5 min
If you’re someone who is eager to build muscle and increase strength but don’t know where to start, this article is for you. While it can certainly feel intimidating, going to the gym isn’t all that scary. Nevertheless, the hesitation is understandable and completely normal.
There are so many questions that beginners have when first starting out: What exercises do I do? How do I do that exercise? Am I doing this right? How long should I go for? Where is that? What is this?!
It can be overwhelming, there’s no doubt about it…
However, increasing strength and building muscle is typically quite easy for beginners. Most can expect to see noticeable improvements within eight short weeks of committed and consistent exercise. So… weight training in general is fairly straightforward, but where do you start?
In this article, we’re going to be covering some key tips so that you can walk away a more prepared gym-goer. Let’s get into it!
How to lift weights for beginners
As mentioned earlier, getting started is the hardest part. However, once you learn the basics, devise a plan, and begin to execute it, all you need to focus on is commitment, discipline, and consistency. Let’s get on the fast track to building muscle and strength! Below are 5 beginner tips for strength training:
- Begin with just your bodyweight
- Start slow!
- Always warm up
- Rest and recover
- Focus on form, control the weight
Following these tips will ensure that you begin on the right foot. Building bad habits or executing a lift poorly will result in a lack of results, and ultimately injury. Let’s get into these tips in more detail, shall we?!
1. Begin with just your bodyweight
While you may feel the pressure to jump straight into lifting weights, this isn’t always necessarily the best course of action. Building muscle and strength certainly requires tension and resistance of some kind. However, as a beginner, this can be achieved by simply utilizing your bodyweight!
In fact, utilizing your bodyweight to accomplish this is the safest and most effective way of doing so.
It makes sense that your mind would immediately jump to weight lifting when thinking about strength training. However, the definition of strength training simply involves the utilization of resistance_._Bodyweight exercises can be an extremely effective way to initially gain strength, and as a result, build muscle.
Once you’re prepared and ready to begin challenging yourself, start introducing weights and resistance bands. This is what is known in the fitness world as “progressive overload”. Progressive overload is simply the process of adding difficulty to your exercise over the course of days, weeks, and months and can be accomplished in a multitude of ways.
Don’t fall trap to instant gratification. This is the fastest route to failure and potential injury. If you don’t feel comfortable with lifting weights just yet, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t train… Begin with just your bodyweight!
2. Start slow!
This tip is widely related to the previous tip about beginning with just your bodyweight. The idea behind starting slow is to not only remain safe along your journey in order to avoid injury and bad habits, but it also allows for a smooth progression of improvements.
Results take time. If you have the patience and determination to put in the work, you’ll begin to notice transformative improvements before you know it!
The recommendation for beginners is to simply begin with training two times per week. This will allow efficient bodily adaptation to the new stimulus. The ultimate goal is to work up to 5-6 days per week of vigorous activity.
In short, deferring to the CDC’s recommendation of 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise should be the minimum-accepted goal. Note that 75 minutes of this is recommended to be high-intensity exercise.
In fact, in an 8 week study cited in the International Journal of Exercise Science , results suggested that high-intensity and low-frequency training of equal set totals elicited similar improvements in lean mass and strength.
This goes to show that, over time, a variation in frequency and intensity is key.
3. Always warm up
Warming up is an integral part of any effective training program. While there are a number of ways that one can prep their body for action, a simple 5-10 minute dynamic warm-up is the best place to start!
Warming up not only increases internal body temperature (an effective method for improving performance and reducing injury), but it also increases range of motion, and allows for proper motor/muscle recruitment.
Without getting into the science, the key takeaway here is to simply warm-up. While it can be a tedious and boring task at times, it will pay dividends in the long run for your overall health and well-being, not to mention your results.
4. Rest and recover
If there is one thing that you can take away from this article, it’s the importance of recovery . Rest and recovery includes stretching and cooling down post-workout, taking necessary rest days, getting a sufficient amount of sleep daily (at least 7 hours), and taking care of your body at all times.
While many tend to ignore it, recovery is the single most important aspect of any training program whether you’re a complete beginner or an elite athlete. Not only does it help you prepare for your next workout, but it helps prevent injury, improves overall well-being, and improves overall performance over time.
5. Focus on form, control the weight
When you do decide to engage in a weight training program, focusing on form and controlling the weights will be the key to your success and longevity. Not only will it prevent or reduce the chances of injury, but it will improve your physique and better your results.
In summary, while these tips are generally given to beginners, they carry over to all groups of athletes and gym-goers alike. Everyone starts somewhere, and if you’re going to start, you should want to get it right the first time!
If you can take away and implement some of these tips immediately, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an all-around fitness enthusiast, and ultimately - an athlete!
As a recap, always remember to go at your own pace, engage in proper form, and do everything you can to remain happy and healthy.