Weight lifting question

I am 5'6 259lbs and am just just beginning lifting. Does any of the people who lift know how much I should start with. How many reps, how much weight, etc.. I know it would probably be diff for everybody but do I start out lifting as much as I can handle for as long as I can do it? Or do I take it slow and only lift a small amount at first. I have a total gym and also some free wights as well. Any advise would be appreciated.

Also I eat 1845 calories this was my tdee -20%. Figured when I was 263

Replies

  • ShervinM
    ShervinM Posts: 10
    Hi.

    This really depends on your fitness level and goals.

    If you are looking to maintain health then try to hit your average weight and do higher repetition, i.e. 10/ 12 reps per set.

    If you are looking to loose weight then ultimately you should focus on increasing your heart rate which would then increase your metabolic rate. There are a lot of factors which makes different variations for example; your caloric intake, how active you are, how much you are sleeping and what your diet looks like.

    The best thing I would suggest is to read, educate yourself and look for motivation to be able and reach desired results.

    If you are looking to put on muscle depending on your body mass index then you need to do higher resistance workouts and increase your weight over time.

    Good luck
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Most lifting programs advise you to start with an empty bar, which is 45lbs. That may be just right for you or it may be too much. Find someone that can help spot you and try it out.
    No matter where you start, the most important thing is to keep gradually increasing the weights. This is called progressive loading and it's what provides the benefits of weight lifting/strength training.

    Since you're new to strength training, I would strongly suggest starting with a structured program like New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Lifts or Starting Strength. It helps to have everything laid out for you. When you don't have to worry about what to do, you can focus more on how to do it (form and technique).
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    Most lifting programs advise you to start with an empty bar, which is 45lbs. That may be just right for you or it may be too much. Find someone that can help spot you and try it out.
    No matter where you start, the most important thing is to keep gradually increasing the weights. This is called progressive loading and it's what provides the benefits of weight lifting/strength training.

    Since you're new to strength training, I would strongly suggest starting with a structured program like New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Lifts or Starting Strength. It helps to have everything laid out for you. When you don't have to worry about what to do, you can focus more on how to do it (form and technique).

    QFT
  • mactaffy84
    mactaffy84 Posts: 398 Member
    What does QFT stand for?
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    What does QFT stand for?

    Quote for truth.
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    Most lifting programs advise you to start with an empty bar, which is 45lbs. That may be just right for you or it may be too much. Find someone that can help spot you and try it out.
    No matter where you start, the most important thing is to keep gradually increasing the weights. This is called progressive loading and it's what provides the benefits of weight lifting/strength training.

    Since you're new to strength training, I would strongly suggest starting with a structured program like New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Lifts or Starting Strength. It helps to have everything laid out for you. When you don't have to worry about what to do, you can focus more on how to do it (form and technique).

    QFT

    QFT x2
  • LifterDave
    LifterDave Posts: 112 Member
    New Rules of Lifting for Women and Starting Strength are excellent places to find good information on lifting. Stronglifts also has good information, however you are going to be required to pay a monthly fee for the same info which is available for free at other sites. With Stronglifts you will also begin getting bombarded with a lot of spam e-mail trying to get you to buy products and or services which a good many times contradict the mantra on Stronglifts. This is my personal experience.

    A lot of what you do with lifting will be dependent on what you have available to use. My recommendation is that if you have free weights or access to a gym with free weights and a power rack that you use them. The key to being successful with lifting is to not randomly begin doing different lifts and maxing out your body every session because this will cause you to burn out and not make any gains towards your goals. The best thing for a beginner is to use an established program with a steady linear progression of increasing weight on the bar. Begin lighter than you may think you need to and get proper form established in order to prevent potential for injury or strains. Do not let anyone suggest you get into doing a bunch of isolation lifts which only target one area. Your best bet is to perform compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench press and over head pressing. These lifts target your entire body which is best for a beginner.

    There are many tutorial videos on youtube where you can learn these lifts and if you are able to film yourself doing a lift, sites such as Starting Strength and others, you can post videos of yourself for form checks. Remember, watch your pocket book and do not pay to join any sites as there are to many giving the same info for free. And beware of personal trainers in gyms who would have you doing all kinds of crazy things in keeping with the current fads in lifting. IE, squatting on a Bosu ball.

    There are tons of opinions on numbers of reps and sets to do, but I recommend 3-4 warm up sets of 5 reps and then 3 sets of 5 reps on your working weight. This will allow you to learn good form and to keep good form as the weight gets heavier. Add 5 lbs to the bar every session and before you know it, the weights will be heavier. Once the weight gets heavy for you, your heart rate will go up during sets and you can adjust your rest time between sets.
  • harphy
    harphy Posts: 290 Member
    Your last rep should be very difficult, but not impossible to perform. You can also start workout easy,, with light weight or just the bar and for each set add 2 or 5 lbs. If you can't lift it, it's to heavy. :bigsmile:
  • LifterDave
    LifterDave Posts: 112 Member
    Your last rep should be very difficult, but not impossible to perform. You can also start workout easy,, with light weight or just the bar and for each set add 2 or 5 lbs. If you can't lift it, it's to heavy. :bigsmile:
    Solid advice here.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You should do an already established beginner program like New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, etc. These will outline exactly what you should be doing. Trying to program your own lifting routine is likely to result in muscular imbalances, overtrain injuries, and the like. I takes quite a bit of knowledge to program your own routine.

    Keep in mind also that most beginner routines are going to start you off at a lighter weight than you are capable of...this allows you to work on form without worrying about the weight. It also allows for your tendons and smaller helper muscles to catch up to what your larger muscles are capable of. I felt like a complete idiot when I did Starting Strength after a 10 year lifting hiatus because I started with the bar (women may have to start even lighter) and it was so easy...but it quickly became heavy and starting off light really helped my form and kept me from injury.
  • mandy5135
    mandy5135 Posts: 67 Member
    Thanks!! I'll check into the beginners programs
  • SpecialSundae
    SpecialSundae Posts: 795 Member
    What does QFT stand for?

    Quote for truth.

    Hahahaha. I always thought it meant "Quite f*cking this."
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    Most lifting programs advise you to start with an empty bar, which is 45lbs. That may be just right for you or it may be too much. Find someone that can help spot you and try it out.
    No matter where you start, the most important thing is to keep gradually increasing the weights. This is called progressive loading and it's what provides the benefits of weight lifting/strength training.

    Since you're new to strength training, I would strongly suggest starting with a structured program like New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Lifts or Starting Strength. It helps to have everything laid out for you. When you don't have to worry about what to do, you can focus more on how to do it (form and technique).

    QFT

    QFT x2

    x3
  • anit759
    anit759 Posts: 1
    My advise would be to have a programme devised for yourself, light weighs only as you are wanting to lose rather than build.
    Cardiovascular is a great form of exercise for weight loss , again have a made to measure program.

    Good Luck

    Anita

    England.
  • Corsetopia
    Corsetopia Posts: 307 Member
    Most lifting programs advise you to start with an empty bar, which is 45lbs. That may be just right for you or it may be too much. Find someone that can help spot you and try it out.
    No matter where you start, the most important thing is to keep gradually increasing the weights. This is called progressive loading and it's what provides the benefits of weight lifting/strength training.

    Since you're new to strength training, I would strongly suggest starting with a structured program like New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Lifts or Starting Strength. It helps to have everything laid out for you. When you don't have to worry about what to do, you can focus more on how to do it (form and technique).

    QFT

    QFT x2

    x3

    Yep! Don't feel bad if you have to do just the bar at first, that's where I started (am doing 5X5 strong lifts). Also, I worked on my form with a broomstick before I started with weights because I think knowing how and where to tighten your body when you lift, and how to breathe is important.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Always start out low.
    Especially as a female, you may find even a standard bar a bit much for some exercises.

    Certainly for a warmup I had to dig out a 1" hollow bar and weights for a friend to bench press - she was just on an empty Olympic bar for full weight. To be honest, she should have started at a bit lower weight as it was.

    You should soon get the weight up, but a lot lower chance of injury and a lot higher chance of keeping your form good if you start low.

    Usual recommendations are starting strength, stronglifts or 'new rules of lifting for women'.
  • kedlyo
    kedlyo Posts: 19 Member
    http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Rules-Lifting-Women/dp/1583333398

    I highly recommend this program/book. You'll often see it abbreviated as NROL4W, and if you search that term on MFP, there will be plenty of results. I'm not affiliated with the author or anything, but I have a degree in Exercise Physiology and the information and program in this book are sound, backed by research, and are a great place for any beginner to start. It gives you some of the science behind lifting, a lot of info on what changes occur in the body (including dispelling the myth that you'll look like a bulky ripped gorilla), and a section full of pictures and instructions for the basic lifts. You can supplement this with youtube searches for proper lifting technique if the picture doesn't give you the best idea of what to do. *note* not everyone who posts videos of themselves lifting on youtube uses correct form. In fact, LOTS of bros post vids of themselves trying to rupture discs, tear ligaments, etc. search for PROPER TECHNIQUE (name of lift), or CORRECT FORM (name of lift).

    Cheers to you for starting a lifting program! It will be one of the healthiest things you've ever done for yourself! You'll also get awesome body composition results if you're consistent and challenge yourself (safely, of course).

    Edit: Ignore the glam magazines, internet articles, and uninformed people proclaiming you should do a high number of reps with a low amount of weight. 50 reps with 5 lbs. is not going to help you achieve results. The NROL4W program gives you the number of sets and reps you'll do to achieve awesome results. You will need to (eventually, after you learn good form) lift heavy (for you) weight to get results. If it was easy, it was too light.

    There are some websites where people have put together great logs to take with you to the gym. The book gives you some, and this woman made her own that I think are easier to understand. http://maggiewang.com/2008/05/20/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-diet-calculator-and-workout-logs
  • dnish53
    dnish53 Posts: 162 Member
    Lifting weights is great. A good rule of thumb I think is if you can do 3 sets of 15 reps and the last couple of reps on the 2nd and 3rd sets are not feeling hard you need to increase your weight. Not everyone starts at the same level. To see results though you need to be sure you are keeping good form (i.e. don't arch your back) and make sure you are using heavy enough weights/resistance.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    15 rep sets are quite high - you're at the point more considered 'endurance' than strength or size.

    I go for 3 x 5 reps. If I can do the 3 x 5 reps with good form, I go up by 2.5kg the next session. If I can't, I stay where I am.
    If I'm not improving for a few sessions I 'reset' and drop the weight down then bring it up again - though I haven't bothered with the 'resets' on a deficit and just keep at where I am, as I know gains will be limited.
  • princesstoadstool82
    princesstoadstool82 Posts: 371 Member
    Ive been using stronglifts.. basically... and I started below the bar, watched heaps of vids on you tube on form and had the trainers show me how to as well... lifting heavy is awesome... with strong lifts you add weight progressively, im now on my personal best of 62.5 kgs for my squats - and thats just over half my body weight. Good luck, and definitely get into it. :)