Lots of beginner questions

[ChanceEauFraiche]

I’m 45 and a healthy weight but untoned, unfit and pretty sedentary. I want to build strength and tone up all over (I’ve got bingo wings, skinny but untoned legs, saggy bum and big menopausal belly!).

I’ve bought myself a barbell and set of dumbbells with adjustable weight. Don’t have a bench,

I really can’t afford a personal trainer or gym membership, so am reliant on You Tube, books etc and ideally would like a basic programme I can follow. I’m committed!

My questions:

1. What (simple!) programme can I follow?
2. Do I need to do whole body weight exercises or should I be splitting up days into legs, arms, core etc?
3. How many a times a week should I aim for?

I can find loads of articles about lifting weights online, and a lot of hiit videos or other cardio workouts that incorporate weights, but for now I really just want to learn some basic weight lifting exercises and set up a good routine. Feeling overwhelmed.

Any advice very gratefully received!

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=epic+beginner

I use Caroline Girvan. Loads of workouts. All free. There is a Facebook page also.

i aim for 4-5 days a week

im very similar by the sounds of it as feel vey weak lately, I found this as a beginner
I found Caroline Givan good but I struggled as it felt quite advanced for a complete beginner 😳I used to have good cardio fitness but seem to have lost everything this last year after injury stopped me running.

Thanks all!

Ive bookmarked Caroline G but find her a bit intense for a complete beginner. Maybe in a few weeks time! .

@MermaidSwimming99 that video is perfect, thank you! Think I’ll do that for a few weeks and see how I get on.

Hope you get on ok. I did one session then couldn’t walk properly due to DOMS for next 48hrs 😳this is despite me dog waking daily and cycling/swimming 3-4x a week. I hope to carry on through the 6wk school hols and see some difference!

Start light. Really light! Anyone (regardless of their strength) feels sore the first couple of times they exercise after a break. Take it easy, and after the first couple of times this won't be a problem.

In terms of whether you split or do whole body - this really comes down to how often you train. If you are going to do a workout 1-3 times a week, full body is ideal. If you want to train more than that, you split, so that each body part is worked a max of 2-3 times a week and is relatively rested on the other days (eg legs take a break on chest day). I wouldn't personally recommend a split for a beginner, it can lead to lots of exercises to learn,imbalances if you can't keep the original momentum, and personally I think it's better to keep things simple.

I don't follow an online programme but I always base my workouts around these core exercises and there will be loads of examples online if you want to start -

Deadlift (can be done with dumbbells or barbell depending on what you've got)
Dumbbell floor press (to replace bench press)
Some core work - my favourite due to back issues are reverse crunches

One arm dumbbell row
Squat (goblet squat if with dumbbells)
Dumbbell overhead press

My main advice for a beginner would be avoid doing anything with weights at speed for now. Hiit and weights based cardio have their place, but you really want to be doing slow and controlled movements to start with, giving time to focus on where you can feel your muscles, where you need to tense, where you're stiff, your balance etc. Hiit is done at speed so you're much more likely to injure yourself through bad form or a bad landing.
Also, be aware a lot of online exercise videos seem to have the idea that you should feel 'punished' at the end of it. You should feel better at the end of a workout than when you started.

OP try website such as self.com, health line and womenshealthmag.com, they have great at home workouts that are really well explained with photos etc, much easier to follow than mad YouTube fitness instructors aimed at very fit people getting fitter. You need to concentrate on getting your form correct to avoid injury, then add weight and reps and so forth

Fantastic, thanks so much for taking the time to reply. @Paintsplat @GreyTS

I’m taking in all the advice and going to look at some of the websites mentioned. Determined to do this!

I know pp has said to start light and you should while you master the moves but ultimately you’ll make a bigger difference faster if you use weights as heavy as you can safely manage and do fewer reps. Body pump etc is great but more cardio in it’s impact than strength because you’ve got to have a lighter weight to be able to complete the sheer number of moves. I stated with Joe wicks books 2 & 3 which both include suggested weights in their exercise section. I suspect someone will have posted an outline his exercise plans online somewhere. I’ve now recently joined a CrossFit gym. I’m mid 40s. I love how it makes me feel. I’m still a bit overweight but I’m stronger, more flexible and fitter than I have ever been! Good luck & enjoy.

If you want 60 days of the peloton app I have a link
There's a total strength 1 and 2 programme on there plus various yoga/boot camp classes and you can filter by time/body part/instructor
It also has barre classes which are... tough

(I don't gain anything from sharing the link and it's unlimited so anyone can use it, if you cancel before 60 days it's free or it's £12.99pm after)
You can use a phone or iPad or cast to a TV

I'm doing a cycling challenge for august then going to start the total strength in sept when I've got some weights!

Tbh, I've always trained pretty much the same as my partner, who's in great shape. Maybe just less focus on isolation exercises like bicep/triceps etc, but I still do them as they get rid of bingo wings etc.

My routine is a simple 3 day full body workout that rotates two workouts (ABA one week and BAB the next). Squat/bench/row on one day and deadlift/overhead press/pull ups (or pull down machine) on the the other day. I do chuck in some isolations like rear delts for shoulder health/balance and abs occasionally.

I feel like focusing on strength keeps me lean and strong without the hypertrophy/bulk of higher rep stuff. I'm sumo deadlifting 140kg noe (my 1rm) and I don't look like a tank/chunky.

In your situation, I'd probs get a bench and then do something like the following.

Workout A

• Goblet (dumbbell) squats
• Bench press
• Bent over/pendlay rows with barbell or one arm dumbbell row

Workout B

• Deadlift (conventional or sumo)
• Overhead press
• Pullups

Sounds like the stronglifts 5x5. You can download the app for free and it has all the videos etc included.

I am on 2nd week and its is pretty good. Its quite difficult to hold yourself back from doing to much too quickly but in a couple of months i expect i will be thankfull of starting slowly.

Only big issue for me is having enough weights variation to keep up with the 2.5kg increase each time.

It's very similar. It's pretty much the same as Starting Strength, which is the original one that influenced SL - just modified for having no squat rack.

Main difference is that SS is 3x5 and SL is 5x5. However, the two become closer with time as 5x5 says you can drop to 3x5 when the weights get heavier.

I'm doing 3x5 as there's no way I can manage 5x5 anymore. It was around the 90kg mark that it just became too much and became worried about my form breaking down. I hit a 140kg single two years ago, before covid, and I've just restarted proper training again. I really want to get back there but my core strength has dwindled a lot and I'm nowhere close atm.

Fantastic figures. Hopefully i will be somewhere near in the future, fingers crossed. I didnt go with 1RM, i just started with empty bar so only just getting close to 40kg now. Overhead press is going to be very slow going.

I always recommend MegSquats. She has some paid-for online programmes, but loads of free content on YouTube & Instagram. She is fantastic & very human & straightforward. Her aim is to get a barbell into every woman's hands.

Sometimes, she'll do an event on Instagram where she invites women to send videos of them lifting & she'll give feedback on form.

The other people I like are AchieveFitness on Instagram - loads of content & advice.

And no, I'm no relation to either of these fitness people, nor am I employed by them - I got the recommendations from here at Mumsnet!

You could also look at the 5 x 5 programme (there's an app).

These are proper powerlifting/weightlifting people - when I watch Girvan's stuff it looks more like aerobics & conditioning to me - the Body Pump model, which will tone, but won't help you build muscle.

The REAL problem though, is that you could injure yourself with bad form, particularly if you add weights. I've seen some appalling squat form in the gym (in Body Pump classes mainly). Once you go heavy (lifting your bodyweight or more) good form is essential. Also, good technique will help you lift more weight.

So you might do well to sign up to an online programme (I think MegSquats' Stronger by the Day is around $US10 per month) which offers the opportunity to film yourself and get feedback.

exrx.net/Lists/Directory

Brilliant for making sure you're doing each exercise correctly. I'd recommend a mirror so you can check your form. We're not always doing what we think we're doing!