Weight Training Program for Beginners

So, you have finally decided to step into the gym and get into shape. You now need a workout routine, that will get you fit in no time. You are wondering, as to how you could go about it and stick it out until you get the desired results. You also have to be careful to avoid any serious physical injury, which might put a hold to your exercise plans. This program is specially designed to help you get the most, out of the precious time you spent working out in the gym. It contains tips on the exercises you should do, how much weight you should use and how many reps and sets you should be doing.

Getting Started

Okay, the basic requirements that you need to consider before starting out on this weightlifting program for beginners are:

• Your diet and calorie intake: Watch the amount of calories you consume. Try to cut down on unnecessary fatty foods, especially sweet and fried items. Go for protein rich foods like lean beef, chicken, fish or, if you are a vegetarian, all soybean products are good sources of protein. Also maintain a high fiber content in your diet with fruits, lots of veggies, nuts and whole grains. Try having six small meals a day instead of three large ones. This helps in preventing the buildup of fat. You could always consult a nutritionist for a diet, specific to your health and workout requirements.
• Get a physical checkup done: Before you begin with your weight training, get a health and fitness check up done from a doctor, especially if you experience pain in a certain area of your body during workout or are above 30 years old. This will help you avoid any major health problems and injuries when you start your workout.
• Fitness assessment and goals: Talk to a trainer or get a self assessment done on your fitness level and also decide what exactly you want from this weight training program. Is it to lose weight, to get fit and improve stamina, build up muscles and strength train or just all the above? This will help you pick the most appropriate of the various weight training routines to suit your specific needs.

Weight Training Routine for Beginners

• Warm up: Warm up may seem like a pain and even unnecessary at times, but the truth is, warm up helps you perform better and also reduces the chances of injury. For cardio workouts, the best approach is to do the same activity with lesser intensity and at a more comfortable pace. Similarly, for a weight workout, the best warm up is a dynamic warm up, which includes doing two sets of five reps for all the target muscles using only the bar. Then, you can proceed to warm ups, doing low intensity reps with lower weights and then on to the full weights that you use normally. Stretching before exercises is not really essential if you follow the warm up procedures, including push-ups, lunges, squats and morning walks in equal measure.
• Weight training exercises for beginners: There are many exercises you could do in your weight training program for beginners, in order to target each individual muscle group. See the table below for the exercises, according to each individual body part. You should do at least two of each exercise for every individual body part. Do one or two sets, each set consisting of 8-15 repetitions.
• Weight to use: The amount of weight to use is the heaviest you can lift so as to comfortably complete all your repetitions without too much strain towards the end. You should be able to control the weight when you bring it down and it should not fall down freely due to gravity, which is actually due to your inability to lift it. One good way to make sure if you are using the right weight, is to see if you lost control of the weight before you finished your set. If you did, then you used a little too much weight. If you think you could do some more repetitions than required, then you are going too light. After you are able to easily do your sets, then gradually increase your weight by using the above rule. This is usually after about 5-7 days of working out. Keep challenging yourself, but maintain proper posture and don't overdo the exercise, or it could lead to injury.
• Number of reps and sets: Reps are the number of lifts you are doing (like ten or twelve) and one full round of these reps is called a set. The number of reps you have to do will depend on what your goals are. You should do 10-12 reps if you are weight training to lose weight. You could do 1-3 sets of these with a 30 second to 1 minute rest in between each set. To build muscle and for weight gain, you should do 6-8 reps in each set and up to 3 sets until you tire. A short rest is recommended between sets. If you are a beginner, this is better done after about a month of training. Until then, you could do one to three sets of 12-15 reps to build your fitness level and endurance. Remember to always use only as much weight as you can to complete all the sets without any strain.
• Rest and cardio exercises: For muscle growth and development, adequate rest is necessary and a day of rest in between each workout is advised. But if you are trying to lose weight or fat, or are into stamina and endurance building, then instead of resting, you could use the day for cardiovascular exercises and workouts like running and jogging, skipping, swimming, walking, or aerobics. This helps to increase your flexibility and also burns fat. There are a number of other cardio exercise benefits including improving stamina and lung capacity among other things. So this means you should do one day of weight training and one day of cardio.

Weight Training Exercises for Beginners

Body Part	Beneficial Exercises
Chest	Bench press, Push-ups or Pec deck machine
Back	Lat pull-downs, Back extensions or the Seated row machine
Shoulders	Overhead press, Lateral and Front raise
Biceps	Hammer, Bicep and Concentration curls
Lower body	Lunges, Squats and Calf raises
Abdominal area	Oblique twists, Crunches, Reverse crunches and Pelvic twists.

Although exercising can be quite strenuous and sometimes even boring, you must be sure to follow your workout program regularly. You could use music to make your workouts more fun. It does help in pumping you up and keeps you going. Go for upbeat and energetic songs on your playlist. Another way of making your workout fun is, if you could get a friend or a bunch of friends along for making it a group activity. Good luck then, and stay fit!