Recently decide to get fit? Want to take up a strength or weight-lifting program, but don't know where to start? Everyone has been in this position at least once before; you're new at the gym, and you don't know where to go or what to lift or how to use the machines. Well, help is here!I am going to tell you the basic guidelines and rules for starting out in a weight-lifting program; whether it is forstrength, weight loss, lean muscle gain or just overall fitness this article and workout can help you figure things out and get started off on the right foot towards your health and fitnessgoals.Strength training provides remarkable results in those who have tried and failed at overhauling their fitness with just diet or cardio. Consistent training (more than twice per week, for 12 weeks) can provide such benefits as: Increasedmuscle fibersize Increased muscle contractile strength Increased tendon strength Increased ligament strengthAll of these add up to a much healthier, fit and less likely to beinjuredbody; not to mention you end up looking pretty good too!

"STRENGTH TRAINING PROVIDES REMARKABLE RESULTS IN THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED AND FAILED AT OVERHAULING THEIR FITNESS WITH JUST DIET OR CARDIO."A FEW RULES OF LIFTING ETIQUETTE To start, always bring atoweland be kind enough to wipe off the machines, benches and equipment you use. Be sure to re-rack all the weight and replace all the dumbbells or barbells that are used. Don't rest for extended periods of time on a machine that someone is waiting for; if possible work in with them between sets, most people are more than willing to share when asked nicely. Finally, please, leave your cell phone in your locker or car; nothing is more distracting than listening to another person's conversation, unwillingly.COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID Using too much weight, too soon; always start lower than your expected ability and work your way up that first workout. If your form suffers, you are swinging the weight, or using momentum, this indicates you may be using too much weight. Greater momentum increases the potential forinjuryand reduces the effectiveness to the muscle group being targeted. Not using enough weight; always play it safe, but if you can perform 30 reps with a certain weight, it's likely time to increase it a bit. Tip: Increase the weight no more than about 5% at a time. Moving through repetitions too quickly, going too fast; there is nothing gained by lifting weights 'fast' some of the perks of lifting weight in a slow and controlled manner, include more total muscle tension and force produced, moremuscle fiberactivation both slow and fast twitch fibers, and less tissue trauma. *Remember, a joint is only as strong as the muscles that cross it; if you haven't lifted in a long time, or ever, be careful what you ask of your joints. Not resting long enough, or resting far too long; both can be a workout killer. Tip: The recommended rest period is between 30-90 seconds, for overall fitness.BEGINNER WEIGHT/STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUTGUIDELINES FOR THIS WORKOUTThis workout is designed for overall health and fitness gains of a healthy, adult individual who has never lifted weights before, or who is very inexperienced at it.You may note that the majority of exercises are machine based; this is intentional as an unconditioned beginner, has less integrity in the joints, less stability in the core which supports the entire body during training; and this makes one more apt to be injured when attempting to lift free weight (dumbbells, barbells) when just starting out.Using machines provides support for these weaker areas and allows the intended muscle to be isolated and strengthened before progressing to free weight. Perform this workout at least two times per week, significantstrengthand fitness gains are obtained with only two workouts per week. Take one day off from weight training between each workout. For health gains, at least one set of 8-12 repetitions should be performed to fatigue; this means a weight heavy enough to tire the muscle significantly in 8-12 reps. For fitness gains, two sets of 8-12 repetitions should be performed to fatigue; again with a weight heavy enough that the muscle is tired and unable to continue without a 30-90 second rest period. It should take four to five seconds to complete one repetition through a complete range of motion; in a slow and very controlled manner. Rest at least 30 seconds and no more than 90 seconds between sets of each exercise; and 1 to 2 minutes between each exercise.Beginner WorkoutCARDIO RESPIRATORY WARM-UP Cardio5-10 minutesWarm up by performing 5-10 minutes of moderate intensitycardiowork, on any machine (treadmill or elliptical), or using any modality (walking,jumping rope) that works the large muscles of the body; increasing blood flow and warming the muscles themselves.WEIGHTS WORKOUT Leg Press

TIPSSitting on a leg press machine, position your feet together against the crosspiece about should-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Grasp the handle grips or sides of the seat. Bend your knees and lower the weight as far as possible without changing the position of your hips.Do not lower the weight so far that your hips start to curl up off the seat! Then slowly push the weight back up using your heels, not your toes. Do not lock your knees at the top, but rather take the weight to just before lock. Then begin to lower the weight again SLOWLY. You can change your foot positions to vary the angle on the muscle. Leg Extensions

TIPSUsing a leg extension machine, sit in the seat and hook your feet under the padded bar. Adjust the pad and/or the seat so that your knees hang off the end of the seat and the footpad rest on the lowest part of the shins. Grasp the handles on the machine or the edges of the seat to keep your hips from lifting up as you perform the exercise. Extend your legs until knees are straight, making sure you remain seated flat on the machine.Raise the weight all the way, lock and hold briefly, then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position. Get the full range of motion and feel the muscle being worked during the entire movement. Do not SWING the weight up! Lying Leg Curls

TIPSLie face down on a leg-curl machine and hook your heels under the roller pad. Your legs should be stretched out straight so that the pads rest on the back of your ankles. Grasp the handles under the bench for support.Remaining flat on the bench, curl your legs up until your hamstrings are fully contracted. Release and lower the weight slowly back to the starting position. Concentrate on using a full range of motion and do not SWING the weight up. You can point your toes to intensify the burn in your hamstrings.Or if your gym or fitness center is equipped with a seated leg; but select one or the other, don't do both! Seated Leg Curl

TIPSFollow the directions on the seated leg curl machine. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

TIPSStart with your legs positioned snugly under the kneepads of a pulldown machine. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Grasp the wide bar firmly with an overhand grip. Your hands should be almost twice your shoulder width apart. Pull the bar down on top of your chest, arching your back slightly.Focus on keeping your elbows directly below the bar. Pause briefly with the bar in position right on top of your collarbone. Slowly raise the bar back to the starting position. Do NOT lean back too far and pull the weight down using your body weight! Machine Bench Press

TIPSThis is like a normal bench press but using a machine. Follow the directions on the machine that you choose. Be sure to go slow during each rep. Machine Chest Fly

TIPSAlso known as the Pec Deck Fly. Sit at the machine with your back flat on the pad. Place your forearms on padded lever. Position your upper arms approximately parallel to the ground. Push levers together slowly and squeeze your chest in the middle. Return until chest muscles are stretched fully. Repeat. Triceps Pushdown - Rope Attachment

TIPSSame as the Triceps Pushdown except with the rope attachment. At the bottom of the movement you should pull the rope "apart" to get the best contraction in your triceps. Machine Bicep Curl

TIPSFollow the exact directions that are on the machine that you choose; as machines at gyms vary. Machine Shoulder (Military) Press

TIPSFollow the directions on the shoulder press machine. Ab Crunch Machine

TIPSThis is like a sit-up or crunch, but the machine helps you to add resistance for greater strength increases. Follow the directions on the particular machine that you choose. Be sure to go slow and concentrate on using your abs to push the weight while relaxing your legs and feet. Air Bike

TIPSLie on your back and put your hands behind your head. Raise your legs so your thighs are perpendicular and your lower legs are just above parallel to the floor. Curl up and bring your left elbow toward your right side while drawing your right knee in to meet it.It is like you are riding a bike. Alternate sides, continuing the motion, back and forth. Remember, don't just flap your elbow across your body, actually rotate your shoulder across and squeeze your abs.The eleven exercises shown in this workout program will thoroughly work the entire body. Do these exercises in the order shown; it's important to work the muscle groups largest to smallest, as the smaller muscles support the larger, and if the smaller ones are already fatigued they cannot adequately do their job of supporting your large muscles when its time to work them.TRAINING TIPSA few tips to make your new training program work for you more effectively: Stay hydrated! Be sure to drink at least the minimum USDA recommended 8-10 glasses ofwatereach and every day; dehydration can make you weak, and sick and less effective in the weight room. Drink a lot of water during your workout as well. Eat a small, balanced meal with equal portions of leanprotein(lean chicken,turkey,beeforfish) and complexcarbohydrate(oats,rice) 30-60 minutes prior to each workout; and again within 60 minutes after you train with weights. A huge meal is not necessary, just enough protein and carbohydrate to refuel and encourage healing in the body. If also performingcardiowork for weight loss, do so after you train with weights, not before; or at separate times of the day all together. Keep a record of what you do, and when you do it... an awesome tool I love within the Bodybuilding.com community is theBodyBuilding.com BodySpace work-out tracker- it's really interactive and lets you set things like sets, reps, weight used, and even lets you input exercises that aren't listed and keeps a running tally of your progress! All you have to do is register for your very own FREE BodySpace profile... You can check that out andregister here. Also, once you are on your way to being super fit, you can also takeprogress pictures,keep track of weight loss or gain progress, and measurements of all your body parts. This tool is also part of your free BodySpace profile, there is so much you can track and record... even aBodyBlog! Be sure to check out all the aspects ofBodySpacewhile you record and update your daily workouts, and don't forget to stay fit!

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The Beginner Weight Training Workout RoutineBelow you will find 2 versions of my own beginner workout routine that I most often recommend to beginners with any weight training goal (building muscle, losing fat, increasing strength, etc.).If you havent already done so, be sure to read my intro intobeginner workouts and routinesto confirm that you ARE indeed a beginner and to learn what the main guidelines and goals of a beginner workout routine truly are.With that out of the way, lets get to what you came here for. Here are the full details of the program I simply refer to asThe Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine.The ScheduleThe first thing you need to know about this program is what weight training split and weekly schedule it will use.If youve ever read any article Ive ever written about weight training frequency, splits/schedules or just beginners in general, then you definitely know what split were going to be using.Im of course talking about the3 day full body split, which is by far the most highly proven and often recommended workout schedule for beginners withanygoal.The specific type of full body split that this workout routine will use is commonly referred to as an alternating ABA BAB format.You probably have no idea what that means, but you will when you see it written outWeek 11. Monday:Workout A2. Tuesday:off3. Wednesday:Workout B4. Thursday:off5. Friday:Workout A6. Saturday:off7. Sunday:offWeek 21. Monday:Workout B2. Tuesday:off3. Wednesday:Workout A4. Thursday:off5. Friday:Workout B6. Saturday:off7. Sunday:offSee, even though there are 3 workout days per week, theres just 2 actual workouts.The first is the A workout and the second is the B workout. Then you just alternate between them each workout. Meaning, you end up doing ABA one week, and then BAB the next, and so on.Makes sense now, right? Good.I will also mention that the exact days of the week you choose really doesnt matter at all as long as the same every-other-day format is kept intact with 2 consecutive days off at the end.Thats pretty much all there is to say about the split and schedule itself. Now lets get to the workoutsThe Workouts: Version 1Before you see the workouts, let me prepare you in advance by saying that they are probably going to seem a little strange looking to many people. Youll probably think its WAY too little, or WAY too simple and basic.Well, if you think any of those things, then its pretty obvious that any beginner workout routine youve seen before this was likely pretty damn horrible.How do I know? Because some variation of the workouts you are about to seeiswhats proven to be most ideal (and most often recommended) for beginners with virtually any goal.Even if you might not think it is, and even if what youve seen before is very different.Trust me. This is what works best for beginners. All research, real world experience and expert recommendations support some form of what youre about to see.Having said that, here are the workoutsWorkout A1. Squats3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.2. Bench Press3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.3. Rows3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.Workout B1. Deadlifts3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.2. Pull-Ups (or Lat Pull-Downs)3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.3. Overhead Shoulder Press3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.As you can see, its the most basic and important compound exercises put together in a way that ensures perfect balance, sufficient frequency and recovery, and low volume.This is allPERFECTLYideal for beginners, and this is what will allow for the fastest progression and the best overall weight training results.Now to answer any questions you may have about this workout routineDetails and clarifications for Workout A: The A workout is a quad dominant leg exercise (squats), a horizontal push (bench press), and a horizontal pull (rows). Squats are definitely recommended, but leg presses could be used in their place if necessary. For the bench press, a flat barbell bench press is recommended, but a flat dumbbell bench press can work too. Use a spotter whenever possible/necessary. For the row, pick any one you want. Bent over barbell or dumbbell rows, seated cable rows, chest supported machine rows. Its all fine.Details and clarifications for Workout B: The B workout is a hip/ham dominant leg exercise (deadlifts), a vertical pull (pull-ups/pull-downs), and a vertical push (overhead press). For the deadlift, a conventional deadlift would probably be most often recommended for beginners, but a Romanian deadlift (or straight legged deadlift) could be used instead if necessary. Pull-ups are recommended for the vertical pull, but if you cant do them yet, lat pull-downs or some form of assisted pull-up would be a suitable replacement. For the overhead press, any type of seated overhead shoulder press is fine (seated barbell press, seated dumbbell press, whatever).Now heres how to make it all work.Focus on proper form first.It is typically recommended that all beginners spend their first few weeks on a weight training workout routine focusing primarily on learning proper form. I recommend you do the same with this program.Dont worry about anything else during those first couple of weeks. Just pick a weight for each exercise that is definitely a little too light and easy for you (more here:How Much Weight Should You Lift?), and focus on learning and using perfect form.Getting exercise technique right at this beginner stage is extremely important, so make sure you do.Once those few weeks are up and you feel like your form is what it needs to be on every exercise, its then time to focus on consistent progression while keeping that perfect form intact. Let me explainSets, reps, weight and progression.For each exercise, you should now use the same weight each set.So, for example, lets say youve been learning proper form on the bench press those last few weeks and found 50lbs to be pretty close to the right weight for you at this point (thats just a completely made up example amount, by the way). You should now be doing 3 sets of bench presses using that same 50lbs on all 3 of your sets.Then, when you are capable of doing 3 sets with 50lbs (again, just an example) for the prescribed 8-10 reps each set with perfect form, youd then increase the weight by the smallest possible increment (usually 5lbs) the next time you bench press.Youd then aim to do 3 sets of 8-10 reps again with this new slightly heavier weight (55lbs in this example). And when you are capable of doing that, youd increase the weight again by about 5lbs (60lbs in this example) the next time you bench press and then keep repeating this process over and over.All of the above applies to each exercise just the same. You use the same weight for all 3 sets of each exercise, meet the prescribed set/rep goalwithperfectform, and then increase the weight in the smallest possible increment the next time you do that exercise.As a beginner, you should be able to progress like this consistently for quite a while, partly because you are starting a little lighter to master proper form, and partly because beginners are just more capable of progressing at a more consistent rate than anyone else.So, make sure you do. The more advanced you get, the slower the progression will be. Take advantage of it while you can.Once again Id like to remind you to make sure the weight you start off using leans a lot more towards being a little too light/easy for you rather than a little too heavy/hard.To ensure the fastest and most consistent rate of progression, the weight you start off using for each exercise needs to be a bit lighter than you are truly capable of lifting.Dont screw with it!When looking at this beginner workout routine, the thing you need to remember is that the goal of a beginner is NOT to try to blast every muscle with all kinds of exercises and do various advanced things with a bunch of isolation movements and a high amount of volume and other things a beginner has no business doing.Like I was saying before, the primary goal of a beginner (besides learning perfect form on all of their exercises) is to take advantage of a borderline super power that all beginners have for a short period of time that allows them to progress and improve FASTER at all things weight training related than any intermediate or advanced trainee ever could.Thats right beginners, you can build muscle faster, get stronger faster, get toned faster, lose fat faster, and generally get better in every wayFASTERthan anyone else.However, the key to using this beginner super power of yours is using a workout routine that follows the guidelines that best allow it to be taken advantage of. That typically means higher frequency, lower volume, small and basic exercise selection, nothing fancy.Hey, what a coincidence this sample beginner program fits that description perfectly. And any other intelligently designed beginner program will too.So please, beginners, I beg of you. Dont try to do something more advanced, and dont try to add additional advanced stuff to the program laid out above. If you want the best results possible, do it exactly as is andfocus on perfect form and consistent progression.The Workouts: Version 2The sample weight training program laid out above is a pretty damn perfect beginner workout routine.But, you see, I know that no matter how many times I explain that this routine is totally ideal for beginners as is, many people are just going to ignore me and add more to it as they please.You were already thinking about doing it, werent you? Dont lie. Admit it.Well, if you are one of these people (shame on you, silly beginner!), this second version of the program is my attempt at helping you not listen to me in a way that doesnt completely screw things up.So, using the same 3 day full body split from before (in the same ABA BAB format), here is another extremely similar version of the original workout routine with a fewverysmall additions made to it.Workout A1. Squats3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.2. Bench Press3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.3. Rows3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.4. Triceps Press Downs1 set of 10-12 reps.5. Calf Raises1-2 sets of 10-12 reps.1 minute rest between sets.Workout B1. Deadlifts3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.2. Pull-Ups (or Lat Pull-Downs)3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.3. Overhead Shoulder Press3 sets of 8-10 reps.2 minutes rest between sets.4. Biceps Curls1 set of 10-12 reps.5. Abs1-2 sets of 10-12 reps.1 minute rest between sets.Everything else remains just like before (see the notes from earlier if you need additional details/clarifications), except now weve added some direct biceps and triceps work along with a little bit of calves and abs as well. (For abs, do 1 or 2 sets of whatever ab exercise you want.)So, the program is still ideal for beginners, AND you got some extra stuff added to it. Are you happy now?I hope so, because the more you try to add on top of Version 1, the more it starts to become an intermediate program. And the more that happens, the less and less effective its going to be for beginners.Now Put It To UseSo, theres 2 versions of what Ive simply named The Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine.Start light, focus on proper form first, focus on gradual progression second, make sure yourdiet plansupports your goals, and do it all consistently.Enjoy your results.The FAQ: Frequently Asked QuestionsJust in case you still have any additional questions about any aspect of this routine, here are a few additional answers.When will I be ready to switch from this beginner routine to an intermediate routine?Ive answered this one right here:When Should A Beginner Move To An Intermediate Workout Routine?Why do you recommend 8-10 reps for an exercise like deadlifts? Many people seem to recommend less.Under most circumstances, I fully agree that the conventional deadlift is best suited for lower reps. Romanian deadlifts however, which are an option if preferred over conventional DLs, are fine in both low and moderate rep ranges like this.But the reason my program uses the 8-10 rep range by default is because its designed for beginners, and most beginners dont have a clue what theyre doing especially when it comes to an exercise like the deadlift. No offense of course.And, sending a clueless beginner (whos first learning to deadlift) into the gym to do heavy sets of 5 is a pretty scary idea. Its even scarier if youve actually seen it in action.On top of that, I have no way of knowing who is going to be using this program. Will it be an athletic 18 year old or an out of shape 50 year old? Taking all of that into account, going with a slightly higher rep range by default just seems like the best choice here.However, if the person (in this case, you) feels comfortable with the lift and their form is solid, then by all means feel free to do 36-8 or 35 or something similar. Thats perfectly fine. I actually recommend it that way when I know the person is capable of it.But when I dont, 8-10 is just safer in my opinion.http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-beginner-weight-training-workout-routine/