No idea what i'm doing. Where do I begin?

I have the cardio down. I do about 30 minutes a day 5-6 times a week. But when it comes to the weight lifting side I feel so lost. I see people post on here that they do 45-60 minutes of weights and I think oh my gosh what are they doing?  I find myself walking around thinking omg what do i do? My gym doesn't have trainers and I feel very overwhelmed when I'm there. I find myself doing the machines for my biceps and triceps and some leg exercises but other than that i'm pretty lost.

I need help.

Do you have a routine that you do when you go? Or do you just do different exercises everyday?

How do I know how much weight to lift?

How do you log this? Like when I do my biceps and triceps I'm at the machine and I do 15 then rest then do 15 more rest and then by the 3rd time I can usually only do like 10. If that takes a total of oh i dont know lets say 5 minutes do you take out for the breaks or write it down as 5 minutes? This confuses me and I want to be accurate. If i do a total of 30 minutes do you log 30 minutes even though you are resting in between?

Is there Anyone that can help me get  going in the right direction?

Hey there. Yeah, it can be confusing at first. I focused on finding exercises that work for the different areas of my body. So, to do that, I would try out different machines. I'm sure I looked a bit ridiculous when I first started, but oh well. When you get on a machine and you feel comfortable with the motion on it, then it's time to find the right weight amount for you. What I've done is just lower or raise the weight amount until you find something that is challenging (meaning, you feel your muscles doing the work) but not overpowering (you get exhausted after a couple of reps). You want to be able to do about 12 reps, and the last couple should feel really challenging. The weight will depend on the different machines and the muscles they work. I found that there are some machines that just don't work my muscles in the right way, so I avoid them. Also, if you have any injuries, there are some machines you should avoid. Pay attention to any pain your body is telling you about. For example, a few years ago I snapped all my ribs out of place, and now I have a bit of arthritis in my ribs, so I can not do the assisted pull up/dip machine as it really inflames it.

On another note, I have found using free weights to be quite good for me, as I feel more capable of working the muscles I want. You just have to make sure to do them right. By free weights I mean dumbbells and the such. The amount you use just depends on your strength and the muscles you are using, and you find that out by experimenting.For example, I can do more with my biceps, but less with my triceps.

As far as what exercises to do, I basically conglomerated my own list from various workout books and dvds and, once I was familiar with them, I put them in my workout routine. Jillian Michaels has some great moves. There's also a book called Women's Strength Training Anatomy that shows very detailed illustrations of each exercise (free weights and machines) and the muscles they work (unfortunately it has not upper body for some reason). And lastly, I KNOW THIS BOOK WOULD ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS, I came across The Complete Idiots Guide To Weightlifting and it answers all your questions along with showing you illustrations of each machine and exercise. Good, good book for that.

As far as logging all of your exercise, I'm not too sure of that myself. I'm thinking though that since resting is such an important part of weightlifting that you wouldn't subtract all of that time and just log in the whole time. Feel free to message me for anymore questions, and good luck!

I'd say skip the machines.

For routines, you can check out http://www.stumptuous.com/category/training/w orkout_ideas

and for explanations of how to do exercises, exrx.net has a pretty complete list.

lastly, in general, best to avoid isolation movements, like bicep curls and tricep extensions. If you look at my journals, I've got one that has a weight lifting routine that lists a bunch of compound exercises that you can chose from.

if you aren't grunting and begging for quits by the 8th rep, your weight isn't high enough. you should go for 2 sets of 8-12 reps until you can move on to the next level.

avoid machines as they only work one isolated muscle. focus on compound movements that will work several muscles at once.

lifting from 45-60 minutes is stupid - if you can lift for that long you are being inefficient and not working hard enough and getting the most out of your workout. you should be going hard for 20-35 minutes, with very little rest in between, for maximum effectiveness. I like going through Men's Health for moves with dumbells. I also like to do full body workouts instead of working chest, arms and legs separately

good luck!

Original Post by polo888:

if you aren't grunting and begging for quits by the 8th rep, your weight isn't high enough. you should go for 2 sets of 8-12 reps until you can move on to the next level.

avoid machines as they only work one isolated muscle. focus on compound movements that will work several muscles at once.

lifting from 45-60 minutes is stupid - if you can lift for that long you are being inefficient and not working hard enough and getting the most out of your workout. you should be going hard for 20-35 minutes, with very little rest in between, for maximum effectiveness. I like going through Men's Health for moves with dumbells. I also like to do full body workouts instead of working chest, arms and legs separately

good luck!

^Second That^

Original Post by polo888:

avoid machines as they only work one isolated muscle. focus on compound movements that will work several muscles at once.

For me, the machines were a great place to start.  My gym uses FitLinxx monitors on their machines which help you watch your form and range of motion.  This helped me to get a feel for fairly correct movement.  It's kind of along the same lines as my starting a diet with prepackaged meals because it helps teach one about portion control. 

BUT.... it was important that I wean myself off of the freezer meals for healthier choices, and to wean myself off of the weight machines for more well-rounded muscle training. 

I'm still a bit afraid of free-weights because I'm a newbie at them, and I can't afford a trainer right now.  I'm taking them slow and getting pointers from some of my gym friends. 

Another good thing about free-weights......  it beats having to stalk a machine at the gym because they are so darn busy, and you can do them at home if you have a set of weights! 

You could also look into the New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women.  I've purchased the book and now that I've finished reading it, I'm walking myself through the routines in Stage 1 to get comfortable with what it feels like to lift.  I hope to start a real lifting routine within the next 2 weeks or so. 

I also asked those same questions, and being clueless was really embarassing at a University gym full of hard-bodied undergrads.  :-)  I've started to go on Sat. in the morning (when all undergrads are still sleeping/working off last night's booze) and getting comfortable with the free weights and squat area so that, armed with my new knowledge, I'll be able to go in confidently and do my thing without interruption. 

I've already had one friend say "I'm so impressed that you are over here in the "boy" area!" I was excited about that.  :-)

Good luck!  Feel free to ask questions if you can't figure something out.  Bottom line - have fun doing it!