newbie

[panda]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I'd like to ask for your help. Today (with thanks to resolute for the invite ♥) I joined http://www.fitocracy.com and the prospect of getting gold stars earning points and leveling up was enough to inspire me to actually start a strength training routine.

I have never done strength training before. At some point I saw someone over at exercise_every_day recommend http://www.stumptuous.com/, so I wandered through their dork to diva section learning about proper form for various exercises, before picking a couple I felt comfortable doing with the equipment I have.

My equipment and the exercises I picked behind the cut:

I have:
-hand weights, 3.5 lbs each
-a yoga mat
-my body weight
-food cans, 2 liter bottles and other assorted things that could be used as improvised weights

what I do not have:
-any kind of bench

As for what I did- I've been told you should do reps of a lift until you can no longer maintain proper form, so that's what I tried to do, keep repeating the lift until I felt like my form was going to deteriorate.

I did:
-3 planks, held for 30 seconds each (which was really pushing my limits)

-dumbbell squats, 2 sets of 5 reps (this also pushed my limits, and despite stumptuous' directions, I still felt iffy on my form- if anyone has recommendations for a how to for the complete beginner, that would be great)

-standing dumbbell shoulder press, 2 sets of 10 reps (I could maybe have done more?)

-standing dumbbell bicep curl, 2 sets of 10 reps (maybe could have done more, maybe not)

What do you guys think? Any advice? Are there any other exercises I should be doing with the equipment I have? Thanks in advance!

Comments

Yay surprise free equipment!

[rydra_wong]

This feels like a stupid question but, when I use them, this means they count as 8 lb weights, right?

Yep, you always count the bar (especially with barbells, where the bar can weigh a lot all by itself).

Me, the font of endless questions X3

As you may have noticed, I love questions like this because I can geek out about an enthusiasm of mine. And I'm sure I'm not the only one in the comm who feels that way. So ask away!

if I should be aiming for 8-12 reps, how many sets should I be aiming for?

Again, rule of thumb, but 3. There's been some to-ing and fro-ing in the research about whether one set might be just as effective, but IIRC it was coming down on the side of "3 is better, though you can still get significant improvements from one set".

Also any advice for "I pushed myself really hard yesterday and today my quads are killing me"?

Hot bath with Epsom salts in, a warming massage oil/salve/rub (Lush and Neal's Yard do good ones), and avoiding stairs. *g*