Where to start with weights?

[longpathtohappiness]

Kettlebells or dumbbells?
How heavy to start?
Good youtube recommendations?
Twice a week enough?

A lot of women in here recommend Caroline Girvan so maybe have a look at her?

Even if it’s not realistic for you to join a local gym long term, maybe sign up to one long enough to have a session or two with one of their personal trainers, who will be able to give you advice on how to start, what weights to begin with, etc.

How old are you? Good form is crucial....so if you can afford it hire a pt...or do as pp has suggested

You’ll probably get better advice on this from women who work out at home, but I’ve been weightlifting at my gym for 6 months & the weights I’m using now are quite a bit heavier than the ones I started with. Also you’ll want different weights for different exercises.

So for home use I’d go for 2 adjustable dumbbells & an adjustable barbell.

The weight is not the most important part it is doing the form properly. You build up to more weight over time

Caroline Girvan is good tbh. It shows you the form and it is slow. Slow extension of muscles is what will help grow/strengthen them because it’s the full extension of them that you need to complete a full rep.

one kettlebell does limit you a little if you want to do certain exercises although most can be adapted to one KB so I have kbs and have adjustable dumbbells/barbell up to 20kg and I change them for whatever I am doing. I know I could deadlift more than 20kg but I would need to do that at a gym. it is only once I find things really easy at home (which isn’t yet) that I will go do that.

With Caroline Girvan you are getting 20-40 seconds of reps then rest in most of her videos, which I think is useful and then you do repeated sets/reps. You can count reps yourself but it is actually useful to have the timer on screen. I don’t always go as heavy as she does and if I am lighter I might do more reps than she does

I was worried about hurting myself so I started out on machine weights as they have all the seating set up and it’s very controlled. I worked up to free weights when I felt more confident about not hurting myself. Boringly I also watched a lot of YouTube videos about good form

you need to know what you can lift/pull at least 10-15 times in a row. So I can lift something heavy maybe once or twice but this is just a few reps so not really much use. I know I can lift 8kg (4kg each arm) above my head in a shoulder press at least 15 times x 3 sets and by the last set it will be quite hard. Once it’s not hard anymore I will go to 10kg. Start with something light and see what you can do comfortably

I wouldn’t watch anything with people who ego lift - this is just lifting something super heavy! Also there is a lot of crap on Instagram with people doing stupid form like arching their backs to chest press on a bench or constantly going on about Bulgarian squats being the only way to grow a glute

Also it’s good to work with someone about protecting your knees. This is so important! No leg locking. Maybe a PT is a good place to start. 😂

You could start with just bodyweight eg
Plank
Side plank
Push ups
Wall sits
Shoulder taps
Squats
Lunges

But again form is everything ...especially so for squats and lunges

Upper body, lower, both?

Focus on form before going heavy. Personally I would join a gym as you won’t be limited to just the weights you have at home and you can start going heavier with lower body.

You need to work all the muscles, so using this list won't be good for you, because it misses out the 'pull' muscles.

Chest press
Overhead shoulder press
Pull up
Row
Bulgarian split squat

That list will cover what you need. Buy some of these
Buy Opti Cast Iron Dumbbell Set - 20kg | Dumbbells | Argos
One of these
Buy Opti Weight Lifting Bench | Weight benches | Argos
And one of these
yorkfitness.com/products/york-suspension-trainer?variant=45510699417846&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOopi1uw1rhZCmbMxjII8jg-BHp67RAUHH_7Ivwd03kzfr9Jr7Nmh3VA

And look at this:
ExRx.net : Exercise Directory

Get a PT who isn't posting you stuff online if this doesn't give you the confidence to get your form right.

Exhaustion is key. Aim to lift each weight 12 times, twice, with a minute gap between, and with the last two or three being pretty hard work.

Warm up first, cool down and stretch afterwards.

Take care of your cardio (you didn't ask about that so I won't write details)

That's a general guide, without asking what you want. It can be varied if you're looking to get slim, or if you're looking to build lots of strength, or if you're looking to get in shape for a particular sport or event.

They were examples not a workout guide

Cool. Good to make that clear for a novice asking what they should do.

It was clear. I said they were examples. Of course recommending pull ups and equipment they don't need as a beginner is fine. OP could just as easily start with a simple resistance band.

Tracy Steen on youtube has some great beginners' workouts with dumbbells. I would say that's a good starting point as she's much less intimidating than some other instructors if you're completely new to it. She gives suggested weights too (although they are in pounds so I roughly half them).

Good-oh.

Wasn't clear to me, so I assumed it might not be for OP.

But I'm sure you're right.

Lifting something super heavy is called powerlifting not ego lifting for goodness sake.
The 'stupid form' you mention of having an arch in a bench press is also powerlifting and protects your back. You get shoulder stability, lat spread to spread the load and also enables a leg drive to further protect your back.

Hear hear, @Yearendjoy . I think there are things going on in the gym/on YouTube that not everybody understands, and if it's not in their own realm of understanding, they think it's silly.

That said, Powerlifting videos and tips would be a very bad idea for OP as a beginner, and it is worth pointing that out.

Absolutely agree!

It is absolutely stupid for most people especially beginners to think this is a form that is what is required or necessary. It would take years of careful training to do those but what you see on reels is someone just randomly doing it. If you was to do it and you have no idea what you were doing you would injure yourself badly. the videos are irresponsible in that way. Yes most of I see on Instagram is ego lifting. They wear nice gym outfits to show you 2 reps of something crazy and most of the time they aren’t even sweaty. you can tell who is a power lifter and who is just an instagram gym bunny. I can film myself lifting something heavy twice, doesn’t make me a power lifter! Be careful of what you see on social media was my main message a lot of it is rubbish. Doesn’t explain anything about form at all is just people saying ‘look at my PR!’

itsdrglutes is very funny to follow on instagram
Henley fitness also is quite honest and up front

@Menora

You clearly know best.

I’ve trained with two different PTs and having correct form for bench press is incredibly important. It’s not ego boosting or showing off, and I’m definitely not a ‘gym bunny’. The arch and correct feet placement is to stop you injuring yourself.

Agree and lifting heavier has it's place. 10-15 reps is, for most programmes, too many reps, it's not going to challenge enough to actually build any muscle (which, by the way, is very challenging for women)
Sweating or not depends on the individual. I sweat doing just about everything. Some people barely sweat at all.

I started with the Caroline Girvan iron programme using 2 x 5kg dumbbells for arms and 2 x 8kg for legs. You could start with just body weight and a yoga mat.

Weights are great. I’d book a few sessions with a PT for advice, form, and a plan. You need to go reasonably heavy to see good results and form
is so important to avoid injury

have a look locally to see if there’s any body conditioning classes - these really taught me about safe lifting so I didn’t get injured. I now go to the gym twice a week and do weights at home most days even if it’s 10 minutes. I’ve virtually got rid of my bingo wings (currently loving my arms despite being a stone over weight … that’s more bum and tummy issues). I have 3kg and 5kg dumbbells. It’s about slow and controlled moves rather than power lifting huge weights.