41 year old weight lifting

Congrats on the weight loss. I see that your commitment level is very high. For an individual like you who's goal is body re-comp/getting toned, I would recommend a 5 day training split, training different muscle groups on each day.
Ex.
Day-1: chest
Day-2: back
Day-3: shoulders, upper traps
Day-4: legs
Day-5: biceps/triceps
On days 1-4, try to include at least 3 compound movements for each muscle group. Be sure to keep an eye on total volume, you don't need to kill yourself for an hour with weights. I wouldn't do more than 120 total reps on each day, keep rest periods in between sets to less than 2 minutes.
On each day this week I would recommend adding 30-45 mins of long, slow duration endurance training.


Performing resistance and endurance training together is known as concurrent training.
"A study by Dolezal and colleagues was done to compare the effects of body fat percentage between a strength training only group, and a concurrent training group (who did strength training plus jogging for 25-40 minutes 3 days per week) for over 10 weeks. Results reveal that the concurrent training group had a greater body fat reduction, than the strength training only group.
From this we can conclude that the addition of 25-40 minutes of endurance training to a resistance training program caused for a greater increase in the utilization of stored body fat for energy = and a greater increase of total daily energy expenditure as a whole = which led to a greater reduction of body fat = and resulted in a more enhanced level of body composition."

You can't go wrong with the programs mentioned above, but I like this training split because a constant resistance training stimulus can help create a hormonal environment for building/maintaining muscle while still getting many of the cardiovascular benefits from endurance training.

richln wrote: »

jarablue wrote: »

The reason I am waiting for another 15 pounds to drop is because of my hypertension (high blood pressure). I figure if i am going to be pushing myself, my heart would benefit from having 15 pounds less mass to have to push blood through while weight lifting. I just want the pressure off my heart and give it less struggle when I start.

Does that sound rational?

The science shows that lifting actually reduces hypertension:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/weights-for-hbp
http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/35/3/838.full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10720604

Your said your doctor already cleared you, so get thee to the gym.

This...

Lifting will do wonders for your blood pressure.

A 5 day split for a beginner???? Why?????

jarablue wrote: »

The reason I am waiting for another 15 pounds to drop is because of my hypertension (high blood pressure). I figure if i am going to be pushing myself, my heart would benefit from having 15 pounds less mass to have to push blood through while weight lifting. I just want the pressure off my heart and give it less struggle when I start.

Does that sound rational?

According to the Canadian Heart & Stroke folks mild hypertension is not an impediment to starting a strength program, in fact the Mayo Clinic recommends it (assuming your hypertension is not uncontrolled) As always, talk to your doctor first.

mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/weightlifting/faq-20058451

I'm 60 and doing the Stronglifts 5 x 5 program. I've gone from well controlled stage 1 hypertension to pre-hypertension and my doctor is talking about taking me off my meds if I keep improving. I could afford to lose more weight too but for the last couple of years my focus has been on fitness more than the number on the scale. Now my motivation for losing wight is racing performance (some of us are late starters) as i've entered a hilly triathlon for next year as my A race and a I figure the less of me there is to haul up the hills on my bike the better....

Another good reason for you to start weights now rather than later is that males start losing lean muscle mass at a rate of about 1% per year starting at age 40 and will help maintain bone density (probably more of an issue for women than men but important nonetheless) Strength training can help mitigate many of the indignities that aging heaps upon us, it's not the fountain of youth but it's the closest we have right now.

Packerjohn wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

Congrats on the weight loss. I see that your commitment level is very high. For an individual like you who's goal is body re-comp/getting toned, I would recommend a 5 day training split, training different muscle groups on each day.
Ex.
Day-1: chest
Day-2: back
Day-3: shoulders, upper traps
Day-4: legs
Day-5: biceps/triceps
On days 1-4, try to include at least 3 compound movements for each muscle group. Be sure to keep an eye on total volume, you don't need to kill yourself for an hour with weights. I wouldn't do more than 120 total reps on each day, keep rest periods in between sets to less than 2 minutes.
On each day this week I would recommend adding 30-45 mins of long, slow duration endurance training.


Performing resistance and endurance training together is known as concurrent training.
"A study by Dolezal and colleagues was done to compare the effects of body fat percentage between a strength training only group, and a concurrent training group (who did strength training plus jogging for 25-40 minutes 3 days per week) for over 10 weeks. Results reveal that the concurrent training group had a greater body fat reduction, than the strength training only group.
From this we can conclude that the addition of 25-40 minutes of endurance training to a resistance training program caused for a greater increase in the utilization of stored body fat for energy = and a greater increase of total daily energy expenditure as a whole = which led to a greater reduction of body fat = and resulted in a more enhanced level of body composition."

You can't go wrong with the programs mentioned above, but I like this training split because a constant resistance training stimulus can help create a hormonal environment for building/maintaining muscle while still getting many of the cardiovascular benefits from endurance training.

No, a beginner should not be on a 5 day split. A bicep/tricep day, come on. A much better alternative would be Stronglifts, programming from New Rules of Lifting (There is a New Rules of Lifting for Life book that is geared a bit more toward those a bit older, might like that) , etc. Programs that focus on compound movements.

Also as someone new to exercise, I would get a mobility screen from a professional (some trainers at the gym can do them, I'd suggest seeing an actual physical therapist) to ensure you have the mobility for the selected program. Here is a simple self check:
http://allterrainhuman.com/self-mobility-test/

The addition of some low to moderate intensity cardio is fine.

This. A 5 day split is NOT the place for a beginner to start. One leg day a week? No. This is the definition of bro lifting.

Others have recommended more reasonable approaches for beginners. Another good approach is to pick a handful of compound lifts and do them 3 times a week. For example, seated or bent over rows, bench press or dips, squats, and deadlifts. Throw in something for your core at the end (like planks) if you want. As a beginner you don't need to be doing anything exotic. Just try to hit all of your muscles several times a week. After a few months switch up your exercises but stick to full body.

jarablue wrote: »

I figure if i am going to be pushing myself, my heart would benefit from having 15 pounds less mass to have to push blood through while weight lifting. I just want the pressure off my heart and give it less struggle when I start.

for what it's worth to you, my pulse seems to have dropped 15-20 beats per minute somewhere after i started lifting. and that's from someone who's been a 5-day-a-week bike commuter for years and always had a seated pulse in the 80's or 90's. i don't think it's my weight; that's varied by about the same amount over the time i've been lifting.

never been on my doctor's radar for hypertension though. so idk about that.