QUICK START WORKOUT
“Ok, I got my diet sorted, now what?”
You get to work out, and the most beneficial workout is resistance training.
“But I don’t care about muscles, I don’t want to look like Arnold.”
Hey cool, me neither. And maybe you don’t want to look like me and that’s cool too. But lifting weights isn’t important solely for aesthetic reasons. It's an essential part of optimal health for anyone: young or old, male or female. The benefits include increased bone density, increased resting BMR, heart health, mental health, more regular sleep, and lower stress.
But there’s another amazing benefit for those of us who struggle with our weight: it gives you another way to improve your fitness that isn't just dieting, which will be a grind sometimes. You're going to stumble on your diet, but if you can say "well at least I still lifted today" it's a HUGE psychological boost. And if you time your deviations/ cheats for after lifting, a lot of those excess calories go into repairing and building muscle rather than being stored as fat.
Your body weight will fluctuate, but seeing and feeling progress in the gym, whether it's heaver weights, more reps, better form, or the intangibles like increased confidence, lets you know that something is going right and allows you to just believe in the process and not sweat the day to day fluctuations/ variance, which will drive you crazy if you let them. Note that of course progress in the gym, just like with dieting, isn't always linear and some days you can and will backslide, but just the act of continuing is a victory. This was the single greatest factor that kept me sane when I gained back half of the 150 lbs I lost over a few years. It would have been easy to see myself regaining weight and resign myself to the myth that only a small percentage of people can keep weight off, but I could tell myself that at least I was making progress in one aspect of my health. Then, when I was ready to re-shed some of that excess fat, I had even more faith in myself and the process.
“Ok, how should I start?”
I know starting a training program can seem intimidating, but all it takes is two to three 1-hour sessions a week. Here's some general lifting advice, applicable if you use my program or any other. I'll assume you are completely new to resistance training.
Warm up with 10 mins of easy cardio beforehand, I like the elliptical because it gets your arms moving and is easy on the joints. Do a bit of dynamic stretching beforehand, like a pitcher swinging his arm in a circle. Your first few sessions are just going to be about getting the form down and finding good starting weights for your lifts, don't try to lift a lot of weight just yet, we're going to start light. Form > weight, using proper form is priority 1 through 100, both for safety and because using proper form with a lighter weight is much more effective than using poor form/ momentum with a heavier weight. We build up our strength and endurance by contracting and using our muscles, not by flailing about with weights beyond our capabilities, so the gym is no place for ego. Before you go, watch all the video demos I've linked and concentrate on which muscles are being used. Try to really focus and "squeeze" those muscles. Eventually you will develop a mind-muscle connection, but until it becomes second nature you just have to be intentionally cognizant of it.
A good tempo to use is 2/1/2, i.e. for bench press, 2 seconds to go up, hold at the top for a second, then 2 to go down. Going down (the eccentric movement) is JUST as important as going up (the concentric). Don't just let gravity take the weight down after you go up, because that's dangerous and ineffective.
Keep your core (trunk) tight by pulling in your navel to your spine, during all lifts. Think of your body as a building and your core as its base.
I'll repeat myself because it's that important: start light. The first several sessions are just about form and finding your weight, once you get the form down you will see good gains at first, not just from muscles growing but from your central nervous system learning how to recruit your muscles to harness what you already have.
Warm up with 1 or 2 sets of 5-10 reps before each lift, at about 40% and 60% of your working sets. These do not count as working sets. So if you are going to do 3 sets of 6 for dumbbell bench at 30 lbs, warm up with a couple of sets at 12.5 and 20 lbs. As you go on in your workout you need less warmups when working the same part, so for incline bench you may just need one warmup set.
A rep is one repetition of an exercise, and a set is a group of reps. So 3x6-8 means 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps each. For this workout take about 1-2 minutes rest between sets. If I say 6-8 reps it means that on your last rep you should feel fatigued and like you can do at most 0-2 more, but not that your form is breaking down. Once you can do a set of 6, work up to 8, and once you can do 8 but still feel like you could do more, bump up the weight next time. As far as the weight used between sets of the same exercise, some people like to keep the weight consistent, some like to ramp it up between sets, and some like to ramp down. Experiment and find what works for you, just don't worry about it too much and remember that we see progress from consistently using our muscles, not from the number we write down in our logbook (you should keep a record of your workouts). Just like with dieting, focus on the main, important principles and customize the smaller, less important aspects to custom tailor a sustainable path for yourself.
For the order of the exercises, try and follow the order listed but I know that gyms can get busy and you may have to mix it up. It's not a huge deal but if at all possible we want to work big (chest, back, quads) to small (arms, shoulders, calves).
This is a lot to keep in mind and can be intimidating, I know I was intimidated when I started. Just take your time and don't overthink it. Your body is meant to be used this way.
The following program is a very basic 3 day program I've used for clients and friends whom I don't train in person, the majority of whom are in their 20's or 30's, have no prior lifting experience, and don't have a trainer or workout partner. If you have preexisting injuries or conditions, consult with your doctor and adjust as necessary.
Workout A
Dumbbell Bench Press 3x6-8 Demo
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 2x10-12 Demo
Military Dumbbell Press 3x6-8 Demo
Tricep Rope Pushdown 2x12 Demo
Planks x 3 for as long as you can comfortably hold it Demo
(If you can't do these skip them for now).
Workout B
Dumbbell Row 3x8-10 Demo
Lat Pulldown 3x10-12 Demo
Leg Press 3x8-10 Demo
Goblet Squats 3x10-12 Demo (or if those are too difficult for now, Bodyweight Squats 3x-10-12 Demo)
EZ bar curls 2x10-12 Demo
Stretch after each workout, focusing on the muscles just used. Alternate workouts and aim for 3 a week. So ABA one week, BAB the next. If you can only go twice a week, it's still a great start.
More Workouts
Here are some more great workouts you can start with or switch to. Some of them involve the big barbell lifts (deadlift, squat) which are the most efficient and effective lifts, but ones that I would not recommend to a complete newbie without access to a trainer or experienced friend.
Starting Strength: The grandfather of workouts. Will get you feeling strong right out of the gates.