In need of a beginner's workout

I don't have any answers for you but I am in the same situation. Good luck!

BUMP

Pick up the book body for life. It is very motivational has good eating healthy info and a workout routine. I did it for years at my own pace and was a beginner its a 12 week program and will give you good results. The workout routine is in back of book and he explains how to do the different exercises in what order and has pictures showing you how.

A lot of the ladies are using new rules of weightlifting for women and there is a group on here for support. There is also one online that you can download for free called Stronglifts 5 x 5.

I highly recommend the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women." There's a group here on MFP you can join for support, questions, etc. Here's the link:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w

Congratulations on making the wise decision to do strength training!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933

I got a free session with a trainer when I started. She had me do chest press, shoulder press, then lateral pulldown, then arm curls, then back extentions, then triceps and leg press. I cut out the leg press (didnt need it) and added the abdominal machine in that spot. The I added the glute machine and rotary torso. As for the weights, she put me mostly on 40 lbs to start. I have adjusted them myself to what I felt comfortable with, both up and down. You have a choice...some people say high weight, few reps, I do both actually, depending on the machine because I have a shoulder problem and I cant use high weight or I wouldn't be able to do anything. Give the machines a try and don't feel uncomfortable.

Look up Stronglifts 5x5 or starting strength. I have been doing Strong lifts for the last 4 weeks and it has been awesome!

Definitely find a good weight lifting routine. Apparently the new rules for women lifting is good, as well as many others and bodybuilding.com. I'm a runner too, totally addicted to running and lifting, but cardio just won't do as much for your shape as lifting. It's good for you, but you don't need as much cardio as people think and it really isn't the fat burner people think. Just look at all the people who do cardio year after year and never change their shape. Fat loss is all about calories. Cardio is good for you. And weight lifting changes your shape. I learned this this hard way running marathon after marathon.

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

Here's a list of exercises I do (I did not design the workout, I just do it). I don't do all these every day but I do most muscle groups every day, some weeks some splits but not often. You can search most of these exercises on youtube.

The routine I do consists of weight lifting first and cardio second, but I still do cardio (mainly running). I change up everything all the time. My running is sometimes long easy runs, sometimes HIIT, sometimes shorter medium pace runs. My weight routine changes each day, each week, Circuits, Intermittent Super Sets, Fibonacci Pyramids, X-sets, Progress Venus Pyramids, and some splits, constantly changing it up, everything a variety of Strength, Hypertrophy, and Endurance.

Legs; In addition to Deadlift's, Stiff Leg Dead Lifts, Sumo Dead Lifts and Squats I do Bulgarian Split Squats, Lunges, Reverse lunges, Curtsey lunges, Step Ups, Crossover Bench Step Ups, One legged Deadlifts (T-Bend), Lunge Matrix, Bowler Squat, One Legged Get Ups, Bower Squat and Calf Raise, Bowler Squat + Stiff Leg Deadlift, Curtsey Lunge + Dumbbell Squat, T-Bend + Y-Squat, Reverse Lunge & Step Up, Curtsey Lunge + Step Up, Y-squat, Narrow Stance Squat

For upper body I do Standing Shoulder Press, Standing Dumbell Curls, Lying Tricep extension, Pullovers, Bent Barbell Row, Standing lateral Raise, Standing front Raise, Curl and Press, Shoulder Press + Curl, Dips, Lying Tricep Extensions + Flyes, Venus Raise (a type of snatch), Bent Row + Standing Lateral Raise, Pullovers, Pushup + Dips, Standing Dumbbell curls + Overhead Tricep Extension, Bent Lateral Raise + Pullovers, One Arm Dumbbell row, Flyes + Pushups, Seated Curl & Tate Press, Seated Curls + Overhead Tricep Extension, Pushups, Pullovers + Dips, Bent Barbell Row, Lateral Raise + Full Front Raise, Venus Raise + Dips, Standing Dumbbell curls + Lying Tricep Extension, Upright Row + Dips, Bent Barbell Row, Flat bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Bent Row Narrow, Bent Row + Kickback,

Then some upper and lower combos; Squat and Front Raise, Step Up & Press, Step Up + Standing Shoulder Press, Squat & Press, Squat & Swing, Curtsy Lunge + Standing Shoulder Pres, T-Bend & Row, Pike Front Rais + Curtsey Lunge, Flat Bench Press + Step Up.

Core: Bar Bell Rollouts (you can start out with Stability Ball Roll Outs), Swiss Ball Pikes (you can start out with Stability Ball Curl Ups), and planks. As you advance Swiss Ball Pike and pushup.

I probably forgot some but you get the idea.

Best of luck to you and great job making the decision to lift!!
Bobbie