New to Weight Lifting! Advice!

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Hey everyone,

I have about 115 more pounds to lose. I want to do it the right way, I want to strengthen whatever I have underneath this weight so that when all the fat is gone the muscle I have is remaining in hopes of having less excess skin. I also have known lots of people to reshape their body just by lifting alone.... I want a hot tight bod so I'm starting to educate myself on lifting.

I have 3 major questions

1. What are the most important weight lifting exercises I should be doing to strengthen my body (for arms and legs), keep the muscle I already have so that the weight loss is actually fat loss.

2. Is it okay if I do arms/legs in the same day? Or is there a specific reason why they should be kept separate?

3. How many reps and sets of each for optimal performance/results? I hear this heavy weight with small reps or light weight with large reps idea floating around and I am not sure which one is the best for someone like me who has a lot of fat to lose.

Thanks for your opinions (:
-Nancy

Replies

  • moodyfeesh14
    moodyfeesh14 Posts: 811 Member
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    I have seen some awesome results from stronglifts5x5 and you can go to www.stronglifts.com and get the workout program for free
  • NancyMarie13
    NancyMarie13 Posts: 193 Member
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    Oohh thank you friend (:
  • explosivedonut
    explosivedonut Posts: 419 Member
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    Stronglifts 5x5 is a great program, as is Starting Strength, Greyskull LP, and 5/3/1. I would probably recommend reading Starting Strength (if you can get through it, it is a little dry), as it is probably the best explanation on how to do the major lifts out there.
  • LynneW1983
    LynneW1983 Posts: 1,161 Member
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    Another recommendation for stronglifts.
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
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    Most important: building a functional foundation of full-body strength with bench press, deadlift, overhead press, and squats

    You can work full body in the same day, as long as you leave a day between workouts so that your body has time to recover

    I suggest StrongLifts 5x5, a very simple 12-week program that will progress you quickly and give you familiarity with the major compound lifts.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Hey everyone,

    I have about 115 more pounds to lose. I want to do it the right way, I want to strengthen whatever I have underneath this weight so that when all the fat is gone the muscle I have is remaining in hopes of having less excess skin. I also have known lots of people to reshape their body just by lifting alone.... I want a hot tight bod so I'm starting to educate myself on lifting.

    I have 3 major questions

    1. What are the most important weight lifting exercises I should be doing to strengthen my body (for arms and legs), keep the muscle I already have so that the weight loss is actually fat loss.

    2. Is it okay if I do arms/legs in the same day? Or is there a specific reason why they should be kept separate?

    3. How many reps and sets of each for optimal performance/results? I hear this heavy weight with small reps or light weight with large reps idea floating around and I am not sure which one is the best for someone like me who has a lot of fat to lose.

    Thanks for your opinions (:
    -Nancy

    1. Most important are going to be compound lifts-- squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press, rows

    2. In my opinion, start out with a full body program, such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts. You'll work your whole body 3 days per week with rest days in between.

    3. Follow a program. The program will tell you how many sets and reps.
  • NancyMarie13
    NancyMarie13 Posts: 193 Member
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    Oh wow thank you all this has been so informative! I am going to do just that. I like the idea of full body 3 times a week because it fits with my busy schedule!

    I will look into the stronglifts program and start on Monday! Super excited now.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    As most have said, a strength training program (you can use an actual program or devise your own, which is what I do) will be ideal while eating at a deficit. As far as reps and sets, anywhere from 4-6 reps are recommended for strength training - anything more and you are entering into hypertrophy or endurance. You can do however many sets you like to I guess, although of course you will need to take time into consideration. I do about 4 sets myself, which I preface with some warm up sets at 65/75/85/95% my working set weight (still working on how many reps work best for me for warming up).

    I used to do full body 3x a week but for me it ended up not giving me enough rest. I now work out 4x a week, but on an upper/lower body day split so I am getting 48 hours of rest despite working out back to back. I do squats, lunges, deadlifts, and jakc-knife situps as my lower body training. For upper body, i do shoulder presses, bench presses, bent-over rows or lat pulldowns (alternate between them), and I'm still deciding on my lateral deltoid exercise; either dumbbell raises, upright rows, or lateral raises. Likely will be the first or last, upright rows are more likely to bother my elbows. I started out with the basic 5 - deads, squat, rows, BP and SP - and added in these others based on my own needs. I increase the weight when I can, but being in a deficit... it's not a frequent raise. So since you're also at a deficit, don't expect to be making huge gains in strength the entire time. Initially sure, you'll get newbie gains, but after that it's going to be slower. Just listen to your body, take a week off every few months, etc.

    Oh, and protein is super important. 0.8-1.5g per total lbs is a good range to play with. I do about 0.9-0.95 per lb for myself, which I've found just works best for me.
  • rightaboutmeow
    rightaboutmeow Posts: 77 Member
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    Definitely keeping tabs on this thread for the useful info.
    :)

    I really love lifting but right now all I do are the machines...
    I don't know how to do alot of the free weight exercises correctly I feel like, and at risk of injury ( or making a fool of myself...heh :embarassed: ) I have stuck with the machines where I can read off what I'm supposed to do.

    I know how important and how awesome free weight lifting is for the body but until I get someone to show me how to do it properly I feel like I'm sort of missing out.
    :/

    I have read up on a few and really would like to start with stronglifts 5x5.

    any advice?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    1. strong lifts for real or starting strength.

    i like starting strength a little better because it introduces pullups and cleans

    2. on the the above programs you'll work 3 movements a workout session and it will be full body. 3 might not sound like much now, but once you get to the point where you absolutely need 3-5 minutes between sets then it'll be enough

    3. you'll start off with 5x5 on strong lifts and starting strength but eventually you might move to a 5/3/1 routine

    have fun!
  • megacoco
    megacoco Posts: 32
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    Watch youtube videos to figure out the form and begin with the empty bar. If that is difficult and your gym has it, the training (15 lbs) barbell is good to help you work up to the standard bar (45 lbs).

    I would suggest SL 5x5 with the caveat that you add upper body accessory lifts. It tends to make people into T-Rex mode due to the overemphasis on legs. Alternatively, I've had good results with Phrak's Greyskull LP variant (http://pastebin.com/VTbYncHD).
  • rightaboutmeow
    rightaboutmeow Posts: 77 Member
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    Thank you both for your replies!
    I'll look a bit more into starting strength...

    the hard part for me will be doing only 3 exercises each workout!
    Lol.
    But I know 5x5 has an app too that will make it super convenient so I know how much I should be lifting/rest times/etc.
  • TheRealNoodlette
    TheRealNoodlette Posts: 132 Member
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    bump for this awesome advice
  • NancyMarie13
    NancyMarie13 Posts: 193 Member
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    Super helpful I have been looking into all of the suggestions. Awesome advice (: