Realistic goals for a beginner

[pantherpride17]

I started lifting weights several years ago, but never accomplished anything worth speaking of. I can easliy maintain my weight simply by my diet, so getting motivated to exercise and workout is hard. I would really like to tone my body though, and am not opposed to building a little bit of muscle either. I haven't touched weights in a few (3ish?) years and I have a hard time staying motivated so I was thinking that if I set some short term goals for myself it would motivate me to stick to it and get some results. We return to America in 6 months (March 2012) so I was thinking that would be a good time frame to set some goals help keep me motivated.

I have absolutely NO idea what kind of goals I should set and what would be realistic for a "beginner".. Should my goals be towards losing an inch of fat around my waist? Or being able to bench press X amount more than I can the day I start? Doing X amount of push-ups (I can do some) doing X amount of pull-ups (can't do any!) Any one remember what sort of goals you set for the first 6 months you started lifting or sort of progress you made? I'm 5' 4" and around 125 lbs if that helps any.

[Artistry]

Don't try to "tone," try to build muscle. You can't "tone" muscle you don't have. My goal is to love what I see when I look in the mirror (getting there!) and that works for me, even if it does seem vague. You know yourself better than anyone else, so if it's a waist measurement that will motivate you, go with that. Just make sure that whatever you pick is attainable by doing a bit of research on it; many people will go with an arbitrary bodyfat percentage or a competition rank that is much more complicated than they think.

Good luck!

[nakedbabytoes]

What worked for me was having pictures of "goal bodies" readily available. At first, I was heavy, so I found pics that looked like me, only thinner. Then I'd get there & get new goal bodies. Repeat. I've found my goals have changed from what they were initially. And it takes much longer to achieve now than it was when I was heavy.
Loosing weight was easy. Gaining muscle is hard!!!

[oregonchick76]

I'm 5'3" and started lifting this year at 122 lbs. Beginners (including those coming back from a long layoff) can make pretty quick strength gains in the first 6 months. There are generic lifting goals like bench your bodyweight, squat 1.5 x your weight, deadlift 2 x your weight, be able to do so many unassisted chin ups, etc, and then there are physical goals like getting to X bodyfat or gaining X amount of muscle. Those are great goals and will more than likely keep you busy for several months.

Personally, if I were you, I would start a solid lifting routine and get my diet dialed in. If you feel like you are overly fat, then eat at or slightly below maintenance. Whatever you do - lift heavy! Don't waste your time trying to "tone". Lift heavy, full body 3 x per week. Learn to squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, lat pulldown, chin ups, bent over rows. My routine takes me about 40 minutes, so it's never a long drawn out ordeal to go to the gym.

[pantherpride17]

What worked for me was having pictures of "goal bodies" readily available. At first, I was heavy, so I found pics that looked like me, only thinner. Then I'd get there & get new goal bodies. Repeat. I've found my goals have changed from what they were initially. And it takes much longer to achieve now than it was when I was heavy.
Loosing weight was easy. Gaining muscle is hard!!!

That sounds like a good idea! Just being on here seeing other people's pictures is encouraging, so having pictures I can look at all the time is a great idea.

I'm 5'3" and started lifting this year at 122 lbs. Beginners (including those coming back from a long layoff) can make pretty quick strength gains in the first 6 months. There are generic lifting goals like bench your bodyweight, squat 1.5 x your weight, deadlift 2 x your weight, be able to do so many unassisted chin ups, etc, and then there are physical goals like getting to X bodyfat or gaining X amount of muscle. Those are great goals and will more than likely keep you busy for several months.

Personally, if I were you, I would start a solid lifting routine and get my diet dialed in. If you feel like you are overly fat, then eat at or slightly below maintenance. Whatever you do - lift heavy! Don't waste your time trying to "tone". Lift heavy, full body 3 x per week. Learn to squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, lat pulldown, chin ups, bent over rows. My routine takes me about 40 minutes, so it's never a long drawn out ordeal to go to the gym.

Thanks, oregonchick! That's exactly the type of information I was looking for. I don't feel particulary very fat, but am about 5-8 lbs heavier that when I am when I'm eating clean. Would you mind posting your workout routine? It sounds similar to what I'd like to do. I usually spend forever trying to come up with the perfect plan and this time I want to just jump into it without wasting a bunch of time.

[oregonchick76]

That sounds like a good idea! Just being on here seeing other people's pictures is encouraging, so having pictures I can look at all the time is a great idea.


Thanks, oregonchick! That's exactly the type of information I was looking for. I don't feel particulary very fat, but am about 5-8 lbs heavier that when I am when I'm eating clean. Would you mind posting your workout routine? It sounds similar to what I'd like to do. I usually spend forever trying to come up with the perfect plan and this time I want to just jump into it without wasting a bunch of time.

I'm currently not deadlifting because I'm still recovering from a low back injury in April, but here's what i'm doing 3 x per week-

All my lifts I'm currently following this rep scheme:

set 1) 8-12 reps, set 2) 6-8 reps, set 3) 3-5 reps
(starting at a lower weight and adding weight with each set)

squat, bench, lat pulldown (or chin ups), overhead press, seated or bent over row

[pantherpride17]

Thanks! So you do all of that on 1 day, 3 times a week, instead of working out differant parts of the body on differant days, 5 days a week?

I was advised to do something like this:

Monday - Back, Abs,
Tuesday- Cardio, Legs
Wednes- Chest, Shoulders, Arms
Thursday-Cardio, Legs
Friday- Back, Abs
Saturday-Cardio

but 3 times a weeks sounds better than 5!

What muscles are you working out doing chin-ups vs. pull-ups? Could you post a link from the Exercise Guide showing what overhead press and seated/bent over rows you're doing? I looked, but am not sure which particular exercises you're doing and I can't post links until I have more posts.

[oregonchick76]

Thanks! So you do all of that on 1 day, 3 times a week, instead of working out differant parts of the body on differant days, 5 days a week?

I was advised to do something like this:

Monday - Back, Abs,
Tuesday- Cardio, Legs
Wednes- Chest, Shoulders, Arms
Thursday-Cardio, Legs
Friday- Back, Abs
Saturday-Cardio

but 3 times a weeks sounds better than 5!

What muscles are you working out doing chin-ups vs. pull-ups? Could you post a link from the Exercise Guide showing what overhead press and seated/bent over rows you're doing? I looked, but am not sure which particular exercises you're doing and I can't post links until I have more posts.

Then you only hit each muscle group once a week. Lots of people exercise like this, but I don't see how it's efficient at stimulating muscle growth. I've been doing full body 3 x per week and I'm very happy with my progress, and 5 days a week would kill me... To each their own.

chinups work your back and target the biceps a bit more than pull ups. Pull ups target the lats a bit more.
overhead press (military press) - http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Delt...taryPress.html
bent over row - http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Back...ntOverRow.html
seated row - http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Back...SeatedRow.html

[pantherpride17]

Thanks so much for the links!

[ktkoch]

I started lifting weights several years ago, but never accomplished anything worth speaking of. I can easliy maintain my weight simply by my diet, so getting motivated to exercise and workout is hard. I would really like to tone my body though, and am not opposed to building a little bit of muscle either. I haven't touched weights in a few (3ish?) years and I have a hard time staying motivated so I was thinking that if I set some short term goals for myself it would motivate me to stick to it and get some results. We return to America in 6 months (March 2012) so I was thinking that would be a good time frame to set some goals help keep me motivated.

I have absolutely NO idea what kind of goals I should set and what would be realistic for a "beginner".. Should my goals be towards losing an inch of fat around my waist? Or being able to bench press X amount more than I can the day I start? Doing X amount of push-ups (I can do some) doing X amount of pull-ups (can't do any!) Any one remember what sort of goals you set for the first 6 months you started lifting or sort of progress you made? I'm 5' 4" and around 125 lbs if that helps any.

I was very similar to you.....the only thing that really made a difference was making a date with a figure competition. I just did my first one last week, and worked 8 months to get to my goal. It was the constant thing that made me push everyday. Hope that helps.

[louloulou]

What worked for me was having pictures of "goal bodies" readily available.

This works really well for me too as motivation. Helps me to visualize where I am heading and provide motivation.

When I started out 3 months ago, my goal was to drop a little weight each week and to be able to lift a little heavier every few weeks. I have been achieving this, dropping my weight by about a pound a week and I have managed to increase the weight I am lifting up to 4 fold on some body parts.

I also found measuring my body very rewarding and always help keep the motivation up when you are visually seeing the changes happening each week.

[pantherpride17]

I was very similar to you.....the only thing that really made a difference was making a date with a figure competition. I just did my first one last week, and worked 8 months to get to my goal. It was the constant thing that made me push everyday. Hope that helps.

Yes, the only thing that really keeps me motivated is having something to work towards. I'm not interested in competing, but have set my sights on making noticeable change in my body by March 2012.

This works really well for me too as motivation. Helps me to visualize where I am heading and provide motivation.

When I started out 3 months ago, my goal was to drop a little weight each week and to be able to lift a little heavier every few weeks. I have been achieving this, dropping my weight by about a pound a week and I have managed to increase the weight I am lifting up to 4 fold on some body parts.

I also found measuring my body very rewarding and always help keep the motivation up when you are visually seeing the changes happening each week.

Yes, I need to print up some pictures and measure myself.. Your goals sounds good. I looked at your progress pics and you're doing great! How much weight have to been able to add in 3 months?