Planning to start working out

Some general advice:
Go slow. You won't get anything accomplished by speeding through everything haphazardly.
Be well hydrated and eat right (this gets me the most)
Consistency. Make sure you are working out at least 3 times a week if you want results.
Target. Target areas you want to work and try and maintain this target workout. Don't just try every machine out in the gym.

I'm a novice in a way but these are general tips given at bodybuilding.com. I'd recommend it, I've seen some results from working out and it's really good. I hope this helps.

 

I'd say try push ups/ pull ups, you know the basics to get you started. And use light dumbells.

 

ask a trainer for tips. or get at least one private session where they explain how to safely use everything.

 

This is good advice. I'd like to expand on the last two points by saying that it's a good idea to only work out each muscle group once a week, and then give it the rest of the week to recover before exercising it again. So if you are exercising 3 times a week, only do your arms in one of those sessions, not in all three. If you don't give your muscles enough to time to rebuild after exercise, then they never get a chance to increase in size and strength.
When you're first starting out it isn't much of a problem as the weight you are using will be low, but it becomes more important as you progress.

This only applies to mass-building exercise by the way, not cardio such as running or cycling.


Also I'd add sufficient rest and sleep to the list of important things, as this is when the majority of post-exercise muscle growth will be taking place.

 

dont do freeweights right off the bat, is my point about mass-building.

I would recommend using the weight machines, because they constrain your movement. Also, do not pay a attention to what others are doing, and what weight they are lifting, as outside of douchebags, the gym is not a competitive enviorment... except when challanging yourself. do the weight that feels challanging for the machines movement, but that you can handle it for 5-8 reps, and 3 sets.

Free weights are generally better for mass gains once you have got your body in the habit of excercise. However, form becomes all the more important, as you are the one completely in control of how you move the weight. I would recommend bodybuilding.com, as they have videos of all the common, and even some uncommon freeweight moves in their exercise database, along with information on how to do them properly to prevent injuries, and what muscles are worked by the movement.

I also must stress that the addage 'less is more' is 100% true in the gym. Point to make is that last june I got a gym membership, and have since gained about 20 pounds. It should be noted that some of that is fat and water weight, but hopefully ten or more pounds of it is muscle (and i have gained alot of muscle shape and size). I see people who will spend two hours lifting weights, and they look the same size they were last june, while I have grown considerably.

When working out, you really only need 30 minutes on the weights, possibly even 45 when your body is acclimated to the process of working out. You also do not need huge weights to see growth. only do what is challanging, but managable, and never more then 3-4 sets within a single movement. Also, dont just focus on a single muscle. I do two chests moves (machine press, and machine pec flys, the first being a push, the second a stretch), two shoulder moves (overhead press to focus on the front and middle part of the shoulder, and reverse flys on the pec machine to focus on the back side of the shoulders and the traps), dips on the dip machine, and chin ups on the chinup machine to develop the lats, and the bicep curl machine, and the tricep extension machine for arms. This allows you to hit the upper body without overtraining anything... and once you have overtrained a muscle, you have killed your growth until it can fully heal.

I would recommend doing a upper body, lower body split. legs and butt one day, the next day you work out, upper body. this way, in the beginning, when you are sore, it is not your whole body.

soreness is killer the first few times you work out, because your body is recovering from something you are not used to. now, I still see alot of growth, but I dont get all that sore. you have to push through it, and trust me, it is worth it.

Also, dont listen to people who say you need to buy lots of suppliments. All you need really is a good diet that is high carbs for energy, and clean protiens like chicken or fish, and a good protien shake for post workout when your body needs easy to digest and metabolise protiens (not a company spokesperson, but I suggest Gold standard whey, which can be bought cheat from bodybuilding.com). When you have put on some mass, you could choose to add creatine (it is a amino acid chain that is stored in your muscle tissue as energy that you use when you work out to push yourself a little harder,or a little longer, which can help increase the effectiveness of your workouts.), but you need the muscle mass to store it, and it also hydrates the muscles, so you would need to increase your water intake. It is good for stimulating mass growth, but doesnt grow muscle directly. but younger people really dont need it, because they are in a optimum growth mode anyways.

and lastly, muscles, no matter how small, need 48 hours to fully recover, longer if you overtrain. dont overdo it... otherwise you are wasting your time.

 

Hm, I'm not sure about this. Machines won't develop your stabilising muscles because they constrain your movement for you. Essentially they do the job of the stabilising muscles, which allows you target the main working muscles more effectively, but at the obvious cost of the stabilisers not being developed at all. This can lead to very easy injuries if you do transition to free weights, or even just out in the real world, because unless you keep perfect posture and form the ancillary muscles won't be developed enough to provide the necessary support.

As I see it, while using machines avoids the problem of bad form, they are just delaying an inevitable injury, and probably making the eventual injury worse due to overconfidence from your new-found strength.

My progression would be bodyweight -> freeweights -> machine.

 

Machines aren't a bad place to start for a beginner who has never worked out. It takes some time to develop strength and work through DOMS if you're working out without a trainer or without a spot. Watching a beginner doing squats with free-weights without a spot is pretty scary.

I agree with you on starting with bodyweight. Basic calisthenics and core exercises are where everyone should start when they're getting shape.

If possible, workout with a trainer for a while. Learn the weight stations. Develop a routine. Learn how to do the exercises properly and safely. There's books you can buy that go over the basics of weightlifting and nutrition- they're an option.

A lot of universities offer PE classes for Beginner Weigh Training and it's a good way to learn, do supervised workouts with other beginners and get credit for it at the same time.