No matter your age, current fitness level, or experience, there is a form of resistance training for you that will give you amazing results. In this blog post, I’ll discuss some of the best resistance training exercises for beginners.
These are some of the greatest basic exercises to do when you first get started with resistance training. Most of these exercises can be done with just your own bodyweight, which is what I’d recommend to beginners in the first place.
Starting with bodyweight exercises allows you to practice the correct movement pattern of each exercise, while keeping the risk of getting injured as low as possible. Some, however, may require an elastic band or some kind of handheld weight—a jug of milk works great, for example!—for the best results.
11 Basic Resistance Training Exercises For Beginners
The basic resistance training exercises below are split up into body parts: legs, chest and shoulders, back, and abs. You don’t have to do all of them in the same workout, but I’d recommend picking at least three leg exercises, both chest and shoulder exercises, one back exercise, and one ab exercise.
Ideally, you would do all twelve of these beginner resistance training exercises at least once a week.
Remember: These exercises are for people who are just getting started with resistance training, have no prior experience, and need to learn the correct movements, as well as figure out how many reps they can do, how much weight they need, and how long their recovery may be. These are the absolute basics.
After some time—at least a few weeks—you can start working with free weights, such as dumbbells, barbells, and/or kettlebells, and add some more specific exercises that target smaller body parts like biceps, triceps, specific back muscles, more core muscles, etcetera.
Leg Exercises For Beginners
1. Bodyweight Squats
Equipment needed: none
Squats are one of the five fundamental movement patterns of resistance training. During a squat, you bend your hips and knees to lower your upper body, and then extend it back upward. This is a phenomenal exercise to train your quadriceps, glutes, adductors, hamstrings, and core muscles.
You can start with three sets of ten reps of bodyweight squats to practice the movement. Eventually, you can increase your reps or pick up a couple of dumbbells or a barbell to add some more resistance.
2. Bodyweight Lunges
Equipment needed: none
Lunges involve stepping forward with one leg, while lowering the knee of the other leg down to the ground until both legs are at a 90-degree angle. You then extend your forward leg back upward to your starting position.
Requiring no equipment whatsoever, this is another excellent leg exercise for beginners that works your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
3. Romanian Deadlifts
Equipment needed: light handheld weight (dumbbells, elastic bands, jugs of milk,…)
Romanian deadlights are a great beginner exercise for your hamstrings, glutes, adductors, abductors, and lower back muscles. When performing a Romanian deadlift, you start standing up straight, then bending your torso forward, while keeping both your legs straight, and raising your torso back up.
For the best results, I recommend holding some kind of weight in both your hands while doing this exercise.
Learn how to do Romanian deadlifts here.
4. Floor Bridges
Equipment needed: yoga mat
Because you don’t need anything else than a yoga mat, floor bridges are an easy and convenient leg exercise for beginners.
You’ll lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent at 90 degrees. You’ll then lift up your hips until your upper legs and torso are in a straight line. This exercise works your glutes, hamstrings, adductors, and abductors.
Learn how to do floor bridges here.
5. Standing Calf Raises
Equipment needed: none
Although getting big calves is mainly determined by your genetics—and some people don’t even want to grow their calves—it’s still beneficial to regularly train your calf muscles. Standing calf raises are the perfect way to do that.
The only thing you need is some kind of elevated platform. This could be stairs, a piece of wood on the floor, the edge of your backyard patio deck, etcetera. The platform should allow you to lower your heels below the level of your toes, which stretches out your calf muscles before you press yourself upward.
Start with your bodyweight for three sets of as many reps as you can do, but pretty soon, you’ll be able to do standing calf raises while holding some kind of weight as well. Calves are resilient muscles and recover quickly, so, if you really want bigger calves, you could do these every other day or even on a daily basis.
Learn how to do calf raises here.
Chest and Shoulder Exercises For Beginners
6. Push-ups
Equipment needed: none
Push-ups are one of those classic upper body exercises that everyone knows about. Because you don’t need any equipment or machines at all, they’re also arguably the best and most convenient way for beginners to start training their chest, as well as their front shoulder muscles and triceps.
For bodyweight push-ups, which is what almost everyone does anyway, start with three sets of as many reps as you can perform.
Learn how to do push-ups here.
7. Shoulder Presses
Equipment needed: light handheld weight (dumbbells, elastic bands, jugs of milk,…)
A type of vertical push movement, shoulder presses are great at strengthening and growing your shoulder muscles. They’re also known as overhead presses and military presses.
Basically, this beginner resistance training exercise involves pushing a weight from your shoulders upward above your head. It’s a superb exercise for shoulder strength, core strength, and upper body balance. You can do it both while sitting on a bench or standing up.
While many of these resistance training exercises for beginners don’t require any additional weight, this one does, simply because you can’t use your own bodyweight to do this.
Therefore, I recommend holding some kind of weight in both of your hands. It doesn’t need to be heavy at all. Think light things like a typical bag of coffee, a jug of milk, a full water bottle, anything you have lying around the house will work initially.
Learn how to do shoulder presses here.
Back Exercises For Beginners
8. Single-arm Rows
Equipment needed: light handheld weight (dumbbells, elastic bands, jugs of milk,…)
Besides Romanian deadlifts and shoulder presses, single-arm rows are the only beginner resistance training exercise that requires you to hold some weight. If you don’t have dumbbells at home, you can use a gallon jug of milk. You’d also need some kind of bench or other stable knee-high surface to do this.
When performing a single-arm row, you will lift up a weight from an extended arm position toward the side of your torso, while you’re bent over. This is a fantastic exercise to train your lats, biceps, back shoulder muscles, and traps. Click the link below to see how to correctly do single-arm rows.
Learn how to do single-arm rows here.
9. Superman
Equipment needed: yoga mat
The superman is a great exercise to train your back muscles, hamstrings, and glutes. It’s also a wonderful complement to targeted ab exercises because it focuses on the muscles of your posterior chain.
For comfort, you’ll need a yoga mat to do the superman. Lie down on your stomach with your legs and arms stretched out.
You’ll then simultaneously lift up both of your legs and both of your arms, making sure you keep you head down (looking at the mat). Try to lift your belly button off the mat. Hold this raised position for a couple of seconds, then lower it back, and repeat for 8-12 reps.
Learn how to do a superman here.
Ab Exercises For Beginners
10. Crunches
Equipment needed: yoga mat
Crunches belong in any beginner core workout. It’s a great starting exercise because you don’t need any additional weight and you can progress relatively quickly.
Although they only work the rectus abdominis, crunches are still a really good exercise. In fact, when you think about ab muscles or the “six-pack,” you’re thinking about the rectus abdominis. Start with simple crunches and you can always add more ab exercises later.
Learn how to do crunches here.
11. Planks
Equipment needed: yoga mat
When performed the right way, planks work your entire core, making them one of the best core exercises out there. This includes the abovementioned rectus abdominis, but also your obliques, glutes, and lower back muscles (all of which are part of your core).
If you’d like to learn how to implement these exercises in your weekly exercise schedule, or for actual workout plans, feel free to contact me!
