Weight Training Beginner’s Fitness Training

Do you need fitness training?

Fitness and weight training go hand in hand. Some novices can’t jump right into an intense weight training program because it takes flexibility, muscular endurance, and skill to move heavy weight using compound movements.

You will benefit from a beginner’s fitness training program if you are:

• Older
• Unusually sedentary
• Coming off a debilitating injury

If you fit into one of those categories and you’re not sure that you can jump head first into an intense weight training program, there is no harm in starting with this sort of general-purpose exercise and fitness training.

What does this beginner workout accomplish?

This preparatory phase gives you time to work on:

• Flexibility – Tight shoulders and hips limit your range of motion and put you at risk for injury.
• Muscular Endurance – Cramping and excessive soreness will hold you back until you are in shape to bulk up.
• Skill – It takes time and practice to learn proper technique, especially for squats and overhead presses. You risk injury and a false sense of accomplishment if your technique is off.

As a novice, your fitness training must help you make progress towards these four goals:

1. Increase your flexibility and range of motion.
2. Ensure that you have sufficient joint mobility.
3. Improve your muscular endurance.
4. Learn the basic weight lifting exercises:
   • Squats
   • Overhead press
   • Deadlift
   • Pull-ups and Rows
   • Bench Press

Fitness training parameters

In the next section, I’ll detail a sample fitness schedule that an absolute beginner can use to get in shape for weight training. Once you complete this beginner’s workout routine, you should be sufficiently fit to begin bulking up with heavy weights and compound exercises.

Before you start, review the FITT principle for some tips about program design and progression.

The goal is not to work to exhaustion. Rather, stay in your comfort zone, at least initially, but try to make each workout slightly harder than the last. Remember that the progression principle teaches us to avoid adaptation.

Main points of interest of the beginner’s fitness training program:

• Duration: One month.
• Frequency: At least 3 days per week, cardio on the “off” days.
• Techniques: Circuits of dynamic stretches and high-rep resistance exercises, along with a separate cardio workout.
• Equipment: Adjustable dumbbell, broomstick, unloaded standard barbell, pull-up bar, wrist and ankle weights (optional).

Sample fitness schedule

Resistance Circuit One (R1):

• Two-hand dumbbell swings
• One-hand dumbbell deadlifts
• Pushups
• Reverse lunges
• Pull-ups
• Dumbbell lunges
• One-hand dumbbell overhead press

Resistance Circuit Two (R2):

• One-hand dumbbell swings
• Dumbbell cross-body deadlift
• Pushups
• Overhead dumbbell lunges
• Pull-ups
• Dumbbell reverse lunges
• One-hand dumbbell clean & push press

Stretching Circuit One (S1):

• Squats with broomstick or light bar
• Arm stretches
• Forward/Back leg swings
• Shoulder dislocates
• Neck stretches
• Side leg swings
• Upper body circles

Stretching Circuit Two (S2):

• Overhead squats with broomstick
• Neck stretches
• Forward/Back light weight leg swings
• Shoulder dislocates
• Arm Stretches with light weight
• Side light weight leg swings
• Upper body circles with weight

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4
Mon	R1	R1	R2	R2
Tue	S1 & Cardio	S1 & Cardio	S2 & Cardio	S2 & Cardio
Wed	R1	R2	R1	R2
Thu	S1 & Cardio	S2 & Cardio	S1 & Cardio	S2 & Cardio
Fri	R1	R1	R2	R2
Sat	S1 & Cardio	S1& Cardio	S2& Cardio	S2& Cardio
Sun	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest

• General Notes

  • Do one circuit during week 1, then two (or more) circuits during weeks 2, 3, and 4.
  • During circuits, rest as little as possible. No rest between sets is ideal. You can rest a bit between circuits if you wish.
  • Exercises in each circuit usually alternate between upper and lower body, so if you change the order, you may become fatigued more quickly.
  • Don’t approach muscular failure. Goal is improvement, not failure. Pick rep range(s) that allow you to complete the circuit(s). Remember: it’s fitness training not strength training.
  • If you use a barbell instead of a broomstick, don’t use an Olympic-sized barbell because it will be too heavy. Use a standard (15-pound) barbell.
  • Wrist and ankle weights are optional; momentum-assisted stretching can be dangerous so be careful.
  • Choose your own cardio workouts: jump rope, running, swimming, general physical preparedness training (army-style PT), etc. Full-body GPP is preferred, but running is better than nothing. Look into interval training; not only is it effective, but it closely mirrors the sort of stress you put yourself through during an intense weight-training session.

• Resistance Circuits

  • Use a heavy dumbbell for the deadlift and its variant, the cross-body DL.
  • Use a relatively light dumbbell for overhead press.
  • Use a medium dumbbell for the clean & push press.
  • Dumbbell swings get you warmed up; use a light dumbbell.
  • Don’t go anywhere near failure on pull-ups unless they are easy for you.
  • If necessary, use assisted pullups:
    • Feet on a chair for assistance.
    • Jumping pull-ups.
    • Band-assisted pull-ups.
    • Assisted pull-up machine.
    • Wrist straps might help.
  • It is better to do 5 or 6 assisted pull-ups than only 1 or 2 actual pull-ups.
  • Dumbbell lunges are easier with 2 dumbbells, but 1-handed is fine too (and it is probably a better workout).

• Stretching Circuits

  • Use very light weight (if any) for stretching. Light wrist & ankle weights are perfect.
  • Take care not to stress the joints during weighted stretching. You’re preparing yourself for fitness and weight training, not competing with anybody or anything.
  • Don’t use weight during dynamic stretching if you feel joint problems.
  • Learn proper squat form:
    • Sit back into the squat.
    • Drop until your hip creases are lower than your knees.
    • Keep your knees in line with your toes.
    • Your lower back must remain naturally arched.
    • The low-bar position is probably preferable to high-bar.
  • Overhead squats are difficult: concentrate on shoulder flexibility; separate out the squat if you need to. It’s better to work on both aspects of the move separately, rather than develop bad habits and form problems.
  • Shoulder dislocates: With a broomstick or a rope, keeping your arms straight and wide, first touch your abdomen with the broomstick, then swing it in an arc over your head, keeping your arms straight, and swing back until the broomstick touches your lower back. Keep your arms wide enough apart so you can complete the entire arc without bending at the elbows. Note that your shoulder joints don’t actually “dislocate”.
  • Upper-body circles: Bend forward, then to the side, then back, then to the other side, and continue without pausing. When using weight, hold a light dumbbell or weight plate against your sternum.
  • Arm stretches: Circle your arms, paying attention to your shoulder mobility and chest flexibility. Remember that bench pressing is difficult if your shoulders and pecs are inflexible. Use arm stretches and unweighted flye movements to get ready for bench pressing.
  • Forward/Back leg swings: Concentrate on hip mobility. Hold onto something for balance. Supplement with quad and gluteus stretches if necessary.
  • Side leg swings: Work on hip mobility and the abductors and adductors. Be careful: groin injuries take forever to heal.
  • Neck stretches: Forward and back, side to side, side turns, circles, etc. Never push through areas of tightness. Be careful. Supplement with upper back stretches.

• Exercises

  • Dumbbell swings: Use the hips and back to power the move. Take care not to wrench your elbows and shoulders.  Keep your shoulder joints ”sucked in” tight.  This is a conditioning move, not a pure strength move; if it doesn’t get your heart rate up, you are probably doing it wrong. Start with the dumbbell between your legs, swing it up in front of your forehead with your arms straight, let it arc back down between your legs, repeat with a steady, non-stop rhythm.
  • For one-handed DB swings, either do a bunch of reps with one hand, then switch hands, or switch hands after every rep and have fun working on your hand/eye coordination. You will switch on the fly as the dumbbell is at forehead level.
  • Start the 1-handed DB deadlifts from the floor. Don’t overstretch the hamstrings with heavy weight. Substitute stiff-leg deadlifts if you want, especially if your dumbbell isn’t heavy enough. One-leg, one-handed DB deadlifts can be fun.
  • Alternate hands during the 1-handed DL set in accordance with whichever pattern you prefer.
  • Cross-body DLs: Pick up dumbbell from outside of right foot, stand up straight then put it down alongside the outside of your left foot. Reverse the movement, using the same hand. Switch hands when you judge that it is appropriate. It’s a good core workout.
  • Reverse lunges: extend a leg backwards while bending your front leg.
  • Overhead dumbbell lunges: perform a lunge while holding one or two dumbbells at arm’s length overhead. This is difficult, keep the weight light and concentrate on shoulder flexibility.  If you are not flexible enough, substitute the Warrior Pose from Yoga.
  • One-hand dumbbell overhead press: Either do a controlled Arnold-style press, or add a hang clean to the beginning of the movement.
  • Dumbbell clean and push press: With a moderately-heavy dumbbell on the floor between your legs, clean it to your shoulder, keeping your back straight as in dumbbell swings. Then, after a moment’s pause, use your legs to help you press the dumbbell overhead. The less assistance from your legs, the more you work your shoulder and upper back. Remember that this is also for conditioning and fitness training, not just pure strength.