Help me start lifting?

nomnomgoodies
nomnomgoodies Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm finally joining a gym today, and I cannot be more excited to start strength training. The only thing is...I'm absolutely terrified. I feel like I'm going to walk in there and completely embarrass myself. I've been looking up form videos so that I have a slight idea of what I'm doing, but I'm afraid of not knowing how to work with the equipment. Do I just need to go in there and test the waters? Unfortunately, I don't really have any friends to ask for help, so I'm basically on my own. I'm tiny at 4'11", and I look younger than I already am, so I already know I'll feel out of place.

As for diet, I'm eating 1650 calories a day using TDEE-10%, and I currently workout 30 minutes a day, 6x a week. But this is with my TDEE at "lightly active." Would my current workout be considered lightly active or moderately active?
Once I start at the gym, I plan on lifting 3x a week with HIIT/cardio/yoga on rest days. Would this be considered moderately active? Should I up my calories?

Thanks for any help!

Replies

  • loriq41
    loriq41 Posts: 479 Member
    Coming from another "fun-sized" person....find an actual weightlifting program and get at it. I know it is a bit intimidating but I think that people think that they are being watched more than they are. I am only 5 ft and honey, after doing it for 6 months, I am walking around like a badass...just be respectful and OWN IT! Lifting is exhilarating and much better than cardio (IMO) :) I do New Rules of Lifting for Women and they actually help you calculate how many cals to eat and HIIT is incorporated in to some of the workouts.
  • segacd
    segacd Posts: 5
    I don't think the calories-spent estimates on this site are worth much, so I wouldn't adjust your intake based on that. loriq41's advice is good stuff, stick with one plan for at least 6 months. Some other things to consider:

    1) Don't look for a "women's" program, these are usually crap. Women and men both have arms, legs and a torso. Just look up a standard barbell program, like Stronglifts 5x5. It should include deadlifts, squats, and press/bench, each once a week.
    2)Try to add weight to those 3 lifts every week.
    3)Don't use a smith machine, it is not the same thing and will hurt you.

    You can go to strstd.com for a workout generator.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    Second stronglifts. Get the plan (it's simple), youtube the movements to make sure you understand proper form, get a notebook to write down weights, and start. It helps if you use a rack with mirrors so you can check your form until you're comfortable.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You need to do an actual program. Something like "New Rules of Lifting for Women", "Strong Lifts 5x5", or "Starting Strength" would be a great start. Just willy nilly going in and doing your own thing isn't going to do you a whole lot of good. It takes a lot of experience to program your own routine properly and even then, most people are simply rehashing tried and true programs with some variants.

    Programming your own routine is likely to result in muscular imbalances and injury. Work within the confines of an actual program...it will tell you what lifts to do on what day, when to increase weights, etc.
  • mollybuck
    mollybuck Posts: 64 Member
    Most gyms have very excellent staff that will help you along.Getting your form right is more important than how much you are lifting. People who are serious about it will give you tips. Someone posted that you might think that everyone is looking at you, but they really are not. It is so true.
  • rlw911
    rlw911 Posts: 475 Member
    I third StrongLifts. Here's a link to the summary, over at SL for Women's group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

    Feel free to join the group or look around, ask questions, if you're interested. There's some pretty amazing women over there!
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Strong Curves by Bret Contreras is also a great program even though it is aimed mostly at women (though some men do it too) so is Train to be Awesome by Nia Shanks
  • quietvibes
    quietvibes Posts: 9
    I was in your position a while back, you'll get through it! Im tall but im tiny too lol and i started going on my own. Its a bit scary at first especially because i had no idea what i was doing, but just sit on a machine and try ! it'll be worth it and most machines explain how to do correct form, you can also observe other people. Just know that lifters always watch other lifters you'll notice it so dont feel intimidated when someones looking at you. Dont be afraid to ask for help either because if your not doing correct form it may not give you there results you want. I've been lifting for a little over 8months and i still get corrected for my forms. Just tryyyyyyyy girl and ask for help if you need to (:
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Does your gym offer a free session with a trainer the first time you go? Most do, if it does, pick a programme before you go and ask them to show you where everything you need is and check your form.

    If you don't have your own programme in mind, a free one they write up for you will probably be a bog standard run through the machines at 2x15 (not that there's anything wrong with that, but you could get better results with something else).

    If not, I'd highly recommend reading starting strength ( it's good for following Stronglifts too). Strong curves is great to. Personally, I found 'new rules of lifting for women', a good read but an overly complicated programme.

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