Thread: Weight Training for Beginners

Originally Posted by outdoors30

For the beginners, I want to remind you that your aim is to improve your health.
You can't improve your health if you injure yourself, so exercise with caution and safety, ask if you are uncertain,
and exercise with someone else if possible.

Everyone's aim SHOULD be to improve their health, but the reality is that this isn't the case. As a trainer I try as hard as I can to steer someones goals into the direction of excellent health and how important it is - but many people have to learn this lesson the hard way unfortunately.

Originally Posted by outdoors30

Also, bear in mind that when you're lifting weights, you are literally tearing your muscles.
The result of this done properly and with the proper nutrition, is larger muscles.
It takes a day of rest for the muscles you exercised to heal. So don't work the same
muscle group(s) two days in a row.

Damaging and tearing down muscle is certainly what is happening in the gym, but muscle hypertrophy (growth) is only one kind of adaptation. If your muscles aren't growing in size it certainly doesn't mean you are wasting your time or doing something wrong. The vast majority of people strength training aren't realizing any appreciable difference in size, but they are certainly yielding tremendous health benefits from it. The one day of rest point is also not necessarily true. This is highly dependent on the individual and kind of training they are doing. I would change the point to read "It take a MINIMUM of 48 hours for muscles to recover for their next workout." My own personal recovery time is 4-6 days. What I teach people in their fitness education is that going by a strict number is a mistake. Learn to read and listen to what your body is telling you. When you get good at this you will know exactly when your muscles are ready for their next workout.

Originally Posted by outdoors30

Also, start every routine with cardio - treadmill, bike, etc.
Get your heart rate up and keep it up throughout the majority of your workout.
Work the abs first and work them the most. Having a strong core is going to
help you burn significantly more calories throughout the day and during your
workouts.

There is no need to start every workout with cardio. The general prevalent recommendation is that if you are going to do cardio and strength training all at the same gym visit, then cardio should be done last, however I always start everyone out on a cardio machine for a 5 minute whole body warm-up. This is important. There is no need to elevate your heart rate for a strength training session unless you are doing a circuit type training (crossfit, P90x, boot camp etc etc) Circuit training is great for those who are on a bit of a time crunch as it covers cardio and strength in one shorter session.



There is no need to work abs every day. Abs should be worked generally the same amount you work any other muscle group. Also keep in mind that abs in only one part of your core and should not be worked at the expense of the others. Some of the most well respected strength training legends in bodybuilding even recommend not training the abs at all. It is absolutely FALSE that significantly more calories will be burned if you have a strong core.

Originally Posted by outdoors30

To those with joint pain, back pain, excuses in general: Guess what?
Strengthening the muscle(s) around those joints and areas in pain will alleviate the stress that in turn is causing you pain.
It's generally recommended to work lighter weights and more reps in this case.

Generally this CAN be true, however strength training can also make these pains worse and can even cause more damage. SEE A DOCTOR TO MAKE SURE STRENGTH TRAINING IS SAFE FOR THESE JOINTS.

---------- Post added at 10:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 AM ----------

Originally Posted by WindMaker

Extremely helpful tutorial, just one thing when u do tell about building the up half of the body one should explain the use of waist belts for giving back support and also they prevent disc prolapse and the dreaded life long backache

The vast majority of people don't need them. With a strong core and proper techniques, unless you are powerlifting they just aren't necessary. Some people with back issues may need them, but this is rare in my experience.

---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 AM ----------

Originally Posted by bsbsbsbsbsbsbs

It's an OK tutorial I guess. But you should talk about the order you have to do these exercises in. You could mention core exercises as well. And for nutrition you can talk about slow burning carbs and fast burning carbs and when to take them.
Also goal setting is very important, especially for beginners.

A few points in response:

1) The order of the exercises isn't really important - especially in the beginning.

2) Specific targeting of the core muscles is also not important for a beginner. They usually get the core from other things we will be doing.

3) I teach against goal setting in the beginning as this often leads to quitting when said goals have been reached. I teach the concept of making a plan and specific strategies toward sticking to that plan. It works much better in my experience.

Nice tip. btw...I am very thin. lol

Originally Posted by mayur

Nice tip. btw...I am very thin. lol

An interesting point you make. Thin actually has very little to do with being healthy. Look at an anorexic. Do you think they are healthy? Yes I realize they are an extreme case but people often mistakenly think that if they are thin, they don't need to exercise, eat healthy or strength train. This could not be further from the truth.