Weight lifting question

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

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

What does QFT stand for?

Quote for truth.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.