Beginner Workout

Hey y'all!! Today we'll be going over a beginner full body workout. This article is geared towards folks who are just starting their fitness journey. The aim is to give all the young guns out there a solid starting point; that's gonna provide a great baseline to build from.

Over the years, I've seen countless beginners succeed and sadly fail. My hope is to provide you with the skills and knowledge to make sure you're one of those people that succeed. There's many reasons why people try and give up. However, one recurring themes I see as a personal trainer, is people trying too do to much too soon.

They try to rush to the finish line and burn themselves out before they get anywhere close to their goal. On the other hand, people that have the most success are the ones who understand this is a process that takes time.

Time, consistency, and any level of real effort are the secret ingredients to reaching any fitness goal. So, while this beginner training program may seem basic, it's built that way for a reason. All that being said, let's get into it; starting with our weekly training schedule.

For most people starting out, resistance training 2-3x a week is a great starting spot. This gives us plenty of time for recovery in between training sessions. Because this is a full body workout, we want at least 1 day of rest separating training sessions; this is to ensure proper recovery. As long as we're doing that, the days you choose are really up to you.

Just try to make it work for your schedule, don't try forcing it in somewhere. Our biggest goal as a beginner is building the habit of exercising consistently. That's a lot easier to do if it's not a huge inconvenience to our day to day life. After all, there's only so much time in a day. On that note, give yourself a specific time to train. Don't be like "oh I'll do it sometime Monday.", when we start doing that it gets way easier to push it off; then next thing you know we didn't train that day. If you know you work lets say 9-5, pick a specific time either before or after work. Say like, 7am every Monday for 30-60 minutes. It might seem like a small weird thing, but it really does make a difference. Now that we have an idea of what our weekly training schedule should look like; lets get into the actual workout.

Our full body workout is set up as a circuit. Meaning we will go from exercise to exercise with little to no rest in between; doing 1 set of each exercise. Then, once we finish 1 set of all our exercises we'll rest for for a bit. Full body circuits are very effective and time efficient, but are bit challenging.

All we need for this workout is enough space and a single kettlebell or dumbbell. Oh, and a bit of effort. Here's the workout you'll be doing:

Push ups 2-3x12-15

Split leg row 2-3x12-15

Goblet squats 2-3x12-15

Single leg curl to press 2-3x12-15

Suitcase lunge 2-3x12-15

Single leg toe touch 2-3x12-15

Rest 30-120 seconds, then repeat.

Do all these exercises you see in the order they're in. This is considered a phase 1 training program; the goal being to build a baseline of endurance and stability.

If you looking at 2-3x12-15 and don't know what that means, that's okay.

It's simply set x reps. The 2-3 and 12-15 are the ranges you'll be working in. Meaning you you either do 2 or 3 sets of the exercise, and do anywhere between 12-15 reps for that set. Again, because this is a circuit that means you'll be going through the circuit a total of 2 to 3 times. Because we are only doing 1 set of each exercise before going to the next.

If you don't know what any of the exercises are, a quick search online will give you all the explanation you need. Hopefully this makes some sense to you. I really am trying my best to give y'all a complete understanding; if not please feel free to reach out to me. My email is all over the website.

If you're just getting into resistance training you'll probably experience

delayed onset muscle soreness(DOMS) lasting 24-72 hours; that's totally normal. It feels like a super sore feeling in the muscles you worked. You may feel DOMS and think you can't do your next training session, but believe it or not, workout will actually help get rid of that feeling.

We'll be doing this workout 2-3x a week for about 1-3 months. By then you should be ready for the next step forward. Progress is different person to person, and if affected by a number of factors. Remember the main goal starting out is building consistency!

Feel free to sprinkle in some cardio sessions though out the week; given that your body and mind can handle it. If you do want to add in cardio, try to stay in zones 1 and 2. I have a whole article on cardio training zones, if you need to brush up on that.

Congrats y'all!! You made it through another article, and are that much better for it. Hopefully this info will get you one step closer to your fitness goals. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this article, or any other article posted on the site. Good luck with your full body beginner workout! Until next time. Peace!!