All it takes are some fundamental moves, consistency, and patience.
Thats you getting stronger (heck, yeah!).
What are the benefits of strength training for beginners?
Katie Thompson
Building strength doesnt just help you in your workoutsit can make day-to-day life easier too.
As you get older, maintaining muscle mass and strength becomes even more important for overall health.
More good news: You dont have to work out constantly to gain muscle.
Katie Thompson
Multi-joint, compound movements employ the most muscle fibers, Jeffrey Yellin, DPT, CSCS, tells SELF.
Another essential factor for a quality weight-lifting workout is including a mix of pushing and pulling exercises.
For example, rowsa pulling motionrecruit your back and biceps muscles.
Katie Thompson
A chest press hits thepectoral muscles(chest muscles) and triceps.
Common pulling exercises include rows, pull-ups, and lat pull-downs.
If youre a beginner, perform 1 to 3 sets per exercise.
Katie Thompson
As you become stronger, you could progress to 3 to 5 sets for each movement.
The GIF above shows a bodyweight squat, which is a good way to nail down your form.
The squat targets your glutes, quads, and core muscles.
Katie Thompson
And because youre working from a stable base, you could really load up the weight on these.
Remember to lift with your legs, not with your back.
(Thats important for pretty much every exercise, by the way, but especially with the deadlift.)
Katie Thompson
(Check outour list of the best dumbbells.)
The deadlift is a hip-hinging movement that targets the hamstrings and glutes.
It also engages your shoulders, back, and core.
Katie Thompson
They also contribute to building leg strength and core stabilization.
It can help you improve your strength and form when performing dumbbell or barbell chest presses.
(A resistance band canassist you with a pull-up.)
Katie Thompson
It also requires leg and core engagement to maintain a strong position, he adds.
Hollow-Body Hold
The hollow-body hold is such an amazing total-body exercise for maintaining core stability, says Fagan.
The hollow-body hold is an isometric exercise that targets all the muscles in your core.
The woodchopper exercise targets the muscles of the core, specifically the obliques.
It also works the legs and glutes.
An added bonus: It will give your heart rate a little boost.
Reverse Lunge
Or, insert any other single-leg exercise here.
Try them without additional weight until you get your balance down.
The reverse lunge is a single-leg exercise that works the glutes, legs, and core.
Most people find it to be easier on the knees than a forward lunge.
