Don't know where to start? Do this

Don’t know where to start? Do this:

In an age where information is literally at our fingertips, on any subject, it easy to get overwhelmed.  Where do I begin? There’s so much information (often contradictory) that it’s difficult to know where to start. So let me take some of that burden off you and give you a simple starting point.

The first thing to understand is that if this is new, or if you are coming back to exercise after a long period of inactivity, you need to start off light. A lot of people decide to take up strength training, attend a gym and get shown how to use some of the equipment and then go all out for a few days before becoming exhausted and giving up on the idea. It’s way more common than you think. Before we run, we must learn to walk. This is important for reasons:

1.      You need to be able to move your body through the various ranges of motion with little or no resistance before we can progress to any significant resistance.

2.      You must allow you body the chance to adapt to the new stimulus you are putting upon it.

The body is incredibly adaptable, apply a stimulus and it will endeavour to adapt. If you try to do too much, too quickly, rather than being a stimulus that results in adaptation exercise will become a stress will lead to exhaustion. The key to progress then is the gradual introduction of new stimulus.    

A simple start point.

Below is a simple start point from which anyone can begin. It requires nothing more than a pair of light dumbbells so can easily be done at home if a gym membership seems a bit too daunting at first.

Two Dumbbells Press

Body weight Squat

Dumbbells RDL

Push ups

Single Arm Dumbbell row

Lunges

Dumbbell curls

Contra lateral plank

Perform ten repetitions of each exercise (ten repetitions per side for the single arm row and the lunges) except for the plank where you simply hold for a ten count each side. You can perform this either as a circuit (one exercise follows the next until all exercises are complete) for three rounds or as do three sets of ten for each exercise before moving on to the next exercise.  Perform this routine three times per week on non-consecutive days.

Once you are comfortable with moving through the correct positions for each exercise (see the tutorials section for guidance on how to perform the exercises), you can progress to more challenging exercises for example:

Two Dumbbells Press

Goblet Squat

Dumbbells RDL

Dumbbells Bench Press

Single Arm Dumbbell Row

Dumbbells Curl

Contra lateral plank

The process is the same, aim for ten repetitions per exercise, three times through (either as a circuit or as individual sets). Once happy with the movements you can either progress through the simple addition of weight, or by adding repetitions or a combination of both. For example, many old courses would recommend a weight that allowed eight repetitions, then remaining with that until twelve repetitions could be completed before adding a small increment of weight and dropping back to eight repetitions again. As long as there is progression whether that be increased repetitions or weight then progress will be made.

Record it

This is another aspect that often gets missed, if you don’t record what you have done, how will you know if you have progressed? You won’t; it will be entirely guess work. So, ensure you write down what you have done, what weight, how many repetitions, each time you train. Use an app if you prefer but have a record of documenting what you have done. That way you can clearly track your progress (which in turn will help keep you motivated).