Guess What I did! (Advice needed)
yogi323
Posts: 56 Member
I joined a gym today with my best friend! I've never ever even set foot in a gym, so I want all of your tips and advice you can give me! Basic things and less obvious things. Personally, I want to get strong and fit. I have terrible upper body strength. I think I want to start lifting weights, but I don't know where to start. I do have a 1 hour free consultation with a personal trainer on Tuesday, but I'd still love to hear from you all!
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Replies
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Congratulations!
New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book and Stronglifts.com is a good site with a great basic strength training program. Have one of the employees/trainers show you how to properly do the lifts in your program. Go slow, focusing on good form above all. Add weight aggressively, but again only when you're not sacrificing form.
Take body measurements (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms and upper legs). Make sure you're getting enough protein to allow for muscle repair. Re-measure about every 2 - 3 weeks.
Enjoy!0 -
Don't be scared of the weights area. It's there to be used.
- If they offered a consultation with a trainer - take it. But come in prepared. Before you go answer these questions:
- Do you want to get stronger, build bigger muscles, or just lose weight while maintaining the muscle mass you already have (or some combination thereof)?
- If you are looking to get stronger, figure out where your "weak" spots are, and ask specifically about exercises for those, as well as full body work. Preferably with free weights or cables. (The other machines are ok for very specific targeting, but you probably ought to concentrate on the whole package.)
- Get an overview of the cardio equipment as well, just so you know how it works, and also if they are compatible with personal HRMs (and which ones if so).
- But before you see the trainer, see your doctor to make sure you are clear to work out, or if you have anything you need to be careful of.
- If it hurts, don't do it. Find an alternative or crank it back a bit.
And FInally finally, Have fun!0 -
hi first off congratulations on your decision since you are a beginner don't focus too much on things like measurements and all that... just start getting in with some small weights to get the feel for it and do some of your own personal research online and find some of the most comfortable work out for you that don't require you know advanced multi functional movements0
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AllanMisner wrote: »Congratulations!
New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book and Stronglifts.com is a good site with a great basic strength training program. Have one of the employees/trainers show you how to properly do the lifts in your program. Go slow, focusing on good form above all. Add weight aggressively, but again only when you're not sacrificing form.
Take body measurements (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms and upper legs). Make sure you're getting enough protein to allow for muscle repair. Re-measure about every 2 - 3 weeks.
Enjoy!
Thank you! I've looked into stronglifts, and it seems very basic and simple to a complete newbie.
How do you suggest body measurements? Just a regular measuring tape? Should the macros that MFP automatically suggests be enough protein?0 -
Don't be scared of the weights area. It's there to be used.
- If they offered a consultation with a trainer - take it. But come in prepared. Before you go answer these questions:
- Do you want to get stronger, build bigger muscles, or just lose weight while maintaining the muscle mass you already have (or some combination thereof)?
- If you are looking to get stronger, figure out where your "weak" spots are, and ask specifically about exercises for those, as well as full body work. Preferably with free weights or cables. (The other machines are ok for very specific targeting, but you probably ought to concentrate on the whole package.)
- Get an overview of the cardio equipment as well, just so you know how it works, and also if they are compatible with personal HRMs (and which ones if so).
- But before you see the trainer, see your doctor to make sure you are clear to work out, or if you have anything you need to be careful of.
- If it hurts, don't do it. Find an alternative or crank it back a bit.
And FInally finally, Have fun!
Thank you so much! I do have an appointment on Tuesday, and this list is perfect! I had no idea what to say before.0 -
AllanMisner wrote: »Congratulations!
New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book and Stronglifts.com is a good site with a great basic strength training program. Have one of the employees/trainers show you how to properly do the lifts in your program. Go slow, focusing on good form above all. Add weight aggressively, but again only when you're not sacrificing form.
Take body measurements (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms and upper legs). Make sure you're getting enough protein to allow for muscle repair. Re-measure about every 2 - 3 weeks.
Enjoy!
Thank you! I've looked into stronglifts, and it seems very basic and simple to a complete newbie.
How do you suggest body measurements? Just a regular measuring tape? Should the macros that MFP automatically suggests be enough protein?
Having measurements is going to help you tremendously. When most people start lifting, they see weight gain. Don't panic, this is water, not fat. Stay the course, and use your trend with the measurements as evidence you're on the right track. I've seen tapes at GNC, but you can just go to a sewing store (or a sewing section at a department store) and get the cloth measuring tape.
MFP might be a little low (it has been a couple of years since I set up my goals and I know I over-rode their guidance. Start with .8 to 1.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight. Once you get into lifting, you may find you need/want a little more, but 1g per kg suits most folks.
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AllanMisner wrote: »AllanMisner wrote: »Congratulations!
New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book and Stronglifts.com is a good site with a great basic strength training program. Have one of the employees/trainers show you how to properly do the lifts in your program. Go slow, focusing on good form above all. Add weight aggressively, but again only when you're not sacrificing form.
Take body measurements (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms and upper legs). Make sure you're getting enough protein to allow for muscle repair. Re-measure about every 2 - 3 weeks.
Enjoy!
Thank you! I've looked into stronglifts, and it seems very basic and simple to a complete newbie.
How do you suggest body measurements? Just a regular measuring tape? Should the macros that MFP automatically suggests be enough protein?
Having measurements is going to help you tremendously. When most people start lifting, they see weight gain. Don't panic, this is water, not fat. Stay the course, and use your trend with the measurements as evidence you're on the right track. I've seen tapes at GNC, but you can just go to a sewing store (or a sewing section at a department store) and get the cloth measuring tape.
MFP might be a little low (it has been a couple of years since I set up my goals and I know I over-rode their guidance. Start with .8 to 1.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight. Once you get into lifting, you may find you need/want a little more, but 1g per kg suits most folks.
Again, thank you! I'll go by and pick up a tape soon. I knew that water retention is a thing, but I didn't realize that measurements would help (It makes sense, just not something I thought of). I will keep an eye on protein, so thank you for your advice. I do have another question you might be able to help with. Tuesday the trainer at the gym will be measuring my Body Fat. Is that a good measurement of things? Are gyms normally accurate? Is that something else I should keep track of?
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Measurements are important along the way. Take a picture NOW.
Read alot online and at the library. I had a book from the library called "workouts with weight" S. Karony that was a good intro. "Core performance" Verstegen is also really good.
I am thinking simple to start so I would say a modified form of Stronglifts 5x5 (whole body workouts). Or Dr Paul Kennedy has "quickset" system (like dropsets) that I like and his list of excercises is very straightforward. If you message me Ill send you a link to his PDF or just google it.
Building a good base of muscle can help your weight loss because it burns calories faster, will ramp up your metabolism, and helps prevent injuries. You also burn calories while doing it and it gives your workout needed variety to prevent overuse injuries.0 -
AllanMisner wrote: »AllanMisner wrote: »Congratulations!
New Rules of Lifting for Women is a great book and Stronglifts.com is a good site with a great basic strength training program. Have one of the employees/trainers show you how to properly do the lifts in your program. Go slow, focusing on good form above all. Add weight aggressively, but again only when you're not sacrificing form.
Take body measurements (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms and upper legs). Make sure you're getting enough protein to allow for muscle repair. Re-measure about every 2 - 3 weeks.
Enjoy!
Thank you! I've looked into stronglifts, and it seems very basic and simple to a complete newbie.
How do you suggest body measurements? Just a regular measuring tape? Should the macros that MFP automatically suggests be enough protein?
Having measurements is going to help you tremendously. When most people start lifting, they see weight gain. Don't panic, this is water, not fat. Stay the course, and use your trend with the measurements as evidence you're on the right track. I've seen tapes at GNC, but you can just go to a sewing store (or a sewing section at a department store) and get the cloth measuring tape.
MFP might be a little low (it has been a couple of years since I set up my goals and I know I over-rode their guidance. Start with .8 to 1.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight. Once you get into lifting, you may find you need/want a little more, but 1g per kg suits most folks.
Again, thank you! I'll go by and pick up a tape soon. I knew that water retention is a thing, but I didn't realize that measurements would help (It makes sense, just not something I thought of). I will keep an eye on protein, so thank you for your advice. I do have another question you might be able to help with. Tuesday the trainer at the gym will be measuring my Body Fat. Is that a good measurement of things? Are gyms normally accurate? Is that something else I should keep track of?
Generally, the caliper method, if done well is a good approximation of body fat. Dexa scan, water submersion, and bod pods are a little better, but cost can be an issue. If they use impedance (holding a device or standing on a scale barefoot), that can be way, way off. In either case, the bf measurement along with your measurements (and pictures are good suggestion as well) will be there to show how you've progressed.
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For me, making sure I eat a good amount of protein after using weights has really helped in showing improvement with my muscle! I also try to use weights only every other day for a particular body part. For example, if I do arms on Monday, I'll wait until Wednesday to do arms again so that my muscles can get a nice rest. If I don't want to do weights on another body part on Tuesday, then I dedicate that day to cardio.
I'm not an expert, but this has helped in my journey along with clean eating and a positive mindset!0 -
Learning how to use the weights correctly is super important and you should also check out what else the gym has to offer. Do they offer classes? I was going to our gym for a long time and then my and my BFF decided to try all of the classes one at a time (being new together is not quite so intimidating). We both loved Pilates and have stuck with it for 3 years now. If you have a good instructor, they make sure you are having the right form to get the most from what you do in class. Cardio classes like zumba, spin, step or something like that are great to get some good calories burned in an hour. They also can be very encouraging to be in there with others who are doing what you are there to do (get healthier)!
I still have never made it to a spin class...maybe someday!0 -
+1 for Stronglifts! They have lots of info and videos and correct form on the site, and the app is user friendly.0
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