Heavy Lifting - Where to start?

I want to start heavy lifting too - the results I've seen so far are amazing! I do a lot of cardio right now, and do bicep curls and crunches, but I know absolutely nothing about lifting.... I'd love to see some advice for beginners!

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Not sure the stronglifts 5x5 "program" is the way to go for a woman to start out, this is just my opinion??? The 5 x 5 lifts are all great core lifts (squats, deadlift, bench, bent over row, standing overhead press) that for sure are good for all genders, its the progressive loading that I think will cause the hang-ups.

Women can do SL just fine, even as utter beginners. We may have to start out using less than the 45lb bar to begin with, but *because* of the progressive loading we make very quick progress and see a lot of strength gains.

Being a woman myself, I started out doing SL and the only hangups I had were with upper body lifts. I couldn't do 5lb increments after about 75lbs or so on things like bench press and overhead press. So I grabbed some micro plates (1.25lbs) and started loading in smaller segments. Worked like a charm. Squats and deadlifts? I was adding 5-10lbs a session until I was well over bodyweight, and only then did it slow down.

Not sure the stronglifts 5x5 "program" is the way to go for a woman to start out, this is just my opinion??? The 5 x 5 lifts are all great core lifts (squats, deadlift, bench, bent over row, standing overhead press) that for sure are good for all genders, its the progressive loading that I think will cause the hang-ups.

There is no difference in how a womans muscle systems or biomechanics work compared to a man. so I have no idea why you think progressive loading for linear gains would be sub optimal for females.

Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both are very similar and very effective beginner lifting programs. I'd recommend reading Starting Strength regardless of the program you choose, however. There's a lot of good information in there.

^^^This. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe is a great book, filled with tons of useful information all in one easily accessible place.

Stronglifts 5x5 is really nothing more than a tweak on Starting Strength and Glenn Pendlay's 5x5, and Mehdi (the guy behind Stronglifts 5x5) readily admits as much. If you read Mehdi's stuff and then read Starting Strength (BTW, on Amazon you can get a "free look" at Starting Strength that covers the first 2-3 chapters - read as much of it as you can and you'll learn a lot right there), you'll see that Mark Rippetoe's depth of knowledge is FAR greater than Mehdi's. If you ignore most of Mehdi's ramblings and just use his suggested program (perhaps modifying it a bit to fit closer to Rippetoe's suggestions in his book), it's as decent a place to start as any.

The basic idea behind any of those is simple (this is a brief summary of those routines):

Start extremely light - 45 lb standard olympic bar with no weight on it at all save for deadlifts for proper form, lighter if necessary, some gyms may have a woman's 15kg bar. There are also 5kg to 15 lb "training bars" available, although those may be hard to find at a gym and cost over $100 if you wish to buy one yourself.

Do compound barbell exercises that work much of your entire body: squat/bench press/deadlift or squat/overhead press/deadlift. (eventually alternate power cleans with deadlifts every other workout).

Do warm up sets at weights below your "working weight", then 3 or 5 sets of 5 reps at work weight (depending on the program). Focus on USING PROPER FORM.

If you succeed with all your work sets at that weight, then increase the weight 5 lbs at your next workout (10 lbs on the deadlifts). Rest for 1-5 minutes between sets. Work out only 3x week to allow your body proper time to recover between workouts.

If you "fail" at your work weight (can't complete all your work sets) at a given exercise, try again at the same weight next workout. If you fail a second time, try for a third time, and if you fail the third time, "deload" by 10% and start working back up at 5 lbs per.

That's enough to get you started. Most people make substantial gains before stalling out on most exercises. If your gym has fractional weight plates that are under 2.5 lbs (or you buy your own) you can go up by less than 5 lbs per successful session if you find yourself failing often after moving up. There's other bits regarding creating a weight training program after you've exhausted all your "newbie gains", but it'll often be many months before that happens, and by that point you'll have moved far beyond "basic improved fitness" and likely have learned a ton in the process.

Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Both are very similar and very effective beginner lifting programs. I'd recommend reading Starting Strength regardless of the program you choose, however. There's a lot of good information in there.

If you ignore most of Mehdi's ramblings and just use his suggested program (perhaps modifying it a bit to fit closer to Rippetoe's suggestions in his book), it's as decent a place to start as any.

This is what I did. I read Starting Strength but followed Stronglifts because I didn't have anywhere to do cleans at my gym. Mehdi is completely insane, so ignoring him is best for pretty much anyone.