   Beginning weight training... ??
  Afternoon all,I'm really not a 100% sure what I'm after here, but I'm gonna hope that someone else does [smile]I've been thinking for a while that my upper-body strength isn't what I'd like it to be. I wouldn't say I'm in bad shape at all, more that it could be better.I play football most weeks, nothing too serious. I don't do gyms. Never really been into any of the self-fitness type stuff...Ran into some money this week, thinking of getting myself some stuff that I can use in my spare time to work on such things.If it isn't already obvious, I'm a bit clueless about what I'm trying to do [embarrass].I've done a load of googling around, browsed a couple of the local book shops - but not really knowing what I'm looking for I haven't found anything that looks like what I want...Anyone got any advice on where to start? - Is simple weight training a good thing to try? - Is there something better? - How careful do I need to be, if I start messing with weights that are too heavy can I damage the muscles/whatever? - Do I even need to bother with one of these millions of books on the subject? - What happened last night?Thanks in advance - Good answers get cookies [wink]Jack   
  - Is simple weight training a good thing to try?Not sure what you mean by this, I assume it to mean either light weights or weight training on its own with no cardio or sports. If the first, well, just go heavy. If the second, yeah it's still useful, I do it without playing any sports and still enjoy it.- Is there something better??- How careful do I need to be, if I start messing with weights that are too heavy can I damage the muscles/whatever?With inproper form you can damage ligaments and joints, especially the shoulder, you should go to bodybuilding.com and read the articles on injury prevention.- Do I even need to bother with one of these millions of books on the subject?Nope, just go to bodybuilding.com, it has it all.- What happened last night?Eh?   ;  Thanks for the reply!Quote:Original post by TomX- Is simple weight training a good thing to try?Not sure what you mean by this, I assume it to mean either light weights or weight training on its own with no cardio or sports. If the first, well, just go heavy. If the second, yeah it's still useful, I do it without playing any sports and still enjoy it.A good thing to try as in, a good way to improve my upper-body strength...Quote:Original post by TomX- Is there something better??Suppose that question might make more sense in light of my clarification above..Quote:Original post by TomXNope, just go to bodybuilding.com, it has it all.That looks like a good site - thanks for the link. For some reason that didn't pop-up in my googling [headshake]Quote:Original post by TomX- What happened last night?Eh?Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought [smile] I thought I'd put a random one in at the bottom of a long list of questions...Jack   ;Quote:- Is simple weight training a good thing to try?Yes.Quote:- Is there something better??Nothing that I can think of.I also surf the forums of EliteFitness, they have some good resources in the stickies of the bodybuilding forum too.   ;  Yea try elitefitness and muscletalk. All 3 are good.BTW, if you're starting weights don't neglect your lower body, if you want your bodies growth to tend towards its maximum growth rate you must train lower body, it releases a growth-promoting hormone.Plus, it'd be stupid if you could shoulder press more than what you could squat.   ;  If you want to improve in strength, weight training is the way to go.  There's really no drawback either .. unless if you train with improper form and hurt yourself.  Bodybuilding.com is a good place to learn how to bulk up.Don't buy a bunch of books with your money, most the info you'll need is on the internet (a lot of it at that site).  You're probably going to have to spend that money on some protein shakes, a good weight set, and some of it on the extra meals you're going to be eating throughout the day.  The one thing I've learned from bulking is that not only is the actual weight-lifting process important, what you do when you're not lifting is incredibly important too.  Eat a lot!  Lot's of protein, and try to cut back on the carbs.  You should be eating somewhere around 1.3g of protein for every pound in your body.  And always get at least 8 hours of sleep, because that's when the muscles repair themselves.   ;Quote:Original post by TomXBTW, if you're starting weights don't neglect your lower body, if you want your bodies growth to tend towards its maximum growth rate you must train lower body, it releases a growth-promoting hormone.Makes sense I suppose, but hadn't really thought about that!Quote:Original post by blueEbolaIf you want to improve in strength, weight training is the way to go.  There's really no drawback either .. unless if you train with improper form and hurt yourself.Thats the one thing I wanna make sure I don't do... being a complete n00b at this I can see myself doing something stupid [oh]Quote:Original post by blueEbolaYou're probably going to have to spend that money on some protein shakes, a good weight set, and some of it on the extra meals you're going to be eating throughout the day.  The one thing I've learned from bulking is that not only is the actual weight-lifting process important, what you do when you're not lifting is incredibly important too.  Eat a lot!  Lot's of protein, and try to cut back on the carbs.  You should be eating somewhere around 1.3g of protein for every pound in your body.  And always get at least 8 hours of sleep, because that's when the muscles repair themselves.I was hoping to avoid the whole dieting thing - I'm not that disciplined [rolleyes]I'm not too bothered about bulking up as such - I just wanna get a bit of strength into my arms... sad as it is, they're currently only used for lifting pints, coffee's and typing [smile]Thanks for the advice everyone - appreciated!Jack;  I was wondering how weight-training compares to cardio training for burning calories & therefore losing weight.As I see it:1)Weight loss is proportional to calorific consumption2)Calorific consumption is proportional to heart-rateSo if weight training for 1 hour keeps heart rate high, will I burn off as much flab as running for an hour?   ;Quote: was hoping to avoid the whole dieting thing - I'm not that disciplined You don't need to be disciplined, you just need to change your eating habits a bit. Also, remember, that whether you'll succeed or not, is determined by: your genetics (10%), your trainings (45%) and your diet (45%). How can man build house without bricks? How can organism build muscles without proteins? Remember, to eat good things, avoid (but not all) fattening food, drink much water, eat yoghurts, *fruits* and *vegetables* (theese two are very important) etc.There are simply too many things to list here, I suggest buying Flex (or sth similiar) or reading through www sites, there are plenty of good diet articles - read them, and stick to them :-)Btw, at begginning, don't buy any nutrients - you won't get much more muscles and you'll waste your money, because at the begginning they will grow very fast, despite other things. However, after 3-4 months if you see that your progress has slowed, then ok, go ahead. Just remember that nutrients aren't answer to all questions.Quote:So if weight training for 1 hour keeps heart rate high, will I burn off as much flab as running for an hour?I doubt heart rate has much to do with burning / consuming calories. Food we eat is much more complicated, so bringing it down only to counting how many calories it has, is... dangerous?   ;Quote:Original post by KoshmaarThere are simply too many things to list here, I suggest buying Flex (or sth similiar) or reading through www sites, there are plenty of good diet articles - read them, and stick to them :-)I'd disagree with the recommendation to by Flex or most other fitness magazines. Too much of the information listed in those magazines comes from people who are genetically gifted and on steroids, and thus is questionable at best for normal people.Most of the websites listed so far have good information (though I checked out the forums at EliteFitness, and I was a bit dismayed at how many people there seem to be using steroids - but I guess that's something you have to watch for everywhere). I'd also suggest bodybuildingforyou.com and Testosterone Nation. Something you'll notice is that many sources disagree with each other on some points. The key is to read a lot. You'll eventually learn that there are many things that most sources agree on, which you can accept as true. The subjects on which there is a lack of consensus tend to come down to personal preferences and individual differences, so you should try different things and see what works best for you.Quote:Original post by KoshmaarBtw, at begginning, don't buy any nutrientsI'd disagree with that too. I think that even from the beginning, you need some kind of protein supplement to meet the increased needs associated with weightlifting/bodybuilding. A daily multivitamin is pretty important too.Quote:Original post by KoshmaarI doubt heart rate has much to do with burning / consuming calories. Food we eat is much more complicated, so bringing it down only to counting how many calories it has, is... dangerous?Heart rate is one of the best indicators of your exercise intensity level, and thus how many calories you're burning.This is really a pretty complicated topic, so I'll try to summarize the important points. Lifting weights for an hour won't burn as many calories and won't be as effective at weight loss as an hour of medium to high intensity cardio. However, weight lifting does have benefits when it comes to losing flab: it does burn off some calories, it boosts your metabolism for the day, and as you build muscle, your basal metabolic rate will increase, causing you to burn more calories every day without doing anything. The problem is that to build muscle, you generally have to increase your food intake substantially.My recommendation - and pretty much every source I'm aware of agrees with me - would be that if you have a lot of weight to lose, focus on that before trying to build muscle. You can still weight train a little (and should, since it'll help prevent muscle loss normally associated with weight loss), but the focus should be on cardio and eating well. If you only have a little weight to lose, you can focus on weight training right away, supplemented with a bit of cardio.   