How you started strength training (beginners)
BlackPantherChick123
Posts: 425 Member
I am signing up at my local gym bc I'm now tired of doing hours of cardio that make me hungry, overeat, and have gained weight and lost so much muscle mass. I'm new to all the strength training and not sure where to start. I want to slim my thighs down, lose some unwanted fat, and get some strength back. What are yalls experience with beginning in strength training? What kind of diet or lifestyle you do? How much should you consume for strength training and doing about an hour of cardio a day? Do you do upper, lower body days, full body everyday? How often you do these workouts, and how long does it take to see results? Like I said, I'm new to all this and so many questions.
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I would not try to do an hour of cardio plus strength training in the same day. I started with 30 day shred, then ripped in 30, Denise Austin 3 week boot camp, and The Firm super cardio mix. All of these workouts are a combination of cardio and weights, ranging from about 20 min to an hour long. Then, I was invited to join in on a power lifting team's workouts. That is where I learned basic lifting with free weights (squat, deadlifts, bench, ohp, good mornings, etc). From there, I started Stronglifts 5x5 on my own. I would alternate cardio days and strength days, or at least split them am/pm.7
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As a beginner I started doing random things. As a result my progress was poor and my body composition was not great. Once I started a program, (I did Strong Curves, full body 3x per week) I was way more successful. I did very little cardio, maybe twice a week for 30min.
My advice would be: follow a program (as a beginner a full body 3x per week or so is ideal), add cardio in but I would make lifting your priority, get adequate protein (0.8-1g per lb lean body mass/goal weight) and decide on your exact goals.. depending on your stats and bodyfat, if you want to lose weight (eat in a deficit) or recomp (maintain).7 -
DancingMoosie wrote: »I would not try to do an hour of cardio plus strength training in the same day. I started with 30 day shred, then ripped in 30, Denise Austin 3 week boot camp, and The Firm super cardio mix. All of these workouts are a combination of cardio and weights, ranging from about 20 min to an hour long. Then, I was invited to join in on a power lifting team's workouts. That is where I learned basic lifting with free weights (squat, deadlifts, bench, ohp, good mornings, etc). From there, I started Stronglifts 5x5 on my own. I would alternate cardio days and strength days, or at least split them am/pm.
I wanted to do strength training in the morning and cardio at night. Still not a good idea?1 -
I started with resistance bands and tubes and a video off of YouTube. Then I bought a book on strength training. It's mostly light (up to 2x12lb) dumbbells with some body-weight and some other equipment, like a cardio step, a 7" rubber ball, a mat, etc.
I've recently started going beyond the book with a pair of 15s.
Generally, I do a full-body workout three times a week. I'm working to reduce the amount of muscle lost as I lose weight. As far as diet, I'm a kosher ovo-lacto vegetarian. Within that way of eating, I try to hit my protein and iron and let the rest fall where it falls.
Now, I work out at home and don't have anybody to compare myself to, so I have no idea whether my results are typical. What I have noted are:- Some muscle definition on calves and thighs. Everything feels 'tighter'. (I should probably mention that my main cardio consists of walks of 2 hours or more daily. I suspect that's helped a bit with the leg muscles, too.)
- Increased walking speed and stamina. A walk that used to take me 40 minutes now takes 30.
- Visible deltoids and 'harder' arms. I think I can see my biceps and triceps, too, but definitely delts.
- I had bladder surgery last month. In post-anesthesia recovery, the nurse asked me to try sitting up while he cranked up the bed so that I could be somewhat upright to drink some juice. When I was able to do so immediately, he complimented me on my trunk muscles.
- When I'm at Canadian Tire (combo hardware/sporting goods/automotive/garden centre), I usually go to the dumbbells and see what I can pick up enough to do 10 biceps curls. In the nine months since I've started, I've seen that go from 8 to 15lbs and I can lift a 20 in each hand without feeling like I'm going to slam it back onto the shelf. Which tells me that I'll be buying a pair of them shortly...
It's unlikely that you'll be able to build much muscle in a deficit, but you can strengthen and preserve what you've got. And as the fat goes, the muscle beneath it will be more visible (see my point about about the delts. I didn't 'build' them, I just revealed them).
Good luck!5 -
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you
Full body 3 x weekly, major muscles with compound moves before minor (which usually get worked anyway with major).
Progressive.
Doing both lifting and cardio?
Pick a focus and confirm the other won't interfere. Sounds like you want lifting to be focus though.
Like if in a diet too, lifting will be the easiest to suffer and not get the maximum benefit out of it - in which case confirm the cardio doesn't put a load on the body requiring repair also. Perhaps you just want it for sanity and stress - great - keep it calm.
If not in a diet, then confirm eating enough, may recover enough to do lifting the next day.
Since the lifting should always feel like you are giving it your all - it's very hard to tell when your all is limited by lack of recovery and tired from other exercise, when actually in that state.0 -
I agree with what Heybales said - focus on a fullbody weight training 3x per week - look at Starting Strength or Strong curves , pick one and follow it - you can still do cardio but not so much - maybe on off days - Eastcoast Jim0
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I started with some beginners routines from HASFIT, the one I used was aimed for use at home, but there are plenty of routines that can be done in the gym from them and other free programs.
I'd do a 10 min low impact video as a warm up and then they had a 20 minute full body routine that I was doing with 3kg dumbells, Iwas doing this 3-4 times per week and worked my way up to 5kg dumbells.
I am now doing a split routine instead, still 3 sessions per week, I do around 25 minutes of Arms & Shoulders/ Abs & Back/ Legs and if I am feeling really keen an extra full body workout.
I cut down on my intentional cardio more when I am focusing on my strength training, as it's easy to overdo it if you're doing both and I walk a lot outside of intentional exercise (Around 12000 steps per day). I make sure I get at least 100g protein per day, hit my minimum for fats and make the rest up as it goes.
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When I started strength training, I started with the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It is now my "go to" when I've taken time off due to children, life or injury. It was one of the best $15 purchases that I have made.
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I followed ChaLean Extreme when I started lifting. An hour of cardio is a LOT, especially when you're lifting too.1
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Does your gym have coaches that you can get to help you learn form? Proper form is important to get not only the results you want but to prevent injury.2
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I still consider myself a newbie, and I've started my strength training journey months ago. I started out doing all calisthenics, but now I've mixed them in with dumbbells, 15 and 12 pounds that I squat/overhead press with. For me, I just chose certain exercises that I do three sets of for either 10-20 reps and my strength workout usually ends up being 25 minutes. Of course, my goal is to add on to the reps as I get stronger. I don't use any machinery out of personal preference, but I'm open to it one day! The other members who have posted about programs and youtube videos are good ones to listen to
I appreciate the suggestions that others have made!
(Edit: I love running, so I came from a very cardio-oriented mind set. I bought into the myth that if I lifted I'd get "big", as much as I hate to say it, hahaha. I still run, but on the days I do strength training I'm sure to do that first and then run. When I run after my strength workouts, I'm already partially fatigued, which makes running a lot harder on me. I like the added difficulty)
Good luck!0 -
Do a web search for beginning weight lifting routines, (I picked Strong Lifts 5x5), pick one, try it, if you like it, continue, if you don't try another. Continue until you find one you like and will stay with, then do it.0
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I agree with what Heybales said - focus on a fullbody weight training 3x per week - look at Starting Strength or Strong curves , pick one and follow it - you can still do cardio but not so much - maybe on off days - Eastcoast Jim
I agree with the above. Strong lifts 5x5 is also a good starting point. It's a full body workout 3x a week alternating between 2 workouts. The app is free for iPhone and Android.
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I just started a month ago, following aworkoutroutine's beginner program. So a 3 day full body split, doing 3-5 exercises on each day.
My main advice:
Find, and follow, a good beginner program. I'd probably follow that for the first 6 months, maybe even more depending on progress.
Make sure you get enough protein (~1g pr body weight - note, that this is based on your target weight, not current weight).0 -
i started out doing stronglifts and i kept that rep/set format, but i felt lost about form until an mfp friend sent me mark rippetoe's book starting strength.
for the other questions, i kept up an aggressive deficit and was riding about 20 miles a day too for a while, but it probably only worked because on the lifting front i was tinkering with my form too much to keep adding more weight. as soon as i did start to add weight to my lifts, i discovered i needed to eat a lot more than 1200 calories.
to put that in context though, by the time i quit counting calories i was already below 125 pounds at 5'3" so i was basically only still 'dieting' for vanity reasons.0 -
I hired a trainer so I could learn from her and also have my form checked. That was 5 years ago and I still lift religiously. I switch things up so right now I'm doing a all over day, a leg/shoulder day, and upper body only days. I'm an endurance runner and I've seen a huge improvement on my running form from lifting. I do run and lift on the same day but not on long run days. Other weight days I do spin class so my run/lift is only once a week. My schedule is Sunday - spin/lift, Monday - run/spin, Tuesday - run/lift, Wednesday - lift, Thursday - run, Friday - spin/lift, Saturday - long run.
Hope this helps.1 -
Back in maybe September I started doing sets of wall pushups 2-3 times a week. After a few weeks I added in squats and lunges, and then maybe six weeks ago I started doing the Nerd Fitness Beginner Bodyweight workout every other day. It’s actually a lot of fun, and I have noticed that I feel more stable in my body (if that makes sense?) and stronger all around. I’m still pretty overweight, but I am seeing a little more definition and have actually been getting some compliments from people who hadn’t seen me in a couple of months. Other than that, I don’t follow any particular diet or whatever - I track calories and eat at a moderate deficit to lose 3-5 pounds a month. I try to do about 15-20 minutes of cardio on the days I don’t do bodyweight - I had been running, but have switched to an exercise bike as the weather got bad.2
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What are yalls experience with beginning in strength training?
I started in about 1974 with a strange spring and cable device called a Bullworker. Then added bodyweight exercises, then started going to the gym with my older brother where I lifted too hard, too badly, too competitively, no plan or program - but still made rapid progress (like most teenage boys can despite horrible routines). Injured myself a few times too.
What kind of diet or lifestyle you do?
I eat a wide and varied diet that has no label, I don't log my food but do keep calories and protein in mind, recently retired and more active than ever as I have more time to do the things I enjoy.
How much should you consume for strength training and doing about an hour of cardio a day?
You do realise that's completely individual? Size, gender, fitness, types of exercise.....
For me very roughly 3000 cals/day but big variations day to day.
Your weight trend over time tells you if by luck or judgement you have got all the various estimates balanced.
Do you do upper, lower body days, full body everyday?
This is my routine for my peculiar goals (to be a good long distance cyclist whilst still having a decent amount of muscle) and injuries (knee and back injuries which mean I'm limited on lower body lifts). Definitely not a recommendation.
Mostly upper body (primarily compound lifts) strength training with a balalnce of push and pull plus cycling (wildly differing duration and intensity) on alternate days. Very limited lower body work in the gym as I'm mostly recovering from the previous day's riding.
How often you do these workouts, and how long does it take to see results? Like I said, I'm new to all this and so many questions.
Three strength sessions a week about an hour at a time.
Coming back from a period off training I would expect strength to increase very rapidly and within a couple of weeks. That will taper off after a period of weeks or months when I hit my lifetime "normal trained" levels and then becomes glacial progress.
Visually it depends to a large degree on how lean I am, a layer of fat very effectively masks muscle growth. That's where a tape measure helps.
My advice would be pick an established beginner routine, don't do cardio the same day.
"I wanted to do strength training in the morning and cardio at night. Still not a good idea?"
Depends what your cardio is!
Recovery is a limited resource and as a beginner you will be making your body adapt quickly and that needs adequate recovery time. There's a world of difference though between a gentle LISS session or very long duration exercise or very high intensity cardio.
Decide on your priority and think quality of training rather than volume.
As a generalisation I would say strength and (non-taxing) cardio on alternate days. Listen to your body as capabilities are different.1 -
what I tell noobs heading to the gym is to spend the first week learning what each piece of equipment Is for and how to properly use it. one of the first and most important things about getting into the gym getting comfortable. if you go in and feel awkward you wont be able to concentrate on your workout because you feel out of place. once you know what and where things are you can more easily relax and put together a program that suits your needs and goals. once the gym becomes YOUR gym you will be able to get some work done. good luck you got this.5
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A few more questions, what do I do with muscle pain recovery, do I rest and take a break off from cardio, or work through the pain? Should I go 3x a week like for an example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Can a professional trainer give you a body check and give you the nutrition and information I need for strength training and to reach my goals? Sorry for so many questions0
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BlackPantherChick123 wrote: »A few more questions, what do I do with muscle pain recovery, do I rest and take a break off from cardio, or work through the pain? Should I go 3x a week like for an example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Can a professional trainer give you a body check and give you the nutrition and information I need for strength training and to reach my goals? Sorry for so many questions
Start slow and build up - have two days off between training sessions at first if you need them. It's not a race and doesn't need to be a punishment!
Soreness and pain are two different things, gentle movement and exercise can help with soreness but pain really needs rest.
Depends on the qualifications of your trainer - knowing how to lift or devise a program doesn't mean they have qualifications above your average man in the street as regards nutrition. Why do you need any nutritional advice beyond what is freely available on this site anyway? It's not really so complex or important for an average (or even non-average) person that they need bespoke advice.
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I joined a gym...stuck to cardio equipment, b/c I didn't know what/how to do anything else. My husband joined the gym a few months later; he got bored with cardio fast. He signed up for 3 courses with a trainer (former powerlifter).
My husband showed me how to do compound lifts....fast forward a couple of years, I'm competing in my 4th powerlifting competition in Feb.
I've read Starting Strength and Tim Henriques's Powerlifting. I work with a powerlifting coach. It's hard to get into lifting on your own. It helps to have resources.1 -
What are yalls experience with beginning in strength training?
I started in about 1974 with a strange spring and cable device called a Bullworker. Then added bodyweight exercises, then started going to the gym with my older brother where I lifted too hard, too badly, too competitively, no plan or program - but still made rapid progress (like most teenage boys can despite horrible routines). Injured myself a few times too.
Holy crap! My dad had one of those bull workers! That and push-ups we're my 1st foray into strength training.
In high school I was introduced to machine weights, then after graduation joined a local gym with no machines(well except for a cable crossover & lat pulldown) Back then I started out doing bodybuilding bro splits instead of a solid program of full body compound movements. Oh what I wish I knew back then1 -
@ryboWhat are yalls experience with beginning in strength training?
I started in about 1974 with a strange spring and cable device called a Bullworker. Then added bodyweight exercises, then started going to the gym with my older brother where I lifted too hard, too badly, too competitively, no plan or program - but still made rapid progress (like most teenage boys can despite horrible routines). Injured myself a few times too.
Holy crap! My dad had one of those bull workers! That and push-ups we're my 1st foray into strength training.
In high school I was introduced to machine weights, then after graduation joined a local gym with no machines(well except for a cable crossover & lat pulldown) Back then I started out doing bodybuilding bro splits instead of a solid program of full body compound movements. Oh what I wish I knew back then
Your Dad had one! Thanks - now I feel really, really old....
It was better than the "chest expanders" my uncle handed down to me and my brother - far too easy to let the springs close on your chest hair and rip it out - ouch. This was the 70's when men still (mostly) had chest hair.....
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BlackPantherChick123 wrote: »DancingMoosie wrote: »I would not try to do an hour of cardio plus strength training in the same day. I started with 30 day shred, then ripped in 30, Denise Austin 3 week boot camp, and The Firm super cardio mix. All of these workouts are a combination of cardio and weights, ranging from about 20 min to an hour long. Then, I was invited to join in on a power lifting team's workouts. That is where I learned basic lifting with free weights (squat, deadlifts, bench, ohp, good mornings, etc). From there, I started Stronglifts 5x5 on my own. I would alternate cardio days and strength days, or at least split them am/pm.
I wanted to do strength training in the morning and cardio at night. Still not a good idea?
That's what I usually do. My gym is much less crowded before work, so that's the time I go M, W, F to lift. For cardio, I fit runs in between after work and dancing where they fit/when group runs with groups I like are scheduled - this happens to sometimes be the same day as lifting, sometimes not. (and dancing is technically also cardio).1 -
BlackPantherChick123 wrote: »I'm new to all the strength training and not sure where to start. I want to slim my thighs down, lose some unwanted fat, and get some strength back. What are yalls experience with beginning in strength training? What kind of diet or lifestyle you do? How much should you consume for strength training and doing about an hour of cardio a day? Do you do upper, lower body days, full body everyday? How often you do these workouts, and how long does it take to see results? Like I said, I'm new to all this and so many questions.
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A few more questions, what do I do with muscle pain recovery, do I rest and take a break off from cardio, or work through the pain? Should I go 3x a week like for an example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Can a professional trainer give you a body check and give you the nutrition and information I need for strength training and to reach my goals? Sorry for so many questions
- For minimal time and days in the gym and as a beginner: full body 2-3x per week. most basic would be 1 leg (squats or deadlifts), 1 pull (chin-ups/pull-ups/lat. pulldowns, some type of rows), 1 push (bench press, overhead press), alternating the legs and horizontal/orthogonal vs vertical/parallel push and pull movements). Beyond the basic, but frequently added in: a bicep or tricep isolation movement and/or glute item and/or something for the leg muscle the main leg movement didn't target. Starting Strength has some good specific detail on the movements - very detailed on form and what not to do; Strong Curves is good for adding in some work on the glutes. My workouts are usually about 35-45 minutes. (3-4 sets, supersetting whatever I can, switched many things to dumbbells to save time, extra movements beyond the basic list added in - but they are largely filling what would be rest time for the basic movements).
- If you are starting to run, then at least 1 and preferably often 2 days between sessions. It would probably be similar for other intense cardio where you might be hopping/moving/etc.
- depends.. Is it actual pain, or just soreness.
- there are online calculators/guidelines to estimate how much protein, fat you should be getting. Some typical recommendations for protein range between (0.8-1.0)g*(somewhere between lean body mass to ideal body weight in lbs). You can find some governmental guidelines online for how much fat and fiber you should ensure you are getting as well (for general health, not specifically for muscle building/weightloss).
- For the slimming down, that will be down to keeping a calorie deficit.
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BlackPantherChick123 wrote: ».. and how long does it take to see results?..
I joined the gym in ~February and started a program ~March/April, sometimes only going once per week until just the last few months when I started going before work (it is much more pleasant then - same small group of people rather than an overcrowded version of hell). I've seen pretty amazing results - very noticeable definition in my arms, upper back, legs, abs (and I've gotten comments from quite a few people who have noticed)(note: I also went from a BMI of ~26 down to 23.5 in that time, so some of the definition became visible from less fat covering the muscle and not just more muscle).
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I used to do total-body group ex classes at the gym and balanced them out with my own strength work as needed. Recently I started Strong Curves. I just follow the set workouts. I started feeling stronger right away and really seeing results in about six weeks.0
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BlackPantherChick123 wrote: »I am signing up at my local gym bc I'm now tired of doing hours of cardio that make me hungry, overeat, and have gained weight and lost so much muscle mass. I'm new to all the strength training and not sure where to start. I want to slim my thighs down, lose some unwanted fat, and get some strength back. What are yalls experience with beginning in strength training? What kind of diet or lifestyle you do? How much should you consume for strength training and doing about an hour of cardio a day? Do you do upper, lower body days, full body everyday? How often you do these workouts, and how long does it take to see results? Like I said, I'm new to all this and so many questions.
When I got back into the gym 5 years ago I did Starting Strength...I had never run an actual program before other than when I was in high school where our strength coach laid everything out for us. SS is a good, basic beginner barbell routine.
Diet wise, I eat the same way now in maintenance as I did when I was losing...lots of good nutrition with a smattering of pizza and fish 'n chips now and again.
In regards to slimming this or that...that really isn't going to have anything to do with weight training...you will slim down with a calorie deficit and fat loss.
I don't recommend body part splits for beginners...I would recommend a full body program. Full body programs aren't run every day...they are most typically 3x per week on non-consecutive days. I only recommend splits for intermediate to advanced lifters who are actually trying to put on mass and need that kind of training volume to do it...or if you just like spending a bunch of time in the gym.
I'm far from a beginner at this point but I still do full body...it is more than enough for someone who's just trying to be fit and look the part and to be strong...it's not enough volume to body build though.3
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