[TxBrittany]

I just started weight training last week, I'm on the 5-factor fitness plan and diet. My question is, as a total newbie to weights, what amount of weight should I be using for my dumbbells? I'm embarrassed to say that my arms are ridiculously weak! So what would be a good starting weight, and about how often should I be moving up in weight?

Thanks for the help!

-Britt

[baffled111]

Hey,

I don't know the specifics of your plan, but the idea is that you should choose a weight heavy enough that you can finish 3 sets of 10 reps. You should be exhausted by the end of the third set. If finishing the three sets is pretty easy, you need to be lifting heavier.

I think there are many plans for moving up on your weights. The experts will probably weigh in to help you. My personal method is that once I can complete 3 sets of 12 with a given weight, I increase and start with 3x10 and build up to 3x12. That is my personal, completely unscientific method (but I have been increasing steadily, so I guess it's working).

[kaw]

Hi!

Start with a weight that you can lift for 8-12 reps using good form. If you can do more than 12 reps, go up in weight. If you can't get 8 without "cheating," i.e., breaking form, go down in weight. Do 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions; if all three sets seem about equally easy, then odds are pretty good that you could go up in weight.

The dumbbells you use will vary depending on the exercise and the muscles you're using, so it will require some experimentation. Take along a little notebook and write down your lifts so that you can remember where to start next time.

The good form is key: e.g., don't turn a biceps curl into some ridiculous full-back-extension-swinging-grunt thing like you see so many people (usually college-aged men) at the gym doing. (If you're at a gym.) If it means using a lighter weight than everyone else to start out with, so be it.

As for how often to go up in weight, it really depends on the weight at which you start, which body part and exercise, what the jump in weight is to the next-heaviest dumbbell, how often you train, how much protein you're eating, how much sleep you're getting and/or stress you're under, and so forth. "Newbies" generally increase lifts faster than people who have been training for a while, in part because their bodies are still learning the new motions, but it is still going to be highly variable.

Don't be embarrassed about what you lift! First of all, no one at the gym really cares: they're concentrating on their own workouts, not yours. Second, everyone starts somewhere, and you'll get stronger if you stick with it. And third, keep in mind that you paid the same amount for your membership as Jane BodyBuilder (well, unless she's getting a discount under a sponsorship deal), and hence you have as much right to the gym space.

Kim

[TxBrittany]

Thanks for the advice guys!