Fundamentals of Beginner Lifting!

The foundation to your training career!

Form

One of if not the most important steps in becoming a seasoned lifter is cracking down on proper form for any exercise you may choose! When you execute exercises correctly, you not only maximize muscle activation but also take the proper steps to minimize injury!

As a beginner, prioritize bodyweight exercises or light weights with high reptations to understand each movement fully. Use any mirrors to check your form or record yourself to spot any mistakes. Another HUGE tip for getting that form A1 sauce level perfect is to have a friend or trainer with you who knows proper form to critique you mid exercise!

Beginner/ Basic lifts

All lifts have to start somewhere which is why its important to learn the big 3 of lifts before moving on to variations:

• Squat: Engages your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core.
• Deadlift: Works your entire posterior chain, including hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
• Bench Press: Primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps.

These movements form the base of many programs because they are compound exercises, meaning they engage multiple muscles at once. By focusing on these exercises, you’ll build a strong foundation that will help with all other lift variations!

Recovery

As important as proper form and exercise selection are what’s arguably more important is recovery time! Lifting stresses your muscles, and recovery is when they actually grow and get stronger. Without recovery or rest days your body will eventually start to wear down and become more prone to injury!

To avoid that happening I recommend for beginner to novice level lifters to get at LEAST a good 2 or three days within your workout schedule to relax, eat, and hydrate to prepare for the next day!

Programs/Splits

Weight lifting programs or “Splits” are a great way of tracking your exercise routine and can be a major component in staying consistent. Basically its planning out your workouts to be in optimal order for training each muscle group that being said I recommend beginners to start with a PPL split. PPL standing for Push; Chest, shoulders, upper body focused day with “pushing” movements. Then Pull; Back targeted areas like your lats, traps, lower back and movements that involve “pulling”. Finally the L which stands for legs… DO NOT SKIP LEGS LEGS MAKE UP 50% OF YOUR PHYSIQUE DO NOT SKIP THEM!!!! Leg movements involve targeting your quads, hamstrings, and calves!