Any newbie weightlifters in the house?

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yorkshirechap

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Hi all,

After 20 years outside of the gym I finally went back today to restart weightlifting.

Time has not been particularly kind to me. I stopped lifting at 14 or 15 after around 3 years of training and 20 years later, I am weaker, less flexible and well, just a big old lump. Yep, I am weaker than a 14 year old. That said, it turned out I remembered how to lift for the most part, with only minor corrections from my trainer. Overall I'm pleased to be back in the gym and particularly so, that I have working muscle memory, if not memory of any other sort.

I thought I might throw this out there to see if anyone was either a weightlifter, or in a similar boat to me with regards to their relationship with the gym.

Cheers,

Martin
 
I started at 17 for a few years, nothing serious, then in my late 20's started more seriously. Mid 30's I had to give up with a shoulder injury. Started again at 44 (now 52) and thoroughly enjoy it. It doesn't take long for the muscle memory to really kick in and your strength will increase with it. Begrudgingly I had to miss today's workout due to feeling a sniffle coming on. It doesn't feel any worse, so hopefully I'll be back in there tomorrow. I hate missing the gym.
 
nilagin said:
I started at 17 for a few years, nothing serious, then in my late 20's started more seriously. Mid 30's I had to give up with a shoulder injury. Started again at 44 (now 52) and thoroughly enjoy it. It doesn't take long for the muscle memory to really kick in and your strength will increase with it. Begrudgingly I had to miss today's workout due to feeling a sniffle coming on. It doesn't feel any worse, so hopefully I'll be back in there tomorrow. I hate missing the gym.
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I haven't quite got back to that stage yet but I left tonight feeling I had a little more in the tank and wanting to go back. Its a little bizarre starting again after so long as I am sure you know, but it does feel great. Sorry to hear you had to give up but I'm sure your experience stood you in great stead for your latest endeavours.
 
Hi Martin.

I trained for 15 years ish, gave up when I just got bored of lifting weights. I had a six pack for all of my twenties into my thirties then gave it up as i didn't want to be 'big' and couldn't give it my all, without a goal to focus on. Then I had an accident in work at 40, and nearly a year off waiting for an operation, put on a stone and a half ( which was a lot for my slim frame ) which I still need to shift.
I'm now waiting for a place in my local hospital's physio to get back to core training, and am quite looking forward to it. The trouble with me is whatever I do, I do 100% and with a very young family I know I will struggle to stay 'in the zone' and commit fully to get the maximum out.
My advice to you, don't overdo it and injure yourself, start slow and build up and don't be tempted by steroids. Every young kid hits the gym these days and if they don't get results in a month, they turn to injecting themselves. My colleague started last year and after 2 months wanted me to get him 'some gear' When I pointed out he'd only trained his legs/chest 8 times, what did he expect, his gym life fizzled out..........
 
h14nha said:
Hi Martin.

I trained for 15 years ish, gave up when I just got bored of lifting weights. I had a six pack for all of my twenties into my thirties then gave it up as i didn't want to be 'big' and couldn't give it my all, without a goal to focus on. Then I had an accident in work at 40, and nearly a year off waiting for an operation, put on a stone and a half ( which was a lot for my slim frame ) which I still need to shift.
I'm now waiting for a place in my local hospital's physio to get back to core training, and am quite looking forward to it. The trouble with me is whatever I do, I do 100% and with a very young family I know I will struggle to stay 'in the zone' and commit fully to get the maximum out.
My advice to you, don't overdo it and injure yourself, start slow and build up and don't be tempted by steroids. Every young kid hits the gym these days and if they don't get results in a month, they turn to injecting themselves. My colleague started last year and after 2 months wanted me to get him 'some gear' When I pointed out he'd only trained his legs/chest 8 times, what did he expect, his gym life fizzled out..........
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Roids? Blimey no. I'd never even be tempted.

Went to the gym with a friend today who is more of an endurance athlete and far stronger than me, but we just switched weights. Smashed a bunch of weights in a decent structure and now I can barely type. Overdoing it is definitely a risk and it is hard to know your own limits when you're my age and freshly back to it. Luckily I don't have people around me who scoff at the size of the plates on the bar.

Todays workout was as follows. Looking to cut fat so low weight high rep. Ended up with cramp on heel raises and military press is new to me, so went very easy.

As someone with experience I'd be interested in your opinions.

7.5 minutes cross trainer

2 reps 20kg bench press and curl
2 reps 20kg bench press and curl
3 reps 20kg bench press and curl
4 reps 20kg bench press and curl
5 reps 20kg bench press and curl
6 reps 20kg bench press and curl
7 reps 20kg bench press and curl
8 reps 20kg bench press and curl
9 reps 20kg bench press and curl
10 reps 20kg bench press and curl
9 reps 20kg bench press and curl
8 reps 20kg bench press and curl
7 reps 20kg bench press and curl
6 reps 20kg bench press and curl
5 reps 20kg bench press and curl
4 reps 20kg bench press and curl
3 reps 20kg bench press and curl
2 reps 20kg bench press and curl
2 reps 20kg bench press and curl

Total Reps: 102 bench press + 102 curls

7x5 60kg Squat

1x8 30kg military press

3x8 30kg Upright Row

1x8 30kg Heel Raise

Stretches
 
Hi Martin.

Sorry for slow reply, I'm not on the forum much. Your regime depends on what your goals are. I always trained alone. We had a superb gym in work and I would be on my way in at 0530 in the morning. I did 'Pyramid' training. I would surround myself with all the dumbbells in the gym.

I would start with the lightest dumbbells, perhaps only a pound in weight. Thirty reps then drop them and change for the next weight up. Another thirty reps then up to the next weight. I never got up to any serious weight, when I got to the stage where I couldn't do another rep, I would immediately drop whatever I had in my hands, and pick up the next weight down. I would continue downwards, and, by the time I got to the original one pound dumbbells, I would struggle to lift them, ( if someone glanced through the door window at that point they would think i was playing, but i truly couldn't lift a pound weight at that point ) and using dumbbells, I could drop them when fatigued. Three sets would get my heart racing, great for cardio, and the high number of reps benefited my definition.

I personally only really did push/pull exercises. Push as in bench press, for which I only ever used dumbbells, with the bench flat and then with the bench inclined, pull as in pull ups on a bar. The amount of times I spent in the gym watching out of shape people, doing things like forearm curls always amazed me. Each bodypart once a week, then let it rest/recover, eat well and sleep well too.

I would think you would be aching after that workout if you're gym rusty, it can take months to get up to speed, what I posted above took years to get into, but, the advantage was I would never be in the gym for more than 30 minutes, and never more than 3 times a week.

Hope that helps.......... :)
 
It does help and thanks for some great replies.

It's going pretty well so far. After that big session the other day I did a hard cardio session then have been topping that up with some light runs. Mostly to try and get some kind of reasonable technique which is necessary due to my weight. Did do some dumbbell work yesterday (under instruction) too to bring the smaller muscles into play. Not sure what it is called or how to describe it, but even the strongest guys seem to use only 10kg for it. I used 4's and it virtually killed me. lol

Edit: The lifts are were (standing) front lateral raise, lateral raise and another lateral raise where you bend forwards at the hips and keep the back straight. 3 sets of 10 of those. Ouch.
 
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:wave:

Hi Martin,

I've been lifting for just over a year and a half: starting on Starting Strength then switched to 531 Boring But Big about eight months ago which I find to be a good mix of strength and physique and the periodisation helps to keep things interesting.

Yes shoulder raises don't require much weight at all to be become difficult and tiring, make sure you carry on with good form rather than succumbing to poor quality reps like lots of people in the gym - no half squats!

Best of luck. :)

Jeff.
 
I used to do a lot of bodybuilding which I think I have mentioned in a previous fitness related post. I've weight trained since being 15 firstly for rugby purposes and then when rugby ended, I started it more seriously for bodybuilding. At my heaviest I was 15st 3lbs (96kg). I wasn't shredded but I did have abs on show at that weight. I am 5' 6" so was pretty big for my height. Of course I was full of steroids with a good diet at the time. It all came unstuck (literally) when I had a complete pec tendon rupture whilst bench pressing 160kg. That put me out of action for 11 weeks altogether. 5 weeks pre op and 6 weeks post op. After that I promised myself no steroids and started lifting again. Got back some strength and size but found it largely unfulfilling. Then, about 18 months ago now, I discovered Crossfit. If your unsure what it is have a google. I wish I had found it in my 20's I am by far the fittest I have ever been and my strength seems to have gone through the roof lately, especially on the Olympic style lifts. All steroid free too which is how I like it. I seem to be continually hitting PB's with regards to weight and benchmark workout times.

Keep at the weight training. You will find what works for you and how your body responds. It helps to have some goals too. What do you want? Size, strength, fitness or a happy combination of all three? Each requires different types of training and abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym! :)
 
I'm going for weight loss first with some strength training at the same time. What I really need to improve though, is my cardio. It's horrible at the moment. So I'm doing warmups followed by 10 minutes of jogging, trying to do that 6 days a week mixed with the other sessions. Cut back on crappy foods too, particularly bread, which I ate a ton of. I think I'll improve fairly quickly if I take it steady.
 
Every now and then my workouts consist of, 1st set perform 20 reps but hold the weight for 5 seconds on each rep before lowering again, the only exercises where I lock out would be leg raises and tricep pushdowns, the rest point on everything else is where you can feel the muscle doing the most work. After the 20 reps (the weight you used should be a failure point by 20 reps) rest 30 seconds and repeat, aiming for 18 reps again, failure point. Rest another 30 seconds and repeat, failure should be around 15 or 16 reps, rest for 30 seconds again and repeat, failure will be at around 12 reps, rest another 30 seconds then the last set should see failure at 10 reps. Perform 3 exercises per body part. When training biceps I restrict it to 4 sets and the same for triceps. If you have the right weight, you'll seriously feel the burn, especially when training biceps, but it's also a very good cardio workout too so you don't need treadmills etc.
 
yorkshirechap said:
I'm going for weight loss first with some strength training at the same time. What I really need to improve though, is my cardio. It's horrible at the moment. So I'm doing warmups followed by 10 minutes of jogging, trying to do that 6 days a week mixed with the other sessions. Cut back on crappy foods too, particularly bread, which I ate a ton of. I think I'll improve fairly quickly if I take it steady.
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My answer to eating correctly was to train early in the morning. You seem more likely to keep to a sensible eating regime throughout the day rather that eat whatever "I'll train it off later"
As for portion size, a jacket potato, pasta or rice should be the equivalent size of your clenched fist, a meat portion guideline is the size of the palm of your hand.
Too many steroid boys eat huge amounts of pasta to grow, but their stomachs are big taking away their definition. Pre prepare your food and graze little and often throughout the day. To get stronger your body needs lots of fuel to grow. To loose weight you need burn more calories than you consume. You need to either train for weight loss or strength. I never did any sit ups but had a superb six pack. High rep training and a reasonable diet was enough for me.
Don't be afraid to treat yourself, I ate strictly Mon-Fri then relaxed my diet on the weekends.
EDIT.
Always learn your excercises using light weights. Strict form is crucial. Bigger weights come later. The times I used to see people doing say, barbell curls for biceps. Too much weight on the bar they would lean forward, then lean back and swing the bar up off their thighs at the same time. They would scoff at me using small weights, but I was the one who was defined. Funny how many of those guys would pull me aside away from everyone else to ask me what I did to get in shape
 
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