Beginner Strength Training Plan & Guide by Influencer Todd Parker, M.A., M.S.

So you’ve recently decided to change your lifestyle and get fit? You have decided that you want to start a strength training program, but you really don't know where to start? Everyone has been in this position at least once before; you're new at the gym, and you don't know where to go, what to lift, or how to use the machines. The following are some key tips and guidelines when starting a strength training program. 

First, we have to establish what our primary goal(s) are; whether it’s for strength, weight loss, lean muscle gain and toning up fat areas, or just overall fitness…? This article and example workout will help guide you through a healthy and safe start as you begin your journey towards achieving your health and fitness goals.

Strength training can provide significant results for anyone, but especially for those who have tried and failed at overhauling their fitness with just diet or cardiovascular (cardio or CV) training. In my experience spanning nearly 4 decades, a combination of strength training, cardio training (which can be walking), and a sound nutritional and caloric intake routine will bring forth fitness – both CV and muscular, overall health, and improved or sustained bone mineral density the quickest and more extensively. As for strength training, consistent training consists of at least 2-3x per week, complemented by cardio sessions and a good diet. In just 12 weeks, this approach can provide such benefits as:

·        Increased muscle-fiber size (don’t worry ladies, you’re not going to get huge!)

·        Increased muscle contractile strength

·        Increased tendon strength

·        Increased ligament strength

·        Increased joint range of motion

·        Increased or sustained bone mineral density

·        Increased core strength, balance, and stability

·        Decrease in injuries due to muscular weaknesses or imbalances

·        Decrease in injuries due to falls; as well as, decrease in propensity to fall

All of these add up to greater overall fitness, health, and wellness (both physically and mentally), while decreasing the likelihood of being injury-prone. You will also find that when you’re more pleased with your fitness and appearance, your confidence will show through. This may end up helping others by the example you set, as well as open up more opportunities towards other life goals and aspirations. 

“Strength training can provide significant results for anyone, but especially for those who have tried and failed at overhauling their fitness with just diet or cardiovascular (cardio or CV) training.” 

Let’s first start with a “Few Rules of Lifting/Gym Etiquette”

1.   Always bring or get a towel to wipe off machines, benches, mats, and equipment you use. This is being courteous and health conscience for others using the gym.

2.   Be sure to re-rack all the weights/plates, and return all dumbbells or barbells that you’ve used.

3.   Don't rest for extended periods of time on a machine that someone is waiting for; if possible, work in with them between sets. Most people are more than willing to share when asked nicely, and therefore can perform your set while they’re resting in between sets.

4.   Please leave your cell phone secured in your locker or car. Nothing is more distracting and irritating than listening to another person's loud conversation while you’re trying to focus on your own workout. Music can greatly benefit training performance; this is why others are trying to hear the gym’s music or typically many now wear headphones with their own music.

5.   Finally, as for others training and listening to their own music, if someone is in the middle of performing a set of weight training, do not interrupt them. If you need to, wait until they complete the exercise and are taking a break or recovery period. You’ll know when to and when not to interrupt, it’s common sense, so just be observant and courteous.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1.   Using too much weight, or increasing weights too soon. It is best to start “conservatively” and use lower weights that allow your current ability to complete 3x10 (meaning 3 sets of 10 repetitions (or reps)) comfortably. It should be challenging to complete these sets, but “comfortably so”. If you cannot complete a set of 10 reps without significant strain or hurting yourself – it’s too heavy. Generally, if you cannot control the weight, it’s too heavy. And if the weight is too easy, add some more weight and work your way up from there. If your form deteriorates, you start swinging the weight, or using momentum to complete a rep, this is a telltale sign that you’re using too much weight. By using momentum to complete repetitions, it increases the potential for injury and reduces the workload to the muscle or muscle group that you’re focusing on.

2.   Safety always comes first; however, if you can easily perform 20-30 reps with a particular weight, it’s too light for targeting strength. However, if you’re desire is more towards the muscular endurance end of the spectrum, then the weight or workload is probably appropriate. A general guideline to use is to increase the weight in subsequent training days by no more than about 5% at a time, so that you can successfully complete 3 sets of 10 without straining yourself. And by the way, it may take a couple of weeks until you feel confident that you can increase the weight. A telltale sign is that your 3 sets of 10 reps becomes way too easy.

3.   “Out of Control” performing repetitions too quickly, too fast is often a cause of injury. Again, using momentum lessens effectiveness of your work, as well as an injury-causing factor – especially along the spinal column and at the joints. Benefits of lifting weight in a slow and controlled manner results in more muscular tension, more force produced, more muscle fiber activation, and less unnecessary tissue trauma or microscopic tearing. Remember that joints are only as strong as the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that they’re comprised of. If you’re just starting out or had a long lapse since you’ve strength trained, placing too much strain with poor (too fast, out of control…) execution, may sideline you for weeks or months of rehab before your lifestyle change has a chance to successfully start and take traction. 

4.   Recovery (or rest) between Sets. If you don’t rest enough between sets, your joints and/or muscles may not have recovered adequately enough; therefore, with notable fatigue present when starting the next set, you likely won’t be able to complete the set, as well as increase the chance of injury. Resting too long between sets and you’ll be spending more time in the gym with less work accomplished. Guide: typically, a rest period is between 30-90 seconds is recommended. For beginners 60-90 seconds is probably going to be optimal for you early on – until your overall fitness improves. After the first set at least, I recommend you stretch the targeted area while you’re recovering. This also will help prevent most common early-on strain injuries. Furthermore, I also recommend that you alternate between upper body and lower body exercises to facilitate adequate joint recovery – as those are what will fatigue first and foremost.

General Beginner Weight/Strength Training Workout

1.    Warm-up (WU) for at least 5-10 minutes on either a treadmill, elliptical machine, or stationary bike. [Midway into the WU, perform a few 20-30 energy/pace surge intervals to increase blood flow and cardiovascular workout preparedness. Incorporate a 30-90 second rest cycle between each interval.]

2.   Leg Press (quadriceps or quads as they’re often referred) Seated Leg Press or Plate Loaded Squat Press 1-3 sets of 10 reps or 1-3x10 (1-3 sets time available dependent) [Note: again, weight should be challenging enough to complete the set(s) of 10 reps. In other words, it should not be too easy or too difficult to complete 10 repetitions.] 

3.   Lat (middle back) Pulldown 1-3x10 [grab the bar in a pronated (palms facing away) grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Try to focus on minimizing arm use, to better target the lat muscles. Imagine you’re trying to crack a walnut between your shoulder blades.]

4.   Leg Curls/Hamstring Curls (back of the leg) Laying Down in Prone (stomach down) Position [your hamstring (or hams as they’re often referred) are the “bicep muscle for the femur bone, so you have to curl them as far as possible; you’re feet/ankle area may slightly touch your butt muscles (or glutes as they’re often referred) when a full leg curl rep is completed. Cautionary note: have a trainer ensure you are set up properly on the machine, and be cautious on lowering the weight back down to the starting position to avoid hyper-extending the knee joint. In fact, it’s more optimal to lower just short of completely down (weights/plates touching) to maintain a constant tension and control of the weight. Control is critical, and banging the weights either means it’s too light or too heavy.]

5.   Chest Flyes on Machine, Cable System, or Lying in Supine (back side down on bench) with Dumbbells 1-3x10 [Cautionary Note: If using a bench and dumbbells, have a trainer spot/assist on your 1st set to ensure the weight is appropriate, and your technique safe. With dumbbell flyes, the further out your arms are extended from the midline of your body, the more strain placed on the shoulder joint. Especially if you’ve had previous shoulder injuries (i.e. rotator cuff tear, AC (acromioclavicular joint) Joint separation or tear, broken clavicle…), bend the elbows more, which will bring the dumbbells closer to the body. Too far out (extended) with heavy dumbbells can injury anyone – beginner or not!]

6.   Triceps (or Tris as they’re often referred) Pushdown - with Rope Attachment (vs. Short Bars) which provide optimal tri muscular contraction 1-3x10. [Performance Note: stand close to the cable machine and not 2-4 feet away for optimal exercise execution and muscular targeting.]

7.   Abdominal (or abs as they’re often referred) Crunch on an Ab Crunch Machine or on a Mat with a small inflatable ball (often referred to as a Swiss Ball or Stability Ball) squeezed and held between your Hams and your Calf Muscles (or calves as they’re often referred). 1-3x10-20 [Performance & Cautionary Note: By holding a small ball between your leg muscles, it facilitates you pushing your low back into the mat, thus, significantly reducing the risk of low back strain. Also, you’re hands are only supporting your head weight and not “cranking on the neck”. All that’s necessary is a lifting of the shoulder blades off the mat and bringing your knees to your elbows. In the beginning, 10 crunches may make the abs burn, if not, or too easy, perform more.] 

8.   Machine or Dumbbell Bicep (or bi or bis as they’re often referred) Curl 1-3x10 [Performance Note: If using dumbbells, keep your elbows at your sides, or as I tell clients, imagine your elbows are bolted to your sides (hips). At the top of the curl, flare the dumbbell outward slightly to get the fullest contraction possible. Lower the weight until you reach a full extension of the arm to optimize workload of each rep. If using a machine, have a trainer set your position so as to avoid hyper-extending the elbow joint and bicep.]

9.   Back Extensions with Machine or lying prone on a mat or ball (often referred as Supermans) 1-3x10 [Performance & Cautionary Note: Have a trainer set you up on the back extension machine, or if on a mat, demonstrate the various methods of safely performing back extensions or supermans. If you’ve had low back injuries in the past or an imbalance whereas your abs and sides (or obliques as they’re often referred) are very strong, but your low back is weak, this is most often due to the fact that you’ve never trained this area, control and range of motion (ROM) is critical. Start off easy and a short arc or short ROM. In other words, on the machine, do not fully flex (bend) or extend (straighten) the spine, and especially don’t extend beyond straight, arching your low back thereby hyper-extending it. Another technique to prevent injury or excessive strain on the hams and hamstring tendon, turn your feet (on the machine) outwards or “duck-footed” so as to significantly ease the tension on the hams and tendon. When you fully extend whether using a machine, mat, or ball, squeeze you glutes at the top of the extension to increase effectiveness of strengthening the low back muscles and glutes.]

10. Shoulder Press - Machine (or Military Press as it’s often referred) or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1-3x10 [Performance Note: have a trainer set you up so that you’re seat height is appropriate for you to perform the exercise, or if with dumbbells, demonstrate the proper execution and ROM for safe and effective shoulder presses. If you’ve had any previous shoulder injuries, use light weights and perform in a slow controlled manner. This way, if you feel “a twinge” or pain, cease immediately, and ask the trainer to show you some alternative exercises for the shoulder muscles. As you progress, you should train all of muscles – anterior, medial, and posterior, or front, middle, and back muscles of the shoulder joint.]

11. Eleven is actually a Cool-down or Stretching Session. Cool-down easy 5-10 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike. However, my preference or recommendation is that you stretch the targeted muscles. “In a perfect world, you’ve stretched between each set”, and therefore may just need to stretch one time for each muscle or group, or possibly not at all (if you truly stretched well between each set while recovering).

Guidelines and other Notes for this Workout.

1.   First and foremost, do not hesitate to ask a trainer for assistance – that’s what they’re there for. Look for a trainer that’s not with a client, or if they’re all engaged, approach one once there’s a pause for the client’s recovery/rest period. This really is common sense, but falls under “Gym Etiquette”, and therefore, do not engage a trainer while they’re client is performing an exercise. They are closely watching and assessing form and technique, signs of excessive strain (weight is too heavy or client is too tired), and therefore, it’s a safety issue for one not to interrupt a trainer while watching their client execute the exercise reps.

2.   This workout is designed for general overall upper and lower body strength, health, and cardiovascular fitness gains of a healthy, physician-cleared adult individual who has either never lifted weights before, very inexperienced, or had a long break since they’ve last strength trained (for whatever reason).

You may have noticed that most of the exercises are performed on or with machines. This is primarily because a beginner or previously sedentary person does not have (in most cases) the necessary joint strength, core strength, or stability to perform at first with dumbbells or barbells (or free-weights as they’re often referred), and safely execute the exercise and sets. As you’ll learn later on, free-weights are often times more effective at strengthening targeted areas and activate more muscle fibers; however, machines are much safer and best to start with. Machines isolate the targeted muscle or group, while generally inhibiting the instance of injury. I have introduced dumbbells as options for some exercises; however, remember to have a trainer help set you up and demonstrate proper form and technique before you start.

As a General Guide, perform this workout no more than 2-3 times per week. Rest days in between allow for the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia (or soft connective tissue) to strengthen and better prepare you for the next session. This is because it is actually during the rest days that you’re muscles…etc. strengthen, and not during the workout itself. Remember, we’re microscopically tearing the muscle fibers during strength training, and the adequate healing and strengthening occurs on rest days. This is true for cardiovascular or endurance training as well. Keep in mind, that performing this workout only once a week, you’ll not experience much gain in strength and overall fitness. If you’re doing other exercise (and hopefully you are doing something every day), such as walking, running, cycling, gardening…etc., perform these with strength training alternating every other day to achieve optimal results (e.g. strength training 3 times per week). Therefore strength train every other day with a rest day or other exercise in between strength training days. As you progress, you may eventually decide that strength training will now be your primary mode of exercise. To train safely (as experienced or professionals do), who may strength train 5-7 days per week, workouts are broken up into different muscles/groups throughout the week, rather than a “full body workout”. You might only work on 2-3 muscles per day; however, as you’ll learn, those muscles are targeted by various exercises and modalities in order to fully train and strengthen the entire area(s). So in other words, you may be performing 3-5+ sets of a particular exercise, and possibly 3-4+ different exercises targeting the same muscle or region.   

For your beginning first few months I’d recommend 3 sets of 10 reps each, with ~1min rest in between sets. If you prefer to lean towards a little more strength, or slightly more towards muscular endurance, then use weights that will be challenging to complete 8-12 reps per set. For optimal strength and fitness gains, regardless of your choice, just remember that it should be challenging to complete the number of reps, and increasingly so as you perform the 2nd and 3rd set. Therefore, you should be fatigued at the completion of each set and need the 30-90 second rest and recovery period.

Generally, it should take a few seconds to perform each rep. In this slower and controlled manner, remember that it’s safer and more effective for the muscle(s) trained by doing so. 

Rest and recovery periods should last at least 30 seconds to be safe and able to successfully complete more than one set. That said, you should not be having long conversations and taking 5 minutes between sets. Otherwise, you won’t get much done in the time you’ve allotted, or your workout may take 2 hours or more. 

Execution of Training Tips & Reminders.

Unless you’re an elite athlete being trained and closely monitored under a professional coach or trainer and for specific reasons, show up to the gym fueled. At least have a healthy bowl of cereal, toast with jam, banana with peanut butter, some natural fruit juice and water, coffee or tea too is fine (preferably) 1-2 hours prior to your workout. Furthermore, you’ve been sipping water up until your workout start time. Showing up to workout under-fueled (i.e. you last had something at 6pm last night) and/or slightly dehydrated is a recipe for more instance of injuries, poor performance, forcing you to stop the workout because you’re getting tingly and lightheaded, and may even pass out. Yes, I’ve even seen this; especially those who are trying to shed significant fat weight too quickly. If you’re trying to lose some weight while strength training, myself and the American College of Sports Medicine recommends a healthy weight loss range of 1-2 pounds per week. Drastic measures either by not eating enough and/or working out too much, often may lead to more instances of injury, disturbed sleep, sudden and pronounced lethargy throughout your day, continual muscle soreness that doesn’t ever seem to go away, elevated resting and training heartrates, appetite changes (in either direction), or uncommon irritability (which someone close to you may mention as you don’t realize it)…etc. These are unhealthy signs, signs of what I refer to as “you’ve entered the downward spiral of the overtrained state”, and may require several rest days to adequately recover. Or in severe cases weeks of recovery or even hospitalization. Yes, be smart and be realistic with your weight loss and fitness goals. Remember, “there’s no magic pill” and there are no shortcuts to achieving (what should be) long-term goals and permanent lifestyle changes.

I’ve already touched on it a little, but maintain keeping your body hydrated before, during, and after training. Although various agencies and institutions recommended 8 8oz glasses of water per day, for some, that may be inadequate, but certainly it’s inadequate if your lifestyle has changed from a sedentary one, to one that incorporates significant exercise each day of the week, or every workout day. Dehydration not unlike inadequate nutrition and fueling, can make you weak and more injury or illness prone. And again, in severe cases hospitalization, or at least EMTs or some other medical professional sticking you with an IV Saline Bag or two to rehydrate you back to normal. Some signs of dehydration may include: reduced urine output, dark yellow or even a brownish color urine, dry lips and tongue, dry eyes, dry wrinkled skin, rapid breathing, cool and blotchy feet and/or hands, disorientation, and worse.

Eat smaller well-balanced meals with appropriate proportions of lean protein (lean chicken, turkey, beef, or fish), or a whey protein and fruit smoothie (for vegetarians or vegans, use plant based proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) – generally 1-2 hours prior to each workout, or some of the breakfast recommendations I made for those early morning workouts. Refueling the muscles should usually be within 30-60 minutes post workout, preferably within what we refer to as “the 30 minute glycogen window”. This basically means that your metabolism is at its optimal functioning to restore and repair the muscles targeted. Eating huge meals before or after is unnecessary and not beneficial for losing or maintaining a healthy weight. 

If also performing cardio workouts throughout the week as well, I recommend you perform those on alternate days between strength training days. Or, if you’re being closely monitored by a professional coach or trainer, and weight loss is one primary goal, for what we call 2-a-days (or 2 workouts in 1 day), perform one in the morning and the other in the afternoon or early evening. Typically you do not want to train late evening or close to your bedtime, because the excessive stimulation may make it difficult for you to fall and stay asleep. Best of luck, train smart, and train safe!

Todd Parker is a World-Renowned Cycling, Triathlon, and Strength Coach, Influencer within the Sports & Fitness Industries, and Corporate Wellness Consultant - consulted by Coaches, Athletes, Corporations, Governing Bodies, and Sports Supplement, Gear, and Apparel Companies Worldwide. Todd is one of the most sought after Coaches, Trainers, and Authors to train with, test products, and to have guest lecture or author within the United States and Europe. A former Professional Triathlete, Todd is also an Elite Cyclist, Cycling & Triathlon Coach, Personal Trainer, Strength & Conditioning Specialist, Exercise Physiologist, Author, Public Speaker, Guest Lecturer, and Professor with a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology & Human Performance. Todd is also Protective Services Bodyguard, Antiterrorism and Counterterrorism expert. You can reach Todd at: [email protected] , by appointment only, or at his secure site https://toddparkertrainingprograms.com/