132 lbs down + 6 months of weightlifting.

Thank you so much everyone, seriously. If you are on the fence about weight lifting, do it! t's fantastic.

I posted this on another web page when people were asking me for my beginning routine. Here you go!

Ok, so here we go. This was the routien I did for the first 3 months of weightlifting. A lot of this will depend on what equipment you have, and what you have access to. (For those who might not know, when writing a lifting routine saying “A X B” is where A = how many sets you do, and B = how many reps you do)

You are going to have to feel out what weight you want to start with. A lot of this will depend on how much muscle you have, and how big you are. The first 3 times you lift are going to take some feeling out. Write all your lifts down every time you lift. It will help you remember what weight worked for you before, and it will also help you track your progress as you get stronger. Between each set, I rested for 1.5 min. I kept it exact with a stopwatch app on my phone. Resting is important. Resting too long isn't good either. I'm going to include the weight I started with, but that's just me. You do the weight you are comfortable with. It should be heavy enough to make it difficult, but not so heavy you go into muscle failure before you get all 12 reps in. As you keep lifting over the weeks, and it gets easier, then make the weight heavier.

DAY 1 (Chest and Triceps)

Bench Press (Barbell or dumbell) 4 X 12 @ 50 lbs

Dumbell Flies 4X12 @ 10 lbs (each)

Isolated Tricep Kick-backs 4X12 @ 5 lbs (12 reps on each arm individually per set)

Double-Handed overhead tricep extensions 4X12 @ 10 lbs

DAY 2 (Legs and Shoulders)

Dumbell Lunges 4X12 @ 50 lbs (12 reps on each leg individually per set)

Squats (barbell or dumbell) 4X12 @ 110 lbs

Dumbell Calf Raises 4X12 @ 30 lbs (12 reps on each leg individually per set)

Seated overhead press (barbell or dumbell) 4X12 @ 30 lbs

Lateral Dumbell Raises 4X12 @ 10 lbs

Day 3 (Back and Biceps)

Dead-Lifts (dumbell or barbell) 4X12 @ 110 lbs

Bent Dumbell Rows 4X12 @ 30 lbs

Resistance Band Pull-Downs 4X12

Dumbell Curls 4X12 @ 15 lbs

Standing Band Resist Curls 4X12

Instructions.

You can do abs almost every day if you want to. This specific cycle is a 5-day cycle, in which I lift 3 of those five days. What days exactly out of the five I lift, depend on my schedule. Some days I was lifting every other day, some I had two days off back to back. It depended on my work schedule. I just used a calender and marked off 5 day blocks and made sure I did my 3 days of lifting out of those five days. I also tried to do abs 2 or 3 days out of those blocks. Some were the same days I was lifting, some were not. It depended on how tired I was. You can do some planks, situps, crunches, side crunches, whatever. I'm always trying new things. I think most people know how to do abs, so just go with what you know. Your abs help stabilize your entire body when lifting, so don't neglect them!

ALSO, the first month, I only did 3X12 instead of 4X12. You can do that if you want, but I highly recommend bumping up to 4 at the end of the first month. I also want you to keep in mind, that if you opt for dumbells instead of barbells, when it is optional, you will be lifting a bit less than if you were using a barbell. Barbells have more stability so you can lift a bit more with them, however, using dumbells strengthens your stabilizing muscles more, as well as your core, so if you want to go that way, more power to you. I'm EXTREMELY accident prone, so I chose to use the barbells when optional.

You are going to be VERY sore. After day 3, everything will hurt. You will feel like you have been hit by a truck. Tough it out. Please. It's worth it. Give me 4 cycles (20 days) and you should not be sore anymore. Soon you will miss the sore, and you will lift heavier to chase it. Makes you feel like you are making progress. Just please grit through it. It's worth it.

DAY 1 INSTRUCTIONS.

You need a bench for the benchpress, or something you can lay on so your elbows can dip into negative space. Lay on books. Lay on an ottoman. Just make sure it's stable. You can use a bar or dumbells. You will also need this space for your dumbell flies.

Barbell Bench Press https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT7DgCr-3pg

Dumbell Bench Press https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFcU-d5uDmM

Dumbell Flys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlDUqk3Ttkk

Isolated Tricep Kickbacks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9me06UBPKc

Double-Handed Overhead Tricep Extensions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbX7Wd8jQ-Q

DAY 2 INSTRUCTIONS

I HIGHLY recommend getting someone who knows how to lift to show you how to squat. For the love of god, keep your back
strait. You can easily get hurt with a squat, but it's VERY important to do.

Dumbell Lunges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7KaRcUTQeE

Dumbell Squats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqYi90vp8m4

Barbell Squats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBnyAeXJnAg

One-Leg Calf Raises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLiJm1xPkVU

Seated overhead press (dumbell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEwKCR5JCog

Seated overhead press (barbell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECWxumBMLVQ

Lateral Front dumbell raises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t7fuZ0KhDA

DAY 3 INSTRUCTIONS

The only lift I consider more dangerous than a squat will be the deadlift. It might not feel that way though. If you drop the weight while benching, you can get trapped. The same goes for Squats. Double scary right? So dead-lifts, you can just drop if it's too heavy or you lose your balance. So they are not dangerous right? WRONG. You can MESS. YOUR. BACK. UP. If you deadlift wrong. Try and get someone to show you how to do it in person, but if not, for the love of god, form is so much more important than weight. Get your form to be flawless. Your back will thank you.

Dumbell Deadlift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3QwaXNJfw

Barbell deadlift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1H1VG9Uh50

Bent Dumbell Rows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYcpY20QaE8

Resistance band pull-downs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AtdCMxgF2Q (I did not do this on a ball, but it looks like a good idea.)

Dumbell Curls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAq_ocpRh_I

Standing Band Resistance Curls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig8gfNVmd4E