Weight lifting for beginners is a subject that MOST of the so-called experts get REALLY, REALLY wrong.
For example, I just looked at one of the top sites on the Internet (Bodybuilding.com) and I see recommendations to do the leg press machine, leg extension machine, lying leg curl machine, and all of these machines for beginners!
100%, without a doubt, this is horrible advice for beginners to weight lifting! And it's coming from one of the “trusted” sites that exists to sell you more “awesome supplements” that will give you AMAZING results.
I will tell you right now: using machines and taking more supplements isn't getting you anywhere.
I've been there. When I began weight lifting I took that same advice and used machines and bought some expensive supplements. I got taken for my money. And I don't want you to have to go through that same thing. The Leg Press machine hurt my knees pretty bad too.
Today, I will show you exactly what weight lifting for beginners looks like. It's going to be much different than what you're going to see at these “expert” sites.
If you follow the advice I give you today…
Your results as a weight training beginner will be amazing!
You Get A HUGE Boost if You Lift Weights Properly from the Beginning
From the very beginning, you'll get fast and hard-hitting results that never stop. You will be shocked at the results… totally shocked. You'll be able to control your results and get the exact body you want.
I'm going to tell you about the weight lifting component of a COMPLETE weight training schedule and program.
So get this, since you're looking for weight lifting for beginners, you probably don't realize the importance of many other things as all of these other things I will tell you about effect the results you achieve.
Weightlifting isn't all you need to know about.
You need to know nutrition, rest and recovery, cardiovascular exercise, tracking results, and other guidelines. Everything is explained within the WLC System, but I'm going to give you many details here so you get it right.
Now, let's get started with weight lifting for beginners:
Weight Lifting Workouts 3 To 4 Times Per Week
You need to lift weights every 48 hours or so… this means you can workout every other day OR you can workout every other day during the week and take off on the weekend.
For example, a weight lifting schedule of Monday, Wednesday, Friday with the weekend off will work great.
Or you can just alternate every other day. If you feel like you need an extra day of rest during the week, definitely take that extra day. If not, you can get an extra workout in each week which leads to even faster results.
Always leave a day of rest in between weight lifting workouts. Sometimes beginners to weight training believe that more is better. That's not true. I know because I fell for that when I first started into weightlifting.
I thought I could just keep working out all the time (multiple times per day) and do more sets and more reps. Doing more all the time doesn't lead to even better results. There's a line you don't want to cross when more begins to harm your results.
You can even get sick from doing too much. And then you'll have to rest and start over completely.
Trust me here — 3 to 4 workouts per week with a rest day in between each workout. That's all you need. From there, with the help of the WLC System, you can learn more about yourself and what you can tolerate in terms of workouts, intensity, volume, load, and more.
I'll teach you all of that within the WLC System. This amazing system teaches weight lifting for beginners and all beginners will be experts in weight lifting and many other things after just a few short months.
MAX Workout Time Should Never Exceed 1 Hour
One hour is all you need for any weight lifting workout for beginners. There's no need to stay in the gym any longer than that.
I give this workout time limit to beginners just because some beginners will want to stay in the gym for a really long time because they think more time in the gym will lead to even faster and greater results. I did. Didn't work well for me. Others who are honest will tell you the same thing.
I don't spend an hour in the gym for my weight lifting workouts either. And I've been lifting weights seriously since the year 2000 when I was a beginner to all of this.
If you're working out with the correct intensity, you won't want to stay in the gym any longer than that.
What you do is walk into the gym (whether at home or at a commercial gym) and work extremely hard during your workouts. And then you get out of there, down some awesome food packed with nutrients, and you rest. The results will come.
The people who stay in the gym for longer than that are probably just messing around… talking on the phone, trying to tell others how to do something, commenting here and there when no one wants a comment, and just causing issues for everyone else.
You need to get to the gym and turn the serious switch on… work hard and wage war against the weights. Give every set of every exercise everything you have. This doesn't mean you have to go to failure on every set and five everything you have in that way.
When I say give everything you have, I mean to focus it towards your goals for that day. For example, as a beginner, you will focus on learning proper form and technique for the best weight lifting exercises. This means give it all you have. Learn the exercises.
Then get out of there and get those post workout meals. One hour is plenty of time and science has even proven that any longer than that can be detrimental to your results.
Workout Routines for Beginners: What's the Best Option?
Weight lifting for beginners: what type of weight lifting workout should beginners use?
There really is no competition here. The choice is VERY easy.
Nothing beats the full body weight lifting workout. Nothing. The best option for workout routines for beginners is the FULL BODY WORKOUT.
Full body workouts give you over 150 opportunities per year to build muscle and strength (if you're doing them 3 times per week).
If you're thinking about using a split routine, you better think twice. You get about 50 opportunities per year to build muscle and strength with split routines.
You get more opportunities to practice the exercises, learn proper form and technique, and make progress. Do not use a split routine if you're a weight lifting beginner.
Weight lifting for beginners should never include the use of a split routine. When I say split routing, this means that some “experts” will tell you to work your quadriceps and biceps on Day 1, hamstrings and trapezius on Day 2, triceps and forearms on Day 3, and so on.
Recommending a split routine over a full body workout routine for beginners is very bad advice.
Even science has proven that the optimal time between strength training workouts for any muscle group is about 48 hours. There's no need to wait several more days to work a muscle group as you see in almost every split routine.
Most split routines tell you to work each of the 11 major muscle groups once per week or once every 7 days.
In other words… split routines stink very badly compared to the right full body workout program. And that's the complete truth!
So, now you know not to use a split routine and you know what “split routine” means.
Focus On Learning These 7 Weight Training Exercises
Seven different weight lifting exercises MUST be included in weight lifting for beginners. There is no option here unless you want less than optimal results.
These are the absolute best exercises for beginners, for intermediates, and for the advanced. EVERYONE should always include these 7 exercises.
BUT these exercises are even more important for beginners… if you focus on learning these from the beginning, you'll make fast progress from the start. You will shoot past other veterans who have been weight training for a long time the wrong way.
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- Rows
- Overhead Press
- Pull Ups
- Dips
The above 7 weight lifting exercises make up the perfect weight lifting workout for beginners.
There's absolutely no need AT ALL to do tons of isolation exercises. Isolation exercises are doing next to nothing compared to the weight lifting exercises we've listed above.
Use all your time and energy with the BIG 7 exercises.
Don't waste time and energy with isolation exercises. You can use them later on if you want to improve a certain muscle group BUT do not use isolation exercises at all right now.
Beginners need to focus on learning the 7 core weight lifting exercises. Every workout program based on the WLC System uses some form of those 7 exercises.
Learn Proper Form And Technique For The Best Exercises
Learning proper form and technique is one of your top priorities starting right now. Weight lifting for beginners MUST focus on learning proper form and technique.
You will have 3 to 4 chances every week to practice the 7 exercises shown above. Use each workout to get better. Take your time learning the exercises.
Trust me… it's time well spent.
I did certain exercises wrong for several years because I thought I knew what I was doing… well, I didn't. When I finally decided to take the time to learn the exercises, my strength and muscle mass skyrocketed. It was amazing.
You can have those results from the beginning if you take the time to do everything right.
I didn't have someone to guide me in the right direction. I learned it on my own and it took me much longer that way. You now have Weight Lifting Complete to guide you. You can ignore all of the other outside noise now.
You need to understand this as a beginner to weight lifting:
It's going to take some time to learn proper form and technique on the 7 weight lifting exercises listed above. Squats will be one of the toughest to learn. Get that one down, and you'll be in great shape.
The others will take some time too. Some exercises are harder for some people while others are harder for other people (based on how you are built). It all depends on your body and how you are built. You could have a short torso, long arms, or you might have a long torso and short arms. This is just one example.
Depending on your build, you will be better at some exercises than you are at others.
No matter what, though, you need to start out right from the beginning and you won't waste years and years of time as I did. Make it a priority to learn proper weight lifting technique.
Increase The Weight Whenever You Complete An Exercise With Proper Form
As a weight lifting beginner, you need to ensure you are lifting with proper form and technique before you start increasing the weight.
Increasing the weight is a sure-fire method of building muscle BUT you need to be lifting weights properly before you start lifting heavier weight.
You'll have plenty of time to increase the weight later. If you have the opportunity to increase the weight just 5 pounds each week, that's an increase of 260 pounds in a 1-year time period! So, yes, you have plenty of time to increase the weight. Please be patient with that and instead focus on proper form and technique.
For now, take your time learning the 7 weight lifting exercises that are THE most important. When you learn proper form and technique first, your results will be SO MUCH faster.
Weight lifting for beginners MUST employ this strategy. If you don't take the time to learn the exercises before increasing the weight, you can injure yourself pretty badly in the future. So please take this advice.
Yes, I injured myself. Back, knees, wrists, and pretty much anything you can name. I don't want you to have to go through that. Do it the right way, and you'll stay away from injury.
At Home Workouts for Beginners
You don't need a gym membership. You can start a home weight lifting workout for beginners with just a small amount of weight lifting equipment.
I have my own home gym and have almost always worked out at home. A home gym is even better than any commercial gym.
If you have the money, the best weight lifting equipment will include a power rack, Olympic barbell sets, a weight lifting bench, and a set of dumbbells (from low weight to heavy weight). You also need a place to do pull ups and dips. Most power racks have a pull up bar but not a place to do dips. For dips, you can buy dip stands or put 2 barbells in your power rack.
If you don't have the money, starting with a pair of adjustable dumbbells is one of the lowest cost ways to start training for beginners.
I did the same and slowly built my gym over the years. I now have an amazing home gym that I love and everyone that visits loves. It takes time to build up, but your workouts will get better and better.
I actually recommend a home gym over a commercial gym membership for many reasons. Just one of those reasons is the convenience (no driving) of your home gym. You will be more consistent when your gym is right there at home.
You can do squats, deadlifts, rows, and overhead press all with the dumbbells. Those 4 exercises alone will build an amazing body full of strength and power. I even like the overhead press better than the bench press!
Push ups are also an amazing exercise but you need to know how to add weight safely to push ups.
Weight Lifting for Beginners Must Include a Plan of Progression
As a beginner, you need to know that making progress in every aspect of your weight lifting program is THE KEY to amazing results.
For example, you must first focus on getting better at the actual exercises.
Once you are really good at those 7 exercise movements, you start adding weight. Progress is defined as doing heavier weight or more reps.
You can use a 1-rep max calculator to see if you are making progress each workout.
If your 1-rep max number is going up, you are gaining strength each workout.
If you are gaining strength each workout or over the course of the weight lifting program, you will build muscle mass too. Some women who are beginners to weight lifting believe they don't want to build muscle and that they will get big. This is not true. Women will gain lean and sexy curves from weight lifting and won't get huge.
Men and women can get the EXACT results they want because the WLC System allows you complete control over your results.
The WLC System workouts always have a plan of progression. This means you make constant progress and get amazing results.
Add In All The Other Components To Form A COMPLETE Weight Lifting Program for Beginners
All you need to do right now is get a copy of the WLC System.
Within the WLC System, I'm going to personally walk you through everything you need to know.
Weight lifting for beginners is made easy when you start out with the WLC System.
I just wish I had a copy of that manual when I started out as a beginner. I would be so far ahead of where I am now.
You're very lucky to have found this page and the WLC System. You'll see what I'm talking about after only a few short weeks of using the world's most powerful muscle building and fat burning system.
I hope this page on weight lifting for beginners has helped you. I am always here if you need anything. Just email me (josh@weight-lifting-complete.com). I am more than happy to help any beginners that need advice.
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