) that for sure are good for all genders, its the progressive loading that I think will cause the hang-ups.

Women can do SL just fine, even as utter beginners. We may have to start out using less than the 45lb bar to begin with, but *because* of the progressive loading we make very quick progress and see a lot of strength gains.

Being a woman myself, I started out doing SL and the only hangups I had were with upper body lifts. I couldn't do 5lb increments after about 75lbs or so on things like bench press and overhead press. So I grabbed some micro plates (1.25lbs) and started loading in smaller segments. Worked like a charm. Squats and deadlifts? I was adding 5-10lbs a session until I was well over bodyweight, and only then did it slow down.

George1567

Glad it worked for you. Keep it up.

Jynus

Not sure the stronglifts 5x5 "program" is the way to go for a woman to start out, this is just my opinion??? The 5 x 5 lifts are all great core lifts (squats, deadlift, bench, bent over row, standing overhead press) that for sure are good for all genders, its the progressive loading that I think will cause the hang-ups.

There is no difference in how a womans muscle systems or biomechanics work compared to a man. so I have no idea why you think progressive loading for linear gains would be sub optimal for females.

George1567

When I did my research into the 5x5 programs I had others give me advice that made me realise that there are several different 5x5 programs and copies there of. The STRONGLIFTS version (as mentioned in this thread), if you read his information and get his emails, is not what a beginer needs, male or female. This Mehdi guy is a jerk, his emails are rude, I cant tell you how many times he mentiones the diameter of his wrists and ankles as relation to how if he can do it anyone can. He says straight out in his online information that his program is not suited for women. If someone new starts with the STRONGLIFT version of 5x5 and has any hangups the support offered in his method would be horrible. Now if you would have mentioned the Bill Starr version and how he set up progressive loading I would have had a different view. The Starr version has de-loads built in at the 6 week mark where the stronglift version only has them when you reach a point of repeat failuer. The Starr method of progressive loading is going to give a new lifter a chance to get further into the program before they hit failuer. The Starr version also offers a few accessory lifts, hypers, curls, extensions, sit-ups, and dips where the stronglift version goes off the deep end that you have to do exactly what he says and only what he says. I also remember him saying you have to eat a minimum of 3,000 calories per day to be sucessful with the stronglift program????? The Starr method uses ramping weight from set to set, where the stronglift version uses the same weight for all 5 sets.....for a new lifter the ramping weight will get them further before they get stuck.

I fully understand we are all the same species, just different gender. For a new lifter sucess and suport are important. The "stronglift" version of 5x5 does not offer this. And even the program I would prefer "Bill Starr" says the 5x5 method is not for the beginner, and recommends some of Rippetoe's programs for the beginer.

synchronicityii

Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both are very similar and very effective beginner lifting programs. I'd recommend reading Starting Strength regardless of the program you choose, however. There's a lot of good information in there.

^^^This. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe is a great book, filled with tons of useful information all in one easily accessible place.

Stronglifts 5x5 is really nothing more than a tweak on Starting Strength and Glenn Pendlay's 5x5, and Mehdi (the guy behind Stronglifts 5x5) readily admits as much. If you read Mehdi's stuff and then read Starting Strength (BTW, on Amazon you can get a "free look" at Starting Strength that covers the first 2-3 chapters - read as much of it as you can and you'll learn a lot right there), you'll see that Mark Rippetoe's depth of knowledge is FAR greater than Mehdi's. If you ignore most of Mehdi's ramblings and just use his suggested program (perhaps modifying it a bit to fit closer to Rippetoe's suggestions in his book), it's as decent a place to start as any.

The basic idea behind any of those is simple (this is a brief summary of those routines):

Start extremely light - 45 lb standard olympic bar with no weight on it at all save for deadlifts for proper form, lighter if necessary, some gyms may have a woman's 15kg bar. There are also 5kg to 15 lb "training bars" available, although those may be hard to find at a gym and cost over $100 if you wish to buy one yourself.

Do compound barbell exercises that work much of your entire body: squat/bench press/deadlift or squat/overhead press/deadlift. (eventually alternate power cleans with deadlifts every other workout).

Do warm up sets at weights below your "working weight", then 3 or 5 sets of 5 reps at work weight (depending on the program). Focus on USING PROPER FORM.

If you succeed with all your work sets at that weight, then increase the weight 5 lbs at your next workout (10 lbs on the deadlifts). Rest for 1-5 minutes between sets. Work out only 3x week to allow your body proper time to recover between workouts.

If you "fail" at your work weight (can't complete all your work sets) at a given exercise, try again at the same weight next workout. If you fail a second time, try for a third time, and if you fail the third time, "deload" by 10% and start working back up at 5 lbs per.

That's enough to get you started. Most people make substantial gains before stalling out on most exercises. If your gym has fractional weight plates that are under 2.5 lbs (or you buy your own) you can go up by less than 5 lbs per successful session if you find yourself failing often after moving up. There's other bits regarding creating a weight training program after you've exhausted all your "newbie gains", but it'll often be many months before that happens, and by that point you'll have moved far beyond "basic improved fitness" and likely have learned a ton in the process.

milkyskinn

I started lifting with Chalean Extreme, but right now I'm into week 2 of Jamie Eason's livefit program (on bodybuilding.com) It's a great start and I think it might help you
I didn't know much about lifting either, and on Jamie Eason's program you train a specific muscle group each day, and the workouts are all listed and planned out for you; you can also click on the moves that are listed on your workouts to watch a sample video of how to perform the exercise, which is very helpful for beginners!

I've just started reading the new rules of lifting for women, especially since so many recommended it, so you should probably look into that too!

spazofthedead

Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both are very similar and very effective beginner lifting programs. I'd recommend reading Starting Strength regardless of the program you choose, however. There's a lot of good information in there.

If you ignore most of Mehdi's ramblings and just use his suggested program (perhaps modifying it a bit to fit closer to Rippetoe's suggestions in his book), it's as decent a place to start as any.

This is what I did. I read Starting Strength but followed Stronglifts because I didn't have anywhere to do cleans at my gym. Mehdi is completely insane, so ignoring him is best for pretty much anyone.

Jessamine

Mark Rippetoe is a genius! Thanks to everyone who recommended him.

I watched several of his squatting tutorial videos (and read his website) and practiced squatting with a barbell at the gym last night. Granted - I didn't have anyone around to coach me, so I did it all on my own from memory. It was great walking in there with some direction to my workout. I had fun!