Even if you haven’t exercised since gym class, you may have cottoned on to the potential benefits of strength workouts.
“So many people don’t realize the importance of maintaining muscle as we get older,” Cheryl McColgan, a NASM-certified personal trainer, tells Fit&Well. “It’s not just about looks; muscle is a huge predictor of metabolic health as well as function and longevity.”
Before you sign up for your local gym, we recommend starting simple. So simple, your workout can be done at home without any equipment. So simple, the workout is only two moves.
Article continues belowMcColgan has shared a two-move routine below, as well as a short warm-up. “[This workout is] for someone who hasn’t been training for a while and doesn’t have a significant training history,” McColgan says.
How to do this strength workout for complete beginners
McColgan recommends training to failure, which means doing an exercise until it feels too hard to do another rep correctly.
If you’re new to strength training, it might be difficult to identify that point. In which case, McColgan recommends starting with two to four reps of her chosen exercises. “If that’s way too difficult, do even fewer reps on the next set. If that’s way too easy, try eight times in a row on the next set,” she advises.
“Start slow. However, you don’t want to just go through the motions either. To create adaptation and build strength, you have to overload the muscle,” McColgan advises.
Before tackling the two exercises, perform the 90-second warm-up McColgan has provided.
How often should you do this workout?
To see results, McColgan recommends doing this workout twice a week for four weeks. Then, try it three times per week.
“As you get stronger and this becomes boring, add in one or two new exercises each week, with the goal of 10 to 15 reps with the last rep being very difficult,” she suggests.
Once you feel ready to start exercising with dumbbells, follow this beginner home strength training routine.
Warm-up
1. Marching in place
Time: 30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and begin to march, bringing one foot a few inches off the floor, then the other foot.
- Keep your core engaged by tucking your ribs and keep the shoulders down to maintain good posture.
2. Shoulder roll
Time: 30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and your hands by your sides.
- Roll your shoulders forward, keeping your hands by your sides.
- Switch to rolling your shoulders backward half-way through.
3. Calf raise
Time: 30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, with your hands on your hips, or holding on to a chair or countertop for balance.
- Lift your heels, rising onto your toes.
- Slowly lower your heels back to the floor.
Workout
1. Chair squat
Sets: 2-4 Reps: 2-8 Rest: 3min
How to do it:
- Stand with a chair just behind you.
- Keeping your torso upright, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower your butt onto the seat.
- Lean forward, push through your feet and extend your legs to return to standing.
Trainer tips: If this is too difficult, use your hands to push yourself out of the chair, but work towards eventually doing this move with just your lower body. Once you can do that, aim to add resistance, such as holding a dumbbell in front of your chest, over time.
2. Wall push-up
Sets: 2-4 Reps: 2-8 Rest: 3min
How to do it:
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart on a wall and move your feet slightly back so that you’re leaning into the wall and you’re resting on your toes.
- Bend your elbows, keeping them close to your body, to lower your chest towards the wall.
- Push back up to the starting position.
Trainer tips: If this is too easy, place your hands on a counter or couch to make it harder. The lower the surface, the harder it will be.
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