Can anyone help get me started? Would it be alright to buy a bench from Walmart? Or any suggestions on what bench and weights to buy and any brands. I live in a small town so there are not many stores for this type of stuff. Does anyone have some tips on how to get started what to do as far as lifting?

Am I asking these questions in the correct spot?

Yes buying a bench from wal mart will get you started just fine. I would also make sure to buy some dumbbells as well. For information on exercise routines, check out the sticky thread at the top of this forum. Trainerdan has an excellent beginners thread that will tell you everything you need to know.

I'll ask the obvious question: is there ANY kind of a gym in your town? A community centre or a college or even a swimming pool? Because although you CAN indeed set up a home gym, you might prefer to simply visit one. Especially when you're new to lifting, it can be helpful to see other people lifting so you can ask people questions when you're not sure how to do a movement.

If this is a "no", then by all means, pick up a cheap bench and some dumbbells. Probably get some 3s, 5s, 8s, 10s, 12s and 15s to start, eventually working your way into picking up a bar (45 pounds) and some plates - but that's later.

Try to get a bench that has an attachment for seated leg extensions.

Eventually, you will need a squat rack, but not right away.

There is a website I send everybody to for information on lifting: http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html
Ignore their nutrition information, of course, but click on the left to find exercises organised by body part, with little demo movies to show you how to do them.

Have a look for the link at the top of my journal to see what my current routine looks like, but you will probably want to find a routine that does the whole body or a two-day split at first.

Plan to spend 3 or 4 days a week lifting, no longer than an hour a day, and don't do two days in a row if you can help it.

Start with 3 sets of 8 with VERY light weights the first time you do it, just to get form.

For example, a two day split could be:
day 1: stretches (5-10 minutes) and abs (2 minutes)
quads and glutes: squats
back and biceps (look up appropriate exercises)

Day 2:
stretches (5-10 minutes) and abs (2 minutes)
hamstrings (deadlifts)
Shoulders chest and triceps (look up appropriate exercises)

When you first do squats, do them with NO weight, and only do two sets of 4. If you can walk the next day, you can increase this to three sets of 5. Work your way up to 3 sets of 10 before holding dumbbells in your hands to do them. Start with the smallest dumbbells, drop back to 3 sets of 5, and work your way back up to 3 sets of 10 before increasing the weight.

A good rule of thumb for most exercises is 3 sets of 8. When you can do 3 sets of 8 and NOT feel it the next day (or not much), you can increase the amount and drop the reps to 3 sets of 5 or 6. Work your way back up to 3 sets of 8, and repeat.

PM me when you've digested the excellent stickies, and when you are ready to start lifting.

Oh, and NEVER do cardio before you lift. Either do it after, or on a separate day.

Good luck

- Built

Great, at least I have a start now. I don't live in town so it would be a waste of gas, time and money to go into town 3 days a week. And the only kind of gym in town is our comunity center and Curves and I don't believe either one has weights just those machines like treadmills and stuff. I was talking to my fiance and found out that he already has a bench and weights so I am really excited to get them over here to my house. I will get reading and let you know my questions.

Hi there - I posted this up last night - TrainerDan moved it into the sticky:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost...90&postcount=82
It was the first lifting programme I started with, and I give it to my friends when they come to the gym with me.

Originally posted by Built:



Hi Built,

I was gonna ask you about beginner's work outs but the link above already answered my question although i have another I am starting a weight lifting program this week and i would like to work out with some specific areas of my body. I carry much of my fat in my abdomen and under my arms and i wanna know if there are some exercises that i could do to help me improve and work out those zones. I wanna have a flat stomach and get rid of the ugly fat under my arms and also better my legs, kinda wanna have a body that looks like yours lol Yeah i know... i wanna have the perfect body but a girl can dream right?

Built, what do you mean by "abs 2-3 minutes" is that sit-ups?

EDIT: And....., Can I do Cardio in the morning and lifting after supper (or should they be together), or is that too much food? If I do lift after supper how long would you suggest for a time frame between lifting and going to bed? Guess I am confused about when to do the lifting, morning, afternoon, or night?

EDIT Again: Does one need to eat before and/or after a workout, lifting that is?

When you lift is mostly a matter of figuring out the time that you are most likely to stick with. When I come home from work, the last thing I want to think about is lifting weights. I work out at home. (have not used a gym on a regular basis in about 2 years) I wake up early, eat a small meal (usually a whey protein and olive oil shake) and lift about 30 mins. later. If I'm going to do cardio, I'll do it later in the day.
(One note about cardio... it is NOT the only way to lose fat... it can help, but don't overdo it. I do it about 3 or 4 days per week for about 20 mins. and I always consider it less important than resistance training.)

This takes a while to get used to, but it will energize you for the day and it just feels good to not have to think about it for the rest of the day.

I agree with Built about the specifics of the workout.

Don't worry too much about not knowing what you are doing... just start light, focus on perfect form, and remember to let your muscles heal... if a bodypart is still sore, then it's too not good to work it again. You'll see results if you are consistant.

Wnnabethin, there is NO SUCH THING as spot reduction. The only thing that has EVER done anything for me has been the attempt to pack onto my body as much muscle as it will hold. This, I try to do evenly, all over my body. I have come to realize that the big parts want to be big, and the small parts can be coerced. So I urge the small parts to grow (arms, shoulders, back) and help the big parts get big and hard instead of big and squishy. I am NOT there yet with the big parts (legs, glutes) but they ARE really coming along.

WRT eating. Hmm. Well, unlike mps, I lift after work, and I try to eat roughly 6 meals a day, so by the time I'm lifting, I'm quite well nourished, and fairly recently, but I DO find it helpful to have something sweet before I lift - an orange often does the trick here, although sometimes I'm sloppy about it and have something less healthy - I try to keep it to fast carbs under 50g, but I lift REALLY hard. You might not find this helpful until you can really push yourself.


Yeah, basically situps. I do 'em in about 6 different positions, so it hits different angles, and I do 'em all at once - no rests. You WON'T be able to do this at first, but you will within a very short time. There MAY very well be better ways to work abs, but I like to do 'em first as a "warm up" and when I've got the most energy. A nice little rule of thumb is to work your worst part first, so you've got lots of juice for it. You don't need to stick to it, though, and your opinion of what is your "worst" part can indeed change over time.

Cardio in the AM, empty stomach is supposed to burn the most fat. I personally rely on diet and lifting for body composition more than cardio.

Try lifting before supper - then knock back a whey shake IMMEDIATELY (20-35g of protein, no carbs, have it ready to drink), then go home and eat real food (supper). My personal opinion on the "feeding" thing is fast carbs before, and whey after (for lifting) and NO carbs before OR after, slow protein (ie NOT a whey shake - real food) and fat after for cardio.
Cardio on alternate days or after lifting, but do more lifting than cardio. MPS, you totally know your stuff.

Oh, some folks do a bit of dextrose post-lifting. I've fiddled with this, but too much of it spills over into my fat stores when I do this. Many women have this problem, so, try it if you wish, but your mileage may vary. I suspect it's a testosterone/muscle mass thing.

I haven't experimented with whey pre-lifting, but I'm hearing more and more about this. Personally, I'd leave off the oil so it would get into me a little quicker, but MPS looks like - well, freaking amazing, actually, so maybe he could be persuaded to share how the oil can help here? Blink blink (Bambi eyes...)

Sorry... I have no clue if the oil helps... it's just in proportion to my daily macronutrient ratio. I'm not hungry when I lift and, worst case senerio... when I'm done lifting the whey is already in my body and helping my grow.

Yeah, that's what I've figured with the whey pre-lifting. I may start fiddling with having a smaller serving of whey with my pre-lifting carbs. But because of the timing of when I lift (ie late afternoon), I think I'll continue to leave off the oil until afterward.

I think the whey helps keep you from going catabolic as quickly as if it weren't in your system and the fat will help slow the absorbtion down (sort of "time release") plus since low carb we burn fat as fuel, it fuels your workout.

K, well, I just think that's the way I've read it in the past, but don't feel like checking right now, just throwin' it out there, hehe

No, you're probably right. It SOUNDS reasonable.

I'll keep it in the back of my mind, percolating...

Well, works for me, but I lift early morning, so I'm drinking it when I wake up to stop the catabolism and cortisol release of the nights sleep. And then I'm off to the gym. So pretty much killing two birds with.........

Thanks for all the information. I am not sure what times I will do yet. Would pilates or tae bo or jumping rope be alright for cardio? That's the things I have ever done for working out so this whole lifting thing is brand new to my life. I use weights during tae bo though, should I minus them out? I use 1-2 pounds in my hands and 2-3 pounds around my ankles. My pilates tape is only 20, I think that would work, right? I tried running for a couple months and then my knees and ankles swelled and I could barely walk, the doc put me on Bextra and told not to run anymore (outside on the street) but I could get a treadmill, so I bought a jump rope and that's what I do instead of running. I also go for 5-10 mile walks on Tues. and Thurs. nights, during the summer. I am starting my walks tomorrow. Is that also cardio? We try to walk fast but it's never jogging. Wow, I have a lot more questions than I thought I would.

Well the bench and weights isn't going so good. I came to find out that it is just a bench, no foot thingy and two dumbells but my fiance says they are very large. So I am still considering buying a new one, but I wont have to buy the weights at least. And some of the exercises in Builts beginners program requires a band or a pull down thing which I will also not have. Any suggestions for substitutes, or is this something I would have to get?

Anyone have an opinion on BoFlex, if I have to buy a system? Would this be better than a weight lifting system? I was looking into one in a town near by and found it to be about $1500.