A Solid, Basic Beginner Workout Plan

If you are new to weightlifting you are probably familiar with a few basic workouts. However, if you lack experience you may not be applying the exercises properly. Quite possibly, you may be adding intermediate level workouts into your program. Some beginners also may have a tendency to overdo it in the gym. Remember, performing a particular number of exercises per week will all be based on your experience level and current strength levels. Overdoing it can lead to burnout and injury. So, let’s take a look at a few tips for putting together a basic workout.

Anyone launching a beginner workout will want to stick with both the basic compound exercises that build mass and a few isolation exercises that help tone and shape muscles. It is best to perform the most basic exercises because advanced exercises are designed for muscles that have already been developed to a significant degree. So, in terms of compound exercises, you will want to perform supine barbell bench presses, incline barbell bench presses, incline dumbbell bench presses, barbell squats, and frontal and reverse barbell shoulder presses. For isolation exercises, you will want to perform barbell and dumbbell bicep curls, tricep press downs on a pulley machine, overhead tricep barbell extensions, shoulder pulley rows, and front leg extensions. Yes, you could add other exercises to the mix if you wish, but you must use these basic exercises in the workout since they hit all the muscles in the body.

It is also helpful to perform abdominal exercises as well. These exercises do not involve weights and, unlike other exercises, these can be performed every day. Usually, a mix of crunches, sit ups, and leg raises should help the abs develop quite nicely.

When it comes to working out, here is some important news: don’t work out more than 4 days a week lifting weights. Now, some may wonder how one could develop a decent physique only working out 4 days a week. The reason is that muscles do not grow during the workout itself. Muscles grow during the repair stage when they are rested. So, if you are running a beginner workout that is 6 or 7 days a week…your body won’t develop. Worst of all, you will be at risk for an injury. As such, it is best to workout for one hour, four days a week and, generally, only work on one body part a week. That means, you will do a chest workout one day a week, biceps, one day a week, etc. It is possible to work one body part twice a week if you feel it needs a little boost, but try to stick with only doing this with one body part. Anything more than that would be venturing into intermediate and advanced workouts which are used mostly by lifestyle and professional bodybuilders.

And ALWAYS avoid trying to lift a massive amount of weight when embarking on a beginner workout. Rushing to lift heavy weight is a surefire path to burnout and injury. Stick with moderate weights and perform 8 – 10 reps of compound exercises and 8 – 10 reps on isolation exercises with a moderate amount of weight. You can always perform light isolation exercises at high reps of 15 as well.

And, most importantly, do not rush into a workout “cold”. Spend about 15 minutes on the treadmill or exercise bike warming up. This will greatly reduce the chance for an injury.

Of course, there can be variations to the advice given herein. There is no single, standardized strategy for a beginner workout. But, if you follow the main points detailed here, you will discover your beginner workout far exceeding your initial expectations. Go to http://www.ProMuscleWorld.com

Author: Dharminder M Wahda
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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