How much weight to start with?

[gibs0n]

Well, today is my first weight training day in my "Burn the fat, feed the muscle" programme, though I have no idea how much weight to lift ! Can someone please give me some ball-park figures for a beginner? I have reeaasonable strength naturally and have a large frame @ 6'3" if this helps.

Below is my 3 day per week full body training plan.
Thanks very much

1. Bench press with barbell
2. Shoulder Press
3. One arm dumbbell row
4. Dumbbell extension behind head
5. Dumbbell Bicep curl
6. Leg extension or lunge (on my pro-form home bench )
7. Standing calf raise - don't have equipment for these
8. Lying leg curl (on my pro-form home bench )
9. Incline Crunches

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

why are you doing a full-body workout? its not smart to group together all your biggest muscle groups- chest/back/legs on the same day. I would rec--

Mon - chest/ tris/ shoulders
Wed- legs/glutes/ calves
Fri - Back/ bis

btw-- your from NZ??? do you know Dan Carter..LOL!

 

[bigstve12]

i dont like your WO, but in response to your question, there is no set weight a beginner should start at. ITs gonna be different for everyone. My best advice is start light and work your way up...learning proper form is more important for you right now.

 

[gibs0n]

In the programme that I'm basing the workout on, Burn the fat, Feed the muscle, Tom Venutro says that beginners should work the entire body 3 times a week to start with before doing a split workout. Not sure why but thats what I was going with. What don't you like about the workout? I only have free weights and a bench with the leg working stuff attached.

 

[guldukat]

I actually gotta say that, aside from a decided lack of squats and deadlifts, that's not a bad routine for a beginner. Gibson, perhaps you could get a trap bar or set something up for squats?

Exercise choice aside, I would not make the transition to "only" working things twice a week for at least 3-4 months, after someone's moving a lot more weight. I wouldn't even consider training each bodypart once weekly for the first year of training. (That's really designed with the understanding that the lifter's making significant inroads in his CNS, something a beginner simply cannot do effectively.)

 

[Hojo]

Start light go with something that feels easy to lift but still feels like you need to push it. Then just build up from there only doing 2 or 3 set per body group( like chest, back.....) for the first few weeks just till you body tightens up.

 

[gibs0n]

Thanks a lot for the advice, I had my first workout last night, was doing about 40kg on the bench, 10kg each dumbell for shoulder press and biceps and around 30kg for legs, able to do about 6-9 reps per set then about 6 or 7 on the last set to failure. I feel comfortably sore today! I love working out! can tell this will become quite an obsession.

Cheers

 

[coldblue1955]

well you should always start out light and work your way to the heavier weights.