Strength Training for Beginners

Strength training has myriad benefits that go far beyond getting “toned” muscles. These benefits include better sleep, decreasing back and joint pain, preventing injuries, strengthening bones, increasing metabolism, losing weight (and keeping it off!) and much more! If you’re someone who has never picked up weights before, starting on a strength training program can be daunting. Never fear, BodySpec is here!

We’ve put together a basic tutorial on getting started with a safe and effective strength training program. With a few pieces of equipment you can do this workout at home.

Please note that this workout is specifically aimed at the beginner who has never done weight training before.

What you’ll need

• A resistance band with handles
• A set of light or medium weight dumbbells (5 to 15lbs for most people)
• A chair or couch
• An exercise or yoga mat
• Motivating music!

What you’ll do

2 or 3 sets of 12-15 reps of each of the following exercises. 3 sets is best, but if you’re tight on time, 2 sets will do the trick! Whether you’re doing a dumbbell exercise, using a band, or doing a bodyweight exercise like a push-up, make sure the exercise is challenging enough that you are fatigued by the 12th rep. As you get stronger you can add reps, but once you can do 15 reps fairly easily, it’s time to add weight or increase the difficulty of the exercise so that it’s hard by 12 reps again.

Always warm-up first

Warming up for about 10 minutes is important before you launch into strength training, to prevent injury. Fast walking, slow jogging, jumping jacks, or dynamic warm-ups like walking lunges are good ideas.

How frequently should this workout be done?

Complete this full body workout 3 times a week - this gives your body a day of recovery in between each strength session, but will be frequent enough for you to see improvements. After 3-4 weeks, it will be time to change up the workout because you’ll be getting stronger!

The Workout:

Try this as a circuit, which means you will do one set of each exercise and then repeat the whole thing 1-2 more times. Start off taking ~30 seconds rest between exercises and 1 minute rest between rounds, but as your fitness level increases you can take less rest and speed this workout up!

Part 1 (Full body strength)

Complete 2 - 3 sets of 12 - 15 reps of the following exercises

Squats to a chair

Push-ups (choose one of the following variations):

• Beginner: feet on the floor, hands on the back of a couch

• Intermediate: regular push-up on the ground

• Advanced: place your toes on a chair, hands on the ground for a decline version

Shoulder press with dumbbells

Squats with your band

Bicep curls with your band or dumbbells