Newbie: How Heavy?!

[lan02]

Hi All.

Been searching the forums and the net in general re this so hopefully it's not a stupid question or one that's been answered a million times before....

I've been generally unfit and obese for 15 years or so and decided to try to get into shape just over 3 months ago by setting up a basic home gym (bike, rower, bench, speedball, dumbells, barbells etc) and buying a road bike.

I've lost about three stone and been doing Cardio and weights three times a week plus cycling about 60 miles a week. I'm still overweight but am seeing real progress together with real definition in my forearms and firmer but not really bigger biceps etc.

As a newbie what I'd like to know is what sort of weight other newbies lift or what did you old timers start out at?

At the moment I'm using dumbels that are about 45lb each and a barbell that is 75lb (though I vary them now and then). I've been able to increase the weight as I've progressed but when I read other posts on various sites people are talking serious weights!!!

Obviously it takes time to get to a stage where you can lift big but as a newbie what is the general starting point? Either in terms of weight per set of a number of reps or one rep max?

Cheers.

Al.

[pharmamarketer]

I say there is no way to answer that question safely over the internet. Start low and go slow. Move it up in small increments.

[peacesells]

Weight is relative to the individual. I personally started bench pressing 95 lbs. Could I do more? Yes, but this was a good place to start to get my body used to exercise again.


The important thing to focus on is either increasing the weight every session or increasing the number of reps. You want to always be improving. Especially now as you will be able to make large gains in a short time as a new lifter.

If you want an idea of how fast you can increase I went from that 95 to 175 in 5 months.

One word of advice is to study proper form as inpingement problems are common and they will delay your progress.

[expatCanuck]

At the moment I'm using dumbels that are about 45lb each and a barbell that is 75lb (though I vary them now and then). ... Obviously it takes time to get to a stage where you can lift big but as a newbie what is the general starting point? Either in terms of weight per set of a number of reps or one rep max?

As a newbie of 49, at home at the start of the summer, I used 5-lb. dumbbells. I had (and have) no desire to injure myself. Now, at the gym, I use 20 to 45-lb. dumbbells, depending on the exercise. And it took me three months to work up to doing non-assisted pull-ups.

[BrotherWolf]

Just check out the hundreds of journals on here....

[-=FLEX=-]

Well you haven't said what specific exercises you're doing so how can anyone answer your question?????????

Anyway, why worry about what others are doing or did? It's a relative thing.

-=FLEX=-

[RATyson]

My suggestion would be to not worry about the numbers. Concentrate on your form.
The amount of weight that you push as it relates to other people is, IMHO, inconsequential unless you are competing.

As long as you are challenging your body, you are moving forward.

Of course, when you set up a program, you'll want to know what kind of weight to put on the bar, or what weight dumbbells to use. For that you can search for the 1RM calculators that are around on the site. That will give you an idea of what to use in your training.

Also, there is a great training program on here. Look in the workout programs section, and check out the "Simple Beginner's Program" sticky. It has been working really well for me so far!

[billb7581]

The starting point is whatever you can lift for the rep ranges you are looking for.

I do a set of 12-15, a set of 10-12 and a set of 5-8 on all my exercises.

[Karl_Hungus]

Congrats on your progress so far!

At the moment I'm using dumbels that are about 45lb each and a barbell that is 75lb (though I vary them now and then). I've been able to increase the weight as I've progressed but when I read other posts on various sites people are talking serious weights!!!

You don't specify which lift this is, so it is hard to understand what you are talking about -- but the folks who are lifting serious weights have been at it for years. Many of us, over the years, have doubled and even tripled the amount of weight we are doing since our newbie days. Just keep at it, be consistent, and focus on compound movements and you will be surprised at how much strength you can gain.

[essinger]

When I started out the biggest mistake I think I made was using too much weight. Because I was moving weights that were right at the edge of my ability all my focus had to be on just completing the rep. I wasn't learning to feel the muscles "squeeze" or to understand the different stages of an exercise. After a while I found that, for me, form and control were the really important factors and that the number on the plate was unimportant as long as I was getting enough resistance to push the targets groups.

[DaddyR]

The great thing about this sport is that you are competing against yourself first and foremost. Don't worry about what others are lifting. Do as much as YOU can, and next month see if you can do more. If so, then you're doing it right.

[Iceman1800]

don't worry about what others are lifting. you are on the right track to getting in shape so just keep on plugging away like you are doing. great job so far

[mfsteve]

The great thing about this sport is that you are competing against yourself first and foremost. Don't worry about what others are lifting. Do as much as YOU can, and next month see if you can do more. If so, then you're doing it right.

Damned straight! It takes a lot of balls to go into a gym and lift nothing but an empty bar. There might be a few youngsters who think you're being a sissy but all the old guys will recognize that you are being smart. I took a long break and when I went back I started over with empty bars and the lowest weights available on the cable machines. Anyone who didn't like it could kiss my pasty white butt.

[TomsGunz]

Hi All.

Been searching the forums and the net in general re this so hopefully it's not a stupid question or one that's been answered a million times before....

I've been generally unfit and obese for 15 years or so and decided to try to get into shape just over 3 months ago by setting up a basic home gym (bike, rower, bench, speedball, dumbells, barbells etc) and buying a road bike.

I've lost about three stone and been doing Cardio and weights three times a week plus cycling about 60 miles a week. I'm still overweight but am seeing real progress together with real definition in my forearms and firmer but not really bigger biceps etc.

As a newbie what I'd like to know is what sort of weight other newbies lift or what did you old timers start out at?

At the moment I'm using dumbels that are about 45lb each and a barbell that is 75lb (though I vary them now and then). I've been able to increase the weight as I've progressed but when I read other posts on various sites people are talking serious weights!!!

Obviously it takes time to get to a stage where you can lift big but as a newbie what is the general starting point? Either in terms of weight per set of a number of reps or one rep max?

Cheers.

Al.

Whats the real question here? you can only lift as much as you can lift as a newbie, it changes from every person, if your obese focus on losing weight before wanting muscles, i say this because you wont notice your muscles getting bigger and you will look fatter as fat sits on top of mucles, therefore you wont be looking any slimmer and will get p!ssd off with it

[muttytwist]

As others have stated, I beleive you are better off with lower weights. This will allow proper form and help with the mind muscle connection. Alot of the weights on the net are inflated for someones ego, most truely strong lifters don't list how much they're lifting.

[rob440]

As others have said use a weight you can easily handle at first for as many sets as you are doing. I would stay over 10 reps per set for a while until your experience is established and you can experiment. Perfect your form and add a very small amount of weight every workout. Its like a stairway take it a step at a time. By not rushing you can enjoy your beginner gains as you progress. If you jump in and follow your ego you will likely end up backtracking and losing valuable progress. If you were taking up boxing you wouldn't jump into the ring with the heavyweight champ your first day you would establish smaller milestones and work your way up. Same goes here.

[lan02]

Hi All.

Apologies for the delayed response to this and thank you for all of the excellent advice.

When I posted this I did not intend on trying to lift any more than I could safely manage but was just curious as to what I could lift compared to other newbies, not to try and beat them, just to get an idea of what level most people started at.

I appreciate the advice about concentrating on form though, this is something I have started to keep a proper eye on.

Am weight training three times a week with Cardio a few other days and have managed to lose a few more pounds making it 36 off so far.

Yesterday was Cardio in gym and today was a 25 mile wet and muddy bike ride which I enjoyed. Back to the weights tomorrow!

Thanks for all the replies and motivational insights.

Al.

[OZBB]

Well it sounds to me like your heading in the right direction, that being fat loss and muscle gain. I'd advise at this stage that fat loss be your main focus for at least another 6 months, but keep at the weights, they burn calories too, just dont be in a hurry to increase to massive weights just yet..... all in good time.... it'll be easier on your joints and connecting tissue if you increase slowly, at least for now....the big weights will be there when your body is ready.

You've lost 3 stone (42lbs) which is fantastic, but if your current weight is still 200lbs at 5' 8" in height I'd say you need to keep at the fat loss phase.... in time you'll reach a point where muscle gain will become your new focus (6 months from now?) once your fat levels come down to the teens... and you'll enjoy those gains even more because you'll be able to see them with the fat gone.... you might even find your weight will start to increase again as the muscle grows, don't panic, its all good......so dont fixate too much on what the scale says, but rather the mirror and your clothes will tell you the truth......its a journey for life, no quick fixes.....stick with it, this time next year you wont even know yourself and will wonder why you waited 15years..... but just be glad you finally started.

good luck,

OZBB

[chodan9]

I had never done any weight training until I was 41,
I had been in martial arts heavily before but it focused more on calisthenics and combat specific technique.
I was lifting less than you are lifting now, and I can say that without even know what exercise your talking about LOL because I wasn't doing any exercises with 45 pound dumbells.
the lonely 45 pound bar was my best friend for the first couple of weeks LOL, I could have lifted more but was nervous about it.