Best Workouts For a Beginner Weightlifter

If you are reading this, you’re likely someone who is interested in lifting weights yet isn’t sure where to start.

You don’t have to look far to find workouts and exercises from the next best trainer or fitness influencer, and the advice we get from multiple sources can sometimes be confusing and contradictory.

This article will go over the best workouts for a beginner weightlifter so that you can start your lifting journey on the right note.

Keep This In Mind

The best workout is one that you will stick with. There are variations to different workout routines, but if you generally just want to start resistance training to get healthier and improve your percentage of lean body mass, then you want to gravitate toward lifting routines that you enjoy.

Workouts that you struggle to complete because you are bored, unmotivated, or overworked make it difficult to continue pursuing. But when you find a structured routine or program that you are challenged by and can see yourself doing for an extended period of time, then stick with it.

This is all part of building a habit that you will continue throughout your lifetime. Will workouts and goals change during different stages of your life? Absolutely. But as a beginner, just make sure you are doing workouts that you actually show interest in–and complete!

The Best Workouts For a Beginner Weightlifter

Whether we are discussing age, athleticism, injury or health history, or just general workout preferences, every person is different; what will be the best workout for one person may not fit someone else.

But generally, the best workouts for a beginner weightlifter usually includes these components:

Body weight movements or calisthenics
Isometrics
Basic lifts and free weights

Let’s go over each one.

Calisthenics

Gaining body weight strength really helps improve that mind/body connection, which improves the relationship between the central nervous system and muscles. Weight training does that as well, but calisthenics offers a different type of stimulus from machines and free weights. Coordination and flexibility tend to improve, including muscle strength through a greater range of motion.

Exercises as simple as a push-up require nearly full-body activation, which movements like a bicep curl or lat-pull down don’t really do.

Also, calisthenics can be done almost anywhere and with minimal equipment. This suits a beginner really well, because this can give someone the opportunity to work out at home, while still building strength. In fact, when you start progressing with weight lifting, you’ll see positive results because of the calisthenic work done before.

Isometrics

This area of weight lifting trends to be neglected, but as a beginner, I would highly recommend incorporating these types of exercises into your workouts.

Isometric contractions are when a muscle contracts with no motion. So essentially, you are lifting a weight or holding a movement in a static position. Lift a dumbbell, keep your elbows set at 90 degrees, then hold the position for an extended period of time. That is an isometric exercise.

This is great to do as a beginner to help you understand what the contraction should feel like for the appropriate muscle group (if you are doing an isometric bicep curl, you should be feeling it in your bicep), and it can help improve posture and mechanics.

Isometrics tend to not be too intense–when the appropriate weight is selected–so for a beginner, it is not too intimidating. Select a weight you can hold for about 30 seconds with good form.

Basic Lifts and Free Weights

I tend to recommend free weights over machines, because free weights require you to use more muscles groups to maintain proper posture and form. It’s a lot easier to relax on a leg extension machine than it is with a body weight, split-stance squat. If you are weary or intimidated by dumbbells or other free weights, you can still get a lot out of machines, but eventually, free weights are something I would recommend, ensuring you are seeing progress with your goals.

In the end, the most successful workouts I see are ones that incorporate the basic lifts: squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. The shoulder press is another one I like to include as well.

If you are doing 2 to 3, full-body workouts a week, that include a variation of each of these movements in each workout, you will not only see strength improve, but you will see balance, posture, and motor control get better as well.

You will want to be in a 12 to 15 rep range, 3 sets of each exercise.

As a beginner weightlifter, I would highly recommend MAPS Starter or MAPS Anabolic if you want to assist with program structure, tips and tricks, and videos that demonstrate all the movements for an effective, beginner workout.