Any weight lifting tips for a newbie?

tomspearsix
tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Several years ago I lost a bunch of weight (about 40 pounds) and over the past three years gained it all back and then some (about 60 pounds). When I lost weight before I focused solely on cardio with some minor resistance training which mostly came from swimming laps (which is still my favorite exercise). I remember though my arms getting very skinny and not having much upper body strength.

This time around I realize the error of my ways and I want to add weight lifting in addition to my cardio regiment which I just started again. I am totally unfamiliar with weight lifting, and need some advice on what exercises I should be doing to get a good overall weight lifting routine going. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Look up Stronglifts 5x5 online or read Starting Strength. Both are good beginner routines. Be sure to learn about the moves and practise good form.
  • 1989lukemyers
    1989lukemyers Posts: 158 Member
    First off don't hind away be proud of whom you are lets see you...

    Well okay more muscle the body has the more at rest your body burns fat so it's win win I don't understand why everyone not lifting but hey each to their own I guess, well so I don't come across like a *kitten* as I don't what to teach you how to suck eggs so to speak then please share your routine and I will put my thoughts into it if needs be (:
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    Look up Stronglifts 5x5 online or read Starting Strength. Both are good beginner routines. Be sure to learn about the moves and practise good form.

    +1

    Youtube has some good resources for proper form for the 4 major exercises used in those programs.

    For your goals, avoid high rep timed circuit training or more advanced, complex body building routines. That won't be optimal.
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    Look up Stronglifts 5x5 online or read Starting Strength. Both are good beginner routines. Be sure to learn about the moves and practise good form.

    +1

    Youtube has some good resources for proper form for the 4 major exercises used in those programs.

    For your goals, avoid high rep timed circuit training or more advanced, complex body building routines. That won't be optimal.

    Thank you for the suggestions, I will give them a look once I get off work today. I was originally thinking to start off simple and do moderate push ups, sit ups, and squats but I know that those exercises will not be sufficient in the long run. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    First off don't hind away be proud of whom you are lets see you...

    Well okay more muscle the body has the more at rest your body burns fat so it's win win I don't understand why everyone not lifting but hey each to their own I guess, well so I don't come across like a *kitten* as I don't what to teach you how to suck eggs so to speak then please share your routine and I will put my thoughts into it if needs be (:

    Well when I was big into exercise I was in a weight loss competition so I was solely focused on losing weight and I just don't like lifting weights that much but I am hoping with time and practice I will enjoy it. I just need a good starting point to develop my own routine. I don't want to get super ripped but I want to be toned and have a good amount of upper body strength.

    I will post pictures to my profile when I get home tonight.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    cardio is better.
  • moment_to_arise
    moment_to_arise Posts: 207 Member
    cardio is better.

    NO.
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    Lifted with a friend of mine who I found out lifts weights at his house, so I will probably start lifting with him. Here is what I did for my first session on Saturday.

    bench press 1 warm up set 45lbs; 3 sets 60lbs, 12 reps
    alternating shoulder press with dumbbells 1 warm up set 5 lbs; 3 sets 15 lbs, 10 reps
    lunges 3 sets body weight 8 reps
    One arm row 1 warm up 4 lbs; 10bs, 3 sets 10 reps

    I would have done a couple of more things but I had to stop due to muscle fatigue.

    Also I uploaded photos
  • vinny76063
    vinny76063 Posts: 133 Member
    Practice good form
  • fat2fit72014
    fat2fit72014 Posts: 41
    I havent started working lifting into my work outs yet, but I am hoping to. I hope to learn from this thread as well!

    PS I added you as a friend :)
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    My buddy was telling me to mostly focus on proper form so that one I don't hurt myself and so I will develop the proper muscle memory. So to start out I think I am going to do a variety of lifting exercises and then focus on specific exercises as needed. It was weird though from the lifting I have done in the past it is usually my shoulders that are sore but this time it was by elbows which I though was strange.
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    I havent started working lifting into my work outs yet, but I am hoping to. I hope to learn from this thread as well!

    PS I added you as a friend :)

    Last time I lost I focused on mainly cardio since I really dont like lifting lol. But hopefully with time I will start to like it.

    Thanks :)
  • CoachJake83
    CoachJake83 Posts: 108
    My personal favorite is the Big 3 routine in reverse pyramid fashion. You may want to look into leangains. Rippedbody.jp is a great resource.

    Essentially it's squat, bench, deadlifts 3x a week, and only 3 sets per movement. The idea is go big and heavy on the first set (after warming up), then lower the weight progressively for 2nd and 3rd sets.

    I just showed my buddy how to do this routine, and he's never touched a barbell in his life, within 2 months his deadlift has progressed to 315 (3 plates) and his squat is currently at 300lbs. (In under 8 WEEKS!). I've coached him on form and it's perfect as well, few inches below parallel on squats, and great back arching on deads.

    It's a very effective minimalist routine. Less is more...

    He's lost 17lbs, still has about 50 to go, but making steady progress, and isn't wasting all day in the gym burning himself out going nowhere.
  • SushiPunk
    SushiPunk Posts: 30 Member
    Don't neglect your legs or core. I see many people working on upper body, but hardly ever see anyone working on abs, glutes, claves, ect. Once you get comfortable with lifting try some other muscle groups. Doesn't hurt to have some toned legs to go with your toned arms. Like others have said, you can find basics on Youtube for any muscle group.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Get Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strength and do that. I made some awesome strength gains with that program...I did it for about 6 months or so and got a lot of exposure to those compound lifts before branching out. After SS I did Wendler's 5/3/1 program...which I'm still doing a bastardized version of.
  • fat2fit72014
    fat2fit72014 Posts: 41
    My personal favorite is the Big 3 routine in reverse pyramid fashion. You may want to look into leangains. Rippedbody.jp is a great resource.

    Essentially it's squat, bench, deadlifts 3x a week, and only 3 sets per movement. The idea is go big and heavy on the first set (after warming up), then lower the weight progressively for 2nd and 3rd sets.

    I just showed my buddy how to do this routine, and he's never touched a barbell in his life, within 2 months his deadlift has progressed to 315 (3 plates) and his squat is currently at 300lbs. (In under 8 WEEKS!). I've coached him on form and it's perfect as well, few inches below parallel on squats, and great back arching on deads.

    It's a very effective minimalist routine. Less is more...

    He's lost 17lbs, still has about 50 to go, but making steady progress, and isn't wasting all day in the gym burning himself out going nowhere.

    Would you suggest the same for a woman? What would you suggest the high weight be for someone who has never lived? This is something I would be interested in doing, but would have to from home for the time being.
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    My biggest enemy right now is time. I work and go to school full time which gives me very little time to exercise and research new workouts. Typically I get out of class around 8:30 and if I don't have home work I have to rush to one of the gyms at my disposal that all close at 10.
  • lrmall01
    lrmall01 Posts: 377 Member

    Would you suggest the same for a woman? What would you suggest the high weight be for someone who has never lived? This is something I would be interested in doing, but would have to from home for the time being.

    That routine would be fine as well for a woman.

    The high weight can't really be predicted. Basically start light and focus on form. Add weight every time you hit your max reps and keep adding weight until you can no longer lift it. Then you have your high weight.

    You can certainly do this at home as long as you have the equipment (bench, weights, barbell). If you don't have the equipment you could do a similar progressive overload with bodyweight but it isn't as straightforward.
  • kristindecesare
    kristindecesare Posts: 2 Member
    Weight lifting will definitely get you to your goals faster! The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Cardio is great but weights and strength training will really give you that healthy physique most people desire. Bodybuilding.com is a great resource for all kinds of routines. I recommend Jaime Eason's 12 Week program. She gives you exact workouts to follow each day. Let me know if you want more info or you can check out my blog deviousfitgirl.blogspot.com for info/recipes/motivation. Good luck!
  • bettynotfatty
    bettynotfatty Posts: 3 Member
    Hi,
    Check out fitness blender's routines. Some of them are REALLY great and are actually less than 40 minutes if you time yourself.

    For weight training, I would actually advise going off MFP and checking out bodybuilding.com, you'll probably spend a whole day over there! ;)
  • tomspearsix
    tomspearsix Posts: 31 Member
    Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I think what I have decided to do is (assuming I can find time) is to do 3 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training a week. The reason I am deciding to do a lot of cardio too is because I feel like I need to work on my cardiovascular health and that I simply enjoy doing cardio. I am going to try to swim laps for the majority of my cardio so that way it has some resistance training involved. If I can't swim my plan is to run/walk and add push ups and sit ups to get some sort of resistance training.

    Also does anyone have any suggestions on how to beat post workout cravings? I tend to work out late at night and sometimes I get super hungry after working out.

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