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Fitness is a lifestyle choice for many people that involves dedication, persistence, and patience. While athletes have professional coaches, trainers, nutritionists, and other aids to help them on their path, the average person does not. This might intimidate someone who’s just starting their fitness journey. Still, everyone must start somewhere no matter the training they enjoy, whether it’s cardio, yoga, or heavy weight training. Given that, anyone who wants to define their muscles or add on new muscle density must read these weightlifting and strength training tips for beginners. With constant training, diet, and recovery, your body will feel the change, and you’ll start to see results.
The first step to starting any weight training program is to assess your goals. Weight training, by a layman’s definition, is using weight resistance movements to strengthen your muscles. That doesn’t necessarily mean packing on 30 pounds of pure muscle, nor does it mean shredding down to every minor striation on your body. These are two different goals that involve weight training. Assess your personal goals, whether that’s bulking up, maintaining a consistent body weight with strength training elements, or cutting fat through a reduced caloric intake and weight-resistant movements. Each is doable with the right training and diet programs. It also helps to supplement essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids when appropriate, but more on this later. Also, remember that it takes time to achieve these goals. Progress doesn’t happen overnight, and even professional athletes have trained for years. Take things day by day, and eventually, you’ll see the expected results.
With that, you must keep a consistent training schedule. One of the most critical mistakes beginners make when starting their weightlifting routines is lifting too much, going too fast, or overtraining. These can all lead to bodily pains and, at worst, injury. Start slowly with a respective weight that strains your muscles without causing pain. It’s okay to go light since you’re just starting. Consistent weight training breaks down your existing muscle fibers to rebuild and strengthen. Soon, the weights you previously struggled with will feel lighter and easier with more repetitions.
Additionally, do not overtrain. Overtraining is a common side effect of training too much: your body needs proper rest and recovery. It can lead to lethargy, sluggishness, and possibly injury if you’re not careful. A new weight training routine should involve three or four days of exercise with cardio or rest days as the others. Eventually, if you feel these are too little, you can bump up your training days to five days per week. Some guys might push for six, but this is often too much without proper rest. Never go beyond six days, as your body needs a consistent rest after the strenuous activity.
As previously mentioned, food is important for building muscle no matter your goals. Most fitness goals break down into two components: the style of training and caloric intake. People who want to put on size and muscle mass should eat in a caloric surplus—or more calories than work off in a day. Maintenance requires eating at a stable caloric level relative to what you expend. Losing body fat requires a caloric deficit or eating less than what you work off. Still, no matter what, eat the right clean foods to get you there. This means eating a balanced diet of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Do not let the word “carbs” or “fats” scare you. Carbohydrates provide your body energy to train, and healthy fats help regulate hormones and bodily function. Lean protein is essential for rebuilding your strained muscles. Macronutrients are crucial for any training routine, but specifically for strength training, where you put your body under immense physical stress.
The word “supplement” gets a bad reputation given the high number of pills, powders, and liquids marketed to build muscles or lose fat quickly. Don’t fall for these gimmicks. There is no shortcut to achieving your training goals. However, that’s not to say certain supplements aren’t useful. In fact, supplementing essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids (the building blocks of protein) help your body recover and maintain a strong immune system. A daily multivitamin gets you all your essential vitamins and minerals from one convenient source. While anyone can supplement their required micronutrients, specifically those with dietary restrictions, like plant-based athletes, need to supplement certain vitamins or minerals they aren’t getting from whole foods, such as Vitamin B12. These are important to keep in mind to give your body the essential nutrients it needs.
Working out with someone is a great weightlifting and strength training tip for beginners because it helps motivate you throughout your fitness journey. Not everyone needs someone to train with, but certain people struggle with fitness as a solo project. Anyone facing this dilemma should invite a friend or family member to join them. You’ll push each other through the workout and keep each other accountable for recovery and diet. Ultimately, it keeps you consistent. Since fitness is daunting for some individuals, working out with a friend makes the process more enjoyable.
Finally, don’t lose sight of your progress. Again, achieving any fitness goal takes time. As the timeless saying goes, this is a marathon and not a race, meaning weight training is a gradual change. You might lift the same weights for a full month before moving up, and that’s okay. Changing your body composition is no easy feat. Remember to keep training, diet, and rest in mind as you go through it. Soon, you’ll see the muscle definition you’re working tirelessly to achieve.
We at Top Strength want to help anyone achieve their strength training goals from the comfort of their home. That’s why our weightlifting machines and racks fit anyone at any fitness level. From beginning lifters to advanced bodybuilders or powerlifters, we have everything you need to bulk up or shred down. Browse our selection of benches, strength stations, cables, cages, racks, bars, handles, dumbbells, kettlebells, plates, and more to get started.
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