Tips for starting out with Weight lifting?

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Ryewhisky75
Ryewhisky75 Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Good Morning!
I have been doing cardio, mainly kickboxing, for a few months, so I have decent strength in my arms/legs. I would like to start weight training, but I have no idea how to start. Any tips would be appreciated! I have heard people have "arm day" "Leg day" etc, but what exactly does that mean? Does that mean you only do weights for those muscle groups on those specific days? Sorry for the silly questions, I just want to make sure I do it right!

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  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited March 2019
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    Your best bet is to find a program written by someone who knows what they are doing.

    Stronglifts 5X5 and Strong Curves are popular beginner programs. Stronglifts has a free app you can download that tells you what exercise to do, at what weight. I haven't personally done Strong Curves, though.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
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    yeah, that link by quiksylver296 is how i got started on my strength training program, it has something for everyone.
    also, there are no silly questions when it comes to this stuff. i literally had to google how to do a curl!
  • toddmcarter
    toddmcarter Posts: 15 Member
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    My very strong suggestion/tip is to start with light weights and ALWAYS be in full control of the weights regardless of what exercise you do. Never use momentum when doing weight lifting. Control the weight all the way through the motion, up and down. Slow movements not only reduce the risk of injury, they make the work more beneficial.
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
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    to todd's point...when i started, i went light for the first month of so just to concentrate on technique. once that was mastered i moved my way up to heavier weights.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Ditto the above. Most of the structured training programs, while they are excellent programs, 1) start you off with too much weight 2) advocate adding too much weight too soon. Also, any pain/injury may not show up for a day or two of overtraining, so you may not know you’ve overdone it until later. Depending on your current strength and whether you have any existing issues, start at lower weights and add weight more slowly until you have a better feel for how your body is responding.
  • erikgoya
    erikgoya Posts: 77 Member
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    Also gonna bump the stronglifts suggestion. Alternatively, find a similar program that concentrates on the big 3 lifts (Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift) and maybe the Overhead Press as well. These are all compound movements that work multiple muscles at the same time, so you get more bang for your buck. And you can always add on supplementary exercises if you have specific goals (bigger/more defined arms, butt, legs etc).

    Assuming you're going to continue kickboxing, I would plan your workouts accordingly. Doing both in a day is fine, but you're going to be tired for whatever comes second. Prioritize what you want to improve, and be sure to leave at least one day a week to rest.

    And really, REALLY, make sure you have proper form when doing your lifts, especially your squat and deadlift. There are plenty of YouTubers that concentrate on this like megsquats and Alan thrall. Do your research. Happy lifting.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    thanos5 wrote: »
    to todd's point...when i started, i went light for the first month of so just to concentrate on technique. once that was mastered i moved my way up to heavier weights.

    This is really good. The first month, you're not going to be building muscles, your body is literally learning how to make it through these difficult new movements. Your first month is spent strengthening connective tissue, etc. Very very good to use light weight when you do this, let your body work up to it.

    One of the most important parts of any weight lifting program is progress. That means adding more weight over time. So start easy, it'll get hard soon enough ... and you'll be ready for it.

    Second using Strong Lifts or Curves.

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