That's still a very broad request. For best results, it's best to get as clear as you can about details.
Getting in a bit of shape and getting a bit of muscle strength is an unclear goal/set of goals. I'll try to help you out:
- do you want to increase your muscular endurance?
- do you want to focus on strength?
- do you want to look more toned? if so, do you want to end up bigger or smaller when you're more toned. Bigger? That's a LOT more work.
Normally, people start out by working on muscular endurance. If you don't have it, it'll be tough to achieve other goals. Workout sets should be kept to 8-12 reps for muscular endurance, for 3-5 sets (moving to 5 ASAP), working around 70% of the max weight you can lift in a given exercise until you can do more. Rest as needed; ignore everything else you ever hear about resting. You will generally increase intensity and you will progressively load more weight into your sets. After you can handle an increase or two in weight, you're probably ready to begin a strength regime if you're interested.
You may be interested in function/performance in life/sports, aesthetics, pure strength, health/longevity ... but in general, your best bet is to aim for one of these goals when you start out.
No matter what you're doing, you can probably count on increasing your protein intake. As soon as you get more specific I think more answers will pop up. The info I gave you on muscular endurance isn't a specific recommendation. It's just a general guideline. After you develop muscular endurance and neuromuscular facilitation (i.e., when your body says you're ready) you can jump into something else. This may take a few weeks, or maybe even 6-8 weeks. I find that most people tiptoe around too much early on. What's REALLY important early on is learning proper form, learning what muscles and joints are being used ... the focus on technique pays huge dividends later on. The most direct route from improving muscular endurance is getting into a hypertrophy routine, because it's probably the closest thing to it, AND it's a good way to build a base before digging into heavy lifting
e: I didn't really address the "bit more" goals directly because I frankly don't subscribe to them. If you're only getting a bit better, with all due respect, you're wasting your time and effort. If you want to make noticeable changes in your physiology, strength, cardio, whatever, OK, now you're in the game.
E2: this sexy mofo right here knows what I'm saying: 2 User(s) are reading this topic (0 Guests and 1 Anonymous): ozzyarmy3 <-- He got back into the scene semi-recently and he's already addicted. He has effectively turned himself into a gym bro
This post was edited by RewtheBrave on Mar 2 2017 04:36pm