Weight Lifting Programs for Beginners

Weight Lifting is a great way for the body to lose weight, strengthen bones and increase muscular endurance. By incorporating a weight lifting program in the regular exercise regime, a person can improve the targeted muscle groups using various equipment. While choosing a weight lifting program for beginners, it is important to choose a program that can help you learn the correct form of exercises by letting your body adapt to the weight training. Before you hit the weights, the thing to keep in mind is that weight lifting is not a piece of cake for any beginner. It will require loads of patience along with adequate rest and diet for it to have a desirable effect. The most common places where you can start your weight lifting routine are home gyms, schools and fitness clubs. So now since you have made up your mind, let us look at the step-by-step approach to a good weight lifting program.

Weight Lifting Programs for Beginners:

Before Starting Out

The first step to any weight lifting program is a visit to the doctor. Yes, you heard me right, it is the doctor and not the gym. The point of any weight training exercise is to get into better shape and not to aggravate or cause an injury. Therefore, a visit to the doctor will help ascertain if there are particular exercises which should be avoided, and the appropriate intensity for the exercises. Once the doctor has given the green signal, the second phase involves taking the advice from an expert weight trainer to chart out the schedule. Since beginner weight lifting programs should begin with fat burning, strength gaining and finally building strong muscle through heavy weight lifting, it is essential that for every program there must be concrete a plan to achieve success. The ideal weight lifting program should split the week into three parts so that the body gets proper rest. Start out with a program that works all muscle groups for 1 - 3 non-consecutive days in a week.

Warm-up Exercises

The essential step before any weight lifting exercise is the correct weight lifting technique. This should include warm-ups spanning around ten minutes of aerobic exercises either on a treadmill, a stationary bicycle or a cross trainer. It should be accompanied by thirty minutes of cardio exercises. Warm-ups are essential for elevating your body temperature, greasing up your joints, and generally decreasing the risk of sprains and more serious injuries.

Exercises

The basic weight lifting exercises that focus on fast weight gain must stimulate the most muscle fibers in the least amount of time. These are referred to as compound exercises which seemingly focus on the best muscle building exercises for each body part.

• Bench Dips (Arms)
• Bicep Curls (Arms)
• Military Press (Shoulders)
• Bench Press (Chest)
• Squats (Legs)
Calf Raises (Legs)
• Pull Ups (Back)
• Crunches (Abs)

Choosing Your Sets and Reps

While a repetition, or rep, is referred to as one movement of the exercise, from the starting to finishing position, a set is a grouping of a prescribed number of repetitions of a particular exercise. The choice of your sets and reps will depend upon the goals that you want to achieve. So, for a person who is looking to lose body fat and build muscle, it would differ as compared to your choice of your sets and reps for muscle gain. A beginner should ideally do 3 sets per exercise and perform about 10 - 12 repetitions per set. A rest time of 1 minute to 90 seconds is recommended between each set.

A Day-to-Day Weight Lifting Program

Depending on the individual preference there are many different ways to break down a weight lifting program. An ideal lifting program should include weight training three times per week. This will provide adequate time to train the entire body while not being as intensive as more frequent weight lifting programs. It is also essential to remember that this sample routine is modeled to suit a normal adult man or woman. Weight lifting for kids differs in many ways and it is advisable to consult a trainer before introducing your kid to any weight lifting training.

Monday: Chest, Arms and Abs

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Flat dumbbell bench press	2	10-12
Pec deck flyes	2	10-12
Cable crossovers	2	12-15
Dips (assisted, if needed)	2	8-10
Rope tricep pushdowns2	10-12
Barbell bicep curls210-12
Seated dumbbell hammer curls	28-10
Reverse grip forearm curls212-15
Flat abdominal crunches on mat	3	To failure

Wednesday: Back, Shoulders and Abs

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pull-ups/chins (assisted, if needed)	3	10-12
Dumbbell rows	2	8-10
Lower back machine	2	10-12
Dumbbell shrugs	2	8-10
Lateral dumbbell raises	2	12-15
Reverse cable crossovers (or rear shoulder machine of choice)	2	12-15
Cable abdominal crunches	3	To failure
Oblique/twisting ab machine of choice	2	10-12
Exercise ball crunches	3	To failure

Friday: Legs and Abs

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Machine/hack squats	2	10-12
Leg press machine	2	10-12
Leg extensions	2	12-15
Seated hamstring curls	2	10-12
Lying hamstring curls	2	12-15
Standing calf presses	2	8-10
Seated calf presses	2	8-10
Donkey calf presses (machine)	2	8-10
Flat abdominal crunches on mat	3	To failure

Weight lifting programs for beginners do ensure some days of soreness of the muscles. However, this is quite natural with the body taking its time to adjust to the routine. With time and experience, newer routines can be introduced. The key to a great muscular build is not to lose confidence, and especially not to push oneself through any pain. Seeking help from a professional trainer can ensure that you follow a routine that is most beneficial to you, and avoid wasted effort and injuries down the road.