It recruits nearly every muscle fiber in your body in under two seconds. You generate force from your legs into a braced core and transfer it to your upper body, where your shoulders and arms use the power to finish the press. Get too literal – “Does this exercise recruit 100% of the 600+ muscles in my body? Not even Olympic lifts like the https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/exercise-and-fitness clean and jerk would qualify; it leaves your pecs mostly out of the action. These are 10 of the best full body exercises that give you the highest return on investment and build functional strength fast so you can get in, get strong, and get on with your life. Do these two exercises back-to-back and then rest for 1 minute before completing them again.
Listen to your body
A great strength training routine should help you become stronger, more resilient, and more confident, not just in the gym, but in everyday life. Maybe you struggle to carry things, feel tired easily, or just wish your body could do more. Strength is more than just lifting heavy weights, it’s the key to moving better, feeling more confident, and living a healthier life.
TOP ATHLEAN-X GUIDES
- When you’re starting out, it’s super important to get the form right before you even think about lifting heavy.
- Ben Dillion has a bachelor of Health Science, Musculoskeletal Therapy and Certified Personal Trainer with over 10 years experience in coaching clients.
- While it might be tempting to go hard every single day, it’s important to include rest days as these are when your body recovers and progress is made.
- Using Aaptiv gives you unlimited access to 8,000 workouts and tons of structured programs.
- It is best to train three to four days per week, allowing rest days in between for your muscles to recover and grow.
- Peloton is a popular home workout app—and for good reason—offering variety, high-quality instruction, and live workouts with ultra-peppy trainers.
Whatever your age or experience, starting an exercise routine has many benefits, says Kristen McParland, a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. Building muscle increases /resource-guide/2025/03/18/mad-muscles-review-transparent-pricing-real-fitness-results-in-20255 your metabolic rate; your bones, ligaments, and tendons get stronger; and your blood pressure and immunity may improve. Over the years, I’ve learned that a good workout plan for beginners balances strength, mobility and rest. It doesn’t have to mean working out for hours every day. In fact, the best way to build a lasting habit (and avoid burnout) is to focus on consistency over intensity.
Day 1
Keep in mind it’s okay to use light weights (or even just your bodyweight) during this period. You’re in the right place because I’m a certified personal trainer, and one of my favorite groups of people to work madmuscles resident with are beginners. In this six-week beginner workout plan, I’m going to show you how I like to progress complete beginners into seasoned exercisers.
Where should a beginner start working out?
Before I jump into the exercises of this beginner total body workout, I want to explain how everything is set up so you can develop healthy habits in your training. Alternate inverted bodyweight rows with pull-ups or an easier pull-up variation every other workout. Most gyms also have access to a Lat Pulldown Machine or an Assisted Pull-up Machine, which can be great alternatives to build up strength toward your pull-up. Because bodyweight exercises are ones you can also practice at home or on the road.
What is the best schedule for the gym for beginners?
If your goal is to build muscle, aim for resistance training 3-4 days per week with at least 1 rest or active recovery day between sessions. That’s how I train when I’m in a muscle-building phase. I lift heavier weights with controlled reps and allow time for recovery so my muscles can actually grow stronger.
Tracking Progress
You’ll know you’re ready to increase the weight when you can comfortably complete those 10 reps for all your sets and still feel like you could do a couple more. The last two weeks of this beginner workout plan, the challenge increases again. In this last phase, you will perform four sets of every exercise instead of three. Do your best to perform the same amount of repetitions you completed in the last phase, too.
Use full-body workouts for better results
While it might be tempting to perform this as Barbell Reverse Lunges, I’d recommend sticking with the dumbbells for now. You’ll use the same form that you mastered in the previous level, but now you’re adding another dumbbell. If you can only perform a couple of reps without assistance, that’s okay. By going through the program as I lay out, you’ll correct those imbalances and you’ll be ready to jump right into this movement.
Deadlift (10–12 reps)
They might seem small, but they do a lot of work, especially when you’re doing things like squats or lunges. Ankle rolls are a simple way to get them moving and warmed up. Leg swings are a fantastic way to get your hips and legs moving before you hit the heavier stuff. They’re pretty simple but really help wake up those muscles and joints.
We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, just get stronger with the basics. For beginners, it’s smart to start with machines because they guide your movement and help you feel the muscles working without too much risk of injury. As you get more comfortable, you can start incorporating free weights like dumbbells and barbells. For beginners, aiming for 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions is a good starting point. You can use the chest press machine to effectively target your pectoral muscles.
Looking For More Beginner Workouts?
Machines you don’t understand, people lifting weights like superheroes, and that voice in your head whispering, “Am I even doing this right? And the truth is, the first few weeks are less about pushing your limits and more about building habits and confidence. This gym workout plan for beginners is designed to help you ease into fitness with structure, support, and simple strategies.