Getting started (weightlifting) in a rural area

Hi, I am pretty much in the same boat. I have a barbell bench, some dumbells a treadmill and a small multi home gym. I have just started back with the weights but when I first started I searched you tube for exercises and they show you how to do the exercises with proper form. I don't think you can gain muscle while on a deficit but you most certainly can retain what you have by lifting, which is all I'm trying to do at this point.

Edited to add I am not in shape either I still have about 20 kg to lose. I am doing both cardio and weights. 3 days of each

It's never too early to start lifting.

You can learn good form from YouTube videos or from a book, start off with light weights until you are sure of your form and then start working heavier from there. If either of the gyms offer a 'start-up' session with a PT that can be helpful.

I see my PT once a week, so you don't need one every time you work out.

Yes. Weight lifting is the one tool in your weight loss journey that can help you to burn fat and not to much muscle. You do not have to be as you said, "in shape" to go the gym. Just GO. Forget everyone else there and just do your routine. If you really want to learn then just go to the gym and do your thing. Take advantage of any training sessions the gym offers on thier equipment. Just remember, you can do it. You can be succesful! Just keep at it and think long term.

I would suggest you continue on cardio but add light strength training. Increase your weights as you feel comfortable. You want to keep seeing results or you could loose your drive and get frustrated. But if you don't do at least small amounts of muscle building and toning then your weight loss will include muscle loss to a higher degree then i am sure you would prefer. Just remember to increase your weight when you feel comfortable. You have to increase for it to continue to work.

Here is my own personal anology that i use to convince myself to do my strength workouts when i really don't want to.

Weight loss without strength training will only make you feel like a smaller marshmellow, but still a marshmellow.

Good luck and keep at it. You can add me if needed.

Hi. I'm interested in starting lifting weights, and I've been scrolling through a lot of posts where women were asking advice on beginning. A lot of people said that it was important to get a good personal trainer. The problem is, my very small town doesn't have any PTs at all. There are only two (very small) gyms. Neither of them are staffed regularly. (The members get in with a key card and they only have staff for a couple hours a week to sign up new members.) I've never actually been inside either of them, yet.

So, the likelihood of me getting any help whatsoever if I sign up at either of these gyms is slim to none. The closest place to get a real PT is over an hour's drive away. I want to learn how to do things right, but I can't afford to drive an hour and a half every day to go workout. So, my question is... Can I learn everything that you need to know from a book? How should I start when I'm not even sure if either gym would have the equipment I need, mostly because I don't know what equipment I need myself?

Would it be possible for me to buy a something like Starting Strength or NROLFW and maybe a cheap barbell set and practice until I feel like I can do things without injuring myself and then sign up at whichever gym is better equipped? Are there any other rural people who lift weights? How did you get started?

And would I be starting lifting too early? I'm not in shape by any definition of the word. I've seen a lot of people say you can't get muscle and lose weight at the same time. So, should I wait and keep doing cardio and endurance-y stuff for a while until I get a lot of the weight off?

Sorry for all the questions! I would really appreciate any help I can get. Thanks in advance!

I live in a rural area and the nearest town only has one small gym. You can do this WITHOUT a personal trainer. There are lots of good weight lifting programs. Others can tell you about what they use, some are cheaper than others and I'm sure you will get a lot of support from others here on the programs they use.

I achieved my goals without a personal trainer. The workout I used is more expensive than others, but cheaper than cross fit and beach body, so you can find what you every you want in your price range. I can say the workout I did was successful for me because I think it gave better advice than most personal trainers. Not all, but many are PT's stuck in the myths --> http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html AND http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/intermittent-fasting-and-bulking/ Even if you are not into IF these are good articles for understanding the myths about starvation mode and bulking and why or why not they still exist.

This website has some great information as well and this article is perfect for the holiday season http://johnbarban.com/whats-your-diet-and-exercise-plan-for-the-next-7-weeks/

You can certainly do a workout at home or at a small town gym. At home you would need to start with a variety of dumbbells and a bench, and then gradually get some other things. You will be surprised at how fast you will gain strength and you will need bigger weights for your leg exercises.

You can develop muscles while on a calorie deficit and not go into starvation mode. I proved this on my weight loss journey by having my doctor check my hormones and other blood work on a regular basis while I went from obese to 10% body fat. Everything was great and my doctor was quite happy with me. The DXA scan proved that I did not lose lean body mass.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

Everyone needs resistance training to improve their health and bone density and this will especially improve your quality of life when you get older. But you will not gain all that much lean body mass as fast as everyone thinks. Guys of course will gain more. A DXA scan will prove the point. There are lots of stories about changing size but no one REALLY knows unless they do a DXA scan. Here's more about that --> http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/intermittent-fasting-and-bulking/ this is true whether you IF or not. My DXA scans proved that I really didn't gain that much lean body mass yet I look very muscular for a female. I have very high bone density from over 30 years of lifting yet my lean body mass is still only 104 lbs and my RMR is still only 1380.

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. 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.

Cardio is good for you but it is optional. I love cardio, but you can't out exercise too many calories. Of course you burn calories, but not near what all the HRM's say. I learned the hard way, running marathon after marathon (yes even multiple runs during the day), as well as hitting the gym hard, martial arts, staying active all the time, not eating while watching TV, not binging, not mindlessly eating, not pigging out, not having emotional eating issues, yet I gained weight year after year, each decade putting on the pounds. I worked harder and harder, not able to figure out what was wrong. It didn't seem like I ate too much, but for my small size I did and didn't realize it until just a few years ago when I finally started losing weight by eating less.

Here's an example of the exercises from the program I use. We don't do all these every day, but we do all body every day, it's designed for women, and it is different every day. No workout day is like any other and it keeps it fun and it's good for the muscles to change things up, heavy some days, light some days, super sets, pyramids, etc.

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.

There are a lot of beginners who do this program at home or at the gym. Like all the other good programs out there it starts with a phase 1 beginner phase.

Pick up a copy of 'Starting Strength' by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore. The book will run you about $30, and I would also suggest the DVD which is about $20. Amazon should have them. The book goes into great detail about angles and leverages for lifts, proper form and why, as well as common mistakes people make. It has pictures of both right and wrong. The DVD is coaching sessions by Mark Rippetoe, giving examples of the movements and showing both right and wrong ways to do the lifts. The advantage of the DVD is that you get to see the entire movement, not just pictures.

I'd suggest you learn proper form, and then record yourself performing some of the lifts and review it. Do NOT use a mirror. Moving your head to see a mirror will throw you off. Compare your video to the DVD, and make corrections as necessary. And always remember, that if it feels like something is tweeking or straining, reevaluate your form because something is wrong.

You tube has been helpful and found a web site not long ago, www.fitnessblender.com, equally helpful if not more. It allows to do cardio and strength workouts in my apartment - and not disturb my neighbors below me or to the sides. The best part is that a lot of the exercises on the site give you option of using YOUR own body weight or free weights (dumbbell, barbell etc), or use a resistance band. Hope this helps you out.

I couldn't afford a big gym or a personal trainer. I started with weights at home, but I found I quite quickly had to move to a small gym (I had no way of getting the bar onto my back for squats!). I asked one of the people who run the gym to check my form.

Of the books I bought (Starting Strength and NROLFW), I found that Starting Strength was the most useful for my purpose. It has detailed descriptions of the lifts and lots of pictures (often with female models). There's also more information and videos on the website and on youtube.

Videoing yourself is a great suggestion, if you can find a way to do that. It's difficult to know exactly what you're doing from the feel of it and being able to see it really helps (in my opinion). I found it very helpful.

I would feel a bit nervous about being at a gym with no staff there at all to help in an emergency. But I suppose it's not much different from working out at home! I might want to avoid bench pressing on my own, as that seems to be the riskiest lift.

Good luck with it!