For beginners: How do I get started with strength training at the gym?

Many want to start training at the gym, but they have a number of concerns and questions that keep them in mind. If you do not have a personal trainer available to you, and you do not have a close person who has training experience, this is a text that will clear up a number of concerns about starting a workout at the gym.

What kind of training can you do at the gym?

Weight training can be done in many ways, you can do it with weights, dumbbells, trainers, tires or different props, and with your own weight. In the beginning, the most important task is to learn how to perform the exercises properly so that you have the best results with the least risk of injury.

Only after you feel comfortable doing the exercise and know that you are doing it properly and activating your target muscles or groups are you ready to gain weight in each exercise. Do not rush with too much weight, as injury may take you weeks off from training.

1. Choose the right exercises

There are basic exercises that are always preferred, and additional exercises that support and further activate the muscle groups that are activated by these basic exercises. The basic exercises include squat, push, joint, thrust and dead lift. These are multi-joint exercises that are always performed at the beginning of training and which activate a number of joints and muscle groups. Isolation exercises are performed last, as a finisher at the end of training.

For example, if you compare the squat with the foot extension on the machine, you clearly understand that the squat includes 3 wrists (foot, knee and hip), while the foot extension only includes the knees. Multi-joint exercises activate a large number of muscle groups and are therefore more effective and use much more energy.

2. Select the right weight

After you have done the warm-up, work the batches to the extent that you can barely make the number of repetitions you want. So if you are doing a series of 8 reps, then that must also be the maximum you can lift with that weight. If you can do 10, 12 or more reps with weight, your weight is too small. Also, if you can't do the desired 8 reps, your weight is too great.

As a beginner, it is advisable to stick with series with reps ranging from 8-12, which will help you gain strength and gain muscle mass. With more reps, you will also get a better movement pattern, which is extremely important for beginners - the correct performance alone will help increase the strength in individual movements.


Keep in mind, never compromise form to lift weight that is too heavy for you.

3. Do multiple batches of each exercise

Perform each exercise in multiple batches, and the first or batting warm-ups are not counted in the total number of batches. They serve to warm the muscle tissue and improve the elasticity of the muscle tissue and should not diminish their importance. Namely, without proper heating, you will not be able to complete the work series at full capacity.

After the initial batch of warm-ups, do 3-4 workouts each, which will be enough to activate your muscles and get them working.

4. Control movements

Whether you work at high or low weights, control every movement without jerking, swinging, and unnecessarily speeding up the workout. Make sure your breathing accompanies your movements to help you move and oxygen to promote movement and muscle activation.

5. Take short breaks between batches

If you have selected the right weight, you can not do any more repetitions after the set number of repetitions. As your muscles get tired during the performance of each proper batch, they need a break to clean up their metabolic bioproducts (hydrogen and lactate ions) which takes some time.


This usually takes 90-120 seconds, so this is exactly the time that is advised to take a break between batches. The best sense of measure is that you have rested enough between batches, your pulse has returned to normal and you are ready for a new batch of the same intensity.

6. Take at least 48 hours between workouts to recover

We have to disappoint you - muscles do not grow during training. Specifically, muscle recovery and growth occurs after the muscles have received the necessary nutrients and allowed them to rest and recover. So without quality henna and recovery, training will have no effect.

After a well done workout, the activated muscles are tired and exhausted and in need of recovery. This muscle fatigue is an indicator of muscle readiness for a new training unit. Therefore, in order to ensure proper and sufficient recovery, it is advisable to take a 48-hour break between training sessions of individual muscle groups.

7. Do each workout a little harder than the previous one

If you stick to all of the above, you will be able to record progress very quickly. You will see an increase in strength, what you could initially lift 8 times, now you can 10 or 12. By adapting to stimulation, your muscles grow, so you need to be exposed to new stimuli over and over again.

Therefore, if your previous 8 reps are now too long, do not increase the number of repetitions but increase the workload. Stick to always being in the rep range of 8-12 while you are a beginner.


The goal is to progressively increase your workload to encourage activation and muscle growth while making sure that you exercise properly. Remember: any progress is happening just outside your comfort zone.

A 10-week plan for a beginner at the gym

As a beginner, we bring you a 10-week workout plan at the gym to keep you safe from injury and to have progress from the start of your workout.

Weekly 1-2

• Learn to adapt all your devices to your body for optimum performance
• Learn basic movements and how to control weight while lifting and lowering
• Start your workout with 5-10 minutes of warm up
• Do 2 sets of each exercise for all muscle groups of 15 reps each
• Learn to choose the weight to stay in the number of repetitions you want.

Weekly 3-5

• Increase the volume by adding a third batch to each exercise you do
• Increase weight on all exercises by doing reps in the 10-15 range
• Learn How to Increase Weight and Reduce Repetition (Pyramid Training)

Week 6

• Learn the performance of the bar and weights or dumbbell exercises
• You do more reps for new workouts
• Add one more exercise to each muscle group to drive the muscle from different angles
• Increase the volume to 4 batches per exercise, but be careful not to train too often
• Learn how to split your workouts by muscle in a week (split)
• Increase the number of training sessions per week from 3 to 4

Week 7-10

• Increase the weights you lift in the 8-12 rep range. as weight increases, the number of repetitions decreases
• Increase volume by muscle groups by adding another batch to each workout
• Increase weights as you grow stronger.
• Always give preference to exercises with bars and weights and dumbbells rather than machines

For any additional tips or questions, consult a gym trainer or a more experienced workout trainer who will be able to give you instructions on how to move forward and utilize your full potential.