Starting strength training??

Grimmerick
Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I have decided to incorporate strength training into my workout and after some research I put together a plan, I am not very experienced with strength training. I just want to see if anyone has any advice or tips about it. I am going to strength train, 2-3 days a week, so it would look like this. Whole body then 2 days of rest, upper, then one day of rest, Lower then one day of rest, then start over. If I only strength train two days a week then I will do upper 2 days of rest and then lower. Now by rest I am assuming I can still do my cardio/running on my rest days right? They only mean for the rest days to be from strength training? One last thing, should I drink a protein shake and eat some carbs after the workouts to help with muscle recovery? Thanks any thoughts are appreciated

Replies

  • EuroDriver
    EuroDriver Posts: 254
    2-3 days is great for beginning but to be honest you wont see as much results as you would like... cardio is still good on days off so keep that up! :)

    yes you HAVE to eat enough cals for your muscles to repair and for you to be able to lift more weight there fore progress.. I usually have some carbs about 1hr before workout and protein is very important post.. i actuly take a protein shake with me to the gym so i can drink it the second im done the workout. Also when buying protein there is lots of bad tasting ones, and diffrant kinds that absorb at different rates.
  • uniquesoul73
    uniquesoul73 Posts: 151 Member
    I love strength training and I am currently using a beginners 3 day per week plan that I found here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy29.htm
  • notsomushy
    notsomushy Posts: 19 Member
    Great posting. I started the same thing today. INterested in the feedback you receive :-) Good luck.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    Thanks for the great input!
  • EuroDriver
    EuroDriver Posts: 254
    Thanks for the great input!

    not nearly enough as you should have got :) im suprised more people didnt help u out
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    Yea I was hoping for some more but I guess there are other factors too, like the time of day you put the post up haha. But thank you for your input!
  • Katie3784
    Katie3784 Posts: 543
    As far as rest, you just need to rest the muscles that were just worked out, so you can get away with something like this:

    Monday: biceps and back, glutes and thighs, cardio

    Tuesday: Chest, triceps, shoulders, calves, cardio

    Wednesday: Just cardio

    Thursday: biceps, back, glutes, and thighs, cardio

    Friday: Chest, triceps, shoulders, calves, cardio

    Saturday: Cardio

    Sunday: Full rest

    I included doing 4 days of strength because, like the otehr poster said, you won't see results nearly as fast if you only dao two days. If you've been doing cardio, you can almost certainly handle four days, which really is not that much. Also, challenge yourself with the weight you use. If you can do more than 15-18 reps, move up in weight.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    If you belong to a gym, I'd talk to a personal trainer and get some of their input. They can give you a routine and also show you proper form and how to work some of the machines/free weights.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I personally don't think women benefit from doing split body part sessions as much as men. I personally like to work my legs/glutes every time I work out. Instead of trying to write your own program (which could leave you spinning your wheels) why don't you give a "tried and true" program a whirl, I would highly suggest "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". Over at bodybuilding.com there are a lot of women doing it, it really incorporates everything and you will see great gains from it. I have been doing it off and on for 6 months coupled with my Crossfit classes, and I have seen major strength gains from it.

    There is also a thread ongoing about it somewhere in here, just do a quick search for "New Rules of Lifting".

    Good luck!
  • stephanielynn76
    stephanielynn76 Posts: 709 Member
    I actually do strength training about 5 days a week. I agree with Katie, you only really need to rest the muscles you've worked. I do each muscle group once a week except for legs which I split into two days with rests in-between. I do cardio every day too. I actually like doing cardio after working my legs... it helps to loosen up the muscles and keeps me from getting as stiff. That's just how I do things but there are many methods that will get you results. I just know if I tried to do upper body all in one day I would not be able to give the attention and focus to each muscle group that I'd need to in order to get the results I want. For one, I'd end up doing less exercises due to time constraints... and I'd also find myself wearing out one group of muscles before even getting to the exercises meant to isolate them.

    I'm also aware you can get great results doing certain combination moves... somebody else could chime in on that as I don't know much about it. What I'm doing works for me so I'm sticking with it! Whatever you do... don't waste your time with light weights... GO HEAVY!
  • Jessicapages
    Jessicapages Posts: 427
    Bump
  • Scott613
    Scott613 Posts: 2,317 Member
    You're about to get a lot of opinions on this!!! If you are gonna do 2 days of weight training then a fullbody circuit type routine would suit your needs. You'll get weight training and cardio knocked out. You'll also be able to do cardio on other days if you like but, don't over do it. If you're gonna do 3 days I'd say push exercises one day and pull exercises another with lower body and shoulders the third day. Push exercise include chest and tricep routines, pull are your bicep and back routines and lowerbody and shoulder are exactly that. Hope my opinion helps you out

    This is pretty much old school type training that works very well. The only way to figure out what's best for you is to get out there and try different things. Listen to what your body tells you.
  • MarybethAltizer
    MarybethAltizer Posts: 226 Member
    GO HEAVY!

    This =) And everything else she said. :)
  • DaddyMantz
    DaddyMantz Posts: 145 Member
    My thoughts are that if you are a relative beginner and not lifting anywhere near your genetic potential, you are fine doing three full-body workouts every week. I don't think you need to start splitting out body parts until you are lifting with so much volume that your body can't recover by the next workout. I also believe that one should have some protein before, during, and after weight training. Many of the books say that you should add some simple carbs to the protein. Not everyone agrees with that though.
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