I have the complete opposite experience. I messed up my lower back doing t-bars after a long break from the gym (very stupid I know) and haven't been able to workout much at all for almost a year now. I'd definitely suggest consulting with a personal trainer before seriously considering weight training. It's getting better now and I slowly start training my back again, but holy crap it's been very painful 6 months.
I've seen a handful of friends injure themselves weightlifting over the years, and almost every incident stemmed from poor form and/or too much weight.
I don't know if I'd recommend a personal trainer for anyone seriously considering it, trainers aren't cheap and most people aren't likely to stick with weight training. If we're talking weightlifting as a sport, yes you should definitely be working with experts whether trainers or fellow weightlifters.
I'd recommend anyone new to study up on form when you start working out, and maybe ask a trainer at the gym you go to to give you a quick form check.
For somebody who is new to weightlifting and not terribly frail, it is almost impossible to get injured if you just start with an empty bar and then progressively add 5lbs each session.
5 lbs each session quickly gets you to a pretty heavy weight, and you may not have proper form—I did this and I got to a point where if I continued the same way I would have almost certainly messed up my back doing deadlifts. I'd temper this advice with the warning that once it starts feeling pretty heavy (and long before that as well!), you should definitely get advice on your form, be it from a trainer or friends.
Couldn't agree more with your advice, but I'll just point out: once you hit weights where you can injure yourself, you're by definition no longer new to weightlifting. Plus you've already reaped most of the health benefits that being stronger bestow. Beyond that, you're no longer lifting for health.
That's not the exact opposite experience, that's just stupid. You have to work up to the weight. If I walk into the gym and try lifting my PR while cold, I will almost certainly fuck up my back. That's why coaches make so much emphasis on warm up, gradual weight progression, and leaving your ego out of it. And of course you have to know where your limits are. I'm never going to be a pro, so I set my training limit for deadlifts at 2.5x my body weight and for squats at 2x for 1 rep. I do go beyond that every now and then, but only when I'm feeling up to it. With proper nutrition and training those are realistic goals for an able bodied male to achieve over the course of 1.5-2 years starting from the untrained state.
