Strength for beginners

Merkavar · May 2015

mfp seems to be losing my message half way through typing so I will be blunt.

Looking for a strength plan for beginner/overweight/weak people.

Plans I see seem to suggest you have a bit of training or experience behind you.

I have access to a barbell, Dumbbells, hand weights, easy curled bar, treadmill etc

I was thinking something like 5x5 but I am sure where I was looking at that it made it sound like its for already fairly fit people.

Looking for more of a full body thing I can do 3 times a week.

Thanks

arditarose · May 2015

I think 5x5 is fine for beginners. Even better if you can work with someone on form when you are just starting. My boyfriend just started and he is a completely newbie to lifting.

tomatoey · May 2015

If you feel really not ready, start with a bodyweight program for a month, then move to a lifting program.

Beginner bodyweight program:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

If you don't like 5x5, I remember one from bb.com that was good (I'm not able to do free weights myself and haven't for a while)
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843
I liked this one because it seems to have recovery time built into it - I feel like it's well suited to people who aren't 18 year old boys

WeAreSageMode · May 2015

Starting strength, ICF 5x5, Stronglift 5x5, Fierce 5. Many more alternatives

I started off with starting strength. Pick up the book and give it a good read. Watch youtube videos on proper form. Record yourself. Ask other gym members to give you a hand with form checking and spots.

- in the beginning youre in the gym for less than 45 mins (I didnt add accessories till a few weeks after)
- feels great to continually add weight onto your lifts
- simple, you focus on the fundamentals (form, breathing, resting, intensity)
- easy to benchmark your success, make sure you start a workout journal
- after 3+ months you can go onto something else, I ran SS a till I deloaded 3+ times on all the major lifts

Tips
- benchmark, improve every single day, every single rep counts regardless of weight
- perfect the form first, took me 2 months and multiple deloads of my squat till I finally develop good form
- maintain your eating good habits, if you are going to cut then do it very slowly
- ask for help, form checks, spots
- check your ego at the door, I started off with the bar for every single exercise and progressed every single workout, small incremental progress is key
- warm up is key, every single rep should be done with purpose and mindfulness
- dont be afraid to fail because you will, many many many times, winners focus on the next rep/set/workout

Merkavar · May 2015

Was looking at strong lift 5x5, I like that it has an app

But it seemed to emphasise the need for rest days.

Now I do kick boxxing wed and thur each week. Some times this is fairly easy, like maybe a few burpees and sit ups etc then other times it might involve a circuit that includes slam balls, kettle bells, lunges and other strength and cardio stuff.

When the 5x5 guys say rest days do they mean from all exercise or just from 5x5 and other high strength exercises.

If I go a head with 5x5 3 days a week I was thinking Saturday's, Monday's and Thursday's before kickboxing.

Just wondering how important the rest days are, especially when starting out because it looks like the only way to make it work with rest days is to do it before kick boxxing or on Friday after work. I'm not a fan of working out on Friday's

galgenstrick · May 2015

Whatever routine you choose it should focus on the big compound lifts; squat, bench, deadlift. You have to learn them eventually, so now is as good a time as any. Start light, and progress while really paying attention to form. I suggest video recording yourself and make corrections.

Cherimoose · May 2015

galgenstrick wrote: »

Whatever routine you choose it should focus on the big compound lifts; squat, bench, deadlift.

A good routine works those muscle groups, but it doesn't need to include those exact exercises.. unless they want to compete in powerlifting. There are plenty of good alternatives.

retirehappy · May 2015

Merkavar wrote: »

mfp seems to be losing my message half way through typing so I will be blunt.

Looking for a strength plan for beginner/overweight/weak people.

Plans I see seem to suggest you have a bit of training or experience behind you.

I have access to a barbell, Dumbbells, hand weights, easy curled bar, treadmill etc

I was thinking something like 5x5 but I am sure where I was looking at that it made it sound like its for already fairly fit people.

Looking for more of a full body thing I can do 3 times a week.

Thanks

Excellent strength training program you can do at home with minimal equipment: The pdf is at the bottom of the page:

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/growingstronger/index.html

upchur35 · May 2015

tomatoey wrote: »

Beginner bodyweight program:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

I'll second that recommendation. That's a brilliant website that's perfect for beginners and I have done that workout myself with great success.

lushers80 · May 2015

Go for Stronglifts. On rest days you are fine with cardio and HIIT etc.
remember though to see results you need to review your diet as well.
If you are currently on the standard MFP macros break down I would change it to
45% protein
30% fat
25% carbs.
If this is too low for you on carbs you can switch it with fats for a start.

M30834134 · May 2015

Great suggestions! I sure will be trying each one of those after I'm done with my current one.

For all interested in a great, flexible, simple, and very user friendly gym log (I'm not in any way associated with either app or developer - it's just a great app) try FitNotes (Android only)

WeAreSageMode · May 2015

Merkavar wrote: »

But it seemed to emphasise the need for rest days.

Eating well, drinking well, sleeping well. First month will be easy. As you go up in weight it will get tough. Squats will wear you down, deadlifts will take a huge chunk out of you, and bench will be taxing. However, you can still make huge strength gains as long as you prepare yourself physically and mentally.

tomatoey · May 2015

Merkavar wrote: »

Was looking at strong lift 5x5, I like that it has an app

But it seemed to emphasise the need for rest days.

Now I do kick boxxing wed and thur each week. Some times this is fairly easy, like maybe a few burpees and sit ups etc then other times it might involve a circuit that includes slam balls, kettle bells, lunges and other strength and cardio stuff.

When the 5x5 guys say rest days do they mean from all exercise or just from 5x5 and other high strength exercises.

If I go a head with 5x5 3 days a week I was thinking Saturday's, Monday's and Thursday's before kickboxing.

Just wondering how important the rest days are, especially when starting out because it looks like the only way to make it work with rest days is to do it before kick boxxing or on Friday after work. I'm not a fan of working out on Friday's

Rest days are important because that's when muscle grows.

Someone who's been at it for a while could probably do that schedule, but I don't know, if you're just starting out, whether you'll be able to do your best in your kickboxing class with three days of strength a week. What do you want to prioritize?

If it's the kickboxing, maybe cut strength to 2 days instead of 3, and space it out a bit - say do your lifting on Saturday and Monday. You will still get results.

yusaku02 · May 2015

Merkavar wrote: »

Was looking at strong lift 5x5, I like that it has an app

But it seemed to emphasise the need for rest days.

Now I do kick boxxing wed and thur each week. Some times this is fairly easy, like maybe a few burpees and sit ups etc then other times it might involve a circuit that includes slam balls, kettle bells, lunges and other strength and cardio stuff.

When the 5x5 guys say rest days do they mean from all exercise or just from 5x5 and other high strength exercises.

If I go a head with 5x5 3 days a week I was thinking Saturday's, Monday's and Thursday's before kickboxing.

Just wondering how important the rest days are, especially when starting out because it looks like the only way to make it work with rest days is to do it before kick boxxing or on Friday after work. I'm not a fan of working out on Friday's

I'm doing a ICF5x5 (it's just stronglifts + isolations) and I take it to mean just rest from strength exercises (lifting). Sometimes on rest days I'll go out for a 5 mile run or something like that. Additional exercise hasn't impacted my lifting at all.

Technopagan · May 2015

I've been doing SL 5x5 for about a month, I'm returning to doing strength training, or weight training in general, after being unable to do anything for 18 months (rotator and scapular injury) so I started from the minimums recommended by the app. The most important part to focus on at first is proper form, I injured myself by lifting with bad form so I am very conscious of how I lift now. Do not get discouraged if you drop a rep or even a set, I know I have dropped a rep a twice in the short time I have been doing SL for my overhead press, I just come back the next time and try to lift that weight again, the SL app is reallly good for this.

On my "off" days I do a RPM class, haven't had any issues doing them, in fact I have found that I can go higher in the gears in the slow hill climb portions than I could previously. With the kick boxing as long as it isn't lifting heavy I don't believe you will have too much trouble, but worst case if you do find it impacts you can always re-evaluate what you want to do.

I will agree with others here that your nutrition/macros will be important, especially protein while still trying to drop body fat at a healthy rate in calorie defecit. I am very near to my initial MFP goal weight and have stopped looking at the scales as a guide and instead use measurments of my waist, hips, thigh, neck and chest to give me guidance on how I am progressing, muscle weighs more than fat so the scales are not necessarily your friend.

I wish you the best with which ever of the strenght training regimes you choose to follow, any of them should be good for starting out.

Cchioles · May 2015

Hey Check Out "Candito" As Well.. Its A Beginners Strength Program With Low Volume Lifts .. I've Seen Guys Bench Go Up 25-30Lbs In 6 Weeks For Example. focuses On The 3 Core Lifts And The Weights Calculated By Your One Rep Max.. So It's Always Within Your Own Capabilities.

rick_po · May 2015

Some people never have any trouble at all doing cardio on off days, but others get beaten down by all the work. Just be aware of your body, and if you start feeling signs of over-training (stop making gains, constant fatigue, difficulty sleeping) then take it easier. Go to 2-a-week on strength, or scale back on the kick-boxing.

But that's not something you'll need to worry about until the weights get pretty heavy.

DesertGunR · May 2015

In actuality what most people consider "over training" is more precisely "under resting". As you push your body most people believe that they need to keep pushing it everyday to get results or to improve. The body needs rest in order to rebuild itself. Without rest you never give your body a chance to build. In fact you get to a place that you are actually tearing it down faster than it is capable of rebuilding itself. 99.99% of us here are not Elite level athletes or anywhere close to it and even if we were, Elite athletes have rests days built into their training so they can improve their performances and recover from their far more demanding routines.

So take your rest days as serious as you take your training days. How much rest depends on what your program is and how hard that training punishes the body.

Strength for beginners

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