Lifting weights?

[AlwaysSunshine81]

I am keen to start lifting weights but don’t feel confident going into the weights section at my gym. I normally do body pump/ combat and have started doing gym floor stuff, cardio and weight machines. I really want to do heavy weights. Should I make up my own routine and do it or get a personal trainer?

You could look on Instagram for some routine inspiration and make some notes of a routine on your phone so you can check it if you forget. There’s often some good videos on Instagram.

If you do pump already you will be confident with a lot of good exercises. Convert them into the gym by doing those exercises but heavier weights and do 3x sets of 8-12 reps. If you manage 3 sets of 12 reps you need to increase weight.

Great thank you! I just get confused with what I would need to do for a full body workout!

I just tried to look on instagram but I have no idea how to search stuff!

Deadlifts
Weighted squats
Weighted lunges
Bicep curls
Triceps work (weight behind your head and then up like in pump)
Lateral arm raises
Forward arm raises
Trap shrugs
Weighted hip thrusts using the bench to rest on, barbell on top of your hips
Triceps kick backs.
Some shoulder work so something like Arnie presses?

That’s pretty much what I do, then trundle off to,some core work, then use some of the machines like leg press, the pull up platform machine thing (get someone to show you that if your gym has one), inverted sit up bench. Then stretches. Then cake!

Wow that’s fab thanks! I can do that! Thank you! RUNSOFFTOGOOGLETHOSEEXERCISES!

Search for stuff like #gymroutine #gymvideos #gyminspiration #womenwholift #workoutvideo #weightlifting

Ignore the gazillion photos of people posting shots of their bum/abs/etc and find the videos. You will probably find a few people who post a steady stream of decent videos and then follow them.

My gym has weights in one area that doesn’t have mirrors which annoys me and then the area where all the men go and weights and mirrors but I’m scared to go in there lol!!!

Get in there. Don’t be intimidated by them! Good luck.

If you can then it would be best to get a PT for 2-3 sessions, just to check your form with free weights, especially if you are aiming to lift heavy. It’s important not to get it wrong but very easy to do so, particularly with things like deadlifts and squats with heavy weights.

I can’t top the advice you’ve already had from @VivaLeBeaver as it’s excellent, but just wanted to come along & be a cheerleader for weightlifting! It is very nerve-wracking going into free weights sections sometimes but absolutely worth it. I wish I’d started proper weightlifting & powerlifting years ago. It’s so good for your mental & physical well-being.

I fall in and out of love with weights all the time. I'd really love to start Olympic weightlifting but for that you absolutely need a trainer and a proper gym. Anyone have any recommendations for such a place in South Wales?

I was in your situation not too long ago and I booked a session with a personal trainer - both to get me over the initial hurdle of going into the male-dominated weights section, and to check that my form on the heavy compound lifts was okay and I wasn't going to hurt myself, because I was worried about that too.

Now I absolutely love lifting and do it by myself all the time.

Aww thank you everyone! I’m gonna do it!! Might book a session with a personal trainer or attempt or on my own! Just been reading up on it all

If you are going to try to lift heavy on your own then I cannot stress the importance of doing thorough research on technique first. From several sources, too, because if you happen upon an idiot site first you have no way of knowing if you are getting bad advice. If most of the sites agree then you can be pretty sure the advice is OK. I recommend Girls Gone Strong, T Nation, Livestrong and the Athlean X channel on You Tube is good (geared towards men but the principles are the same). Really, though, my advice would be to get a session or two with a PT.

Agree with everyone - get some PT and weightlifting is wonderful! I am 52 and only been doing it for the last year or two.

If your gym is reasonably friendly, maybe make clear to the men (assuming there aren't many women in the free weights area) that you are happy to talk. I have a (male) gym buddy who is more experienced but have also had loads of useful advice from other people on the floor, although I think men can (rightly and understandably) be wary of approaching women. I tend to nod and smile at anyone I recognise and sooner or later you start chatting,. I have had nothing but encouragement from the guys and if I ever need help (if someone has left heavy weights high up say or I am learning to use new piece of kit), I get it without any huffing or patronising.

www.muscleandstrength.com/
Look on here for workout, plus you can click on exercises for a video to show you how to perform.

Have a look at MegSquats on Instagram & YouTube. I think she's great. There's a subscription programme with her as well, but I don't know about that.

The other Instagram account I follow is Achieve Fitness (Boston) - someone here recommended them & they are great! Lots of good videos on Insta about form & technique.

The two main lifts for going heavy that you can do on your own reasonably safely are
deadlifts
squats

But please, make sure you use correct form. I lift quite heavy & also do Body Pump & I see such bad form in pump classes.

The main fault I see is that people don't get the hip hinge properly at the start of a squat, and they let their head and chests go down with the squat. Squatting - you need to keep head up, and shoulders back, and stick your butt out, and put your weight in your heels.

It could be useful to do a few sessions with a PT at your gym, to learn correct lifting techniques.

And re the number of reps - I tend to do sets of 5 lifts if I"m going heavy. So an everyday training weight for me is usually around 60kg deadlift - 5 sets of 5 reps with about 2 minutes between each set. Or if I want to go a bit heavy, I'll just do sets of 3 at 70 or 75kg.

But only do that twice a week at most!

Oh, and my (male) trainer put me onto BroScience (YouTube & Insta) for a very silly send up of the showy offy 'bro' lifting. It's hilarious.

I love this on 'leg day':

Just wanted to say good luck there's some great advice on here! It's completely normal to feel wary of moving into the weights area of the gym. I started out attending classes, then became an instructor (pump, combat, etc) and it was years before I plucked up the courage to go into the "Testosterzone" and I still have wobbles now sometimes.

I'd say there are three main things to consider (that I didn't expect beforehand) when transitioning from pump...

1. The range is completely different. Pump is massively modified to be as safe as possible in a group environment. Your PT may expect you to be able to get to the bottom of a squat for example to be able to pick a bar off the floor for a full range deadlift, when actually you might struggle (depending on your flexibility) you might need to work on stretching (like bodybalance/yoga) to help. Instead of a full deadlift, maybe try a rack pull first to get used to the weight in a smaller range of motion.
2. There aren't as many "rules". This might be more obvious, but I struggled with it. I wanted a full on plan... what moves we were doing, what order we were doing them in, why we were doing that number of reps/sets/weight selection, etc etc. I struggled to get my head around that the plan might change or that I might need to swap to a drop set or something. I got the hang of it in the end, but it took a lot of time to even just get tempo out of my head!
3. You might not feel like you've "done" enough. You're used to doing around 1000 reps in an hour, working every single muscle group, sometimes in combos. Whereas in the gym you might only do as little as 4 exercises in one session, and definitely less reps than usual. It's also ok just to stick to "upper body" for example. And that's fine, don't be disappointed if that's how you feel at first.

I don't want this to put you off at all, it's just things you should be aware of, and know that it's normal.

One final thing... whatever you learn in the weights room, keep for the weights room. Your technique etc will improve for pump by using the gym, but please stick to your correct pump form in pump classes or your instructors will have a panic attack 😂

Any questions, ask away!
Good luck!!