Well the first thing to note is that "very heavy" is a very relative term. What scared me at first is now way below what I would even warm up with after a few years. So make sure to start out very light and take your time working up to things.
I don't know what's "ideal" but I can tell you what I did. I joined a regular gym, and a crossfit gym near my office at the same time. Was feasible to do since both had great intro specials.
Crossfit gets a bad rep in some parts of the internet but the owner was an experienced olympic weightlifter and knew what he was doing. I went 3 days a week for the first three months religiously, and asked a lot of questions about how to lift with proper form and all that.
In retrospect I probably didn't actually need to do that, but it took away a lot of anxiety. As a guy in his 40's I knew I didn't know what I was doing, and of course all sorts of strange and unfamiliar aches and pains and soreness came along at first and having someone experienced helping me made me feel confident that those were normal.
After the three month trial was up I let the crossfit thing lapse and started Stronglifts 5x5. They have a great app and set of videos that just tell you exactly what to do, it's great for beginners. The linear progression they use should keep you busy for a year or so before you start to feel like you need something new.
After a year or two I got a personal trainer, but it was mostly just for efficiency because I got really busy. I get a lot more into a single hour than I used to. He helps get things set up and so on and pushes me. One thing that I did do was tell him I just wanted to lift weights so I wouldn't waste time on random exercises. You have to manage a personal trainer like anyone else, and if you don't like things they have you do then don't do them, manage your own program too.
I don't know what's "ideal" but I can tell you what I did. I joined a regular gym, and a crossfit gym near my office at the same time. Was feasible to do since both had great intro specials.
Crossfit gets a bad rep in some parts of the internet but the owner was an experienced olympic weightlifter and knew what he was doing. I went 3 days a week for the first three months religiously, and asked a lot of questions about how to lift with proper form and all that.
In retrospect I probably didn't actually need to do that, but it took away a lot of anxiety. As a guy in his 40's I knew I didn't know what I was doing, and of course all sorts of strange and unfamiliar aches and pains and soreness came along at first and having someone experienced helping me made me feel confident that those were normal.
After the three month trial was up I let the crossfit thing lapse and started Stronglifts 5x5. They have a great app and set of videos that just tell you exactly what to do, it's great for beginners. The linear progression they use should keep you busy for a year or so before you start to feel like you need something new.
After a year or two I got a personal trainer, but it was mostly just for efficiency because I got really busy. I get a lot more into a single hour than I used to. He helps get things set up and so on and pushes me. One thing that I did do was tell him I just wanted to lift weights so I wouldn't waste time on random exercises. You have to manage a personal trainer like anyone else, and if you don't like things they have you do then don't do them, manage your own program too.
Hope that helps.