How I got started with weightlifting - a weightlifting primer

[zer0]

probably the best post in the forum i've read so far. anyone saying they can't put on weight or they can't lose weight or they can't get a good build just hasn't tried hard enough.

i did something similar to you as well, i started taking BJJ classes after working out strictly w/ weight lifting for ~1 yr, talk about humbling. congrats on the progress, you've gotta keep setting goals for yourself.

[jah7_fsu1]

I disagree with everything OP said.







Just kidding, kickass post and a must read for everyone.

[skunkworks]

zer0, good point. I've thought a bit about how humbling it can be when first realizing how limited our idea of fitness can be, especially as weightlifters.

Having trained for marathons, lifted weight for mass and strength, and gotten my ass kicked in my kickboxing classes for a few weeks, one thing I've learned to value is sport-specificity training. Between these activities, there's some overlap where fitness in one activity helps with another. Running improves my lungs which has helped when the muay thai instructors have me sucking wind, and lifting has given me the muscular strength that's necessary to perform at a certain acceptable level across the board. That being said, I've been surprised at how I could possibly consider myself "fit" because I can squat more than my bodyweight etc. but I get dizzy and lightheaded after a one-hour class of kicking leather bags. I knew there's always a period of adjustment when you introduce new stimuli, but I didn't realize it was this steep.

For example, if you start on the Rippetoe program, you'll get to a certain point within a month where the DOMS becomes manageable and even minimal (DOMS = delayed onset muscle soreness; the tight soreness that hits 24-48 hours later). Throw in a different lift and you'll feel it in places you didn't know existed. That's not to say that your training hasn't helped your performance, but that our neuromuscular and metabolic systems follow a path of least resistance: throw it some new stimuli and it will grow and adapt and make it easier and stronger and better for that specific stimulus. If however you throw it something different, your body might fumble a bit because it's never trained for that activity before.

That's why I admire what the Crossfit program attempts to do: provide a wide variety of stimuli to build an extremely broad base of fitness that's designed to apply rather directly toward sports performance. It's something I am definitely considering experimenting with in the future.

But where does this leave our poor old Rippetoe lifting program? I just practically spent the last 30 minutes apparently ripping up this "vanilla" lifting program into shreds. Here's the deal: if you're out of shape or haven't been exercising much, Rippetoe's program is pretty much bar none the quickest way to get yourself up to an acceptable level of strength for the basic movements of your body. This base level of strength will then allow you to move forward with other programs where you can train specifically toward your personal fitness goals. Afterwards, you won't be able to run a sub-6:00 mile or dunk on a 10' rim unless you're genetically predisposed to it, but you'll have a base level of fitness that allows you to go in any direction you want.

If you've never lifted a barbell, this is for you. If you're a weightlifting veteran that's taken off 2+ years, this is also for you. If you're a rank noob that needs to build mass, this is for you. If you want to lose weight cause you're a fat lazy sack of crap, the lean mass you build will boost your resting metabolic rate and the fat will start to melt away. Honestly, if anyone asked me off the street how to get into shape, I'd give them a copy of Starting Strength, a link to the Rippetoe bodybuilding.com thread, and a weight room membership. Crossfit is good, but it's too fancy a program for the rank beginner. Rippetoe, on the other hand, is all killer no filler, and that's why I love it to death.