Weight Training: Where To Start

Starting to lift weights can be scary, there’s so many different lifts and exercises and machines it can be hard to know where to start.

So, in this blog post I’m going to outline where the best place to start is and how to get in to weightlifting safely to maximise your results from the onset.

1.Conquer Your Body Weight:

If you struggle to squat, push up, lunge and pull up your own body weight, you shouldn’t be trying to add weights to these exercises as tempting as it may be.

Getting body weight strong gives you the time to perfect technique, build good tendon and ligament health, build total body control and milk the lowest system load i.e: maximize gains from doing the least possible. Lifting weights is very stressful on the body (As Allen Iverson said “That shit’s heavy”), so getting the most gains you can from body weight exercises, which aren’t as stressful on the body will give you a really solid foundation to build upon when it comes to weightlifting.

Being bodyweight strong gives you ‘human strength’ or more scientifically called ‘relative body strength’, meaning for your size and frame you’ll be pretty strong. And a lot of time bodyweight exercises can be more challenging than lifting weights (e.g: pull ups, single leg squats and pike push ups) because of the high levels of co-ordination, balance and body awareness you need to perform and control these movements.

I love to use as much body weight as possible in my programs to work on these aspects of athleticism.

There are lots of great body weight workout apps on the App Store and you’ll find tons of body weight workouts on YouTube and programs on the internet. PJF Performance have a body weight program called The VertCode that is being used by elite NFL and NBA players right now during quarantine build high level athleticism and performance purely with body weight.

What to focus on:

1. Focus on the fundamental movements e.g push ups, squats, pull ups etc.
2. Great technique will lead to more gains over more reps. Check my IG and TikTok for exercise technique break downs on all the fundamental exercises.
3. Focus on building core strength aswell
4. Make sure to balance both upper body exercises and lower body, strong legs are just as important as a good looking chest, particularly for sport!
5. When your comfortable doing 3 sets of 10-15 reps, then maybe look into adding weight to exercises
6. Circuits are a really quick, fun and challenging way to do bodyweight workouts!

Example Workout Circuit:

40 seconds on/ 20 seconds off, 3-4 rounds

1. Push Ups
2. Squats
3. Shoulder Taps
4. Pull Ups
5. Bicycle Crunches

2. Start Adding Weight:

Once you’ve really mastered the technique and your able to perform 3 x 10-15 reps of the exercises with good form it’s time to start to look into adding weight to exercises.

This can be as simple as a 1 or 2 litre water bottle in each hand when you squat and lunge or maybe getting a weights set for home to start adding weight and doing actual weight lifting movements.

Lifting weights and following a lifting program at home for a while can be a great way to build confidence in form and weight before you start going to an actual gym, instead learning in a gym, even though everyone there will gladly help you, it can be comforting to know what your doing if your particularly nervous about going to a gym which can happen to the most confident people.

3. Getting Into A Gym And Lifting:

This part can be scary for a lot of people, even if you’ve been working out at home for years.

But let me assure you, no one in the gym no matter how strong and swole they are, is there to judge you and laugh at you. If anything they will want to help you and support you.

Or they’ll be too busy admiring themselves to be scrutinizing you.

With that knowledge in mind here’s a few tips I’ve learned to make transitioning into weightlifting in an actual gym really easy.

1. Have a program and follow it religiously. Don’t go into the gym not knowing what your going to do because you’ll make no progress and look like a lost sheep wondering between weights and machines. Have a plan and follow it. You’ll find lots of solid programs online in places like Mens Fitness UK or STACK
2. Joining classes for a while or hiring a Personal Trainer can really help you learn proper technique for lifts quickly and a PT can really be useful for getting a program to suit you and get you on the right track when you don’t have a clue where to start.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, everyone there and the staff will be more than happy to help!

4.What Lifts/Exercises Should You Do?

1. Focus on building strength in the compound movements.

So for bodyweight these are:

• Push Ups
• Squats
• Lunges
• Pull Ups
• Glute Raises
• Planks
• Single Leg Squats
• Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts

For weightlifting these are (dumbbell and barbell variations):

• Bench Presses
• Squats
• Lunges
• Glute Raises
• Deadlifts
• Shoulder Presses
• Rows
• Pull Downs

2. Include Core Work:

• Anti-flexion exercises, for stability (planks, lateral planks, farmer walks etc.)
• Flexion exercises, for those abs ( crunches, lateral side dips etc.)

3. Find a split that works for you:

How much time you have or want to dedicate to weightlifting dictates this.

Most common splits are:

• 2 day a week full body workout split
• 3 day a week full body workout split
• 4 day a week 2 upper body, 2 lower body split
• 6 day a week push, pull, legs split

Personally the 4 day a week split works best for me and I find it the most enjoyable, but for a beginner or someone with little time, lots of gains can be made off of a 2 or 3 day split.

4. Stay Away From Plyometrics To Start:

Get bodyweight strong and conquer movement patterns and body control before moving into plyometrics because they are very taxing and can have a negative effect if your body isn’t ready for them.

5. Make Sure to Warm Up and Cool Down:

If you haven’t got time to warm up and cool down you haven’t got time to work out, its that simple. Check my IG and TikTok for complete warm ups!

Take care of your body and you’ll get the best results possible.

And thats it folks, thats my advice on getting into weightlifting!

As always be sensible and if you need help ask. Weightlifting can be really fun and enjoyable when you do it right. So take your time, progress the right way and as always if you need anything hit me up!

Stay workin’

Aaron.