Beginner Weight Workout And Where To Start
You can download the workout and read the articles I wrote to answer Josh on the blog here:
http://buildingbodies.ca/exercise/beginner-workout-routines/
Here is the question about getting started as a beginner on a workout routine from one of our fitness newsletter readers. (You can read below or skip it and Ill narrate it in the video) Lets get at er!
Hey Ray,
Ive been reading your workout routines and Im having trouble finding which one is best for me Ill tell you a bit about myself. Im an 18 year old farm boy, I play hockey + baseball. Ive got a natural build, 5f10.5/180 lbs. My ups are my arms (to a limit) and my chest, my downs are my stomach and thighs. Ive recently decided that hockey will no longer work for me since Im going to be moving out to a college without a hockey team, and baseball will just interfere with a summer job I have access to a gym between now and the time I leave in January, and as well in January when I arrive to the college.
Ive decided to really up my body and boost my fitness and endurance level. As where my endurance level stands now, Im able to jog 15 minutes before Im saying to myself just 1 more minute, which is not so great. With no previous workouts, I can bench about 170 lbs, in which I have a goal to eventually be able to bench 250+, and have better cardio to allow me to jog longer and more at ease.
Ive been looking for an all-around workout with cardio aswell, so I can target my gut, thighs (fat), and gain muscle at the same time. I have daily access to a gym and all the equipment, and have a heavy mind-set to follow a routine that works. Basically, I want to eliminate as much fat as possible, get toned, and become fit in every aspect.
For the past week ive been going to the gym every day, doing 20 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weight training (biceps, triceps, pecs, back muscles, inner and outter thighs, calfs). Im almost certrain Im doing this wrong Im just really not sure what to target, and how often to target that area before proceeding to target somewheres else. Could you help me out, Ray? My family has a long line of premature heart problems and attacks in the early 40s, and all of them have never really been active – I want the active lifestyle and will work hard for it. Any diet/nutritional plans as well? If not, any tips/pointers? And yes or no for creatine? Ive never used it because Ive never been sure.
Hope youre able to get back to me!
Thanks in advance,
Josh
Answer From Ray:
you look hot already!
i,m really fat i need 2 luse it now can u help
Yes..
Go to the article in the write up over there on the right and download the program from the website.
Start using it.
ill goin to try this for 4 weeks cause you really sound like ya know what youre talking about. thanks for the vid! although i dont need to loose weight i need alot of strength training cause my army recruit camp is in seven weeks and it will be hell if i dont strat something now.thanks again and wish me luck!
ok so i have just ”completed” youre workout and i admit being a beginner im wrecked but i thought ill keep you posted on progress since you made the workout. i just changed a thing or two on it. firstly when i checked out the work out i was good to go but then i realised i did have a barbell BENCH or a row machine! so for bench presses i will be doing press ups and for rowing i will be lifting my barbellfor a hunched over position so it is like im doing and reverse press up
ok also when i say completed i wasnt able to complete to three sets because yet again i am a beginner but i did complete two sets of the workout. i finshed the workout in about half an hour to 45 minutes. so i have a question for you.
i could manage to do this everyday but should i? or should i rest?
anyway hope to hear from you soon. ill keep you posted.
Awesome, you’re on the right track. Keep doing only 2 sets until it starts to feel easy for you. Only do the workout every second day so that you have a day off to rest or go for a light jog or walk to keep the blood flowing.
Keep working hard because you will be able to get this workout done in well under an hour if you only take 1-2 minutes between sets and then start working on combining the exercises into groups of two ( called supersets).
GOOD LUCK RAZORNOOSE! Go army…
hey man!ok its been about a week now so ya a new post.
ok firstly i just want to say thanks for replying to my comments. not may people would take the time to lend a hand like that so thanks.
right to business. after this week i already do feel a bit of difference. i am much more energitic and do feel a bit stronger and i can run much further. today i am 12:6 stone im not really sure what weight system they have in Canada but ya last week i was about 12:9 stone so i am also lighter.
i dont look much different than last week which is all good cause i would of been extremely surprised to see those kind of results already. i cant now finish the full three sets but i am still struggling with my extremely weak chest muscle. does this mean i should work this harder or what? also i was lookin at the site but im still a bit confused about nutrition. is there any food i should avoid or eat more of.
keepin you posted.
Tom.
sorry i ment ”i CAN now finish the full three sets”
Always start off light, when beginning and getting back into it. Key things:
- cardio AFTER strength training
- more muscle = increased cal expenditure throughout the day
- compound exercises (more than one joint/muscle) are important
- when doing muscles like chest or back, isolate the larger muscle groups first to avoid the smaller ones from failing first and hindering your workout
- for fat burning, do less intense workouts (light cardio) more oxygen = more fat bured because …
…fat requires oxygen to be metabolized, while carbs (glycogen) don’t.
also, the reason for cardio after strength training is that you expend more energy with strength training than in cardio (increased intensity = increased carb consumption). So do strength first to get a highest quality workout possible and then do the light cardio to burn more calories (which are actually Kcalories, but it’s always seen as calories on nutrition labels)
oh and when I say muscle, as in “( more than one joint/muscle)” I mean muscle group.
i had a question.. what is better, cardio first then strength trainig, or strength training then cardio?
gaotbait87 just answered that very question below. But the answer is weight training first then cardio.
Thanks i’m following the beginner workout and its working great.
Thanks for letting me know! I love to hear feedback about my programs. I’m glad it’s working for you and keep working hard!
-Ray
I read the 3-day beginner workout routine article. Do you think it is okay to substitute Tricep push downs for dips? And its okay to use the bar to do curls with both hands, right?
Thanks,
Robby
Totally. If you have an injury or simply feel the exercise more then go for it.
Thank You!
Hey, im 14 and 260 lbs not all fat though. I started workout this week and im doing 30 reps with 60lb bench (im weak I know), 30 reps on 30lb curls and 30 sit-ups. all about 25 mins. Am I doing anything wrong or what should I improve.
Thanks
Go read the article I put a link to over in the video description. It will tell you everything I can’t fit in this little box.
Nice job. I remember when i was 14 and i started weight training. I had NO idea what i was doing, and found out eventually that it was not helping me at all. So i stopped on it. For now, i train with my own body weight however much i can. Next year im taking a strength training course in school, so that will be my fresh start. Good luck and check out ray’s website!
Thanks Flinstone. You’re 16 now if I read your other comments correctly. As the the MMA conditioning, it’s just a matter of moving fast during your training and doing it frequently enough so that your conditioning level stays up. Keep up the bodyweight stuff, it will pay off huge. Look at gymnasts.
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