If you haven’t lifted before, you are going to want to start slowly. If you start off by going to the gym 6 days a week, 2-3 hours at a time, you’ll be so sore you’ll most likely stop within a matter of days. There’s a good chance you’ll injure yourself, too. You don’t want to do that.
Keep in mind, most of the “programs” you’ll find are aimed at people who have been weightlifting for some time, and may have plateaued, not seeing the progress they did when they started. Since you are just starting out, you’ll see incredible progress, if you can stick with it. This means the most important things are to:
- Stay healthy: avoid injury. Your muscles, tendons and ligaments aren’t accustomed to the additional load of strength training. You have to condition them slowly and consistently.
- Build the habit of exercise into your regular routine: exercise won’t necessarily help you lose weight, but it will confer incredible health benefits (like being stronger) and will certainly help you maintain muscle mass while you lose weight. You will probably lose weight more slowly if you do ketosis and weightlifting at the same time, compared to just doing ketosis, but you will become healthier and stronger much faster. I don’t agree with the poster who said that lifting intensely once a week is the best way to start. Note that he had already been going to the gym six days a week, and then he switched to a once a week workout. That’s an advanced technique, and it probably works better for him, but you are just starting out and you are at a very different place in your journey. I think it’s better to establish the habit of exercising, and the best way to do that is to do an easy workout most days of the week.
- Start with an easy workout: because you’re just starting to lift weights, you’ll see immediate progress with anykind of exercise. Instead of trying to do as much as you can in the shortest amount of time, try to find an easy workout that you enjoy. This will make it much easier to establish the habit of working out, which is much more valuable than trying to use “motivation” to push yourself. Once you start working out on the regular, you’ll naturally want to add more sets and reps as you become stronger.
I started keto last year. I was doing lots of cardio and it wasn’t working for me. I realized I needed to switch over to strength training. I started by doing one pushup a day. That was it, my entire strength workout, one pushup. I kept at it for a couple months, building the habit of exercise into my day, and then I started doing … two pushups.
But I still kept at it. Now, I do a half hour of strength training every day, alternating between upper and lower body workouts. I’ve seen an amazing amount of progress, and I’ve lost 25 lbs, while at the same time adding muscle. Interestingly, I’m also in better cardio condition now than when I was doing cardio exclusively. I also used to have some serious problems with my left knee, but now the pain is gone and I do squats, deadlifts and other leg-bending exercises with no pain or discomfort.
So, to answer your question, what’s a good program to follow?
- Go to the gym six days a week to get into the habit of exercising.
- Alternate between upper body and lower body exercises each day, so you don’t exercise the same muscles two days in a row.
- Warm up with a brisk walk, jumping jacks, or some other easy exercise to get the blood flowing throughout your body.
- Start off with very light weights, or no weights at all (calisthenics and body-weight exercises).
- Focus on exercises that utilize large muscle groups or many muscle groups. Examples include: bodyweight squats, pushups, lat pulldowns or rowing
- Try to do 8 – 12 repetitions (reps) per set of each exercise.
- Start with 1 – 2 sets per exercise.
- Perform each rep slowly. Not only is this the most efficient way to build muscle, it’s a great way to prevent injury.
Some tips:
- If are sore from lifting (and you will be) take some time to stretch or do yoga. This will reduce the soreness while improving your strength and mobility. Find a mat at the gym and stretch out, before or after your weight workout, or both.
- Track your workouts. Write down (or enter in your app) how many sets and reps you do for each exercise. I use Fitocracy, and started with the free version, but there are lots of apps out there, or you can just use a little spiral notepad. This way you can see your progress over time
- Don’t obsess over the scale. If you are lifting weights, your weight loss may slow or even stop. Instead, focus on your measurements. Do your clothes fit differently? I keep having to pull my belt in another notch.
- If you notice any pain or discomfort, stop immediately. Don’t try to push through the pain. “No pain, no gain” is one of the stupidest slogans ever. The truth is: “no pain, no injury.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t rhyme.
- To avoid injury, focus on good form. The weights shouldn’t be swinging around all over the place. Going slow helps with this a lot.
- Keep the weights low until you know how to perform the exercise with good form. Once you are feeling strong and the sets are easy, start adding reps. Once you reach 12 reps, add some weight. You won’t be able to do as many reps, but you’ll be lifting more. But don’t add weight until you can do the exercise slowly for at least 12 reps.
Bonus tip: if possible, do your workout before you eat. This way you will be exercising in a fasted state, and since you’re in ketosis, you will therefore burn more stored fat.
Here’s a sample starter workout. You can use Google to see detailed descriptions and videos of these movements. Alternate from day to day: do lower body one day, then upper body the next, and repeat. Take at least one day off per week.
Lower body
- Body weight squats. If your knees bother you, don’t squat as low. There are many variations of the basic squat move, like the sumo squat, which may be easier or harder, depending on your knees.
- Straight-leg deadlifts. Use very light weights when you start. I started this with 10 lb. dumbbells and I could barely move the next day!
- Calf raises (body weight to start)
- Crunches
Upper body
- Rowing machine or bent-over row (dumbbell or barbell); or lat pulldowns.
- Bench press or pushup. If pushups are too difficult starting out, try doing a pushup with your knees on the floor, instead of your toes. Pushups are great because they engage the entire front of your body, especially your abs.
- Shoulder press
- Bicep curls
- Tricep extensions
There are many variations of the exercises I listed above. Pick one and stick with it for at least two weeks. Try other variations, such as: switching from a machine shoulder press to dumbbells; changing your grip on the bar, and so on. This sample workout covers all the muscles in your body. Notice how the exercises start with large muscles or multiple muscle groups (like your back and arms for rowing and pulldowns, or your legs and lower back for squats); and then progress to smaller muscles (like squats or calf raises)
Remember to drink lots of water and get as much sleep as you can. You may also want to increase the amount of protein you consume, but only slightly, as too much protein can knock you out of ketosis.