If you're just beginning to lift weights, it may be tempting to overextend yourself. It is easy to be impressed with the physiques of professional bodybuilders, and train too hard in the beginning. To avoid injury, and excessive soreness, you should learn proper form and start slowly. After you are familiar with your exercises, and you have started to condition your muscles, you can increase the intensity of your workouts. Consult with your health care provider before you begin an exercise program.
Supervision
In the beginning, it is a good idea to get supervision for your workouts. Ideally, the supervision should come from a certified fitness trainer. Your trainer can instruct you on the proper technique for your exercises, and spot you if necessary. They can also provide a fitness assessment to determine your current fitness level, and help you set fitness goals.
Types
As a beginner, the majority of your exercises should be performed on exercise machines. They are safer and easier to learn how to use than dumbbells and barbells. However, even as a beginner, you can use dumbbells for smaller muscles such as your biceps and triceps. As you become familiar with your exercises, and your fitness level improves, you can substitute free weight movements for some of your exercise machines.
Example
Your beginner workout will feature 10 exercises that target all of your major muscle groups. For each exercise, you will perform one set with a relatively small amount of weight as a warmup. During your warm-up sets, perform the repetitions slowly, and concentrate on your form. You will perform a second set of each exercise, using a heavier weight. Keep your repetitions to between 10 and 15 for both sets. An example of a beginner weight lifting program would consist of thigh extensions for the upper front thigh, thigh curls for the upper rear thigh, leg press for the upper thigh, calf raises, military press for the shoulders, bench press for the chest, lat pulldown for the upper back, tricep pressdown for the back of the upper arm, bicep curl for the front of upper arm, crunches and hyperextensions for your lower back. Perform this workout three days a week, with 24 to 48 hours of rest between workouts.
Progression
When performing 15 repetitions on your second set is no longer a challenge, you should increase the weight. After approximately three weeks, add a third set of 10 to 15 repetitions. After approximately 30 days, begin adding a new exercise to a different muscle group, each week. After you have added a new exercise to all your muscle groups, it is time to consider working out on a split routine, four days each week.
Warning
For the sake of your personal safety, always request the help of a spotter when performing free weight exercises. Make sure that your spotter is experienced, and provide him with instructions on how you would like to be helped.
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