Top 7 Tips for Beginner Weight Training for Men

These beginner weight training tips aren't for everyone. But if you are serious about losing weight and building lean muscle then stick with these tips to get where you want to be, strong and fit.

Top 7 Tips for Beginner Weight Training

Body Fat meter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1)  Set your goals.  Boring tip sure, but how do you know where you are going without goals?  Talk with your trainer or mentor about setting a goal that is both challenging and attainable.   Here's an example.  Your 6-week goal is to lose enough body fat to get down to 10%-12% body fat.  If your current body fat index is 20% this is a reasonable goal for a 6-week program. However, if above 25% body fat, you may want to set this initial goal to 15% body fat.  The idea is to create a challenge for you, but still be able to successfully reach your goal.

2) Keep your workout sessions to no more 60 minutes.  If your workout sessions are longer than an hour you are wasting time. Here's why.  After a 60 minute workout your fat burning hormones drop and the carbohydrate stores are depleted.  Without these two critical muscle building components you aren't building muscle, and could actually be losing it. This is a common mistake people new to weight training make.  If you train too hard and too long, your body doesn't recover, you don't make progress, and before you know it,  you feel as if you can't keep up the program.

3) Use a progressive training routine.  This means that that as you improve, you perform an extra repetition or add on a bit more weight compared to your previous set.  The overall goal is to ensure that you achieve continuous improvements in muscle tone and definition.

4) Minimize your rests between sets to 60-90 seconds.  This means you perform more work during your workout hour. Studies show that shorter rests keep your growth hormones in action.  Besides building muscles, the growth hormone is responsible for burning off fat.  A shortened rest interval means that your muscle cells retain more water.  This makes you look leaner and more toned.

5)  Vary your training. The popular PX90 workout is a perfect example of a training program that focuses on different parts of your body on a daily basis.  The program varies techniques, changing repetitions and set parameters, changing up the rest periods between sets and changing the focus of the workout.

A complete weight training workout can be performed with a pair of adjustable dumbbells and a set of weight disks (plates). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6) Keep your sets to 8-15 repetitions.  Performing 8-15 repetitions reduces the possibility of injury.  Repetition pumps blood into your muscles that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild faster.  However, if you are building a routine for you calves or abs, then go for higher repetitions, and double this value.

7) Use free weight basic exercises. When you use machines you limit your body to a two-dimensional exercise.  The best exercises for each body part use barbells, dumbbells, dips, pull-ups and squats. Exercises like this work more muscles, and build a more balanced physique, as well as reducing the risk of injury.

Weight training is the number one way to sculpt your body. Beginner weight training should not be complicated.  Just set your goals and create routines that follow these guidelines.