Start heavy lifting Monday, some questions for y'all.

Do you have a smartphone? If so, check out the "Jefit "app. I was clueless as to a lifting routine and got that app and it is so amazingly helpful! It creates a beginner's routine for you, but you can then remove exercises you don't like and add ones you want. For example, I don't have access to a barbell so I removed all the barbell exercises it gave me and replaced them with similar dumbbell exercises. Now I actually know what to do at the gym! Haha.

I just paid for my Gold's Gym account, and start going Monday. I don't have a plan yet, but my buddy who is a big old musclebound marine told me make sure I do squats, and dips. Other than that, he said if there is an excercise I want to do, use freeweights, and not the machines.

Anyways... any suggestions for a workout plan? Or maybe even one of you has a workout plan set up that I could follow.

I'm not looking to be a bodybuilder, but want some tone and definition, and am doing this in the evening, but I do my cardio every morning before work.

Also, how soon before I will start noticing some gains? No, I'm not expecting to be looking different a month from now, but I figure that hopefully by next summer, I can go from a 5'9", 210lb tub of lard, to a guy that can go to the lake, and comfortably take my shirt off... and in my wildest dreams, maybe get a few appreciative looks from the ladies... :blushing:

That's a year, from now, so hopefully I can accomplish a lot in that time.
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Do you have a plan for the lard? Weightlifting can define and enlarge muscles for sure. You will see sharp gains in a month to 6 weeks. However, if you are simultaneously trying to lose weight, it can actually make that more difficult. Depends on your goals. I lost body fat and gained muscle mass at the same time over time. In other words, not at the exact same time, which is physiologically impossible. Lifting can do a lot for you, but just not much for the lard. And what is your age? There are some pretty cool summaries out there using slightly different approaches for different age ranges and results to expect, etc. Good luck.

If you don't want to get huge, then a strength program is definitely better than a bodybuilding program for your goals. This means high weight and low reps (3x5, or 5x5)

If you are just starting out on a program, there are benefits to including a "preconditioning" phase to your routine.

Beginners can start to see gains at relatively low intensity levels--as low as 40% of 1 RM.

Beginners can see equal gains at first w/one set vs multiple sets.

Beginners do not need to go to "failure" in order to see results.

Beginners will see relatively equal gains at first whether they use machines or free weights.

Your muscles will adapt to the resistance loads much more quickly than your tendons and ligaments.

The gist of it is: there is no need to beat yourself up in the beginning -- you won't get into shape any faster. There is also no need to avoid any section of the gym (e.g. machines) because more advanced lifters think the exercises are beneath them.

At your age, you can progress fairly quickly, but taking 4-8 sessions to build up to your "actual' workload and workout routine will not slow down your progress at all -- it will just hurt less.

In general. free weight. compound exercises are best, and there is no reason not to start learning them from day 1. However, technique does not come overnight. I work with plenty of people that take weeks or months to learn proper squat form, for example. While they are learning, they are lifting very heavy weights. To tell them to "avoid the leg press" because it's not as good an exercise is just stupid. They can push a lot more weight and get a lot stronger faster using the leg press--that extra strength then translates into improved squat performance.

The other main reason to ramp up your workouts more gradually is to learn proper form. I would say the there is nothing more important in your first 8-10 weeks. Too heavy a weight too soon tends to lead to bad habits that become 10 times more difficult to unlearn.

So, yes, the goal is to get to compound free weight exercises and lift heavy (or to include heavy phases in your overall routine). But the routine of a friend who has been lifting for several years might be completely inappropriate for you at this time. Hopefully whoever is teaching you will understand that.

Hey, it's free advice, so you can take it for what it's worth.

I was just coming here to ask the same question. Thanks for the sites. I'll check them out too.