Are you going to be working out at a home gym or commercial gym?

Have you ever done any weightlifting before or are you more or less starting from scratch?

Are you class of 2020? Trying to figure out age too

I have but nothing crazy and it's been awhile.

So yeah I would say starting from scratch.

My goal is to eventually have a home gym. But in the meantime could use a local gym.

Yes that's correct I am 26 nearly 27

What's your main goal with the working out? Are you trying to build muscle or looking to be more toned as you lose weight? Do you want to be stronger or care about strength in compound lifts? (Bench, squat, deadlift)

It sounds like you're doing a good job of managing your caloric intake since you've lost a good amount of weight. When you're trying to stay in a deficit but also needing to add more protein and now burning more calories, it can be a lot to take on. In no way am I saying don't do this, just know that burning a bunch more calories a day is going to test your will a little bit.

I'm more of a power building guy but we have a really good thread with a bunch of good guys on weightlifting. Everything from Beginners to competitive or formerly competitive guys.

KNM2020 said:

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My goal is to eventually have a home gym. But in the meantime could use a local gym.

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For this, I would recommend starting with a squat rack that fits your available space (you can find them for like $150 on Amazon). Then look at places like REP/Titan/Rogue/Bells of Steel for their scratch & dent/boneyard deals for a barbell (usually cosmetic blemishes but a great discount). Same thing for a nice adjustable bench. Then purchase a starting set of bumper plates (usually a deal for a 160 pound set with 2 45s, 2 25s, 2 10s) and then round that out with a set of 2 5s, 2 2.5s, and 2 1.25s.

That will unlock exercises for every part of your body and you'll be all in for maybe $750? And will be enough weight to let you push yourself and decide what kind of lifter you want to be.

Great question, I am definitely not trying to be a body builder or anything like that. But I would like to get fit and more tone rather than just skinny if that makes sense.

Also wouldn't mind hitting the golf ball a little further haha

CC09LawAg said:

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KNM2020 said:

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My goal is to eventually have a home gym. But in the meantime could use a local gym.

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For this, I would recommend starting with a squat rack that fits your available space (you can find them for like $150 on Amazon). Then look at places like REP/Titan/Rogue/Bells of Steel for their scratch & dent/boneyard deals for a barbell (usually cosmetic blemishes but a great discount). Same thing for a nice adjustable bench. Then purchase a starting set of bumper plates (usually a deal for a 160 pound set with 2 45s, 2 25s, 2 10s) and then round that out with a set of 2 5s, 2 2.5s, and 2 1.25s.

That will unlock exercises for every part of your body and you'll be all in for maybe $750? And will be enough weight to let you push yourself and decide what kind of lifter you want to be.

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Thank you this is very helpful!

Beyond what equipment I would need, I guess I am also just wondering how to go about determining a schedule of what workouts to do, how many reps, etc.

KNM2020 said:

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Great question, I am definitely not trying to be a body builder or anything like that. But I would like to get fit and more tone rather than just skinny if that makes sense.

Also wouldn't mind hitting the golf ball a little further haha

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More tone = more muscle and less body fat. Weight training of some form or fashion is what is needed to do that.

I just signed up for strong lifts 5x5, seems very structured and easy to follow.

Any recommendations and stretches before / after?

Generally, for a warm up I just perform light weight of the movement I will be doing - so when you're starting off, maybe a few sets of 5 with bodyweight squats, a few pushups before bench, etc. and you'll be good to go. Slow and under control. If bodyweight pushups are too tiring/fatiguing, do them at an incline, using the back of a chair or something similar.

Currently, what I do is 5 reps with empty bar, then 2 or 3 more sets working my way up to my first set weight. In between I do 3-4 box jumps.

Agile 8

Wendler (who created the workout template I am currently doing) recommends these for weightlifters.

I have not done them b/c I am lazy, but pretty much everything else I've listened to him on has worked for me, so one day I will stop being lazy and start doing these too.

This is what I did when I just started out.

Empty bar.

95 pounds (can cut this pretty quick, and go from empty bar to 135 within a few weeks/month)

135 pounds.

185 pounds

225 pounds.


Bench.
Same (basically).


Don't take much rest between warm ups so you can raise your body temp a bit and get things moving.

if you can afford it...go join a class. do that for 3-4 months to get started. Much easier route to getting into it.

Look at TIFF X DAN on YouTube. Great full body workouts, just need some dumb bells and can do it all at home. I'm roughly 60 days in and loving it. Most are 30-40 minutes in length. Really good variation too. I got bored with StrongLifts but it's a good program too.

Tex117 said:

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What CC09 said.

I would suggest looking into getting into the gym. No reason to goes ballz crazy, but, IMO, learning the squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press will set you up for whatever else you want to do in fitness.

You could go the couch to 5K route as well as its less intimidating. BUT, I really would urge you to stop on by the Weightlifting thread and think about doing some strength training.

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Good stuff here! I'll also add that watching other people lift in the gym can really help you improve. You can find a lot of bad things to do but can really improve your form and add new exercises if you pay attention to other folks working out.

If someone is doing an exercise you don't know or maybe squats a bunch of weight and their form looks good, ask them questions. If they're incapable of answering the question or don't really know the answer, maybe don't take everything to heart. If they can elaborate as to why specifically they're doing that exercise or how they use certain cues to eliminate things like knee cave or butt winking, they're probably someone that knows what they're doing.

Man, I can count on no more than two hands how many times I've seen someone squat to depth in standard ol' commercial gym let alone with the proper form.

It is rare, but it does happen on squats. Normally the guys with the lifting shoes know their *****

I have lifting shoes....I don't know sheet.

I second everyone who suggested getting into a gym and lifting weights. I would add on that when you go to the gym, go in with a plan. It doesn't have to be something set in stone and immutable (and you may need to adjust depending on what kind of equipment is available), but going in without an idea of what you want to accomplish that day, especially as a beginner, leads to ****arounditis and you're not going to make any progress.

There are a ton of great guides and programs available. A lot of people swear by Stronglifts 5x5, as it's a relatively simple and clear program with a lot of support. That's probably as good a place as any to start. There are also a ton of folks on Youtube that give great advice (Jeff Nippard, Mike Israetel, etc.), though they can sometimes get a bit in the weeds for true beginners.

Three other pieces of advice as you get started:
1. You're going to be really sore after your first few sessions - don't let that stop you from going back for your next session.
2. Keep track of what you're doing. Stronglifts has an app that makes this really easy, a lot of people keep notes on their phones, and I use a pen and paper workout log. Doesn't really matter how you do it, but knowing where you've been lets you see your improvement.
3. Be consistent, but don't beat yourself up. Life happens and you may have to miss a session or cut a session short; literally this morning I cut my leg day short because I really don't like squatting with an upset stomach. But don't let one missed session turn into six missed sessions.

A lot of this advice in my opinion is a bit advanced for somebody who is saying they don't even know where to start in the gym.

Stronglifts is a good beginner program, but before doing that don't just go and observe how people exercise… go find a personal trainer who will teach you proper form first.

If you are completely sedentary too, just doing couch to 5k and some push ups, body squats, situps and a daily walk might be a good first step ahead of jumping into weight lifting.

ATM9000 said:

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A lot of this advice in my opinion is a bit advanced for somebody who is saying they don't even know where to start in the gym.

Stronglifts is a good beginner program, but before doing that don't just go and observe how people exercise… go find a personal trainer who will teach you proper form first.

If you are completely sedentary too, just doing couch to 5k and some push ups, body squats, situps and a daily walk might be a good first step ahead of jumping into weight lifting.

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Maybe, maybe not... you have to start somewhere and I don't love the idea of beginners starting with isolation exercises. Your advice on starting with body weight stuff isn't wrong/bad but the OP asked about weightlifting... Also, I don't necessarily love jumping into really complex lifts either but with the right guidance, it can be a much better path to assimilation before you starting doing more isolation exercises. The OP is also 26-27 years old and should be just fine adjusting.

I'm not opposed to the personal trainer route and think this can be a great start but they're not all equal. I have watched several of them teach some pretty bad things or just not make form corrections when it is completely obvious that it is needed.

What was recommended on this thread and by me is to follow some of the very reputable folks on youtube and focus on your form. I also highly encourage filming your form and sharing it - even on here - to get some feedback. I am not a gym film person, like almost at all, but it has its purpose for trying to improve form.

Thank you all for the advice, I signed up for StrongLifts and will be starting tomorrow.

Forget all other forms of fitness and go all-in on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling.

That's pretty much my advice for everything though so don't take me too seriously. But if weights get boring, BJJ and wrestling are great.

Any specific brands?

Looking at this one below, but want to be sure it's a good brand or okay at least

https://a.co/d/4sqC1br

Perfectly good starter rack. I have a few CAP things and they're fine.

I'd probably add on the safety/spotter arms.

Then if you decide you're super into it you can buy a more robust/long term one. Once I started getting into heavier weights I wanted a cage to squat in and it's saved me a few times on failed reps.

Awesome, have everything ordered but the bench. Need to find a good deal

I got an adjustable bench from REP and I like it. I don't see the model I got on their website anymore.

I tried to go cheap on a couple of benches and found that if I wanted a sturdy one that was also adjustable so I could do shoulder stuff and use it as support on rows, I was looking at around $300+.

This one from Titan might not be bad: Titan Adjustable Bench

CC09LawAg said:

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I got an adjustable bench from REP and I like it. I don't see the model I got on their website anymore.

I tried to go cheap on a couple of benches and found that if I wanted a sturdy one that was also adjustable so I could do shoulder stuff and use it as support on rows, I was looking at around $300+.

This one from Titan might not be bad: Titan Adjustable Bench

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Completed the first workout last night on strong lifts. Front thighs are insanely sore lol. They had me do squats, bench, and barbell row. Arms feel fine, legs … not so much haha

Hell yeah! Welcome to the rest of your life - the 5 pound gains every workout are addicting.

You will be sore for a week or two, then it'll seem like it's all too easy and you should start adding on accessory lifts, or go up faster in weight - DO NOT DO THIS.

Stick to the program, the gains will come.

Think about it like this: if you could progress on Stronglifts progressive overload with +10 gains to your deadlift weekly, you'd be deadlifting 520 pounds in a year. In two years you'd be the world's strongest deadlifter.

If you chart out your gains (I think the 5x5 app I had did this automatically), they will go up mostly diagonally for months - after that, you have to decide if you are happy with where you are and just want to maintain or if you want more.