General Fitness & Nutrition: Newbie : Weight Training

Pushups and more pushups and then try some more pushups.  No equipment needed there.  If you need more weight put something on your back.  I let my kids lie down on my back while I do puchups.  It adds an extra 30 - 60 pounds.  And the kids love using daddy as thier jungle gym.  You could try some core exercises also.  While looking for a good program to train for a triathlon I found this web site

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=486

 My abs hurt for a while the first time I did this. Good luck

Thanks for the help guys!  I know to do pushups and such...although I still dont do those.  I'm just getting back into it again so I'm hoping for the best with this training program.  Let me know if you think of anything else.  Thanks again!

I'm similar in stature to you 6'0" 150lb. I try do my weights three days a week, Mon, Wed, Fri. Although it usually ends up only being twice a week. It seems to be enough though as I have been feeling stronger when I get tired and my form doesn't get quite as bad.

I dont have any real program that I do. I always do some sort of ab workout, then either pushups or a light bench, then standing arm curls or maybe some bench dips. Always light weight and high reps of course. It's not much and my whole workout takes maybe 15-20 min, but I've gotten stronger, haven't gained a pound, and am more toned than I was before.

Hi all,

 I started strength training about 10 years ago and am on a regular routine of  2 or 3 times per week, giving my muscles a day or two to recoop.  It is important to work your muscles to fatigue so they can tear and rebuild - this will help you achieve what you are trying to.  if you can get your hands on some cheap dumbbell training charts - I bought mine online at a discount fitness site.  Doing biceps, triceps, shoulder presses, chest presses, upright rows, and front deltoid raises could be a good start, you should use a weight that will fatigue you during your second set otherwise you are not going to see results.  A set could be 8 or 10 reps.  I am 5'3' and currently I am using 10 or 12 lbs dumbbells - my problem is getting tendinits in my fingers from holding onto the weights (but nevermind about me) - good luck with it.

I'm going to throw in my two cents on this because I have seen (and experienced) far too many injuries because people tend to overwork some body parts while underworking others.

All of the exercises that people have mentioned are probably good exercises but they are missing some incredibly important advice that goes along with it: balance.  By balance I mean you have to balance the workout of opposing muscle groups.  For example, if you work out your abs then you have to work out your lower back as well (and your obliques too).  Failing to do this results in strong abs but a weak lower back and it compounds the chances of a lower back injury.  Other pairings include chest and back, quads and hamstrings, biceps and triceps, and working the entire shoulder set.  I know this sounds like a lot of exercises that you end up doing but in reality it is not.  For every pushup set you do you need to do some sort of rowing set --chinups or pullups might do it for you although the working angle is not the same-- I prefer a barbell row (sort of like the motion you might have pullstarting  the lawnmover).  You can do squats or lunges for the legs and as long as you go far enough down (not needing the knee to go past 90 degrees) then you activate the hamstrings, glutes AND quads all at once.  Do crunches or situps (crunches probably make you less likely to injure your neck trying to pull your head up) and combine that with an exercise call Superman where you lie on your stomach on the ground with your arms "over" your head (i.e. if you were standing up then your arms would be reaching for the sky but since you are lying down...)  From this lying position contract your back so that you take on the classic Superman flying pose, hold for a second or two then relax.  That is one rep..... work your way up to being able to do 20 reps.

The other thing to remember is when you are starting out any workout plan (aside from making sure you are healthy enough to do so) is to start relatively easy.  Do a full body workout for the first month or two until your body gets accustomed to the fact that it is doing this "new thing" before jumping into some sort of hardcore crazy workout.  You may be in shape from running but that does not mean that you can go out and  suddenly pick up objects the mass of small cars  and toss them around.

So here is my full body work out suggestion.  Do this 3 times a week to begin.  if you can't do it 3 times a week then do it twice a week and work up to 3 times:

1- Pushups (vary the hand position over time as has been mentioned) 

 2-barbell row if you have weights or chinups/pullups if you do not

3- lunges (you can add weight by holding on to some dumbbells or  even some books or a large pack properly fastened to your back)

4- Ab crunches

5- Superman 

To start with do a good warmup that gets the blood flowing (dare I say a light jog) then work through the movements once with no real weight behind it (pushups from your knees, rows with just a few light pounds, etc) to warmup the joints that will be doing the movements.  Once that is all done go back and start your routine by doing all of the exercises one after the other taking a small break in between if you need it.  Once you have done all of the exercises once (not including your warmup) go back and repeat the routine a second and third time.

You may have noticed that I did not suggest any arm specific exercises... trust me on this, your pushups and rows will work your arms  quite well for the first month or two.  Pushups will work the triceps (especially as you vary you hand stance) and the row will work your biceps very well.  After a month or two you will change up your routine and add exercises for your arms then.

After a month or two of this you will want to change your workout as your muscles will get used to the load you are putting on them.  You will also want to start breaking up your workout to be more body part specific (i.e. upper body one day then lower body another day then eventually perhaps one or two body parts a day only)

Don't start by doing too much right from the start.  If you combine your running and your workouts you will be over training.  You'll know if you are doing this if you start to feel tired and have no desire to exercise anymore (it's quite common I fear).  Let your body grow accustomed to the new things it is doing and slowly build it up.

Good luck with your training... and your workout.

(Even if you have found some good exercises already, keep in mind the balanced muscle approach... for every push there is a pull, for every curl there is an extend... etc.  It is the most important thing to remember.)