Weight lifting tips?

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So my family and I recently signed up at the local gym so we can go work out, and I decided that I wanted to do a little weight lifting to get stronger for rugby. The thing is; I've never really done it before.

Is there anything important I should know before I start?

Focus on compound movements like the bench press, deadlifts, overhead presses and so on and if there's time, you can do isolation exercises (like bicep curls or lateral raises) afterwards. Contrary to popular belief, most people respond better to a full body or two split program rather than a program that focuses on hitting each body part once per week.

There are many pseudo-intellectual broscientists on the web who are obsessed with hitting each muscle from four angles, but they reach a plateau very quickly.

Thanks, that helps a lot actually. I was looking around on the web and I saw some of the "hit each muscle from every angle!" stuff.

I like this advice - I have been working out with weights from home and I have been working mostly on the compound movements like bentover rows and deadlifts. Any good online resources you know of where I can learn a bit more about new compound movements to do? I like exercises that are efficient.

Rugby is pretty intense - good luck and stay safe!!

keep to barbells mainly and compound exersizes as said and learn correct form! starting strength by mark rippetoe is a brilliant book and is perfect for what you want it for strength! get a diary and note your weights each week and id suggest small increasments each week i go 1kg more each week (you may need to buy your own plates)
oh and dont forget your diet if your not eating right you wont make progress

Muscleandstrength.com.

Thanks guys, this has already helped so much

I'd say focus on lower body strength if you're doing it for a sport, especially rugby. In your case, you especially want a strong back, to keep yourself from getting hurt from getting tackled/falling down. In your case, the classic deadlift/squats should do you well. You're playing on your feet, so obviously having a more strong lower body will make you faster for short distances. For longer distance, then you really have to train the aerobic component more, but yeah. An interesting thing I read was (I don't have verification for it, so yeah) they put lower weight class Olympic lifters vs sprinters, and the Olympic lifters could actually keep up to 40-50 yards with the Olympic level sprinters.

As far as reps/sets/days a week lifting go, that's an endless debate, if someone found some super secret combo, everyone would use it, but it varies a lot on the person, what they're doing, etc. So while there's lots of recommendations (ie, 5x5 is probably most popular) you're gonna have to experiment and see what gives you the results you're looking for.

Generally, higher reps and lower weight builds more mass, lower reps and high weight, strength. Generally the lower reps tax the central nervous system most, in my case, doing that with mental health issues wassn't a stellar idea. By low reps, I'm talking only doing triples, doubles and singles for most things. It'll build strength (and mass), but the mental harshness of it can burn you out, so that's why people shy away from it, as they feel better doing high reps (hormones and chemicals like seratonin.) Westside Barbell, pretty much the strongest powerlifting gym around, does heavy days and light days, light days to increase speed. Westside methods might be something you wanna look into, they incorporate "the big 3" exercises, but they do have a successful track record training athletes with their methods, and they use a lot of assistance exercises.

As far as machines/isolation exercises go, they're not like...the devil, as lots of trainers (ala Crossfit/Mark Rippetoe/etc) make them out to be, but they're not really a good way to develop strength or very useable muscle mass. That said, I watched a video of Spain's national Olympic weightlifting team, and they have leg curl machines, should say something. Their purpose is basically, to use them for PT/injury prevention. Like for me, I'm using them now to rehab my knees. So they're good if you're using them in the right context, but bad if you're using them as the end all be all, which most people today do.

Best thing you can do as a beginner is to get a reputable personal trainer. They will ask you what your goal is and teach you beneficial lifts and correct form for what you want to achieve.

Around here most personal trainers have you do weird things on a bosu ball, situps and throwing a medicine ball to them. Pretty much the lamest stuff ever.

That said, if you do find someone who knows wtf they're talking about regarding weightlifting, their opinion should mean a lot to you. I mean don't look at them as gods or gurus or whatever, and always think critically, but yeah, good to have someone in person that can tell you what to do and not do.

Those things are actually pretty good for beginners, and actually throwing medicine balls is a great work out for the core. If anything for someone experienced, they all could be great warm up exercises. Combined with body weight, free weight, and some machine exercises it could be a great workout for overall functional strength, power, flexibility, and endurance. It is not the coolest looking thing like deadlifting 100's of lbs, squatting, cleans, or pressing but it works believe it or not.

Finding the right personal trainer would be the correct thing to do. Not all are the same that's why people should do research and often times a good personal trainer will offer a free course or one at a discount for the first time.

The best thing I can give for advice is to breathe in and out properly. I think your first workout should focus not just on your techniques, but your breathing as well. When exerting energy it is important to exhale, and inhale as you prepare to exert energy again. As for your technique, you may have to tweak a little bit in order to feel the burn in the muscles you are supposed to feel it in for certain exercises (hamstrings and glutes and a little in your lowerback and quads when doing deadlifts for example).
The best workout program I have done for weightlifting is the Lee Hawyard 12 week workout. Google it.

In my late teens I was into bodybuilding for about a year. I never looked hardbody girl buff or anything but you could really see some results because I've always been way too skinny, and I was able to bulk up, build muscle, and I looked curvier too it seemed. I also had good definition. This is what I remember from it.

You need a day in between to rest the muscle if you want to build it. Work upper body one day, lower body the next, abs every day. If you don't work out every day then do your whole workout every other day and work on your abs at home.

I'm not sure what rugby requires because I don't know what it is, but the girl who was training me had me go on 6 week cycles. A bulking cycle where I did low reps and heavy weight to failure for the number of reps for 6 weeks, then a maintenance cycle with medium reps and weight where I was able to do the amount of reps (more reps than before) but it was heavy at the end, then a cutting cycle where I did high reps and low weights, to give me definition.

Also during the bulking cycle I ate more carbs and proteins and dairy, and I snacked all I wanted. During the maintenance cycle I cut back on the snacking and some on the carbs and just ate a regular healthy diet, and during the cutting cycle I cut out the snacks except for fruit and veggies and cut back on the carbs and dairy, and upped the protein.

I'm not sure how it's different for us than for boys, but that's how she had me do it.

Get a trainer there to show you some exercises for each muscle group and start out with one or two per group. Then after you complete a round of all three cycles, add more exercises to your workout. Don't be afraid of the free weights. You'll actually get faster results with them because with a spotter there to keep you in strict form it's actually more work. Machines are good but she kept her girls away from them.

Good luck and let us know how you do! If I think of anything else, I'll add it here. PM me if you like, and I'll try and think back to the ice age when I was young and see if I can find the answer for you.

Research has found the weight you lift does not matter. you just need to lift until you fatigue the muscle. This means more reps with light weights. The results will be same as heavy weights with few reps.

Also focus on core.. This does not mean crunches only. pay attention to form. DO NOT OVERLIFT!. Slow and controlled is the name of the game/ Don't rush it or you might hurt yourself .

Adventus the weight you lift does matter and this guy is a rugby player so needs strength so low rep would be best for him with small increasements. this way he will get stronger which he needs for his sport

I didn't begin to see weight lifting gains till I began eating a healthy diet, rested my muscles a good deal after lifting, and took a few supplements like vitamin D3 reaching a testing level of around 50ng/ml, fish oil, and vitamin K2.

Personally, a sight I like for nutritional information is:

http://robbwolf.com/

Good luck with your lifting!