Starting weights training (10 minutes a day???)

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PythagorasStorm
PythagorasStorm Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have any suggestions about starting weights training? I was hoping to just do about ten minutes after I run, and to start of with I mainly want to get some muscles in my arms. Any recommendations? Or is this unrealistic?

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  • carol5047
    carol5047 Posts: 44 Member
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    Interested in where to start also. I'm Female, 52, 5'2" 158 lbs
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Look into the You Are Your Own Gym app or one of Mark Lauren's books. My standard disclaimer however, is that if you are interested in his Body By You program for women, skip the reading and focus on the program.

    If you have a good reason to focus on your arms, you could start with the 100 push ups program. never made it to 100, but I have gone from counter height to real pushups by following the series and changing to a more challenging version whenever I can do enough pushups to get bored, which is about 30 for me.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
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    If you're running in a park they usually have stations where you can do bodyweight workouts. Maybe try pullups and then pushups back to back?
  • PythagorasStorm
    PythagorasStorm Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks for the advice. I might try the 100 push ups one, that sounds good!
    I'm running half in the bush and half on roads, so no workout stations or anything (I'm not sure if they really exist in NZ!).
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    10 whole minutes? After a long run? Let's not rush into anything.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    You can pack 10 push-ups, 20 bodyweight squats, 10 inverted rows on a park bench and 15 burpees - the whole thing three times without rests in-between exercises (because each exercise works different muscle groups so no rest needed) - into ten minutes and you will know you have done some strength work.

    Ready to push it up a notch? - try close hand pushups, half-pistol squats, pull-ups or chin-ups and burpees, three circuits without rests.

    Yeah - you can pack quite a lot into ten minutes.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    You can pack 10 push-ups, 20 bodyweight squats, 10 inverted rows on a park bench and 15 burpees - the whole thing three times without rests in-between exercises (because each exercise works different muscle groups so no rest needed) - into ten minutes and you will know you have done some strength work.

    Ready to push it up a notch? - try close hand pushups, half-pistol squats, pull-ups or chin-ups and burpees, three circuits without rests.

    Yeah - you can pack quite a lot into ten minutes.

    I could do that without feeling the need to remove my my jacket or tie. I wouldn't know that I had done any strength work.

    You'll find a bunch of people can't do that on day one, but very rapidly that wouldn't become much work at all. Are you going to progress it to where you'll have the OP doing fingertip spiderman push-ups by minute two?
  • PythagorasStorm
    PythagorasStorm Posts: 10 Member
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    I know right, scrap that, cut it down to 5 minutes.
  • PythagorasStorm
    PythagorasStorm Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks for the advice everyone! Going to start with trying to do some pushups (I can only do a few right now, sadly I was not blessed with naturally strong arms), then I will add to it as I go.
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
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    Hi, that's about what I do or more. I bought my weights really cheap at Target for $5 a piece or something a few years ago & I WO using them by looking at artsy documentaries/artsy movies. I put the HRM on, then I do this really intense abs dvd and keep the documentary on. I do not want to THINK about doing weights, but I do them. :)

    It winds up being about 22 mins for both and about 118 cals. Also I look up exercises to do at dumbbells.com & that helps.

    Hope this helps!
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    A bodyweight routine like the 'You Are Your Own Gym" one mentioned up-thread seems like a great idea, if you don't have equipment. You can do a lot with bodyweight-- especially when you're just starting out.

    Kind of unrelated, but you might also think about ashtanga yoga. The best looking arms and back on any woman I know are on an ashtanga yoga teacher. :D

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