beginners guide to strength training at the gym..

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startinganewleaf
startinganewleaf Posts: 56
in Fitness and Exercise
i really wish there was a comprehensive guide to this. i have no idea what any of the machines at the gym for 'strength training' etc are called or how to use them as a beginner to aid my weight loss. if anyone could give me some tips i would be really appreciative.

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  • Raiderxx
    Raiderxx Posts: 105 Member
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    I highly recommend checking out www.stronglifts.com. I was also pretty new to lifting and I am following that lifting routine and am absolutely loving it. I have been at it for about a month and can already feel a difference in my strength.
  • kirstyg1980
    kirstyg1980 Posts: 302
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    i really wish there was a comprehensive guide to this. i have no idea what any of the machines at the gym for 'strength training' etc are called or how to use them as a beginner to aid my weight loss. if anyone could give me some tips i would be really appreciative.

    forget the machines and check out stronglifts 5x5, speak to a trainer at the gym to show you what weights to do use for what etc and watch youtube vids for techniques
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
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    Depending what gym you go to, there could be trainers there (either for free like PF or ones you have to pay for)
    I know the YMCA has/had a "how to use the weight machines" class, I took it when I was like 11.

    Also all the weight machines have instructions, just read them and follow them.
    Start with a light weight and do a few reps to see if you can handle it, up it if need be.

    You can also be a gym creeper and watch others do it so you have a better idea or ask someone at the gym to help you out (someone meaning not a staff member)
  • coffeegirl1998
    coffeegirl1998 Posts: 121 Member
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    Just book marked it...Thanks Raiderxx!!
  • MelleyJ
    MelleyJ Posts: 198
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    I understand the confusion. I would go to the gym and "do weights", but I really felt lost. Just started using a personal trainer 2x a week and I love it. I know I was clueless at the gym. I highly recommend it. It comes at a cost, but it keeps me accountable and I see a huge improvement in myself in less than 8 sessions. (Tonight is number 8 for me, so this is week 4 of my personal training sessions). I actually go to the gym 4 nights a week at minimum, which I know I wouldn't have done without the help of my trainer. I can do things now that I never believed I could do before. I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill last week. This week I did 30 min of HIIT on the treadmill. Even if you only use a trainer for a few sessions to learn the machines, how much weight to use, reps, etc. I recommend it to get you started. My trainer even keeps a log of everything we do each session. I have to bring the book, but I keep it in my gym bag at all times so I don't forget my "Bible". Good luck. If you need some workouts, add me and I can share my "Bible" with you.
  • vjohn82
    vjohn82 Posts: 10
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    The best advice I can give you is to ignore any cardio. It's pointless right now, in any case sport specific and will cause you more problems if you are training when overweight.

    Stronglifts 5x5 is good. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe probably better.

    More muscle means burning more calories when "inactive" and thus will keep the weight off more. If you are concerned about overall fitness then barbell complexes will be your friend in the future.

    Do yourself a favour; ignore treadmills and stuff like that for the time being. You do not need it.
  • Ant_M76
    Ant_M76 Posts: 534 Member
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    The best advice I can give you is to ignore any cardio. It's pointless right now, in any case sport specific and will cause you more problems if you are training when overweight.

    How does doing cardio cause problems?
  • Graciecny
    Graciecny Posts: 303
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    The best advice I can give you is to ignore any cardio. It's pointless right now, in any case sport specific and will cause you more problems if you are training when overweight.
    I can't speak to the OP, but personally I needed cardio not so much to help with weight loss (I can keep calorie count and do that) but to not be out of breath trying to have a conversation while climbing a few stairs! So while I can't say I recommend going wild on the cardio, I'd say it isn't a bad thing in moderation either!
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
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    Check your local library or Amazon for the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" by Lou Schuler. It's as comprehensive as it gets. There's also a group of wonderful women here on MFP that are following the program and they provide great support!

    Here's the link to the group:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w
  • vjohn82
    vjohn82 Posts: 10
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    If you are severely overweight you will place far too much strain on your joints for the exercise to be beneficial.

    Also, you do not actually burn many calories doing any form of cardio. Many people look at the "calories burned" function on the machines in the gym but fail to understand what it actually means. The machine asks you for your sex, height and weight; this is so that it can calculate your base metabolic rate (BMR). When people see that they have burned 300 or so calories when running for 1/2 hour they are impressed yet fail to understand that this INCLUDES their BMR which would have been around 180 anyway.

    The BMR calories are burned even if the person is sitting down doing nothing. So this leaves a net of 120 calories performing an exercise which has very little payoff.

    Weight training does not burn as many calories "during" a session (unless you are performing complexes or circuits). However, the interesting thing is that the lean muscle mass being built up will raise your BMR for at least 48 hours. The more lean muscle you build, the higher your BMR.

    In layman's terms, you will burn fat training and doing nothing on your sofa the next day whereas training only cardio will tend to only burn calories during the session.

    Training with weights will also boost your lung capacity anyway so why bother with cardio from the start when you are in the condition most conducive to a serious injury which would prevent you from doing any training at all?
  • vjohn82
    vjohn82 Posts: 10
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    Another vote for stronglifts- I am in week 5-- great program. I watched a lot of videos demonstrating the proper form for the excercises, practiced with dumbells for a while and than with lighter weigts with barbells, and then booked a session with a PT to check my form. Now I am crusiing along. Body changes are subtle--- really seems to dense you up-thighs, lower back, midsection-- for lack of abetter word. I am up 13 lbs in 3 months (purposely) (was on a dumbell propram prior to stronglifts)- and while my waist is marginally larger (1/2 inch maybe- I don't think all of that is fat). My butt and thighs are now tight in my jeans, and my neck is bigger. It will be interesting to see what remains after a cut-- planned for sometime early summer.

    Get your deadlift up to 160kg and you won't need to worry about cutting.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    I highly recommend checking out www.stronglifts.com. I was also pretty new to lifting and I am following that lifting routine and am absolutely loving it. I have been at it for about a month and can already feel a difference in my strength.

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