Good lifting programs for a beginner ?

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icemom011
icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone, i want to start lifting and looking for a program that i can follow, hopefully at home, at least in the beginning . I have some concerns, like an old shoulder injury and it being prone to dislocations. And i have back problems that i can't allow to get any worse. I'm 44, fem. The goal is to gain muscle, tone, increase core strength. I saw something on mfp called 30 days dumbbell plan, and also was wondering if anyone knows about slow motion strength training program called perfect 20 min workout? Thanks for your options and suggestions

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  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    Look up stronglifts 5x5
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    After getting approval from your doctor to lift, i would go with New Rules of Lifting for Life. It's a book. :+1:
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    Thank you
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Cherimoose wrote: »
    After getting approval from your doctor to lift, i would go with New Rules of Lifting for Life. It's a book. :+1:

    I would start with this as well...it is geared to 40+ just getting into lifting.

    Stronglifts and similar programs are great if you're wanting to make maximal strength gains and get a good introduction to power lifting but IMO aren't really appropriate jumping off points for a lot of people either. You'll get a more all around fitness type of programming with new rules and it will introduce you to a lot of the compound lifts and variations as well as alternatives if you have issues with certain lifts due to impingement or joint issues, etc which obviously many of us over 40 have.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    If you have an injury prone shoulder be sure to confirm anything with your doctor or physio before you start. You may have to do rehab work and avoid certain movement and cookie cutter programs might not be the best thing for you in such cases. If there are certified kinesiologists or medical exercise specialists in your area you might want to speak with one of them. They are usually working as personal trainers in high end gyms.
  • lapierrecyclist
    lapierrecyclist Posts: 153 Member
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    If you have an old shoulder injury, I would not do Stronglifts 5x5. I tried it last fall (I'm 56 and have past experience with lifting using weight machines), and I had to stop lifting for eight months until my shoulder recovered.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    lapierrecyclist wrote: »
    If you have an old shoulder injury, I would not do Stronglifts 5x5. I tried it last fall (I'm 56 and have past experience with lifting using weight machines), and I had to stop lifting for eight months until my shoulder recovered.

    SL 5x5 is a powerlifting style program so if you have a should injury the bench, squats and OHP won't make this a great option. Actually, most cookie cutter programs aren't going to be good for you with back and shoulder issues.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    lapierrecyclist wrote: »
    If you have an old shoulder injury, I would not do Stronglifts 5x5. I tried it last fall (I'm 56 and have past experience with lifting using weight machines), and I had to stop lifting for eight months until my shoulder recovered.

    SL 5x5 is a powerlifting style program so if you have a should injury the bench, squats and OHP won't make this a great option. Actually, most cookie cutter programs aren't going to be good for you with back and shoulder issues.

    I like your suggestion above, but that's also one of the nice things about new rules of lifting for life...it is geared to people with such issues and has various alternatives to many lifts if they can't be performed...if I was going to look at a cookie cutter program with such issues, that would be it...but yeah...I'd much rather work with a medical exercise specialist barring financial burdens.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    lapierrecyclist wrote: »
    If you have an old shoulder injury, I would not do Stronglifts 5x5. I tried it last fall (I'm 56 and have past experience with lifting using weight machines), and I had to stop lifting for eight months until my shoulder recovered.

    SL 5x5 is a powerlifting style program so if you have a should injury the bench, squats and OHP won't make this a great option. Actually, most cookie cutter programs aren't going to be good for you with back and shoulder issues.

    I like your suggestion above, but that's also one of the nice things about new rules of lifting for life...it is geared to people with such issues and has various alternatives to many lifts if they can't be performed...if I was going to look at a cookie cutter program with such issues, that would be it...but yeah...I'd much rather work with a medical exercise specialist barring financial burdens.

    I have a copy of the NROL for Life but never really got into it. I decided to get more into power building and Olympic lifting again but it's an excellent book and designed with a person who might have physical issues in mind.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    lapierrecyclist wrote: »
    If you have an old shoulder injury, I would not do Stronglifts 5x5. I tried it last fall (I'm 56 and have past experience with lifting using weight machines), and I had to stop lifting for eight months until my shoulder recovered.

    SL 5x5 is a powerlifting style program so if you have a should injury the bench, squats and OHP won't make this a great option. Actually, most cookie cutter programs aren't going to be good for you with back and shoulder issues.

    I like your suggestion above, but that's also one of the nice things about new rules of lifting for life...it is geared to people with such issues and has various alternatives to many lifts if they can't be performed...if I was going to look at a cookie cutter program with such issues, that would be it...but yeah...I'd much rather work with a medical exercise specialist barring financial burdens.

    I have a copy of the NROL for Life but never really got into it. I decided to get more into power building and Olympic lifting again but it's an excellent book and designed with a person who might have physical issues in mind.

    I haven't gotten into it either, but I'm thinking I might have to...I'm turning 42 in October and for whatever reason 41 has been a year plagued by injury upon injury...it's like I get about a week or two between each one...
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    lapierrecyclist wrote: »
    If you have an old shoulder injury, I would not do Stronglifts 5x5. I tried it last fall (I'm 56 and have past experience with lifting using weight machines), and I had to stop lifting for eight months until my shoulder recovered.

    SL 5x5 is a powerlifting style program so if you have a should injury the bench, squats and OHP won't make this a great option. Actually, most cookie cutter programs aren't going to be good for you with back and shoulder issues.

    That's one of the things that really worries me, can't afford injury. In my younger days i used to use mashines, but not really any structured program, and didn't see too much change. So that's why i was interested in free weights, want to save muscle and maybe build some extra while i can.
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
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    If you have a lack of space for a barbell, you can try these:
    https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html
    So far I've gotten my biggest gains doing these programs with just dumbbells [house is a bit too small to fit in a barbell, and the closest gym is $40/month]. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and a pull-up bar.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    If you have an injury prone shoulder be sure to confirm anything with your doctor or physio before you start. You may have to do rehab work and avoid certain movement and cookie cutter programs might not be the best thing for you in such cases. If there are certified kinesiologists or medical exercise specialists in your area you might want to speak with one of them. They are usually working as personal trainers in high end gyms.

    The fact is, that certain movements will pop my shoulder right out. And i was hoping to do this on the budget and avoid high cost and high end gyms. That's why i was wondering about this 30 day dumbbell program which is the cycle that you repeat with increased weights every 30 days.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    Cherimoose wrote: »
    After getting approval from your doctor to lift, i would go with New Rules of Lifting for Life. It's a book. :+1:

    Thank you, i will check it out
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    xvolution wrote: »
    If you have a lack of space for a barbell, you can try these:
    https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html
    So far I've gotten my biggest gains doing these programs with just dumbbells [house is a bit too small to fit in a barbell, and the closest gym is $40/month]. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and a pull-up bar.

    Awesome, thanks!
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    when i started to lift i took a 'lifting for women' course through my local rec centre. dumbbells and various cable machines (could use bands if you're just working out at home). for myself, i got restless and irritated with isolation moves pretty quickly. so i jumped into stronglifts a few months later, and then picked up mark rippetoe's book starting strength for actual instruction on most of the lifts.

    compound lifts make me happier personally, but it was probably good to have that introduction course first. a while ago when one of my friends with similar restrictions to yours asked me for ideas, i sent her to nerd fitness and she seems pretty happy with working from that.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    canadianlbs wrote: »
    when i started to lift i took a 'lifting for women' course through my local rec centre. dumbbells and various cable machines (could use bands if you're just working out at home). for myself, i got restless and irritated with isolation moves pretty quickly. so i jumped into stronglifts a few months later, and then picked up mark rippetoe's book starting strength for actual instruction on most of the lifts.

    compound lifts make me happier personally, but it was probably good to have that introduction course first. a while ago when one of my friends with similar restrictions to yours asked me for ideas, i sent her to nerd fitness and she seems pretty happy with working from that.

    Appreciate, nerd fitness is another good start, i would definitely add dumbbells though. And see where it takes me.Thank you very much
  • jaxxie
    jaxxie Posts: 572 Member
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    After turning 46 and pretty much finding it a challenge to pick a spot that didn't hurt and wasn't injured, I began to look at building a program I liked and found modifications.
    My biggest suggestion is to RE Learn the lifts and form. Blender fitness, bb.com, Jim Stoppani and Steve Shaw (send him a message, he will build you a program), are excellent resources. The most time consuming is the research, but also the most advantageous.

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