A beginner gym workout should not be one filled with complex exercises, different types of sets, and heavy weights. In fact, a beginner’s gym workout must focus on preparing the muscles for a journey that will make the fibers thicker, stronger, and better.
In the case of a beginner gym workout, it’s important to understand that the flow, exercise, and impact will be similar to that of an advanced gym workout. However, it will differ in intensity, weight used, and reps done.
Let’s understand what a beginner gym workout looks like.
An Example of a Beginner Gym Workout
The following is the flow that a beginner gym workout routine should take:
1. Warm Up
Warming up is an essential part of any gym workout routine. It’s used as a method to activate muscle fibers and get the blood flowing.
If you jump directly into resistance training or strength training without any warm-ups, you could put yourself at risk of being injured or get muscle cramps.
You can use light jogging on the treadmill or a session of stretches (10 minutes), ideally anything that raises your heart rate.
2. Resistance Training
This is one of the most important parts of a workout routine. In this, you’re using resistance against the muscles to force them to become stronger with time.
Additionally, resistance training requires more energy than the body uses on a daily basis. To provide that energy, your body will dip into stored calories. This will trigger weight loss as well.
3. Cardiovascular Exercise
An element of fitness is improving endurance and athletic performance. Cardiovascular exercises help with exactly this concern and are a great tool to burn extra calories after resistance training.
4. Cool-Down
Cool-down exercises are used to steadily lower your heart rate to its normal pace. Moreover, it helps your muscles recover and prevents injury.
Usually, a gym routine for beginners uses basic movements but compound exercises to target more than one muscle group. Some of the most common exercises found in a beginner gym workout routine are as follows:
- Bench press
- Squats
- Lat pull-down
- Shoulder press
- Bicep curls
- Tricep pushdowns
- Bodyweight exercises
Tips for Implementing a Gym Routine for Beginners
It’s important to remember the following tips when you’re starting your journey as a beginner at the gym. It’ll keep you from injuring yourself and putting your muscles in harm’s way.
1. Correct Your Form
Your form is the most important part of keeping yourself safe. The first step at the gym is to learn the correct form of an exercise so that you know which muscles to engage in, how to position yourself, and how to protect your muscles from strains and cramps.
2. Don’t Lift Heavy
As a beginner, you do not need to lift heavy. Your muscles will let you know when you are ready to do so. Start with light weights, allow your muscles to understand the position and the movement, engage your muscles for maximum impact, and finally move to the next weight when the current weight feels doable with ease.
You should focus on progressive overload but not on your very first day.
3. Follow a Well-Balanced Diet
A well-balanced diet caters to two things – your calorie requirements and macronutrients.
Your daily calorie intake depends on your goal. If you want to cut fat, you’ll need to follow a calorie deficit diet. If you want to add muscle mass or weight, you need to follow a calorie surplus diet.
Next, macronutrients like protein, fats, and carbohydrates need to be included in your diet to provide you with sufficient amounts of all three.
4. Take a Rest and Recovery Day
A rest and recovery day is a must-have in a beginner gym workout routine or an advanced workout routine.
On rest and recovery days, you allow your muscle fibers to recover and repair the wear and tear they suffer during resistance training.
5. Do Not Neglect Cardio
While cardio doesn’t need to be done everyday, it’s good to add at least three cardio sessions a week.
Cardio helps with maintaining your overall fitness and improving endurance!
