Is there a free online resource to plan a weight lifting routine?

oakster69 · January 6

I am 54 years old and right at 400 pounds, on the journey down to 250 pounds hopefully. I would like to use my local rec center to try and get in an lift weights to improve/maintain strength. I would like to find a good place to plan routines for lifting using machines, of which our local rec center has a good assortment. I am not too interested in free weights at this time. I am normally at the gym by myself. Any thoughts or resources?

Retroguy2000 · January 6

It's quite an open ended question tbh.

Btw, were you making a correlation between free weights and being by yourself? Because they are safe by yourself. If doing barbell squat or barbell bench press, neither of which you actually need to do, you can use safeties on racks and/or not use the collars on the bars. Or you can use dumbbells for all upper body work and enough lower body work, and those you can just drop to the floor if needed.

I'm not saying free weights are better than machines for people in general, just that you shouldn't feel wary of them. One benefit free weights has is it recruits stabilizer muscles better than machines, which are on a fixed movement path. Considering your size, some machines may not suit you anyway, whereas with free weights you can always put them in the position you need for your body.

Anyway, stick to the basics, compound movements:

Squat movement, of which there are tons of options.
Hip hinge movement, including Romanian deadlift and normal deadlift.
Chest press.
Horizontal row.
Vertical row.
Shoulder press.

10-12 working sets per week per part per week is good for a beginner (i.e. not including warmups), in two maybe three sessions per week for those parts. YMMV, you may find that you're ready for chest and back again after 2-3 days, but you may need 3-4 days before doing legs again.

I'd recommend aiming for 10-15 reps per set for now. You can always tweak that later as needed. A working set should no more than two reps from failure, but a beginner doesn't need to go to failure, and doing so builds more fatigue. Failure meaning you've been able to grind out a last rep or two with good form, but when you cannot do another rep with good form that's your limit.

Don't go too hard in the first week or you'll get serious DOMS.

Yes, there are free programs, but your first goal should be just getting used to the equipment and learning form. I recommend the Jonni Shreve YT channel for excellent form guides.

AnnPT77 · January 6

Have you checked out the strength training thread here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

It includes programs that can be done on machine, and some that are free (or cheap, i.e., buy or borrow a book).

If your gym offers personal training, that's an option - even just a few sessions to learn form and get started. Some gyms include a starter training session or at least machine-use orientation as part of membership. Some fitness centers will have machines arranged in a way that creates a circuit, i.e., you move from one machine to the next one in sequence. Usually, the machines have an instruction plate about how to set them up and use them.

nossmf · January 6

Just don't fall into the trap my wife became victim of, where she convinced herself "if 10 reps are good, 100 is better!" A couple sessions of this and she could barely move, and hasn't been back to the gym since. (I wasn't with her during the workout, only found out the details after and haven't been able to cajole her back into the gym again.)

tomcustombuilder · January 6

Most gyms have in house trainers that can help you out. I would do this as a beginner before I attempted to go it alone with some online info. You want a trainer that knows how to train people just starting out.

Theoldguy1 · January 7

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

It's quite an open ended question tbh.

Btw, were you making a correlation between free weights and being by yourself? Because they are safe by yourself. If doing barbell squat or barbell bench press, neither of which you actually need to do, you can use safeties on racks and/or not use the collars on the bars. Or you can use dumbbells for all upper body work and enough lower body work, and those you can just drop to the floor if needed.

I'm not saying free weights are better than machines for people in general, just that you shouldn't feel wary of them. One benefit free weights has is it recruits stabilizer muscles better than machines, which are on a fixed movement path. Considering your size, some machines may not suit you anyway, whereas with free weights you can always put them in the position you need for your body.

Anyway, stick to the basics, compound movements:

Squat movement, of which there are tons of options.
Hip hinge movement, including Romanian deadlift and normal deadlift.
Chest press.
Horizontal row.
Vertical row.
Shoulder press.

10-12 working sets per week per part per week is good for a beginner (i.e. not including warmups), in two maybe three sessions per week for those parts. YMMV, you may find that you're ready for chest and back again after 2-3 days, but you may need 3-4 days before doing legs again.

I'd recommend aiming for 10-15 reps per set for now. You can always tweak that later as needed. A working set should no more than two reps from failure, but a beginner doesn't need to go to failure, and doing so builds more fatigue. Failure meaning you've been able to grind out a last rep or two with good form, but when you cannot do another rep with good form that's your limit.

Don't go too hard in the first week or you'll get serious DOMS.

Yes, there are free programs, but your first goal should be just getting used to the equipment and learning form. I recommend the Jonni Shreve YT channel for excellent form guides.

Good advice, but to be honest for someone new to lifting 54 years old and 400 pounds, I would suggest starting out exclusively with a fully body circuit or 2 utilizing machines (or bodyweight for some movements) to get used to the gym, lifting and building a bit of strength.

After a couple months would start transitioning some of the machines to free weight movements.

Also the original poster should have a review of planned physical activities by their medical team before starting.

oakster69 · January 16

I have gotten started for a few gym sessions. I did find a program that I feel like is a good starting point. I go three days a week using a maching program that includes

Chest Press
Shoulder Press
Leg Press
Lateral Pull Down
Bicep Curl / Tricep Extension (rotate every workout)
Hamstring Curl / Leg Extension (rotate every workout)

I walk two laps around the track to warm up, then do two of the machine excercises, walk to laps... repeat. So I get a little over 1 mile of brisk walking in along with the weight lifting routine. If I walk 2 laps between every machine, it gets me two miles but adds time. I plan to stick with 1 mile a day, and trying to get into the gym on off days to walk, maybe even swim. I think that after a month or so of regular workout, I should feel pretty good and can start extending some of the things I do. I plan to lift for at least 3 weeks before I start going up in weight and pushing stuff. I really want to avoid a sprain, or injury that sets me back or keeps me at home.

Thanks for the feedback!

Retroguy2000 · January 16

oakster69 wrote: »

I have gotten started for a few gym sessions. I did find a program that I feel like is a good starting point. I go three days a week using a maching program that includes
Chest Press

Shoulder Press

Leg Press

Lateral Pull Down

Bicep Curl / Tricep Extension (rotate every workout)

Hamstring Curl / Leg Extension (rotate every workout)

I walk two laps around the track to warm up, then do two of the machine excercises, walk to laps... repeat. So I get a little over 1 mile of brisk walking in along with the weight lifting routine. If I walk 2 laps between every machine, it gets me two miles but adds time. I plan to stick with 1 mile a day, and trying to get into the gym on off days to walk, maybe even swim. I think that after a month or so of regular workout, I should feel pretty good and can start extending some of the things I do. I plan to lift for at least 3 weeks before I start going up in weight and pushing stuff. I really want to avoid a sprain, or injury that sets me back or keeps me at home.

Thanks for the feedback!

That sounds great. And good on you for taking it easy with the lifting for a few weeks to get used to it, and learn the form.

The one thing I'd suggest modifying is change the bicep/triceps work into a superset done every workout. So you'd do a triceps set almost immediately after a biceps set. Do half the sets in those arms exercises each workout, since you're now doing them 3x weekly instead of 1.5x. You can alternate which one you do first, if you feel fatigue is an issue. Also you might want to do something between the chest and shoulder press, since that's two presses in a row which both work the shoulder. That's a nitpick though.

Long term it's better to separate cardio and strength workouts, aside from a cardio warmup ofc. Short term, given your starting point, this is fantastic imo. I would say keep lifting, but do keep the focus of your time and energy on cardio, especially steady state cardio. If you keep your deficit under control, you should get great results from this. Good luck.

xbowhunter · January 23

I'm close your age (55YO).

After doing a bit of research I came across an out of the box theory that focuses on high rep low weight instead of the usual high weight low rep. From what I was told this builds endurance and minimizes injuries.

I go to the gym 3x per week. Usually M/W/F
I do these exercises all on machines not necessarily in the arranged order.

1 rep of each with a weight I can comfortably do at least 50reps or more without breaking form.
Leg press.
Chest press
Hip abduction
Lateral Pull Down
Ab crunch
Back extension

My goal is to build strength without injuring myself and stay mobile as I age.

So far I am enjoying it and seeing good results.

When I can get to 100reps with the same weight I will start to increase the weight and work up to 100reps again.

nossmf · January 23

50-100 reps in a single set is often not ideal for gaining strength; stamina sure, strength not so much. 5-10 sets with 10 reps per set, now that's a different story. By decreasing the reps per set you can increase the weight used, which is what will help lead to greater strength.

zebasschick · January 23

when i started working out, i started doing a single circuit round the gym - 8 to 12 reps per exercise, taking it easy to avoid pain in joints or other issues. when i got stronger, i started doing 2 circuits around the gym. over time, i started increasing weights on moves a little at a time. during that early period, i did every body part in a single workout 3 times per week.

if you can't figure out some of the machines, you could have a personal trainer show you how to use them all just once. i was lucky - a friend of mine who was very into bodybuilding came with me and showed me. but many are pretty intuitive to use or have directions on them.

btw, i love machines, although for some things (deadlifts, military presses) i do use a barbell and weights. we actually have a cable machine with a stack in our dining room, and if i had to pick just 1 major piece of fitness gear, it would be that cable machine.

kathyarainey · January 25

I bought the Weightlifting journal from Habit Nest last month. It's a hardcover journal with workouts. I've used it 4 times so far. Habit Nest has a lot of different products, so I'd like to check out if they have an app instead.

Is there a free online resource to plan a weight lifting routine?

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