I hate to admit now, but I was one of those girls who was worried that lifting weights would turn me into a she-hulk. That was until I started following some seriously inspirational women on social media like Nicole Wilkins, Pauline Nordin and Dana Linn Bailey. I realized that these women were strong, smart, powerful and badass- the type of person I aim to be.
As boring as picking heavy stuff up and putting it down seems; it's really a sense of accomplishment. As time goes on, I can look back at where I started and see how far I've come in over the years. When I first started lifting, it seemed I would never be able to squat or deadlift my own body weight, never mind exceed it. It brings me a great feeling of confidence, similar to the confidence I've gained with all my years of Ju-Jitsu.
So I thought I would put together some tips and tricks for those who are wanting to start weightlifting, but like myself had no idea where to begin.
Let's start with why?
What benefits are there to weight lifting. I have written before about what are the benefits of weight training (check it out here). To summarize, weightlifting burns more calories which helps with fat loss, shapes your curves, builds bone density, improves your coordination and balance, lowers blood pressure, lowers stress levels, maintains muscle mass as you age; I could honestly go on, but you get the idea.
There are many logical reasons why, but for a lot of women, it is surpassing the stigma that weights make you bulky or manly. The real science is that women do not have enough testosterone to become huge she-hulks, and the women who may look "bulky"- well, they are usually high-level athletes that train rigorously 6-7 days a week for many years and have meticulous nutrition plans to help them gain muscle mass. A woman who casually lifts weights or even lifts heavy a few days a week will not achieve that. Trust me, it is so much harder than you think.
So what exercises to start?
As a personal trainer who has helped dozens of beginner weight lifters, I am a firm believer in "walk before you run" in other words, start with the basics. My first recommendation would be to find yourself a coach or trainer who can help you learn proper form and build your programs.
If you've never done weight training before and are unfamiliar with proper form, I would not recommend going straight to barbell squats or deadlifts. There are places you can start to get yourself there, by learning and getting familiar with the basic squat form first, you can progress with weight from there. Starting with adding dumbbells, then maybe kettlebells, then progressing to the barbell, etc.
Starting with basics helps build your muscles while learning to perform the exercises with proper form to prevent injury. Just because an exercise is complicated, does not mean it is better than another.
Warm-up is key before starting.
When starting a weight training regimen, do not start lifting with cold muscles. Take 5-10 minutes for a warm-up on a cardio machine and light stretching or dynamic movements (think walking lunges with a stretch, etc) to get your heart rate up and muscles ready. Then before starting your working sets (heavier sets), do 1-2 sets of your with no weight or light-weight first.
What are reps, tempo and sets?
Reps are the number of times you perform a specific exercise and sets are the cycles of reps you do. A common example is 3 sets of 8-10 reps. You perform your reps, take a quick rest, then repeat for 2 more sets for 3 total sets. Reps can range depending on how much weight you are lifting. For example, you can do heavy weight for 4-8 reps, medium weight for 8-12 reps or lightweight for 12-15 reps.
The same can be said for sets, you can do 4-8 reps for 3 sets or 12-15 reps of light-weight for 5 sets. You don't want to do the same exercise for 15 sets, but between 3-5 is average. For exercises that are easier for me, I typically will do fewer sets than exercises that are more challenging for me.
Rest between sets is important to allow your body to regroup itself and you can catch your breath for the next set. Rest time can vary depending on your experience and goals. The average is a 1:3 work-rest ratio. If your 8 reps take 30 seconds to do, then you can rest of 90 seconds. Again this can vary. The better condition you are in, the less rest you need. I would say the average rest period can be between 30-90 seconds depending on the exercise. For me, if I am doing lower intensity exercises like shoulder shrugs, I only do 30 seconds of rest; if I am doing deadlifts or squats, I rest closer to 60 seconds. You can use a timer if you feel you would get off track.
The tempo is how the speed of which you perform the exercise. When starting, slower is better to make sure you are doing the exercise properly. If you are looking at an exercise and you see these four confusing numbers 3010, it is referring to the tempo of the exercise. For example, when doing a bicep curl, the lifting can take 3 seconds, no pause, and the lowering takes 1 second and then no pause again back to the second rep. Another example could be 3121: lifting takes 3 seconds, pause for 1 count then lower for 2 and pause again for 1 count before going to the next rep.
You can speed up the tempo for intensity or slow the tempo down for muscle control and focus on the "burn".
How much weight should I lift?
This depends on you and where you are starting and everyone is different. 5lb dumbbells might be challenging to one person and not enough for another, so giving specific numbers isn't very helpful. A good key to go by is lifting enough weight that your last two reps of your sets are difficult, but not impossible and you can complete with proper form. If you can easily do 10-12 reps with a weight, then you need to increase it to keep challenging your muscles. You should be increasing your weight every 2-3 weeks by at least a couple of pounds or adding more reps/sets depending on the exercise to continue challenging your muscles. Think about adding volume.
How many times per week should I lift?
How many times per week depends on your goals and your experience levels. As a baseline, it is recommended at least 2-4 strength training workouts should be done per week (Canadian source & American Source). Most serious fitness individuals aim for 5 or 6 days per week so they split their workouts into individual groups (i.e chest on Monday, legs Tuesday, etc) and 1 or 2 full rest days. However, for most beginners, committing to 6 days a week of 1-hour workouts can be unrealistic to start. I would recommend starting with 3 days per week of a 45min-1 hr workout session. As you become more experienced, you can add in more days of the week for workouts.
Rest is key for building muscles, and when starting it is very important to allow enough rest. 48 hours between workouts is a good rule to follow when starting or at least 48 hours between working muscle groups. For example, if you are doing 3 workouts a week, you could do different body groups (upper, lower, core) or 3 different full-body workouts using different muscle groups with a days rest in between each workout. This way you aren't overtraining the same muscle groups.
What about Cardio?
Cardio has its benefits and is very important. However, despite popular belief, cardio does not build muscle. Cardio primarily trains the heart and lungs, which helps lower blood pressure and reduces the resting heart rate. These things combined lead to improved stamina and efficient oxygen delivery.
When it comes to fitness, it is not that cardio is more or less important than weight training, they do different things. It is recommended to do at least 3-4 cardio sessions per week. The length of time also depends on your experience. Aiming for 10-15 minutes to start is a good tool to try and then you can build from there.
Your body adapts to cardio very quickly so remember to change the intensity and length of time frequently. For example, you could do 20 minutes of steady state-run or elliptical one day, then 15 minutes of higher intensity intervals run or bike the next workout, and swimming or dancing another day.
Change things up to prevent boredom and plateaus.
Changing your routine every few weeks is great to challenge yourself and keep you from dying of boredom when working out. You don't have to completely overhaul your routine, but a few things can be done to switch it up a little. Adding a couple of new exercises, changing your rep ranges and your weights can do a lot for progress. A good key to use is changing things up every 4-6 weeks.
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Everyone has to start somewhere and starting for many people includes getting help or coaching. Asking for help from the staff at the gym, personal trainers or a friend who has more experience can help guide you. Personal trainers are always a great way to start because they can make programs based on your experience level and help you with form fixes to make sure that you're doing everything right. Even the best athletes in the world have coaches and trainers to help them get to where they need to be.
So there you have it. Don't be scared to be a beginner, everyone, including the fittest people, starts somewhere. When you see all the experienced people in the gym, remember they all started somewhere too! Look up some simple exercises to get started, make yourself a list of them and what reps and sets, then you can go in with an idea of what to do. You don't need fancy machines to get started, just some weights and a body will suffice.
Don't want to go do a gym? You don't have to, you can buy yourself some simple things like a few dumbbells and workout at home. If you comb through second-hand sites or buy and sell pages, you can find some great workout stuff for cheap!
Also, don't be discouraged if the scale isn't changing as much as you thought it would. Look for how your clothes are fitting, how easy it is to carry in all your groceries, how much easier it is to climb a flight of stairs or play with your kids without getting tired. Those are the changes you to be focusing on!
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