Beginner Weights Workouts

TheGame21

I’m looking at more weight training in the new year. Has anyone got any recommendations of beginner workouts?

billy2shots

The recommendation I will give you is don't follow 99% of the crap out there on the net or 'fitness' mags.

It depends how many days you want to train.

3 days - I would start with 3 full body routines a week. 3 sets of back , chest, quads each session and then 2 sets for bi's, Tri,s and shoulders. You can split the smaller muscle groups like bi's , Tri's, calves, abs and rotate them meaning you would do each one twice a week.

4 days- I would do upper lower upper lower so you'd upper body is trained twice a week and so is your lower body. Alternatively you can run the same set up as push pull push pull doing all pushing movement for chest , shoulders Tris together then all pulling movements for back, bi's and I do quads on pull days.

The world is your lobster. Just don't overdo things. 45 min to 1 hour in the gym 3 of 4 days a week. Less can be more and Test xnd recovery is vital

TheGame21

billy2shots wrote: »

The recommendation I will give you is don't follow 99% of the crap out there on the net or 'fitness' mags.

It depends how many days you want to train.

3 days - I would start with 3 full body routines a week. 3 sets of back , chest, quads each session and then 2 sets for bi's, Tri,s and shoulders. You can split the smaller muscle groups like bi's , Tri's, calves, abs and rotate them meaning you would do each one twice a week.

4 days- I would do upper lower upper lower so you'd upper body is trained twice a week and so is your lower body. Alternatively you can run the same set up as push pull push pull doing all pushing movement for chest , shoulders Tris together then all pulling movements for back, bi's and I do quads on pull days.

The world is your lobster. Just don't overdo things. 45 min to 1 hour in the gym 3 of 4 days a week. Less can be more and Test xnd recovery is vital

Thanks, I will probably do 3 days as I’m trying to lose some weight with cardio on other days. Is there an example of doing specific exercises in a workout. I’m not very experienced therefore was looking for an example beginner workout of some kind which I can then build upon. I have had a look online but like you say, there’s so many different articles with different thoughts.

billy2shots

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com

This link should take you to a very good resource. You can follow links within that to get a great idea on excercises, rep and set ranges etc.

There are lots of good sites that I would recommend for training routines and for nutrition advice. There all also masses of horrible crap that only apply if your sticking 1g of steroids in your bum each week. Read, read then read some more before jumping in eyes closed.

Eric Helms (Loads of YouTube stuff)

Lyle McDonald (has a huge forum Lylemcdonald.com)

Casey Butt (has a smaller forum 'Strength and size forum')

These are your gurus. Read and watch content with them in. There are a few more good guys but this will set you on the right path.

Also, be realistic. Any actor, model that earns money from their body is most probably on something. Be the best you, don't try and look like them.

Tallaght

I would go to a gym with personal trainers and use them for the first few sessions until you are confident what exercises to do.

billy2shots

Ahhhhhh, personal trainers!!!!!!!

Probably the worst people to get advice from.

belfastgirl23

New Rules of Lifting for Women book - see reviews on Amazon etc

It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or not, this is a great programme for a beginner. I’d highly recommend it. You can use YouTube or see a trainer to get a check for technique. It’s six months worth of workout and builds gradually. You can do the nutrition bit or not

Sharon87

billy2shots wrote: »

Ahhhhhh, personal trainers!!!!!!!

Probably the worst people to get advice from.

Why? They are trained and qualified professionals. Sure they're not cheap and they ideally want you to work out with them at least once a week, but they do give good advice on how to do weights training properly. Most people who don't get advice end up doing it wrong and injuring themselves.

Ask at your gym if there's anyone who can give you some advice, on a routine and how to progress.

The main bit of advice I will give is work every muscle in the same session, don't do a 'leg day' and an 'arms day'. Alternate between them in a set. And ensure you warm up and cool down properly and eat a good meal after weights with carbs and protein. Use this as your time to eat the carbs people normally avoid, your body needs refuelling after a good weights work out.

billy2shots

Sharon87 wrote: »

Why? They are trained and qualified professionals. Sure they're not cheap .

5 week course, £1800 = Qualified PT

Good PTs are rarer than hens teeth. 99% of them are just salespeople who pay 'rent' to be in that gym.

In 5 weeks even the newest of gym rats can learn as much on their own from books and online resources.

Things really aren't confusing.

Choose a goal, build muscle or loose fat. Sure doing both can occur for the first few months for newbies but 'recomping' is a sure fire way to spinning your wheels and make slow process.

Right, you have picked your goal. If it's muscle building then you need to eat at a slight calorie surplus 250 calories abound maintenance. If your goal is lose fat then eat at a 500calorie deficit.

What's maintenance?
Maintenance is the amount of calories you need to stay the same weight each week. If you don't know what the figure is then download myfitnesspal and track your food and drink each day. Weigh yourself once a week for 2 weeks on the same weekday and at the same day (upon waking is best for consistency). If your weight hasn't changed (it will fluctuate a bit naturally) then those calories you have tracked are your maintenance calories. Add 250 or subtract according to goal.

Calorie macros.

Your macros are your food groups that make up your total calories. At this stage we are only interested in Protein, carbs and fats.
Each one is important in their own way, ignore anyone who tells you to cut out a good group 'don't eat fat man' 'go carb free dude'

Protein repairs and builds muscle tissue. Opinion has varied wildly over the decades I've been training but recent studies suggest 0.7g of protein for each lb of body weight is more than enough. Steroid users need more because AAS increase protein synthesis allowing the body to use more protein. The internet will confuse you with 1g or even 1.5g of protein per lb of body weight. Don't go that high, you don't need to.
Get your protein from chicken, Turkey, fish and beef. Pork and lamb are ok but a little on the fatty side (we'll get to fat shortly). Protein can also be found in some nuts (almonds are my go to) and milk and eggs. There are many other protein sources such as beans and pulses but many are not complete proteins and those that are require you to eat a ton of them compared to meat.

Fat. Fat got a bad rep but healthy fats are so important. Is it a surprise that they are called Essential Fats! Some nuts, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, oily fish etc all lovely goodness. Fats are important for skin, joints, hair and most importantly hormones. Hormones are key to this whole thing. You can eat like a king and train like a beast but if your hormones are whack you ain't gonna progress to much.

Carbs. This is your bodies preferred fuel source. We can starve it of carbs and trick it into using fat as a fuel source by eating a ketogenic diet which releases ketones into your body. But we are not going to do that because we are sensible and want to actually have a social life.
The bulk of your carbs want to be complex carbs which break down slowly in the body giving throughout the day/night. Simple carbs breakdown fast and if you don't use them (by being active) they will store in your body creating or filling fat cells (the bad guys).
Brown rice, Basmati rice, wholewheat pasta, oats, whole meal bread, sweet potatoe etc etc all good. Google simple carbs and avoid them.

Fruit. Fruit contains natural sugars and once broken down it all becomes glucose. So ignore the government suggestion of 5 fruit and vegetable a day. 1 piece of fruit is fine , 5 is bonkers.

Vege. This is where the 5 portions at least starts to make sense. Eat as much green leafy vege as you want and a little bit of the rest.

Get your head around that and then think about picking up a weight.

Tallaght

Thanks billy for the detailed post.

helnel

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

New Rules of Lifting for Women book - see reviews on Amazon etc

It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or not, this is a great programme for a beginner. I’d highly recommend it. You can use YouTube or see a trainer to get a check for technique. It’s six months worth of workout and builds gradually. You can do the nutrition bit or not

Another vote for this book, it’s great!

I have also used Stronglifts 5x5, there’s an app. Seems to be aimed at men, but works for me, and I like that there are only 3 (or 5) exercises, but the aim is to increase the weight every session!