Okay! Help! My very first time lifting!

Inlet
Inlet Posts: 135
edited November 8 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey ya'll...
Well. It's that time. I am at the weight I want, and I'm ready to start lifting heavy and look like I want... and run without worrying constantly about injury.

My first time was day before yesterday. I did basically a full body workout... 2 sets of 8 reps, one final set of 7 reps on each machine. They were heavy weights for me. I almost couldn't finish each set... on the third I had to settle for 7 reps most of the time.

I didn't have time for cardio, and to be honest, was disappointed in how I felt afterwards. Even though my muscles were trembling and noticeably weakened, I felt like I hadn't worked out at all! I missed that out of breath, cardio feeling. =P I know that the benefits will show up later though. And I know this is an important part of being fit, healthy and injury free.

So... Please... if any of you have tips on how to lift heavy, and particularly, weight lifting that will improve my running, please add me... I don't know much about this!

I was a gymnast as a teenager, so I'm familiar with strength training, but only using my own body weight and gymnastics equipment.

Any tips or knowledge any of you could share with me?
How often? What to eat? How heavy? How to develop a routine? what's good for runners?

Thank you so much in advance!

Replies

  • deekaydee
    deekaydee Posts: 158 Member
    I bought the New Rules of Lifting for Women book, and have been following that program. I'm actually thinking about switching up to the Stronglifts 5X5 program, which you can download for free. You might look into those, or I've also heard good things about Starting Strength. I'd recommend that you try to graduate from the machines to free weights if you can.

    I know what you mean about not feeling the same after a weightlifting workout, but I've found that I'm really starting to love the way I feel after weightlifting. Give it some time and you'll get used to not being totally out of breath, but still feeling like you got in a good workout. (I do still get out of breath during weightlifting! But it's not the same.)

    I currently lift 3x / week, then do interval training / incline work / steady-state cardio on my non-lifting days.

    Good luck!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Ditto, New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. Great book for women who are new to lifitng.

    If you only did the machines chances are you only did isolating moves. You are right, you probably didn't work your over all body that hard. When I do things like squats, dead lifts, lunges, step ups, chest press, I get all red faced, breath hard and sweat! Definitely feel like I've worked out.
  • MikeSEA
    MikeSEA Posts: 1,074 Member
    You can try doing super sets. They can definitely leave you out of breath and still give our muscles a good workout.
  • srhlaskey
    srhlaskey Posts: 5
    I am a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine :) From the sounds of it, you're right where you should be in terms of weight that you're lifting! Do you own a heart rate monitor? You can use that to track how many calories you burn while you lift. You might be pleasantly surprised at the result. I usually burn more calories lifting than I do during steady state cardio--the trick is to make sure your heart rate stays up the whole time you're lifting! If your goal is to lose overall body fat or weight during this workout, try to up your heart rate! I have personally had the best results by maintaining a relatively high heart rate throughout my strength training workouts.

    To do this, you can try a couple things. First, you can decrease the rest time between each set. Try taking at least 30 seconds, but no more than 45 seconds in between sets and you should see your heart rate stay up.

    Second, you can make sure that your form is perfect on every exercise. Strength training is most effective if it's done correctly! It might be worth booking one appointment with a trainer at your gym to make sure you're doing each exercise correctly for the maximum calorie burn.

    Finally, you can add in a cardio interval after each group of exercises. For instance, if you are doing 3 sets of a leg press, after the third set try hopping off the machine and doing jumping jacks for one minute. That should keep your heart rate up.

    Most importantly, make sure you're being safe and using proper form. You know yourself and if something hurts (not burns like fatigue, but really hurts) listen to your body and don't do it.

    Hope that helps!
  • deekaydee
    deekaydee Posts: 158 Member
    I've actually read that HRMs are not accurate for calculating calorie burns during strength training, because the algorithm developed for HRMs assumes an elevated heart rate as an aerobic-response, but your elevated heart rate during weight lifting is anaerobic.

    I'm not an expert, but I've looked into this and it seems to be accurate.
  • srhlaskey
    srhlaskey Posts: 5
    Actually, after doing further research, you are correct about the differences in calculating caloric expenditure. However, the HRM can still be accurate if you are performing full-body exercise with cardio intervals. This would make the calculation similar to that of using an elliptical trainer with arms and legs at heavy resistance, or swimming. Additionally, if the HRM is used to ensure that your heart rate stays high throughout your workout, it's definitely a valuable tool. Finally, depending on the weights/sets/reps you are using while strength training, the metabolism in your muscles can vary from aerobic to anaerobic. You're absolutely correct in your statement, but it shouldn't mean that a HRM is no longer an excellent tool during strength training :)
  • Inlet
    Inlet Posts: 135
    Thank you all so much for your help. :-)
    I am seeing results already... After only two sessions!
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