Starting out with weight training - any programmes?

[OrangeSunset]

DH has just set up a gym at home, and I'm going to start weight training a couple of times/week.

Does anyone do this and have a good programme they'd be happy to share? I've done some reading and reckon a 30 minute programme twice a week would be a good starting point, but haven't managed to find a good programme online.

Does anyone have a programme they can share? I run/swim/cycle and would like to build lean muscle and strengthen my core.

What equipment do you have? Is it machines or free weights?

Both - one of the machines with a bench and the lat pull down pulley, and a selection of free weights

The New Rules if Lifting for Women literally transformed my body in 4 months. I'm now pregnant and fat but will definitely be going back to it. I got very strong very quickly and built long, lean muscles whilst losing a stone in weight. The best side effect of all was that I felt totally amazing, able to deadlift my body weight and lift more than lots of the lads at the gym.

Good stuff for body and mind :)

No programme needed, just good technique by following YouTube videos.. and maybe have a spotter or film yourself to check your form. I do 3 x 20 mins per week but heavy, low reps of about 4 different moves each workout. So as an example:

warm up
10 x kettlebell squats
10 x dumbell lunges (or kb, depending)
10 x star jumps
10 x dumbell curls

repeat 4 times.

scooby that book sounds interesting but quite full-on! I'm looking for strength training to compliment what I already do, rather than become the focus. Do you think it is useful in that context?

runner that sounds interesting - especially as you're doing 1 hour in total.

I'd like to create a bank of exercise so I can do a pick and mix to create what you've got above - otherwise I spend too much time faffing and thinking about what to do!

There was a good article in the times magazine at the weekend (Sat) on strength training with a good basic set of exercises for arms. They suggest working up from 2-4 kg to 12kg, but that seems unattainable for me! (I'm a committed weakling though)

Failing that - youtube or women's health online always have good ideas.

You'd be amazed how quick you can go up in weight. If you do low reps with high weight that is where adaptation happens. You don't need to do hours and hours, athletes don't when strength training.

I'd like to create a bank of exercises

google Crossfit WODs (workout of the day). They have loads like this, it's the only way I train now.

I'm lazy, so I really enjoyed 5x5 stronglifts. Doing 5 reps at a time makes me more likely to stick to it!

Thanks for the tip, runner, I'll try that.

I'm after leaner, more defined arms and core. So I need to do low reps and high weight for that?

I'm terribly creaky and generally a bit pathetic, and worry about high weight straining something!

Well you take it slowly, as in you start where you can and fatigue should come around rep 10-15. If you can do 20 reps of anything then it's too light. Definitely you will find that your arms tone up quickly and if you do things like mountain climbers, high and low planks, dumbell plank rows then you will find your core tightening up very fast, along with good nutrition obviously as that is the only thing that will strip fat.

Ok planks I can do!
In terms of nutrition - I ran a marathon last year and think I'm still in that mentality of burning huge amounts of calories in training, despite having dropped my mileage.

So what's the optimum nutrition strategy to strip fat? Low carb?

Ahh yes, the classic runner versus the lifter! Very very different nutrition strategies. The marathon was endurance feeding, this will be fat loss feeding. So yes, unprocessed, natural and whole foods. Lots of greens with every meal and snack. So loads of raw salady leafy things to accompany cans of tuna, salmon, prawns, chicken, turkey, eggs, nuts, seeds, full fat greek yoghurt, sweet potato or white potato maybe once every couple of days after a workout, brown rice too. Fruit, no more than 2-3 pieces per day, go for the least sugar and carbohydrate as you find sustainable. No point going all out with something then rebounding and diving head first in to the cookies. Just treat the junky food as a here and there treat (and alcohol).

So minimal carbs and sugar? I've been attempting to eat along these lines since January, and when I was really strict I certainly noticed a difference in bloating/leanness.

Do you follow this strategy, runner? Do you manage to feed DC in a similar way? I can't abide making 2 different dinners.

Well, children have a very different carbohydrate requirement than adults who want to cut! So no I don't give them the same all the time. I certainly cook the same but they definitely eat more along the lines of crackers, pitta breads, home made pizza bases, white rice, pasta along with the other wholesome things like caseroles/spag bol/chilli. I will eat things like that once a week as part of a saturday treat meal in front of the telly with them! But as a rule, no I don't eat the heavy carbs. I eat lots of cold chicken and salady stuff, always have a fridge full of preboiled eggs, washed salad sticks and frozen fruit in the freezer for the occasional smoothie if I am pushed for time and starving. Hope that helps!
p.s I learned all this from my PT and it's brilliant, now 3 years in and never felt better!

Interesting. We' don't eat much meat - not totally veggie but probably only have meat once/wee.

I have an extremely sweet tooth which is hard to overcome.

Has it had an effect on your energy as well as your body? When I cut stuff out in Jan, I enjoyed the flat stomach but still felt pretty knackered. And my running is awful at the moment - I was beginning to wonder whether this might be related to lack of carbs - lack of energy for the muscles.

Yep defo it will be related. You see, cardio is extremely high energy demanding so you cannot build any muscle when running so much and eating so little carbs. It's like chasing two hares. You either eat more to run more or eat less and run less. You have to learn your ceilings and tweak and adapt. With weight training you still need wholesome carbs but performance won't be as affected as running on low carb is. Does that help? Cardio increases cortisol which drives feeding too.

Eat all the beans if you're not big meat eaters! And quinoa, mozzarella or feta and olive salads, eggs, pickles, stuffed peppers, frittata, mushrooms, coleslaw, soups, lentil stews in the slow cooker..

Ok so I guess my ideal scenario is 2 runs, a swim, a bike ride and a couple of short strength sessions - hopefully resulting in a sprint tri in the summer.

So should I add a little more carbs and hope for a well balanced physique rather than lots of muscle?

The objectives for starting up with strength training is to tone up, and to make the cardio stuff easier and more balanced/strong. And to loose the flabby bits that didn't disappear despite marathon training!

My husband does triathlons and does not cut carbs at all, in fact, the opposite. I didn't know that's what you wanted so previous advice may not fit! You can't chase two hares. You can't lose fat AND gain endurance or muscle at the same time efficiently. You have to pick one and follow the guides for that one properly to see good results. If you dabble with two ideas you will get below average results. So a strength training session once or twice per week is good, and on your long swim/run/bike days if you are going hard for 60 mins or longer you will def need fuel before, so that you have stored glycogen ready to use. If you find you are weak during it then eat an extrea piece or two of fruit before the next one and see if that helps. Cutting carbs too much will make everything hard, after all it is our fuel. So eating a cutting or fat loss diet does not go hand in hand with triathlons at all. At the end of the day you need to learn what works for you, so the best way to do that is keep a diary notebook logging your food and exercise and measurements/body photos and then establish a pattern, assess it in 4-6 weeks and tweak it if it isn't working.

Going to have a look at the lifting book recommend further up. I started going to the gym recently but am I bit lost, doesn't help that after telling the man who did my induction he didn't take me into the proper weights area
I think I need a few PT sessions to get my form for deadlifts and squats.
I follow loads of bikini competitors on Instagram, would love to get the lean but still feminine look they have

Yes definitely do use a PT if you can for deadlifts and squats. Once you've learned it you can go it alone but it is still useful to sometimes ask for a form check as you forget sometimes what it is supposed to look like. I had to come off Instagram. It is so far detached from real life. They cut SO hard for those comps, causing serious metabolic damage.

Ha I did allude to it at the beginning but as its only a sprint tri it doesn't feel like a 'proper' triathlon!

So, I need more carbs than low carb and that should ease the crappy, exhausted runs that I've been enduring lately.

That still leaves me with the question of how to tone up my some what flabby arms and core . I don't want to chase 2 hares - I just want to be one toned and athletic hare! So how do I make my runners engine have a toned exterior?!

I know just what you mean! Of course that will happen naturally with weights, just go for it, you'll be fine! Heavy, low reps will make those muscles stand to attention and adapt to grow a bit bigger. Losing some body fat will help to reveal them, we've all got them!