Resistance training for beginners- What to do and how often to do it.
You have heard the benefits of resistance training and want to get started but don’t know how to make the best use of your time and energy. (If you don’t know what benefits i’m talking about click here!)
Like pretty much every aspect of training there are many routes that can be taken to achieve any chosen goal. The start of your resistance training journey presents you with an opportunity to make the fastest progress of your entire training lifespan! Your body is ready to adapt and it takes very little stimulus for quite a big change- So how do you make the most of it?
We are going to list things in order of importance for you so you can focus on whats going to benefit you the most.
- Adherence/Enjoyment
This is hugely overlooked by most people getting into resistance training. You can have THE BEST PROGRAM IN THE WORLD but…. if you don’t like it you probably wont stick to it for long and if you don’t stick to it you wont reap the benefits an if you don’t reap the benefits then, well … its not THE BEST PROGRAM IN THE WORLD! for you… Yes your training routine should be challenging and no doubt some days you will not want to do it but including exercises you enjoy or training in a way that you enjoy is a far better option even if it isn’t quite so “optimal”
2. Form/Technique
Leaning how to properly execute your movements at the beginning of your training career will help ensure you are going to:
- Get the most out of each rep
- Progress in a more consistent manor
- Avoid injury
- Build good movement habits
^ Those are just some of the reasons we put such a huge emphasis on our renowned induction system. Youtube tutorials can be great and having your friend who’s “been training for ages” with you can be super helpful but having a qualified professional with years of experiencing helping a huge variety of people show you what to do and how to do it is the best way to set you up for success.
3. Progressive overload.
So you are doing it, lifting weights in a manor you enjoy and with great form! now what? PROGRESS!
As previously mentioned you will achieve a lot at the beginning of your resistance training training journey. Unfortunately you are still required to give your muscles a “reason” to adapt and while there are a number of ways to do this simply focusing on doing more reps or moving more weight each week is all thats needed at this stage.
4. Exercise selection
This ties in with both point 1 and 2. You should be choosing exercises you both enjoy and can perform safely !
Maybe you don’t quite have the mobility to perform barbell back squats yet, nor can you control your body during a pull up so should you spend all time trying to master these movements? No, no you shouldn’t. These are great exercises but they are not the only way to build a strong set legs and powerful back. A good trainer should have a plan in place to help you progress to these movements if they are going to be more beneficial for you going forward but beating your head against the wall every day trying to get that squat isn’t the most optimal use of your time.
5. Frequency:
You could hit each muscle group 1x p/week and make progress.
You could hit each muscle group 2x p/week and make progress.
You could hit each muscle group 3x p/week and make progress
You could hit each muscle group 4x p/week and make progress
You could hit each muscle group 5x p/week and make progress
You could hit each muscle group 6x/p/week and make progress
You could hit each muscle group 7x p/week and make progress
Just tell me what to do, right?
Well the research does seem to indicate hitting each muscle group 2-3x p/week is better for beginners. It allows you enough recovery time and still enough frequency to get more “skilful” at performing your selected exercises.
In most cases for beginners we would recommend full body sessions 3x p/week.
As you can tell there are quite a few considerations when creating a beginner resistance training program. However, there is also a lot of room for movement and at the end of the day whatever you do (providing you don’t injure yourself) its going to be better than doing nothing.
Want to get it nailed from the get go? Give us a call and we can chat about how we can help you get in the best shape of your life!
