When first starting off, it’s great to begin with exercises that are safe, effective, & target multiple muscle groups. You want to make sure that when working out during the week (for example), you choose exercises that are squats, pushes, pulls, lunges, core, and hinges. Below are some great exercises to incorporate into your workout program:
- Squats – Dumbbell squats
- Push – Push-ups, shoulder press, chest press
- Pull – Cable Rows, Bentover Rows, Lat. Pulls
- Lunge – Front & back lunges (bodyweight or with dumbbells)
- Hinge – Glute bridge, deadlift, Romanian deadlift
- Core – planks, forward crunch, penguin crunch, pallof press, farmers carry
Check out the video below showing the exercises above!
Workout Tips for Beginners
When starting with strength training exercises, it is better to start with very light weights to focus on form prior to increasing the weights. Once you feel comfortable with the weight and form, then progressively increase the resistance or weight. If your goal is to perform 10 reps total, for example, you want the last 2 reps to feel like a struggle. If you were only able to get to 8 reps, then the weight might be too heavy. On the flip side, if you were able to get way more than 10 reps, then the weight is too light and you can go up.
Another important aspect to focus and work on is consistency. Ideally, you would want to aim for 2-3 regular workouts per week. However, life can get in the way, so it’s better to find one day a week to work out consistently, than to work out 2-3 days a week every couple of months. It’s important to start building habits and making your workout part of your weekly routine will go a long way. Especially when you start feeling great and get through the first couple of tough weeks, you’ll want to workout more because of the way it makes you feel afterwards.
Also, another thing that is super important is to eat and hydrate properly. When you do this, you are helping your muscles to recover faster after your workout. This will help to avoid your muscles getting sore or called DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) after working out.
Finally, you need to rest and recover. Especially when being a beginner, you don’t want to start too fast and too intense because you could get hurt. If your body isn’t used to lifting weights, you have to start slowly and build intensity. Therefore, when you workout, it’s important to take a rest day afterwards to allow the muscles to recover. For example, if you are working out two days per week, you can choose to workout on M/W, T/Th, W/F, etc. If you decide to start with three days, you can choose M/W/F, T/Th/Sa, W/F/Su, etc. The possibilities are endless! Just make sure that you pick days that you can stay consistent and write it on the calendar.
Being a beginner doesn’t have to feel overwhelming! Finding a good workout program doesn’t have to be difficult. Focusing on each movement pattern will help in having a balanced workout program. However, I know it can take some time to do this, so if you’d like some help, it’s a great idea to hire a trainer. They can put together a program specifically for your needs. That is my strength, and would be happy to help you with your workout goals. If you’d like to chat, send me an email at carola@groundingfitness.com or call/text at 346-645-0288.
Grounding Fitness, LLC 