advice needed from strength training folk

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  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    I don't belong to a gym and can't afford to, but my work has an exercise room with kettle bells and small weights. Would that be enough to get me started twice a week? Or should I invest in my own barbell set at home?



    You can start in the exercise room to help progress to a point that you feel you're ready (not necessary though) and make sure you're going to keep going before making the investment in the barbell set. Its not necessary but there's also nothing wrong with that. However, you will need to eventually invest or join a gym if you want to really go for it. Buy used for your first set and you can save a lot of money.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    Rest days are essential for your body to repair and recover and advance. If you don't take them your body will break down one way or another and force you to take them. Rest days do not have to be "sit on the couch days" they can be "take it at lower effort days." Sometimes I have sit on the couch days (like yesterday) and some weeks my rest days are a short easy run at a moderate pace without any real incline or simply taking a walk.

    Follow your insanity schedule. If you're going to add weights, at least 2 days per week. You can do 15 minutes of elliptical before lifting or incorporate some hiit on those days.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    WOW! The OP asks about some ways to start incorporating some strength training into her plan and all she gets is a bunch of Eat More Nazis telling her to eat more food. Way to be helpful there. Good job!

    OP, hopefully some of the lifters will jump in soon to give you some answers.

    Truth is it does take a long time to reach an overtrained status but if all shes doing is tearing down tissue with zero recovery then she needs to be eating more.
    Also the word "Nazi" is a bit extreme dontcha think?
    Also in terms of body composition it looks to me like 80-90% cardio.

    My opinion is drop most cardio.
    Lift 3-4x a week in a 3x5 or 5x5 program for beginners (www.stronglifts.com) and if she needs cardio simply add in 10-15 mins after each lifting session.
  • beautsarah
    beautsarah Posts: 151 Member
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    You're definitely going to need to insert a rest day in there if you plan on doing strength training. You actually should have a rest day in there regardless, just to give your body a break. If you're thinking about replacing the elliptical with weight training, that would be 2 days per week for strength training (good start). You'd could do the insanity or 4 mile run for 3 days, and still have one rest/recovery day per week. An example would be:

    Sun- Cardio (run or insanity)
    Mon- Weights
    Tues- Cardio (run or insanity)
    Wed- REST
    Thurs- Cardio (run or insanity)
    Fri- Weights
    Sat- Cardio (run or insanity)

    The following week, Sunday would be the rest day so you could keep a pattern of 3 days of activity folowed by a rest day.

    Very good suggestion I think I might use this for myself.
  • Hirgy03
    Hirgy03 Posts: 332 Member
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    I don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, my limited knowledge would say this, as apparently the gyms aren't of interest to you, and after having looked at weight training equipment myself recently, the cost to get a lot of dumbells etc is pretty exhorbitant. (I probably massacred that spelling).

    Anyway, I've seen in sporting goods stores, even in Wal-Marts, that they have dumbbells out there that you buy just one dumbell, and it has a lot of different weights that "dial on". May be a cost-effective way start, that and some pushups and the like.

    Good luck! I know that at first I was just dieting and doing cardio stuff. In the last month or two, with some strength training in there, I'm seeing results in my physical appearance much quicker. May be coincidence, and it may just be my mind seeing what it wants to see..... I'll admit that. However, there are the results looking back at me in the mirror every day. Have fun with it!
  • Bobby__Clerici
    Bobby__Clerici Posts: 741 Member
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    WOW! The OP asks about some ways to start incorporating some strength training into her plan and all she gets is a bunch of Eat More Nazis telling her to eat more food. Way to be helpful there. Good job!

    OP, hopefully some of the lifters will jump in soon to give you some answers.
    Sometimes the best answers are to questions unasked.
    No need to snivel over any open forum discussion that includes the free flow of information.
    Her issue is over training and probably food intake.
    If you can't see that clearly, oh well....
    No need to play public defender, ...:sad:
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    WOW! The OP asks about some ways to start incorporating some strength training into her plan and all she gets is a bunch of Eat More Nazis telling her to eat more food. Way to be helpful there. Good job!

    OP, hopefully some of the lifters will jump in soon to give you some answers.

    Truth is it does take a long time to reach an overtrained status but if all shes doing is tearing down tissue with zero recovery then she needs to be eating more.
    Also the word "Nazi" is a bit extreme dontcha think?
    Also in terms of body composition it looks to me like 80-90% cardio.

    My opinion is drop most cardio.
    Lift 3-4x a week in a 3x5 or 5x5 program for beginners (www.stronglifts.com) and if she needs cardio simply add in 10-15 mins after each lifting session.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women is also a really great program. NROL and and strong lifts are both compound lifting programs and recommed lifting no more then 3 days a week or every other day. As far as nixing all cardio except a little hiit here and there, that really depends on her goals. There's no reason why she can't lift + hiit 3 days a week and insanity 2 days a week while getting 2 rest days.

    Edit to add: the "lifting" that she's talking about isn't heavy lifting and wouldn't fit into a NROL or SL program . . . it's more endurance lifting when you start getting into primarily kettle bell work . . . some may argue with me on this, but while kettle bell workouts are great and you can find some amazing ones on line through google, this is just more cardio.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    WOW! The OP asks about some ways to start incorporating some strength training into her plan and all she gets is a bunch of Eat More Nazis telling her to eat more food. Way to be helpful there. Good job!

    OP, hopefully some of the lifters will jump in soon to give you some answers.

    Truth is it does take a long time to reach an overtrained status but if all shes doing is tearing down tissue with zero recovery then she needs to be eating more.
    Also the word "Nazi" is a bit extreme dontcha think?
    Also in terms of body composition it looks to me like 80-90% cardio.

    My opinion is drop most cardio.
    Lift 3-4x a week in a 3x5 or 5x5 program for beginners (www.stronglifts.com) and if she needs cardio simply add in 10-15 mins after each lifting session.

    Now this^ would have been a helpful post and would have answered her questions. But instead, the first thing you said was that she had better be eating at least 2000 calories.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    I would like more information about strength training too.

    Here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    WOW! The OP asks about some ways to start incorporating some strength training into her plan and all she gets is a bunch of Eat More Nazis telling her to eat more food. Way to be helpful there. Good job!

    OP, hopefully some of the lifters will jump in soon to give you some answers.
    Sometimes the best answers are to questions unasked.
    No need to snivel over any open forum discussion that includes the free flow of information.
    Her issue is over training and probably food intake.
    If you can't see that clearly, oh well....
    No need to play public defender, hijacking the thread...:sad:

    She asked for advice on how to trade off some cardio for some strength training. This is a good thing for her to look into. Your response to that was-
    "1. If you're this obsessive about exercise, I suspect you're starving yourself crash dieting. "

    Why did you suspect that she was starving herself by crash dieting? Her profile and food diary are private, and she did not say how many calories she was eating. She even made a point to say that her diet was fine so she wasn't afraid to drop some cardio. Those who are obsessive about diet and cardio are not usually willing to drop any cardio workouts to incorporate strength training.

    I am not hijacking the thread, or playing public defender. I am just sick of many people on here who immediately jump to conclusions and make assumptions about people, accusing them of having eating disorders, when there is no reason to do so.

    I made my first post after reading the first 2 responses that did nothing to help answer the OPs questions.
    Since then, many people have posted with some good advice.

    You could have asked her how many calories she was eating before accusing her of starving herself.
    You could also simply have suggested that she needs a rest day, like others have, without accusing her of being obsessive.
  • SillyFitMe
    SillyFitMe Posts: 130 Member
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    Sunday - run
    Monday - P90X chest & back, AB Ripper
    Tues - Insanity
    Wed - P90X shoulders & arms, AB Ripper
    Thurs - Insanity
    Fri - P90X legs & back, AB Ripper
    Sat - rest, cheat, or low activity (elliptical)
  • FitbeTMF
    FitbeTMF Posts: 251
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    I run every day. Rest day or not
  • FitbeTMF
    FitbeTMF Posts: 251
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    Dang Dawn. You're hot!!
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    I am not hijacking the thread, or playing public defender. I am just sick of many people on here who immediately jump to conclusions and make assumptions about people, accusing them of having eating disorders, when there is no reason to do so.

    you are, right now. stahp.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Maybe I'm blind, but I surely don't see any accusations of eating disorders in either of the posts where you called people out for being Eat More Nazis. If you had nothing else to offer to this thread than to slap the hand of people trying to help, why even comment?

    The OP needs to look into their diet AND add rest if they're looking to work on their body composition. Both of the replies were accurate. Other advice has been given to the effect of swapping out the elliptical for weights, etc. I don't recall either of the guys referring to the OP as a nazi.
    [/quote]

    Reread the observations of the second post,

    "1. If you're this obsessive about exercise, I suspect you're starving yourself crash dieting. "

    Other people did indeed come in afterwards with helpful suggestions, rather than simply making assumptions about the OP without cause. I offered some basic suggestions myself that might help her in her quest.

    And I didn't call the OP a nazi. Perhaps I was out of line using the term 'Eat More Nazi' which has been used by others on many occasion to refer to the people who immediately tell people they need to eat more. Most often times when they have no idea as to how much the person is indeed eating, or what their dietary needs are. This is a self-righteous mentality by many people who assume to be experts on everyone else's nutritional needs, and insist they everyone must do exactly the same thing that they do.

    Since the OP posted her workout schedule, then advice that she needs a rest day were appropriate. Since she did not mention her calorie intake, nor does she have an open food diary, then assumptions that she is 'starving herself' were out of line.

    Fortunately there were many people after the first posters, who put some thought into their posts and offered advice to answer the OP's questions, without making assumptions and accusations.
  • FluffyDogsRule
    FluffyDogsRule Posts: 366 Member
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    Wow! Thanks so much for the replies! I'm a teacher...I posted the original post before classes started and this is the first chance I've had to check on replies! I'll be back again later for more reading.

    I can absolutely add in a rest day. I do not have a ED and I LOVE to eat, so no worries there. :)

    I work at a middle school, so I don't think the kettle bells are very heavy, but I will check after my classes today and let you all know.

    My goals, since someone asked and that does seem important, are to continue to get stronger and make my body look better. I'm thin enough but I need more muscle in my legs.

    Just off of my quick read and thoughts, I think I will try to...

    2xs week - insanity
    2xs week - run
    2xs week - kettlebells (or whatever turns out to be best in workout room

    OR...are you saying insanity was helpful as a "jump start" but isn't healthy or beneficial for me to use long-term?? i have nothing against dropping it if you all think it's time for me to move on.

    thanks again!! i'll be back after my other classes! :)

    I
  • FluffyDogsRule
    FluffyDogsRule Posts: 366 Member
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    ooh, great and exciting news! my husband says he bought some free weights and a benchpress off craigslist, so i will have some equipment at home!

    gonna try MWF - weights
    Th/Sun - run

    that leaves 2 rest days...haha...hope i can manage that. that will be new for me. :) i'll do abs on those days and take a walk or something so i don't feel blah.

    so you're sure i don't need to cut my calories back since i'll be decreasing (pretty dramatically) my cardio? i average 1800 a day.

    i'm going to check out the counter that dan recommended and some of your links. i'm sure this won't be the last of me, though...probably will have more questions as I go. thanks so much for your help!!!

    ps...notice how quickly i was willing to drop insanity from the schedule?? lol.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Now just tell him to buy a power rack and then look at this ;)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners
  • happy_jmavin
    happy_jmavin Posts: 8
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    I have heard of a book called Your Body is a Gym? or something like that.

    Debbie, you are thinking of "You Are Your Own Gym" which I believe also has an app, as well as a book and focusses on bodyweight execises with minimal equipment for strength training.

    Since you have access to some weights, try these workouts: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html And I agree with everyone else about taking rest days.
  • Trainypooh
    Trainypooh Posts: 22 Member
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    hello! here's my current workout schedule...

    Mon - 30 min elliptical
    Tues - Insanity max circuit
    Wed - Insanity max cardio
    Thur - 4 mile run
    Fri - 30 min elliptical
    Sat - Insanity max plyo
    Sun- 4 mile run

    I am now able to do the Insanity max workouts (month 2) all the way through at the same speed as the actors...I used to be sore afterwards, now my muscles feel fatigued the next day, but not sore. I gained about 3 pounds of muscle with Insanity, so it was a great method for muscle for a newbie like me.

    But I think that to change my body any further, I need to add more strength training in. I'm thinking I should replace the elliptical?? Both days?? One of the days?? I can control my weight with diet, so I'm not worried about dropping some cardio.

    Here's where I really need advice. I don't belong to a gym and can't afford to, but my work has an exercise room with kettle bells and small weights. Would that be enough to get me started twice a week? Or should I invest in my own barbell set at home?

    Also, I plan to google/you tube some 30 - 40 minute strength workouts, but any good ones you recommend? I want the best workout for the time I have.

    And any other advice you can give me is wonderful.

    Thanks so much for your help!
    Kate

    Incorporate crossfit movements. http://www.wodshop.org/

    Click on the WOD tab, then the kettlebells tab. Yoiu can cycle through workouts with this website. short workouts that are intense. Crossfit is an amazing movement for functional strength. Should get you jacked in no time :)

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