I started working out last week and am trying to watch the calories and cut out junk food. Ive been reading so many posts about strength training and I would really like to do it. As a newbie to it whats the best way to start? What weights and how many times a week? Do you know a good program i could follow? Any advice would be really appreciated!

I'm using Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength right now, and a lot of others here love The New Rules of Lifting for Women (you'll see it here as NROL or NROL4W). Whatever you do, don't be afraid to lift heavy - it's great for your body!

Hi Deb, I just started as well but my brother-in-law is a personal trainer and this is what he has me do regarding strength training/circuit weights:

I try to go 3-4 days a week. We do about 12-15 different weight machines. Unlike some people, we don't mix it up (arms/back one day, legs/abs another) I target all my problem areas every time I go. I do 3 sets of ten reps, with a short break in between for a total of 30 reps. You could also do 2 sets of 15, that way you don't feel like you're at one machine forever. I add weight if it's too easy, remove weight when I can no longer lift. If you can, bring a buddy! I highly recommend it. If you don't have a buddy and you're going it alone, ask an employee of your gym (if you're joining a gym) for help. They usually give free tours and/or 2 free personal training sessions. You can learn a TON from that!

And don't forget to stretch! Good luck!

-YNR

They say too heavy weights for girls can make you bulk up. Do lots of lighter reps to build lean muscle.

I don't follow a particular program, I actually googled different types of weight and bodyweight training workouts and made up my own routines.

I found the videos on http://www.nerdfitness.com really helpful.

Good luck! Weight training is really awesome for you!

Please stop perpetuating this myth! I lift HEAVY weights! Check out my goal photos and I think we can all agree that I am not bulky.

Ugh, this makes me so mad. Women should lift heavy, it's good for them.

One program you could try if you don't like free weights is Pilates. Last year I purchased Windsor Pilate's Dvds and they make you work! Also, the results come pretty quick. If you do prefer free weights, I recommend the Chalean Extreme dvds. I typically shy away from free weights, but chalean makes it doable for anyone especially women. Oh and you will tighten up pretty fast as long as you follow the schedule and eat properly.
I hope this helps!

False.

Heavier weights help tone and slim. I am restarting weight lifting after not doing anything for a couple months. My lower body has always been stronger than my upper, so my range for my lower is 110 - 55 pounds and for my upper 15 - 35 pounds. When I first started in January, I think my lower range was 60 - 35 and my upper 5 - 20. In the first couple months, I lost no pounds but went down a dress size and saw my body really change. Then I did nothing for 2 months I've only lost (at most) about 5 pounds of strength in my upper and none in my lower.... but i lost cardio/stamina!

Lifting weights helps! Just don't get discouraged if you don't lose weight - your body will change (for the better!) and you will lose inches.

Thank you for sharing this website! Totally love it!

Ditto sontaikle. I hate that people truly believe this. I lift heavy weights, and you know why I'm still bulky? It's because I still have too much body fat. Has absolutely nothing to do with the weights I lift. As the body fat comes off, I continue to look better and better precisely because I lift heavy weights, since I'm losing mostly fat instead of a combination of fat and muscle mass.

I'm wearing clothes at my current weight that I previously only fit into 20 lb lighter because of the way lifting has tightened up my body, and isn't being smaller the point? If that's not an advertisement for heavy lifting, I don't know what is.

ETA: I also highly recommend NerdFitness. I looooove that place.

I use Sparkpeople and they give me a free strength training workout list that I do Tuesdays and Thursdays (called the Bikini Workout for Beginners, ha...). I really like how I can easily exchange the moves. For example, one move they had me doing was lunges, but they hurt my knees too much so I exchanged for squats and it remembers day to day what I changed it to.

I use 8 pound hand weights for now, and a set of Gold's Gym brand resistance bands I bought at Walmart. The bands came with a workout video, but after only 3 weeks of working out, it is still too advanced for me.

After only 2 days a week for 3 weeks I have noticed a huge difference in my body and energy levels and strength. I can pick up my 3 year old again.

I really can't wait until I can do some heavier lifting again like I did in high school. I really love weight lifting but have to take it slow because I have high blood pressure.

Hi, Thanks so much for all the advice, going to look into it all and see what suits me best!

Fitness models lift CRAZY HEAVY, and they are NOT BULKY-- they are lean and toned. Don't be afraid to lift heavy!! You can only build so much muscle as a woman.

Some people prefer a total body workout, some prefer to break up the different muscle groups into separate days. Just remember to rest your body adequately. If you work your muscles too often, you won't continue to see results, rather you will continuously tear the muscle fibers and not allow them to build back up.

That being said, you have to be pretty hardcore to train to the level of depreciating your muscle mass in a lifting program. As long as you're not in pain, it's generally safe to lift those muscles again.

There are so many books out there, and I think they're generally good at explaining how to do the exercises-- the routine however-- depends on you. I absolutely HATE working every muscle in my body in a single day. I do two muscle groups (i.e. back and biceps) in a single day, 3 sets of 12 reps. And I let my BODY tell me how heavy to lift. Meaning, I want to barely be able to do my 11th and 12th rep. On the 3rd set, I'm nearly crying. Some may say this is too much exertion, but it definitely works!


-> don't forget to use a exercise log to document how much you are lifting, so that you can tell if you're actually making any progress in the gym.

-> I do something similar to this while I'm at the gym, in case I can't finish the reps or I lift heavier in subsequent reps (every bit that you can tell you've progressed will keep you motivated to continue):


Make sure you start something you enjoy. If you're taken to the brink of quitting, it's because you're over- or under-training.

Get ready to love the pain of sore muscles

What kind of strength training do you want to do? Pushups are INCREDIBLY good for your upper body. I personally like weightlifting a lot. When I first started I used the beginner's guides on stumptuous.com as a reference: http://www.stumptuous.com/category/starting

Lifting rules. I generally only lift twice a week (Monday & Thursday) and have seen great results. I can eat more and I'm getting leaner and stronger. I do lift as heavy as I can for the exercises I do. You won't get bulky unless you eat way above maintenance...and even then you'll just get fat, not bulky.

I get really bothered when people say it makes us bulky. Women at the gym used to tell me this all the time. Now that they see I'm SMALLER they have shut up and started lifting heavy! Lol!!!

I would totally high five you if I met you IRL!

Nerdfitness is awesome; I love it too. The only thing that doesn't work for me over there is the Paleo diet. It makes me tired

Great! Good luck! If you have any questions just post them in the thread and we'll all come running

Have fun with it!