Beginner gym routines

What are your goals?

Bodybuilding.com has some good beginner routines.

I've heard that strong lifts 5x5 is very good (though I've never done it).

I suggest as you learn new exercises (or revisit old familiar ones) learn more than just how to do them. Find out which muscles they work, how variations of the movement will affect how muscles are recruited, etc.
I find it very helpful to know why I'm doing what I'm doing.

You can exercise to death but if your eating is crappy you won't see the results that you want. It starts in the kitchen!

cwolfman13 wrote: »

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a good general fitness beginner program. You utilize primarily free weights which are superior to machines...machines have their place, but that place really isn't as the foundation of a good program. The book will also explain why you are doing what you are doing and lead you through the progressions.

While I agree NROLFW has merit, based on my experience, I can't recommend it for women who have 100+ pounds to lose. I attempted it when I was down to only having 30 pounds to lose and am not strong enough for the bodyweight exercises, and think that amount of excess weight would make the squats dangerous for the knees.

However, the OP is considerably younger than me, so may be considerably stronger as me as well. (She should still be very careful with her knees.)

Considering you have over 100 pounds to lose, I suggest two things.

1.) You dont start a lifting program yet, instead work on form and bodyweight movements.
2.) You begin exercising by finding activities you enjoy that you will continue for life. For example, dancing, swimming, walking, etc.
3.) Something along the lines of a circuit training program that uses bodyweight, increases flexibility, and doesn't include a lot of jumping movements is probably best.


There are many many programs out there. Some that are free that have specifically what i advise above are Fitness Blender's workouts:
Calorie Burning Low Impact Cardio Workout for Beginners - Recovery Cardio Workout with No Jumping
Total Body Toning Low Impact Cardio Workout - 30 Minute At Home Cardio Workout
Beginner Boot Camp Workout -- Easy Toning & Low Impact Cardio Workout with Fitness Blender

good luck!

Lifting can be done even when obese, one key element will be working to learn correct form. If done right, squat shouldn't bother the knees at all. I started lifting weights while obese and had a trainer first show me all of the form needed for Stronglifts. I did that for 12 weeks then did NROLFW. The hardest part in the second program was more the lunges and one leg variations. I modified only one thing in the NROLFW one out of all of the stages, a single leg squat while standing on a tallish (i'm short they all seem tall to me) step. That one bothered my knees too much so instead I did goblet squats. They do have a newer book, Strong, and I haven't tried that one but it's the more up to date version.

I have had problems with my knees since 6th grade basketball and had a diagnosis of arthritis in my lower back about 10 years ago. I do have clearance for exercise as long as I'm cautious and aware of any problems. Lifted for a year so far and only de-loaded a couple of times or taken an extra rest day or two to make sure I didn't hurt anything. Calories are key for weight loss, but lifting and some cardio (I have goals that require cardio training) have all been great to help along the way.