Understanding weight lifting for beginners is the only way to develop the optimal weight training schedule.

• Beginner's muscles are more sensitive to weights

• A muscle building stimulus is much easier to provide

• A beginner needs more practice learning the compound exercises

• Beginners do not yet know how to apply maximum intensity during a set of any given exercise

• Beginner strength gains will be greater and will last for longer periods of time

Now that you got an understanding of weight lifting for beginners, how do you apply what you know to building a weight training schedule?




Full Body Workout

Allows the beginner to work each muscle group more frequently with less intensity. A full body workout will work each major muscle group 3 times per week compared to some split routines that only work a muscle group once per week.


A beginner will get at least 3 times the muscle building opportunities than the usual recommendation given to beginners. Many trainers suggest beginners lift weights for each muscle group only once per week. This severely limits the beginners progress!


A full body workout maximizes the amount of muscle the beginner can build. Weightlifting should be performed 3 times per week for the beginner, and the entire body should be worked each time with compound exercises.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
Lift Weights	Rest	Lift Weights	Rest	Lift Weights	Rest	Rest

So, the weight training schedule shown above will be followed for several weeks until the beginner's strength gains come to a halt.


Compound Exercises

Only the best compound exercises should be included in the beginner's workout. The beginner should do more sets of fewer exercises in order to gain more experience and practice time with the best exercises.


The entire body can be worked through only a few exercises. Here are the best compound weightlifting exercises for beginners:

Barbell Squats
	Squats must be a part of any beginner's program! You need to learn how to squat properly from the very beginning. The entire body is worked with emphasis on the lower body. The quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes are worked very hard during this exercise.

Weight lifting for beginners must include the Barbell Squat!


You must work your legs no matter what you think you might know. You might think you don't ned to work your legs because you're already happy with them. You might think that running works your legs just fine. You're wrong.


You need to work your legs with barbell squats! There's no way around this fact. Weight lifting for beginners should especially focus on Squats.

Barbell Deadlifts
	Deadlifts are one of the toughest and most intense exercises you will ever do. But, they are one of the most rewarding in terms of building muscle. Deadlifts take some practice, but they aren't as tough to learn as squats. Learning the deadlift is a priority for beginners.

The deadlift works the entire body as well as any exercise. The two largest muscle groups in your body are extremely worked in this exercise: the back and the legs.


You'll be able to lift the heaviest amount of weight with this exercise, and that's exactly what makes the deadlift so special. Weight lifting for beginners must include some form of deadlifts.

Flat Barbell Bench Press
	The bench press is one of the best upper body exercises and the most popular exercise throughout the world. Your chest, shoulders, and back are the main muscles used in the bench press. When doing this exercise properly, your legs are also used!

Overhead Press
	The overhead press is the best upper body exercise. Weight lifting for beginners must include the overhead press. If you learn how to do this exercise properly, you will soon learn why this is the best exercise for the upper body. Watch your upper body grow!

Pendlay Rows
	Pendlay Rows are a great exercise to learn for beginners. The entire body is worked during this exercise. The back and biceps are the main muscle groups used during this movement. The bar starts on the ground for each and every rep.

In order to learn the above exercises properly, I recommend you purchase Starting Strength from Amazon. Read the reviews on the book by going to the link below.

Starting Strength Reviews and Preview I can't recommend a better book. This is a must have for everyone!

Starting Strength is the best book I've ever seen on lifting weights with proper form and technique. You'll instantly lift more weight by following the weightlifting techniques in that book! Weight lifting for beginners needs to include exercises explained in this book.


I am an advanced weight lifter, and I was able to greatly increase my strength on all of the best compound weightlifting exercises by following Starting Strength.


Sets and Reps

You now have a beginner weight training schedule and the best exercises to focus on. You need to know how many sets and reps to do for each exercise and workout.


You're going to do all of the five exercises every workout. Do 3 sets of each exercise for 5 reps. When you get all 5 reps with good form as shown in Starting Strength for any given set, increase the weight by 5 pounds. If you don't get 5 reps with good form, don't increase the weight.


Let's look at the layout of every workout you'll be performing 3 times per week using the weight lifting schedule shown earlier:

1. Barbell Squats, 3 sets of 5 reps
2. Barbell Bench Press, 3 sets of 5 reps
3. Barbell Deadlifts, 3 sets of 5 reps
4. Overhead Press, 3 sets of 5 reps
5. Pendlay Rows, 3 sets of 5 reps

Perform the above workout 3 times per week. Start out with very light weights and work on your form. When you get 5 good reps, increase the weight. Always try to increase the weight, but only if your form is good.


Every time you increase the weight, you will build muscle. So, work hard every workout!


There's everything you need to know about weight lifting for beginners and developing an optimal weight training schedule. Now, you simply need to learn more about other aspects of a complete program...

Other Weight Training Schedule Pages
	Full Body Workout Schedule The full body workout is the best option for most weight lifters. You'll build the most amount of muscle in the shortest time!
	Beginner Workout Schedule The beginner workout schedule should include a full body regimen for extra practice learning the exercises.
	Split Routines Split routines allow you more rest for each muscle group between workouts but fewer muscle building opportunities.
	Upper Lower Body Split Routine The Upper Lower Body Routine works the upper body separately from the lower body each workout.
	4 to 5 Day Split Routine In this split routine, you work each muscle group every four to five days. A simple modification allows you to build more muscle!
	Once Per Week Split Routine The once per week split routine can be modified to meet any needs! These routines should be used by more advanced lifters.

Go back to Weight Training Schedule from Weight Lifting for Beginners