Genuine advice/guidance needed!!! Beginner lifting

StrongLifts.com (free)
New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler ($14.99 paperback)

I'm on the final week of
http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-ultimate-female-training-guide.html

Other that have been recommended are New Rules of Lifting for Women and Stronglifts

Cardio alone won't give you the results you want. Lifting and eating right will.

If you love running/walking or whatever, by all means continue doing it! Just incorporate a good beginners program. I follow Stronglifts 5x5, but you could also try New Rules of Lifting for Women or Starting Strength.

NROLFW is a book that gives workouts and an eating plan. It's really informative and a good place to start. There's a group here for women following the plan:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w

I don't know too much about Starting Strength other than that it's also a book. I've just heard really positive reviews on it.

Stronglifts 5x5 is a program that incorporates 5 compound lifts using free weights. There's a description:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

and a group for women following the program:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

I'm doing NROL4W, and I've heard great things about Stronglifts 5x5 as well. If you do NROL4W, I'd recommend joining the group and searching the group's forums if you have questions about it. The plan is really easy to follow once you understand it; it can just seem really confusing at first, but the group is a HUGE help. Good luck!

I also wanted to say that I'm sorry for your losses, and I wish you the best of luck on your coming attempts. I hope you're able to succeed, both in conception and your attempts to improve your fitness! :flowerforyou:

I am a new convert to heavy lifting myself. I just started about 2.5 weeks ago, and already I'm feeling/seeing results. I'm not looking to lose weight, but instead to be firmer, smaller and tighter. I figured being a size 6 and 135 lbs is great, but why not be a size 4 and 140 lbs with killer definition? Right? Right!

So I tried a few things, played around a bit, and I started something called 5x5. I particularly like it because I can do all of it with the weights I have at home (fair disclosure-- my boyfriend is a fitness nut, so I have barbells, dumbbells, benches, you name it). Here's the link to the one I'm using: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark70.htm

I haven't been weighing myself (because the scale typically just frustrates me). However, I measured at the 2 week mark and was down half an inch on my waist, and an inch on my hips. Considering I've been eating whatever I wanted (within reason; I usually eat pretty well), this is huge to me!

Good luck!

I'm so sorry about your loss, that's hard. I say keep eating and when you get pregnant switch to pool exercise [you can run or walk or swim in the pool with minimum impact. If you have access to a midwife [even if you don't plan to use one] or an acupuncturist ask for help--they can be great with advice on how to get and stay pregnant.

Best wishes!

Oh ok. Great I can do it.

Do I do workout A one day then workout B the next day??

I'm doing the StrongLifts program. It's fabulous without having to use a lot of different equipment.

That's correct. You'll do A one day, rest day, B, rest day, A. Then the next week you'll start on B. Two of the same workout will never be beside eachother. If you have a smartphone, there is a stronglifts app that automatically selects your workout when you open it and tracks your weights and reps.

I began my journey in March of 2011 I weighed at least 272 lbs. I honestly think that I was closer to 280 or 290 lbs. I was embarrassed to look at the scale. In the beginning of my transformation. I was very naive to what I was eating. I thought that it did not matter what I ate because I was working out. I will lose weight, right? Then I noticed that nothing was changing until I realized with the help of my wife of how important it was to eat the right types of foods. I don't have a diet as some say. I don't have any forbidden foods. I have taken this approach so that I can have this loss be sustainable. I just count calories. I eat approx. 2300 calories per day. My maintenance calories are between 2800-2900. I never eat my exercise calories back. My current goal is to loose body fat and get stronger overall. One thing that helped me keep focus is realizing that there are times when that # will go up slightly due to muscle gain or water weight. So my typical routine is Cross fit on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I run or spin on Tuesdays and Thursday. Sunday is my recovery day. To this day I have lost over 75 lbs and have had it off for over 330 days and I weigh 196 lbs.

I have added some stuff that you can do without anything besides your own body weight. In my workouts there is often a strength portion (usually some form of Olympic style lifting) along with a WOD (workout of the day) If you are not sure what something is just goggle it.

#1 - 7:00 AMRAP (do it twice)
- 7 Sit Ups
- 7 Air Squats
- 7 Push Ups
- 7 Burpees

#2 - 5 Rounds for Time
- 20 Leg Lifts
- 30 Air Squats
- 40 Mountain Climbers

#3 - Chipper
- 100 Walking Lunges
- 100 V-Ups
- 100 Jump Squats
- 50 Hollow Rock to Supermans

#4 - Complete as Fast As You Can
- 10 Hollow Rock to Supermans
- 30 Burpees
- 50 Air Squats
- 70 Push Ups
- 90 Sit Ups

#5 - Hold Each for 60 Seconds (3 rounds)
- Air Squat
- Elbow Plank
- Side Plank
- Side Plank
- Hand Plank
- Air Squat
- Left Legged Lunge
- Right Legged Lunge

#6 - 20:00 AMRAP
- 10 Burpees
- 100 Jumping Jacks
- 10 Burpees
- 100 High Knees
- 10 Burpees
- 100 Skaters
- 10 Burpees
- 100 Mountain Climbers


Hope this helps and by the way I am sorry about your loss.