Newbie question!

[zulu]

Hi, everybody!

I'm about a month in to my latest exercise program. I've been going to Spa Lady for about a month and doing cardio and weight lifting on alternate days, usually four times a week total. I've been increasing my weights whenever I felt able to do two sets of twelve reps easily. All this work has been on machines, not free weights.

Spa Lady also offers a class called "Iron Reps" which seems to involve free weights and an aerobics-type class structure. I was thinking I'd try it out, but I'm wondering:

a) will I be likely to injure myself from not having experience with free weights?
b) is this kind of class useful if my main goal is strength training?
c) if it's useful and not dangerous, how will I know what weight to start with when I first take the class?

Thanks for any advice!

Comments

[ponderosa]

I've never taken that sort of class, although my gym offers the same. Based on what I've seen as a non-participant it seems pretty basic, things like step-ups and lifting a bar over your head for example, which doesn't really require form so much as balance. Personally, I'd call or talk to the instructor and ask them what weight is suggested to begin with based on my level of ability on the various machines.

[zulu]

*nods* Yeah, my real worry is that I don't have much in the way of rhythm. Weight I can handle! "And one and two and one and two" less so. I guess I'll see what the instructor says. Thanks!

Hi and welcome!

[rydra_wong]

My uninformed impression is that these classes tend to use pretty light weights and lots of reps so that people can keep going for an entire class. So it's not going to be dangerous if you haven't had any experience with free weights, and lots of people in the class will be in the same position. And it might be a good opportunity to get comfortable with free weights, if the class format appeals to you.

OTOH, "light weights, endless reps" is really not the most effective from a strength-building perspective, so you may find that after a while you fancy moving on and using free weights on your own so that you can increase the weight.

gubernatrix wrote a post about getting started that way:

http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2007/11/how-i-got-started-with-free-weights/

Re: Hi and welcome!

[zulu]

Thanks for the link! Yeah, mostly I've been doing high weights and low reps, so I'm glad to hear that's the right approach to increase strength. I might give the class a try to see if it works for me, but in general I prefer to work independently, and I might just stick to that.

Re: Hi and welcome!

[rydra_wong]

Gubernatrix and Stumptuous are both wonderful resources for getting started with free weights.

I wrote a couple of posts in the comm about how to feel more confident getting into the free weights room, which you might find of interest:

http://lifting-heavy-things.dreamwidth.org/15127.html
http://lifting-heavy-things.dreamwidth.org/16832.html

If you're interested in barbell lifts (which are AWESOME), then IMHO it's worth seeing if you can get an hour or two with a trainer or go to a workshop to make sure your form is correct; that way you'll get focused attention on the details of how not to injure yourself, in a way that you won't in a fast-moving class.

[lyorn]

If you are clumsy and stubborn, you can hurt yourself trying to keep up in a class, no matter what it is about. Try not too be too stubborn: Arrange a signal with your body that means "stop". (I'm speaking from experience here.)

Usually, free weights are pretty safe if you pay attention to them, and to form. Don't let the speed and rhythm of a class tempt you to pay less attention.

Start out light. What I've seen from a (maybe) similar class in the gym that I go to, they are doing enough reps that it would be exhausting doing those with a pencil. You can always go up.

Also, what rydra_wong says about low weights and endless reps. But I still think that a class, carefully taken, might give you some familiarity with free weights that can only be useful.

[rydra_wong]

If you are clumsy and stubborn, you can hurt yourself trying to keep up in a class, no matter what it is about.

This is a very good point. As a clumsy and stubborn person, I have managed to hurt myself doing yoga on my own on more than one occasion. I keep learning this the hard way.

[zulu]

Noted! That's why I wanted to be cautious before I started. So far so good!

[zennish]

a) Probably not, as long as you've got a good teacher who'll show you the ropes.

b) I don't know what the class is like - it sounds like it'd kind of be structured a little like some Crossfit workouts (ie. free weights at a certain reps/speed), which can be good and bad.

Good because generally these workouts (speed + reps) push your endurance and you get a good hit of a workout. (Citation: me, with my crap rotator cuffs and stupid hips, lolz.) Bad because if your form isn't correct, or if your teacher isn't watching/teaching you form correctly, speed + reps can very, very easily tweak joints and ligaments and cause badness.

As for useful - look at the exercises they're doing. If they're doing sort of single-muscle exercises, those probably aren't going to get you stronger overall - they'll be good for making that single muscle get stronger, yes, but chances are the smaller stabiliser muscles won't get worked. If they're doing something like lots of squats, which work the hips, legs, core and back, you'll get more bang for your buck there.

c) Look around the rest of the class and ask someone who looks to be about your level of your fitness what weight they're using - you can always go up/down during the workout if you find it's too much/too little.

pssst HAVE FUN!

[zennish]

Er:

Good because generally these workouts (speed + reps) push your endurance and you get a good hit of a workout. Bad because if your form isn't correct, or if your teacher isn't watching/teaching you form correctly, speed + reps can very, very easily tweak joints and ligaments and cause badness. (Citation: me, with my crap rotator cuffs and stupid hips, lolz.)

*fails*

[zulu]

*nods* They did seem to be doing a lot of squats when I glanced in last time. Me: eeeep squats! I'll definitely be starting light and seeing if I like the format before moving up. Thanks!