Want to start lifting at the gym - advice please

'New Rules of Lifting for Women' has been mentioned above. I was a complete beginner but am using this and I love it. My shape has changed and I feel so much better.

Another friend who has lost lots of weight and is so fit and happy with her shape recommends Mike Matthews 'Bigger, Leaner, Stronger'. You can read his stuff via Facebook too and some of it is pretty impressive.

Now I just need to take my own advice and get to the gym a bit more!

In addition to Megan's question, can anyone advise me on weight training routines, no of reps and sets etc?

I'm a few weeks into a gym membership and getting used to the exercises but other than eg 3-4 sets of 10, I'm wanting to try some different sessions with changes in weights eg heavier weights, less reps, or the alternate.

Thanks all!

Sorry to interrupt - I'm new to weights and my personal trainer instructed me to start with body weight resistance training - anyone got any good exercises to start me off? Thanks!

I like that faint soreness the next day. It's not pain, really, so much as a tightness. You'll know you've overdone it if you still feel fatigued two days later. I once did a leg workout that fatigued me for a couple of days, and I knew that had been too hard. However, it's normal to find yourself feeling slightly shaky going down stairs later that same day.

I love lifting weights. I like it because you vary what you're doing so it doesn't get boring. I like some things about cardio, too, but there's nothing to do but put in the time. (Although HIIT can shorten that... it's just a few minutes of utter misery verses a half hour of mild discomfort.)

I do lifting through Crossfit (I'm saying that for disclosure rather than as advice because all crossfit gyms operate completely on their own programs, so it's only as good as the individual gym. My particular gym does a 4 week train and test cycle and has a strong focus on lifting but this isnt typical. I like having the classes as it helps me really maintain my form.

The focus is entirely free weights (vs machines), and it's typically dead lifts, front and back squats, and then clean work (hang clean, clean and press etc), push press etc. Very little dedicated ab work but I find that your core gets strengthened through, especially overhead work.

You get a good result and it's defintiely one of the most time efficient ways to get in shape.

I also do a lot of trail running, which is my cardio stuff, plus Crossfit classes usually include a 15 minute HIT session at the end which incorporates stuff like Kettlebell get ups, pull ups, box jumps etc.

pole The post workout aching will lessen as you get used to lifting. You'll still have some soreness, but you'll be functional the next day.

Oh this is a good thread I'm joining

I had a session with a personal trainer on Sunday, I hardly did any cardio (I hate cardio) and lots of lifting, my body ached so much for days. I quite like the ache but i also do pole classes on Thursdays and I need my body to be functional for the class.

So if for example I did lifting on Fridays and maybe Mondays I could still pole on Thursdays, does that sound like enough to get in shape?

I could ideally do with loosing nearly 2 stone and I know my diet is the issue, I find it so hard not to eat chocolate I have been looking online for carb free homemade chocolate desserts, any tips?

I am also upping my protein

Lotta - don't feel embarrassed. We all go through this. Not least because lifting is seen as such a 'male' thing. It tools me years to be confident taking my space in the gym and not to feel self conscious. Remember too that many, many men don't actually know what they are doing but they don't realize it. I've had men try and correct my form when I was deliberately varying an exercise to isolate a particular muscle group. I just plug myself into ear phones and zone out now. It helps too at the beginning to know exactly what you are going to do when you get into the gym. Write it down and just work your way through it methodically. Use the framework I set out above as a starting point.

Leaving weights on the bar - it depends, sometimes it means, I am coming back to do another set. Sometimes it means, I am a last arse who doesn't know gym etiquette. Best thing to do is ask whether they are done (or whether you can work in a set).

I don't view body pump as 'lifting'

I think they're a great thing to do, but they're too cardio to be "lifting". They are, however, what got me into the weights room. If you enjoy them, do them! I still take part on occasion when I fancy a bit of a change.

Sorry to hijack here but what do you serious lifters think about body pump type classes?

Long term lifter currently taking a break during pregnancy. I really found ultrafit magazine useful when I started as plenty of routines and tips for beginners but a proper magazine about getting fit not loads of beauty and fashion. Most important thing is to change it every 6 wks or so. Experiment with different types of routine. I found Peripheral Heart Action really useful for shedding fat and getting lean. I also second whole body workouts every other day when starting out. You only need to split routines if working out every day. Weights is the way forward and far too many women avoid them for fear of 'bulking up' (total myth!!). Good luck with it!

I'm also a pretty serious lifter. I think a basic framework to start with can help with confidence. I'd saw someone else give the following advice on a weight training site recently and thought it was a great starting point for novices. Do:

one exercise which works both legs at the same time
one exercise which works one leg at a time
horizontal push
horizontal pull
vertical push
vertical pull

If you stick to something simple like this, no matter what gym you walk into or what's available, you can almost always get a good, full-body workout in.

So, concretely an example of the above might be (although there are lots of other variations):

2 leg exercise -- squat
1 leg exercises -- lunge or step up
horizontal push -- chest press
horizontal pull -- seated row
vertical press -- overhead press
vertical pull -- lat pulldown

This framework works because you're push and pulling in equal measure and you're not neglecting the big muscles in your legs. As you get more confident, you can build out from there.

Ginger - I felt like that, went in and the guys were v helpful!

Just need to get into a routine of going now!!

Watching this thread with interest. The 5x5 link is great Hermonie, just what I needed something simple to get started with.

Is it daft to be a little nervous in the gym when you've never done anything like this before? I use the cardio machines and a couple of the weight machines but never gone in to the weight lifting area - there's always men in that part. I just know I'm going to do something stupid!

more total calories Lotta, and keeping food as clean and basic as possible, no junk, no processed food.
I've never really gotten into low carb and while I eat an adequate amount of protein Im not sure that high levels of protein are all that good for you

I eat more protein than I used to - and more calories and stay thinner. Lifting is marvellous! I tend to aim for 2g protein per kilo of bodyweight or thereabouts and it seems to work for me. It can be very personal though.

Correct form on compound exercises will engage your core but there's no harm in sticking in an abs circuit a couple of times a week. I do 10 each of leg raises, crunches, reverse crunches and Russian twists for four rounds with no rest. It's a killer!

Well done on getting started today! And don't worry about the putting weights on someone else's bar - I'm forever stealing weights from people/getting in the way as I'm in my own little world!

You can put short cardio exercises in between your weight exercises: burpees, lunges, squats on a bosu etc. That works well.

tbh I'm not sure that we need 'lifting for women' I tell her to train like a man

I've not read the new rules book so cant comment, my daughter said she found it disappointing

for abs I mostly do crunches, but there's a huge variety of things you can do for abs, try different things, the soreness next day will help to tell whats effective

The new rules of lifting for women book is a good one for you to read, it has some routines which might be helpful for you.