How heavy for newbs

<lurking>

You are, of course, free to do as you like. If you enjoy cardio, keep it up.

As for how heavy -- it partially depends on what exercises you're doing. My recommendation is Starting Strength. What Mr. Rippetoe recommends is start with the empty bar for most of his exercises, and get comfortable with the form. Then, add 5 or 10 lbs a side, and do 5 more reps. Repeat until the weight starts to feel heavy, the bar start to slow down, etc. Do 2 more sets across (meaning same weight) for a total of 3 sets at your newly found working weight, and you're good.

Next workout, warm up with the bar and then light weights, then try to add 5 or 10 lbs (depending on the exercise) more than your last working weight, and do 3 sets across again.

Starting Strength is comprised of:
Workout A: Squats, Bench Press, Deadlift
Workout B: Squats, Overhead Press, Power Clean.
Alternate those workouts on 3 non-consecutive days a week.

But buy the book -- he spends over 70 pages going into detail on the correct form for the squat alone, and I can't possibly do justice to what he has to say -- just wanted to give you a flavour of the workout, and how to find your starting working weight.

^ This.

I am doing Stronglifts 5x5, though. But pretty similar.

Start with the empty bar and slowly increase the weights.

Heavy is a relative term. What is heavy for one person isn't for another. It's all about what feels heavy to you.

I started by learning form with an empty bar. Except deadlift, I started with a 10lb plate on each side just to get the bar in the right position, which was still super light for me (and would be for most everyone). I did that for maybe 6 sessions before I started adding weight, and then I added weight very slowly. In the beginning when you're body's just getting used to the movements, the bar is challenging enough.

Definitely keep up with your running.

Three things to keep in mind:

First, "heavy" is relative. What's important is that it's "heavy" for you. As you continue to progress with your weight training, heavy will become an ever increasing number, so don't worry about lifting any particular weight, just focus on something that is challenging in the rep scheme you're doing. For example, if you're trying to do a 3x5 rep scheme, use a weight that you can lift 5 times/set for 3 sets, with the last rep being challenging.

Second, you're a woman, which means, since you're just starting off, some of the upper body compounds (barbell rows, bench press, and overhead press, for example) may be too difficult for you to do with a standard olympic barbell (45 lbs). Some gyms have 25 lbs barbells, or premade barbells, that you may want to consider using for these exercises until you know what you're capable of.

Third, there is no shame whatsoever in googling these lifts and using a broom handle at home to get a feel for what you're doing. Also, if you have a means to record yourself lifting, DO IT! The best way to correct form mistakes is to be able to see yourself doing the movements, and then compare them to videos of people who know what they're doing.


I wish you all the best.

All good advice above- my suggestion is you invest in a couple sessions with a trainer and learn the right way to handle the weights.

Books are great, but nothing beats and experienced trainer.

Second, you're a woman, which means, since you're just starting off, some of the upper body compounds (barbell rows, bench press, and overhead press, for example) may be too difficult for you to do with a standard olympic barbell (45 lbs). Some gyms have 25 lbs barbells, or premade barbells, that you may want to consider using for these exercises until you know what you're capable of.

Standard women's barbells are 35lbs, they also have a smaller grip diameter and aren't as long.

Any gym that has standard men's olympic barbells should also have women's.

I don't know if I would expect those items, as even if they do have them, they probably won't have many of them, whereas standard barbells are usually rather numerous in a gym. Using the standard diameter barbell will also improve your grip strength.

Use what you like, but be aware of the pros/cons of the options available to you.

-Standard men's barbells are common and virtually always available, plus every rack, bench, or stand will probably have one of these on it.
-Women's barbells will probably be easier to start with, but you run the risk of possibly not being able to find one.
-Premades usually go up in increments of 10, and if you want to go up/down in weight you have to get a different bar.

The recommendation to invest in some training sessions with a trainer is great advice.

Second, you're a woman, which means, since you're just starting off, some of the upper body compounds (barbell rows, bench press, and overhead press, for example) may be too difficult for you to do with a standard olympic barbell (45 lbs). Some gyms have 25 lbs barbells, or premade barbells, that you may want to consider using for these exercises until you know what you're capable of.

Standard women's barbells are 35lbs, they also have a smaller grip diameter and aren't as long.

Any gym that has standard men's olympic barbells should also have women's.

I don't know if I would expect those items, as even if they do have them, they probably won't have many of them, whereas standard barbells are usually rather numerous in a gym. Using the standard diameter barbell will also improve your grip strength.

Use what you like, but be aware of the pros/cons of the options available to you.

-Standard men's barbells are common and virtually always available, plus every rack, bench, or stand will probably have one of these on it.
-Women's barbells will probably be easier to start with, but you run the risk of possibly not being able to find one.
-Premades usually go up in increments of 10, and if you want to go up/down in weight you have to get a different bar.

The recommendation to invest in some training sessions with a trainer is great advice.

Olympic bars are the weight, diameter and length that they are for a reason. Women's bars are lighter, smaller and shorter because women are proportionally lighter, smaller and shorter. Any place that trains both sexes for olympic lifts should have both bars.

Powerlifters use the same bar regardless of sex.

But if the issue is that starting out a woman might not be able to bench 45lbs for 5x5, my point is that lighter bars are generally available.

ETA: Using any diameter bar with heavy weights will increase grip strength enough to preform whatever lift you're working on. If your goal is specifically to increase grip strength, its safer to do other exercises where the point isn't to lift heavy things with both hands over your head (farmer's walks, max effort kettlebell swings, bar/ring work are all good for grip strength).