I am very much still at the beginning of my health and fitness journey. While I have been going to the gym for the past few months and lost a lot of weight, so far I only used machines. I want to start incorporating free weights as I focus more on building muscle but I don’t know where to start.
Free weights seem very daunting to me, I have heard and read so many horror stories about injuries when using improper form while using free weights that I don’t really know where to start and then how to improve.
While it’s important to eventually graduate to mostly free weights don’t be afraid to leverage machine workouts/smiths machine/etc. while you work on your form. Also don’t hesitate to ask someone at the gym about proper form on a particular exercise.
My journey involved a friend with a bit more knowledge than me helping to pull me up while he worked on his development. A partner, especially a more experienced one, is a great strategy as well.
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The thing with free weights is you don’t just start doing them at a weight that actually builds muscle and challenges you. You start off light with lots of repetitions to build the proper form and memory. Increasing slowly as you learn the form and commit to it.
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Start off with the empty bar and focus on technique. If you’ve been doing machine work the empty bar will probably not be too much of a challenge for you.
They’re not that dangerous and look, even if I deadlifted 100 kilos with a rounded back, it wouldn’t completely destroy my spine the first time around. It would hurt my back probably, it might hurt for a few days too, which is a signal to mean I fucked up, but it’s not like it would paralyse me from just lifting badly once.
I picked 100 kilos because it might look like an impressive weight. Truth is I deadlift heavier than 100 kilos and you probably don’t yet. That’s the other rule; don’t try to overdo it. You have to challenge yourself and increase the weights (if you stay at the same weights all the time you will only learn to lift that weight and it will never get easier), but if you struggled to deadlift, idk, 60 kilos, then next time try 65. Not 100. That’s how people injure themselves. Your muscles also have a role to prevent injury and so as you lift heavier, you can get away with improperly lifting higher and higher weights.
I was lucky that I had good coaches early on who instilled proper form, but you can also look up videos from good don’t be afraid to ask people for tips – as long as they seem to know what they’re doing. Many people at the gym might look buff but they have terrible form lol.
Form does two things: prevent injuries and allow you to lift heavier. There’s so many granular tips you can get into but as long as you get the bar up, it counts as a rep. The rest will come naturally.
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Here’s some videos I do, these can all be done with freeweights / dumbbells. Best to start out very light, then work your way up, and eventually get multiple sets so you have different weights you can quickly switch to.
As far as a weekly routine, I do full body, so chest, arms, lower, cardio/core, twice a week, but you can do three times, if you wanna get fit fast. Just make sure you have 48 hours of rest in between.
Videos
Chest
Arms
Back
Shoulders
Lower
- FitnessBlender - 30 min dumbbell squats and deadlifts
- Juice & Toya - 20 min lower body dumbell workout
- Fraser Wilson - 20 min home leg workout
Cardio / abs
- FitnessBlender - 20 min Brutal HIIT Ladder Workout
- Fraser Wilson - 20 min Dumbell abs
- Pamela Reif - 10 min hiit workout
- Athlean X - 6 pack abs workout (10 mins)
Posture / corrective