Weight training can be a bit daunting for someone new to a gym. Large floors with a full landscape of machinery is enough to intimidate anyone. I will break down a workout into as simple a process as I can so that all those machines and different exercises can more easily be taken in and understood. To really hit all the major muscles of the body you can break down a set of exercises in the following way:
Upper Body (Torso)
For the torso we can simplify it all with 4 basic movements that are easy to remember:
1) In the standing or sitting position imagine pushing up (vertical) against resistance – this is called the shoulder or military press.
2) Also in standing or sitting position the second movement is a push forward or horizontally – this is called a press, bench press or push-up. The push-up would of course be done facing the ground, but still pushing a resistance away from the front of your body. A bench press would be just the opposite instead with you lying down horizontally on your back and pushing the weight straight up.
3) The 3rd and 4th movements are just the opposite direction but in the same planes. Instead of pushing a weight vertically above your head you will now be pulling a weight down vertically from above your head. This is simply called a pull-down, or a pull-up if you are just using your body weight as resistance and pulling yourself up.
4) And last is the motion of pulling a weight from the front of the body in the sitting or standing position. This would most commonly be called a Row. It’s just like a man in a boat rowing by pulling the ores towards him.
All 4 of these movements are called “compound” movements. This means that multiple muscle groups are involved. For instance any time you push on something you are using primarily your chest or shoulder muscles and secondarily your tricep muscles (back of the arms). For pulling you are using the back muscles primarily and the biceps secondarily. If done correctly and effectively you will hit all the major muscle groups of the torso except for the trunk muscles or “core”. Those consist of the abdominals in the front and a series of different muscles on the sides and back that stabilize and coordinate our upper body with the lower body. The core will be used somewhat for stabilization in the four movements, but not directly. Many people make the mistake of ONLY training their cores in hopes that this will burn away all the fat accumulation in those areas. The body doesn’t work this way. The body burns away fat in a systematic pattern that isn’t changeable by which muscles are used to help create the required energy deficit.
Lower Body (Legs)
The legs can be worked all over by doing squats. There are many different types of squats. The one I recommend starting with is just a simple air squat where you are only using your body weight. In the standing position hold your arms out in front of you, feel about 2 feet apart (you can go wider if you want). Keeping your heels on the ground, squat down slowly until your butt goes lower than your knees. Then come back up slowly.
So in simplest terms you have 5 exercises I recommend that will best work the most muscles with the least amount of confusion and time invested. In the future you can expand on this basic framework with many other exercises and variations.
In the standing position just imagine the following to get the framework:
1) Push forward
2) Push up
3) Pull from front
4) Pull from above
5) Squat
How many sets and reps do I do of each one? This topic can get very complicated and drawn out but again to try and stick to the basics, I will layout a simple plan with these recommendations:
If you are just starting out with weight training don’t worry too much about the weight and sets/reps. Just practice the movements and get familiar with them and gradually increase the weight so it feels like you have to put some effort into the movement. You should NOT push too hard in your first couple of weeks. Too many trainers make the mistake of pushing too hard too early with new clients and I cringe every time I hear from someone who fell victim to one of these trainers. A lot of soreness means you pushed too hard. No soreness means you didn’t push hard enough. The ideal feeling on the day after your workout is just a little feeling of soreness in the targeted muscles. After you get familiar with the movements in your first couple of weeks, then you can start really increasing the weights to find your ideal work weight for each exercise. The ideal weight will be the amount of weight you can push at least 8 reps with, but no more than 12. If you can do more than 12 reps then the weight is too light. If you can’t get 8 reps then it’s too heavy. Take between 1 and 3 minutes rest between each set and do 1-3 sets of each exercise depending on your strength levels and experience. Do this workout 2-3 times per week with as even a rest period as possible between workouts.
