How to lift?

0io- · 2019-01-22T03:05:55+00:00

Stronglifts 5x5 app works great. Starting Strength book is very helpful. Youtube is also a very helpful resource. The ideal situation would be to find someone who really knows how to do the lifts to give you hands-on advice. Most gym bros are pretty friendly. If you see some guy who seems to know what he's doing using the squat rack and tell him, "Hey, I just started lifting last week, can you check my form? I don't know what I'm doing..." most guys will help give you some pointers. You don't want your lower back rounded at all, that takes getting used to. You probably need to puff your chest out a lot more than you're used to also, that takes some getting used to.

As for the where to lift, you want the old-school gym with lots of free weights and not a lot of fancy machines. Depending on what city you live in, there may be recreation centers where they have gyms that actually have a free weightlifting class or coach. I would call your city or town's parks and recreation department and ask around, local colleges might have something you could use. I would get as far away from hype and fanciness as you can. You want a squat rack and not a smith machine or leg press.

travislaker · 2019-01-22T03:00:30+00:00

Mark Rippetoe has all your answers. His book •starting strength• is what you need to read.https://startingstrength.com/index.php

rocknrollchuck · 2019-01-22T03:22:47+00:00

Here's a great detailed road map for getting started with lifting, as well as advice for progression. Diet is addressed as well since it is such an important component of a successful lifting program.

BobbyPeru · 2019-01-22T05:08:22+00:00

Like others have mentioned, 5x5 is a great jumpstart. Then, you can move onto 3x10 or try variations. Form is key, and that is where YouTube can be very helpful. Start very light and be comfortable, and then go up 5 pounds a week . Resist the temptation to go up too fast as your joints, ligaments, tendons... etc have to get accustomed to the higher weights - not just the muscles. For me, I’ve been fortunate to be mostly injury free for a couple decades (knock on wood), but when I do get aches and pains it’s usually in the joints, particularly tennis elbow. So, pay attention to your body.

My gym has a mirror in front of the squat racks, which I find very helpful to make sure I am going deep and keeping good form.

——————————————————————————

Side note for anyone who has chronic tennis elbow

I found a great physical therapy band called “Theraband” that works extremely well. You can buy it on Amazon. It’s the only thing that has helped my tennis elbow, and I’ve had it so bad that half my lower arm was numb.

———————————————————————————

tspitsatgp · 2019-01-22T03:31:34+00:00

In addition to the other comments the Stronglifts5x5 sub-reddit is relatively active.

gameoflibidos · 2019-01-22T16:25:47+00:00

Dude.. you are just avoiding the subject. Making up reasons why you haven't started yet. The answer is the same as it is for everything these days....

How do I change the brakes on my car? Answer: Youtube

How do I install a dishwasher? Answer: Youtube

How do I build a bookshelf? Answer: Youtube

Youtube any exercise you want and they'll show you how to do it with correct form. If you honestly had to ask this question and it's not your way of secretly making it o.k. with yourself that you haven't lifted yet, then you're just a huge dumbass.

mrp_awakening · 2019-01-22T11:33:50+00:00

Everyones saying SL/SS. TBH, I found those great for getting acquainted with lifting, but never made stellar progress on them. I made my own routine in college and in 1 yr made more progress than 2 yrs of SS. If it stops working, dont be afraid to try something new. Creatine is also a huge help and should be taken by everyone who lifts weights.

BusterVadge · 2019-01-22T14:03:27+00:00

Stronglifts until you can bench 2 plates, squat 3 and dl 4. You'll get strong FAST as long as you eat enough and put the time in at the gym.

Switch from SL to something else as soon as you hit that milestone. I was injuring my traps all the time doing SL. I switched to something that focuses on hypertrophy a little more and stopped hurting myself.

Once you hit a plateau you have to mix things up a little to push past it.

Hell if I can do it at 44 you can too.

Westernhagen · 2019-01-22T15:03:09+00:00

When I first started I took a class that focused on the basics (squat, deadlift, bench) and met three times a week. It was usually three to six people per session. The benefit of the class was consistency and also the presence of the instructor, who pointed out how to improve form - which was really important to me, since I'd never squatted or deadlifted before that. Took me a long time to get the deadlift form dialed in. I would advise looking for a barbell class like that.

boy_named_su · 2019-01-22T16:08:17+00:00

I got to the 1,000 pound weightlifting club late last year (by following StrongLifts then Mad Cow). Then I lost 40 pounds of fat in my cut. I'd recommend cutting first

StrongLifts 5x5 is okay, but their form videos are pretty good

https://stronglifts.com/squat/

PPL is better for hypertrophy (size vs strength)

Make sure you're eating a lot of protein: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/

Diagnostics: Get your T, estrogen, and aromatase checked. Magnesium, zinc, creatine, cruciferous veg to fix

TheGoldenShroom · 2019-01-22T16:11:07+00:00

Generally speaking most guys will see significant gains in their first year of lifting as long as they push themselves and maintain consistency.

That being said, do some research to determine your genetic body type (ectomorph/endomorph/mesomorph) so you can make sure you have reasonable expectations for your progress. If you are an ectomorph and you end up having a hard time gaining muscle you will know not to get frustrated and give up. If you are mesomorph and you aren’t building muscle, you will know that something needs to be adjusted.

Aside from training and diet, make sure you are getting adequate sleep. A lot of data suggests that testosterone is replenished during slow wave activity when we sleep. If you aren’t getting enough sleep your test levels can drop and you also aren’t giving your body enough time to heal and grow from your training. Best of luck.

Throndor_Rising · 2019-01-22T21:17:16+00:00

Easiest way to start out when new to lifting is to stop making excuses and get a gym membership.

Look into the 5 lifts in StrongLifts 5x5.

Reality is, you're going to be atrophied and you're going to need to build a baseline before you can get progressive with the lifts.

Start with lighter weight, something you can do each of the strong lifts exercises in sets of 16 to 20 lifts at a time. If you're not overweight, but skinny fat like i was this should be something along the following lines when you start:

Deadlift: 95 to 135lbs (watch the Athlean-X videos, dude will show you how to properly set up; laces just visible on the other side of the bar, bend over till hands are parallel with knees, then squat directly down)

Squat 80 to 100lbs (make sure your knees are bending directly out, or you'll pull a groin with knees flared out, contrarily if you fold your knees inward at the bottom/while lifting back up from the bottom you'll fuck your outer abductors/hip up and make sure you go all the way down to where your ass is almost touching the back of your ankles)

Barbell Rows: 40 to 55lbs (the setup for this exercise is a lot like an underhanded deadlift set up, except you lock into it and flex the hell out of your core while you lift the bar directly into your midsection; again, watch the Athlean-X videos and it will feel right, and comfortable when you're in the correctly triangulated form)

Overhead Press: 40 to 50lbs (put the seat 1 notch back from vertical, make sure the bar comes down to rest on your chest just below the clavical. Pinch your shoulder blades together towards your spine, push your lower back firmly flat against the backrest and lift.)

Bench Press: 70 to 90lbs (watch videos online on how to correctly set up for the bench, its trickier than you would think, and failing to properly set up will put the work onto your triceps and front delts instead of your pecs; it's an awkward position that takes some getting used to start at low as you need to on the weight to get the form correct, because over the long term bad form on the bench will prevent you from correctly developing your pecs once the initial noobie gains are reached and you find it nearly impossible to progress any further than 160ish lbs)

Aside from the big-5 youll also want to do Triceps, specifically, on chest day, because weak triceps will prevent you from ever fully activating your pec muscles on a proper bench press, they're kind of the lowest common denominator when it comes to bench and overhead pressing is underdeveloped.

After 2 months or so of developing your baseline back from being a lazy atrophied fuck, then start adding weight and get your rep-count more in line with the actual SL 5x5 program.

ac3jc · 2019-01-22T23:08:34+00:00

Look up athleanx on YouTube. You’re welcome

Steve_rebooting · 2019-01-23T20:39:56+00:00

Everyone gave you a great program to follow. I can only add this; Make sure you try your hardest to get proper form on these lifts you can hurt yourself or just stunt the growth you should be getting.

Mike Rippetoe has good youtube videos and the Stronglifts website has great breakdowns on proper form;

https://stronglifts.com/exercises/#gref

Worse case scenario, pay a couple hundred bucks and find a trainer that will teach you the CORE COMPOUND lifts... Thats all you need to learn... dont let them sucker you into some class with cardio or stations... CORE COMPOUND LIFTS (Deadlift, Squad, Overhead Press, Benchpress, Chinup) - Learn them and do them often

linkofinsanity19 · 2019-01-22T16:14:55+00:00

5x5 is fine to start, but realize that it is only a beginner program and will only take you so far. Once you reach that point, I would advise against searching for the program that works best for you. Every man should learn the basics to programming for himself so that you can program based off of your individual strengths, weaknesses, goals, and recovery ability. 3 books to give you the majority of what you need to be able to start programming for yourself are "The Art and Science of Lifting" and "Scientific Principles of Strength Training". Read these once you have a basic understanding of lifting. As for form, Omar Isuf has several great form tutorials, as well as the JTTS and RP boys on YouTube with their lift pillars series.

This is the information I wish someone had given me 3 years ago, when I spent most of the first year and a half spinning my wheels trying different programs.

Edit: Also, learn to stretch the correct muscle groups as part of your warm up. Don't risk having bad workouts or injuries by not taking 5-10 minutes to stretch.

Title	How to lift?
Author	mbizjo
Upvotes	14
Comments	53
Date	January 22, 2019 2:48 AM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askMRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/askMRP/comments/aiia89/how_to_lift/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askMRP/how-to-lift.203654 https://theredarchive.com/post/203654

Comments