What To Do When You Are New To Exercise

Published: 2024-05-23

Are you unsure where to start when you are working out? Do you dread going to the gym because you don’t know what to do? Maybe you have had a longer break from exercise and are coming back to it? In this article I will explain how to start and give some example for good beginner exercises.

Having A Plan

Whether you workout in a gym or at home, the first thing to make sure is to have a plan. Going into the workout and winging it will most likely lead to a shorter or unorganized workout that is based on emotions. For example, if you go to the gym, but start to feel tired or start thinking about what you are going to do next, it is easy to just decide that you are done for the day. Instead, if you go in with a plan there is a higher chance of you finishing what you intended. Having a plan makes it less of an option to skip exercises and it takes emotions and the "guessing-game" out of the equation.

How To Set Up The Workout

The first thing you want to do is to have a good warmup. Not only will it prime your muscles for optimal movement, but it will also prep your mind and get into the right mindset, especially on days that might feel harder to get the workout done. If you have any questions about warmups, check out this article: "Warming Up And Cooling Down – Unnecessary Habits Or Essential Puzzle Pieces?"

The main part of your workout can be built in a few different ways, but if you are just starting, I would suggest doing full-body workouts to hit several muscle groups and burn more calories. A few good beginner exercises to start with would be:

The bird dog: A great core stabilizer where you start on all fours, brace your core and then extend your opposite arm and your opposite leg. Make sure not to arch your back, you just want to extend your leg straight back while keeping your balance.

Bodyweight or Goblet squat: Start without a weight, about shoulder-width apart with your feet and from there squat down. The goal is to have your quads parallel to the floor, but just getting as low as you can with good form should be your first goal. You want to make sure your back is straight so you are not rounding it and that your knees track over your ankles and don’t cave in or out. I highly recommend doing this in front of a mirror if you don’t have a fitness professional that can help check your form for you. If you have good form and this feels easy, feel free to grab a kettlebell for a goblet squat as depicted in the picture.

Elevated pushups: These can be done on a counter, a chair, a bench or anything similar to that. Put your hands about shoulder-width apart on the counter and your feet about hip-width apart. Start in this elevated plank position and make sure your back stays straight, you don’t want to drop your hips and shoot your butt up in the air. From there, bend yor elbow and lower yourself as one unit. A common mistakes for pushups is to lower just your upper body while your hips stay up in the air.

Bridges: Lay down on your back and bend your knees. If you straighten out your arms, you want to just graze your heels. That will put your feet at a good distance. Keep your feet about hip width apart and then push through your heels when you left your hips up. Squeeze your glutes the entire time and then lower back down.

Superman: Lastly, turn around and lay on your stomach. Bring your arms overhead and keep your legs straight. From there you are going to lift your upper and lower body at the same time, making a superman pose on the floor. Hold for a second or two at the top and then lower back down.

Conclusion

I suggest doing about 10 reps of each of these exercises and you can perform the entire circuit two or three times over. Make sure to have water with you and don’t forget to cooldown afterwards (it will help you with your recovery and soreness the next day). As always, if you have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to me 😊 You can also check out this beginner workout on YouTube: Beginner Friendly Full Body Workout - Bodyweight Only

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