Strength training - where to start?

HaleCry
HaleCry Posts: 387 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My partner and I have recently joined the gym. Our main goal is to lose weight (I have about 40lbs to lose, he has about 20lbs to lose).

I’ve only ever done cardio, and have taken up running again. But I’d like to start incorporating strength training into my routine.

Does anyone have any tips on where to start? Is it different for a woman or can myself and my partner do the same thing just different weights? He wants to eventually build muscle, but is that possible whilst losing weight?

Anything you wish you’d have done from the beginning?

Any help would be appreciated!

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,978 Member
    Get a trainer. The guidance and instruction is worth not getting hurt, doing the exercise wrong, and programming the right method for your goal.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • EmaDave
    EmaDave Posts: 3 Member
    Free weights over machines. A trainer is not a bad idea. You can do amazing things with a set of kettlebells. Challenge yourself. If you can knock off 12 reps of any exercise and don't really need a rest - the effectiveness is really low. I like the BFL method (Body for Life) doing 12,10, 8, 6, 12 reps for each exercise increasing the weight to 6. They have recommended exercises if you search BFL. Good luck to you!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,322 Member
    I would agree that a trainer is a good idea as you want to make sure you are doing the exercises with the correct form. Many gyms have trainers on staff, so you might want to ask at the gym you go to.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,844 Member
    edited March 22
    AFAIK it's the same for a woman. Btw, I haven't looked in this thread, as per my ID here, but maybe it'll be helpful for you.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10902390/women-who-lift-weights-and-do-so-many-other-things

    Although women tend to focus on legs and glutes, maybe too much imo. It's important to work your back and shoulders too. And no, you won't suddenly get "buff" from that, nobody gets that way quickly or by accident.

    General advice. Focus on compounds, not isolations. Start with machines and cables for now, it's safer and easier than free weights for a beginner. Have a squat movement (there are many options), a leg curl for hams, a row and/or pulldown, chest press and shoulder press. That's your basics. 10 working sets per week per body part (not incl warmup) is good for a beginner, ideally over at least two, preferably three sessions. You don't need to go to failure as a beginner, a couple reps in reserve is fine. But that means you need to know where failure is, so go to failure every so often. No point doing 10 reps if you can actually do 15. If you can do 15 you should be stopping at 13. Track your progress, and seek to improve reps and then weight week to week.

    It's a good idea to have a trainer show you the ropes. I like Jonni Shreve's YT channel for form guides. He's the best I've seen for that.
  • _nikkiwolf_
    _nikkiwolf_ Posts: 1,380 Member
    You can do the same things as your partner, with different weights. Or also different number of sets/reps. On the one hand, I've wouldn't buy into advice that to "tone" your muscles, woman should only do light weights/high reps. On the other hand, I've also read in some articles that some studies show that women need less recovery times between sets, and/or are able to recover faster from high-volume sets than men. There seem to be contradictory studies on that; so figuring out which combination of sets and reps works best for you might be trial and error.

    In any case, after some initial gains you might find you make slower strength gains, especially in upper body strength, then your partner. As long as you still see progress, I wouldn't worry about that!

    On machines vs free weights: When I started strength training in the gym, I really wanted to start with barbells, because I read everywhere that "free weights are better than machines". I got three sessions with a trainer as part of the membership deal, and he convinced me that the injury risk was also higher with barbells, and that I should start with machines first to build up some muscles first and then gradually change, so in my first session he set up a machine training plan for me, three month later we met and he showed me how to replace some of those exercises with dumbbells, and other few month later some cable and barbell exercises. I'm still a lot more nervous about hurting myself doing barbell squats than using the leg press machine - though if that is justified or just paranoia put into my head by the trainer, I don't know ;-)
  • fitnessgee14
    fitnessgee14 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi! Like you, i have 40 lbs to lose as well. Trainer is a very good idea to get you to started. I will say that it helped me a lot to focus on proper form and push myself to lift heavier. On the other hand, i know personal training can be expensive. There is a weightlifting journal in amazon that can help you and your husband if you don’t know what routine to start with and what machines to use. It’s a 12-week program and could save you a lot of money from personal training. Read the reviews and uploaded pictures, i think it will be helpful for you. The link is copied from amazon below. It’s called “The Weightlifting Gym Buddy Journal by Habit Nest”

    https://a.co/d/dYGDnir

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