A Beginner's Guide to Weight Training: Everything You Need to Get Started

If you've never lifted weights before, walking into a gym can be a slightly intimidating experience, particularly when you find yourself surrounded by people who appear to know exactly what they're doing, machines that look like medieval torture devices and somebody in the corner making an extraordinary amount of noise while doing bicep curls.

It's hardly surprising that some people take one look at the weights area and decide they'd feel much more comfortable spending half an hour on the treadmill.

I've been a Personal Trainer for years, and one of the things I've noticed is that people often have a completely different impression of weight training before they actually try it.

Some assume it's only for bodybuilders, others worry they'll injure themselves, and plenty of women tell me they're interested in lifting weights but don't want to end up looking too muscular.

Then there's the confusion about what exercises to do, how heavy the weights should be, how many repetitions you're supposed to perform and whether you should be feeling sore the following morning.

The good news is that weight training really doesn't need to be particularly complicated, especially when you're starting out. You don't need an expensive training programme, a collection of supplements or the ability to pronounce every muscle in the human body, although that last one might come in handy during a pub quiz.

What you do need is a basic understanding of how resistance training works, a sensible starting point and enough consistency to give yourself a chance to improve.

So let's go through it properly.

What actually is weight training?

Weight training, also known as resistance training or strength training, involves making your muscles work against some form of resistance so that, over time, they become stronger and potentially bigger.

That resistance might come from dumbbells, barbells, weight machines, resistance bands or even your own body weight, which means you don't necessarily need to join a gym to get started.

For example, when you perform a squat, the muscles in your legs and backside have to produce force to lower and raise your body. Add a dumbbell and you've increased the amount of resistance those muscles need to overcome, which makes the exercise more challenging.

When you repeatedly challenge your muscles, recover properly and gradually increase the demands placed on them, your body adapts. Your muscles can become stronger, you can develop more muscle tissue and movements that initially felt difficult gradually become easier.

There's a little more science involved than that, obviously, but you don't need to understand every detail of muscle physiology to get started.

You just need to understand that your body adapts to the demands you place on it, provided those demands are appropriate and you give yourself enough time to recover.

Why should you lift weights?

People start weight training for all sorts of reasons, and although improving their appearance is certainly one of them, it's far from the only benefit.

Some people want to lose weight, others want to build muscle, improve their confidence or get stronger because everyday activities are becoming more difficult. I've also worked with people who simply want to feel more capable as they get older, which is something I think becomes increasingly important once you start realising that your knees have developed their own opinions about certain activities.

Building muscle and changing your body shape

If you want to build muscle, weight training is one of the most effective ways of doing it, because you're giving your muscles a reason to adapt and grow.

And you don't need to want enormous arms or a bodybuilder's physique to benefit from that.

Building some muscle can change the way your body looks, improve your strength and help you feel more confident, particularly if you've spent years thinking that the only way to change your appearance is to lose weight.

You'll sometimes hear people talk about wanting to look more 'toned', which usually means they want a bit more visible muscle definition without necessarily becoming much bigger.

There's no special type of exercise that creates toned muscles. It's generally a combination of having some muscle and an appropriate level of body fat for the appearance you're hoping to achieve.

Getting stronger makes everyday life easier

This is probably one of my favourite benefits of weight training, because it extends well beyond what you can lift in the gym.

When you're stronger, things like carrying shopping, getting up from the floor, moving furniture, climbing stairs and lifting things around the house can become easier.

You might not particularly care whether you can squat 60kg or bench press 40kg, but being able to pick something heavy up without feeling as though you've just competed in the World's Strongest Man is quite useful.

And as we get older, maintaining our strength and muscle mass becomes increasingly important for staying independent and continuing to do the things we enjoy.

Helping with weight loss

If your goal is to lose body fat, I'd strongly encourage you to include some resistance training alongside whatever changes you're making to your diet.

When you lose weight, you don't necessarily lose only body fat. Depending on your diet, activity levels and other factors, you can also lose some muscle.

Weight training helps your body retain muscle during weight loss, particularly when combined with sufficient protein and an appropriate rate of weight loss.

It doesn't mean that lifting weights automatically causes fat loss, and the extra calories burned by building a bit of muscle are often exaggerated, but maintaining your muscle while reducing body fat can make a considerable difference to your strength and body composition.

Supporting your bones, balance and long-term health

Resistance training can also help improve or maintain bone strength, physical function and balance, which becomes particularly valuable as we age.

I've always liked the idea of training for the person I'm going to be in my seventies and eighties, rather than just focusing on what I look like next summer.

Obviously, lifting weights doesn't guarantee that you'll never need help getting around when you're older, but maintaining your strength gives you a better chance of remaining physically capable and independent for longer.

There's also evidence that resistance training can support mental wellbeing, and many people find that getting stronger and seeing themselves improve gives them a sense of achievement that carries over into other parts of their lives.

Will lifting weights make women bulky?

This is a question I've been asked more times than I can remember, usually by women who are interested in starting weight training but are worried that they'll suddenly develop enormous shoulders and arms.

The simple answer is that you're very unlikely to become dramatically muscular by accident.

Building a substantial amount of muscle takes time, consistent training, sufficient food and, quite often, a deliberate effort to become bigger.

Women can absolutely build muscle and become impressively strong, and some women actively want to develop a more muscular physique, but lifting weights two or three times a week isn't going to transform somebody into a competitive bodybuilder overnight.

If it were that easy, there would be an awful lot of very happy men in the gym.

The important thing to understand is that the same basic principles of resistance training apply to men and women. You need to challenge your muscles, recover properly and gradually make progress, although the amount of muscle somebody develops and the speed at which they develop it will vary from person to person.

What equipment should beginners use?

One of the biggest misconceptions about weight training is that you need to start with barbells and complicated exercises, when in reality there are plenty of ways to build strength.

I regularly use machines, dumbbells, cables and bodyweight exercises with clients, and the equipment we choose depends on what we're trying to achieve, what somebody is comfortable doing and how their body responds to particular movements.

Weight machines are often a very good place to start because they provide a relatively straightforward way of training specific muscle groups, and many people find them easier to learn than free-weight exercises. A chest press machine, for example, allows you to train your chest, shoulders and triceps without needing to balance a pair of dumbbells above your body.

Dumbbells are extremely versatile and can be used for exercises such as squats, rows, presses and lunges. They also allow you to train each side of your body independently, although that doesn't automatically make them better than machines.

Barbells are useful for exercises such as squats, deadlifts and bench presses, particularly as you become more experienced and want to lift heavier weights. They're not compulsory, though, and there's no reason to feel that you haven't properly trained unless you've used one.

Cable machines and resistance bands can provide resistance through a wide range of movements and are useful for both beginners and experienced lifters.

Bodyweight exercises such as squats, press-ups and supported lunges can also be effective, especially if you're exercising at home.

The best equipment is the equipment that allows you to train the muscles you want to train, at an appropriate level of difficulty, without unnecessary discomfort.

And if you find yourself enjoying the machines more than the free weights, that's absolutely fine. Your muscles aren't particularly interested in whether the resistance comes from an expensive barbell or a machine with a slightly suspicious squeak.

Which muscles should you train?

When you're starting out, I wouldn't worry too much about learning every individual muscle or trying to create separate workouts for your chest, back, shoulders, arms and legs.

Instead, think about training the main movement patterns your body performs.

You want some form of squatting movement for your legs, a hip-hinge movement for your glutes and hamstrings, pushing movements for your chest, shoulders and triceps, and pulling movements for your back and biceps.

It's also worth including some exercises for your core and, depending on your needs, movements that challenge your balance and stability.

For example, a beginner's gym programme might include a leg press, a Romanian deadlift, a chest press, a seated row, a shoulder press and an abdominal exercise.

That would give you a fairly comprehensive workout without needing to spend two hours in the gym or learn twenty different exercises.

And if a particular movement doesn't suit you because of an injury, mobility restriction or simply because it feels uncomfortable, there are usually alternatives.

You don't have to force yourself to perform a particular exercise just because somebody on YouTube says it's essential.

Sets, reps and rest periods explained

This is where weight training can start sounding more complicated than it actually is, particularly when you hear people talking about hypertrophy, repetition maximums and progressive overload.

Let's start with the basics.

A repetition, usually shortened to a rep, is one complete performance of an exercise. If you lower yourself into a squat and stand back up again, that's one repetition.

A set is a group of repetitions performed before you take a rest. So if your programme says three sets of ten repetitions, you'll perform ten reps, rest, then repeat that process twice more.

The rest period is simply how long you recover between sets, and although there are different recommendations depending on the exercise and your goals, you generally want enough rest to perform the next set with good technique.

For a beginner, that might mean resting around one to two minutes between some exercises and a little longer after particularly demanding sets.

You'll also come across the term hypertrophy, which is simply the scientific word for muscle growth.

And then there's progressive overload, which is probably one of the most important principles you'll learn.

We'll come back to that shortly.

How many repetitions should beginners do?

There's no single repetition range that everybody needs to follow, and you can build muscle using a fairly wide range of repetitions provided the exercise is challenging enough.

However, for most beginners, somewhere around 8–12 repetitions is a perfectly reasonable place to start, particularly while you're learning the exercises and getting comfortable with the equipment.

You don't need to reach complete muscular failure on every set either.

In fact, I'd rather somebody starting out finished their sets feeling as though they could probably have managed another two or three good repetitions, instead of pushing themselves so hard that their technique completely falls apart.

As you become more experienced, you can adjust the weights, repetitions and number of sets depending on your goals.

How heavy should you lift?

This is another question I get asked regularly, and the answer is that the weight needs to be challenging enough to make your muscles work, but manageable enough that you can perform the exercise properly.

If you're doing ten repetitions and could comfortably manage another twenty, the weight is probably too light to provide much of a challenge.

On the other hand, if you're supposed to perform ten repetitions but you're struggling after three and throwing your entire body around to move the weight, you've probably gone too heavy.

When you're learning an exercise, start with something relatively light so you can understand the movement and build confidence.

Once you're comfortable, gradually increase the resistance until the final few repetitions feel challenging without your technique falling apart.

And don't worry about what anybody else is lifting.

I've seen people make excellent progress with weights that other gym members might consider light, and I've seen plenty of people lifting weights that are far too heavy for them because they're more concerned about impressing somebody than actually training the muscle.

I'd much rather see you perform ten controlled repetitions with an appropriate weight than six questionable ones followed by what appears to be an attempt to escape from the equipment.

What is progressive overload?

Progressive overload sounds like something you might need a degree in exercise science to understand, but the principle is fairly straightforward.

If you want your body to keep adapting, you need to gradually increase the challenge over time.

Let's say you're using the chest press machine and you can currently perform three sets of eight repetitions with 20kg.

Over the next few weeks, you might gradually increase those repetitions until you're managing three sets of twelve with the same weight.

At that point, you could increase the weight slightly and work your way back up again.

That's progressive overload.

You're asking your muscles to do a little more as they become capable of handling it.

It doesn't mean you need to increase the weight every time you visit the gym, and there will be plenty of sessions where you simply repeat what you did previously.

Sometimes progress means lifting a little more weight, performing an extra repetition or improving your control of an exercise.

The important thing is that you're giving yourself something to work towards rather than doing exactly the same thing for months and wondering why nothing is changing.

And this is why I encourage people to record their workouts, even if it's just a few notes on their phone.

You don't need an elaborate spreadsheet with seventeen different graphs, although I appreciate some people enjoy that sort of thing.

You just need to know what you did last time so you've got a reasonable idea of what to aim for next.

How often should beginners lift weights?

For most people starting out, I'd recommend beginning with two or three sessions a week, depending on their schedule, fitness and previous experience.

You don't need to train six days a week to get results, and there's no benefit in committing to a routine that you already know you're going to struggle to maintain.

Two well-planned sessions completed consistently will usually be more productive than an ambitious five-day programme that you abandon after a fortnight.

If you're training your whole body each session, it often makes sense to have a day or so between workouts to allow some recovery, although the amount of recovery you need depends on how hard you're training and how accustomed your body is to exercise.

For example, you could train on Monday and Thursday, or Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

And on the days you're not lifting weights, you're perfectly welcome to walk, cycle, swim or do whatever other activities you enjoy.

Rest days don't mean you're required to spend the entire day lying on the sofa, although I certainly wouldn't object to the occasional afternoon doing exactly that.

A simple beginner's weight training programme

If you're new to the gym and aren't sure where to start, here's an example of a full-body workout that covers the major muscle groups without making things unnecessarily complicated.

You could perform this twice a week to begin with, leaving at least a day between sessions, and build up to three sessions if you're recovering well and enjoying it.

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Leg press	2	10–12
Chest press machine	2	8–12
Seated row	2	10–12
Dumbbell Romanian deadlift	2	10–12
Lat pulldown	2	10–12
Plank	2	20–30 seconds

Start with five to ten minutes of comfortable movement to warm up, followed by a lighter practice set or two for any exercises you're unfamiliar with.

For the working sets, choose weights that allow you to perform the repetitions with good control, ideally finishing with the feeling that you could have managed another couple of reps if you'd needed to.

Rest for around one to two minutes between sets, or longer if you're still catching your breath or don't feel ready to go again.

The workout should take roughly 35–50 minutes depending on how long you rest and how familiar you are with the equipment.

Now, this is only an example, and it's not necessarily the programme I'd give every beginner who walked through the gym doors.

Some people might need different exercises because of previous injuries, mobility restrictions or particular goals, while others might benefit from starting with fewer movements until they feel more confident.

The point is that you don't need a complicated programme to start building strength.

You need a manageable selection of exercises that you can learn, practise and gradually improve.

How do you know when to increase the weight?

Let's use the chest press machine as an example.

You've been given two sets of 8–12 repetitions, and you're currently lifting 20kg.

During your first session, you manage ten repetitions on the first set and nine on the second, which is a perfectly reasonable starting point.

Over the next few sessions, you gradually improve until you're managing twelve repetitions on both sets with good technique.

At that point, you could try increasing the weight by the smallest available increment.

You might find that you're back down to eight or nine repetitions, which is absolutely fine, because you've increased the resistance and given yourself a new challenge.

Then you repeat the process.

This approach is sometimes called double progression, and it's a useful way of making progress without feeling that you need to add more weight every single week.

Some exercises will progress faster than others, and there will be times when you're tired, stressed or simply having an off day.

That's normal, and it doesn't mean you've suddenly become weaker.

Should weight training hurt?

There's a difference between the normal effort involved in exercising and pain that suggests something isn't right.

When you're performing a challenging set, your muscles might feel tired, you might experience a burning sensation, and the final few repetitions might require quite a bit of effort.

That's generally part of resistance training.

But sharp pain, sudden joint pain or discomfort that feels unusual shouldn't be ignored.

If something hurts, stop and assess what's happening rather than trying to push through it because somebody told you that pain is weakness leaving the body.

I've never particularly liked that saying, mainly because pain can also be your body telling you that something needs attention.

You may need to adjust the exercise, reduce the weight, change the range of movement or choose a different exercise altogether.

And if you're dealing with an injury or ongoing pain, it's worth getting appropriate advice rather than trying to diagnose the problem yourself.

Why are your muscles sore after weight training?

If you've never lifted weights before, there's a reasonable chance you'll wake up a day or two after your first session wondering what on earth you've done to yourself.

Getting off the toilet suddenly becomes a carefully planned operation, stairs appear considerably steeper than they did yesterday, and you start questioning whether your Personal Trainer has a personal grudge against you.

This is usually delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, which is common when you perform unfamiliar or particularly demanding exercise.

It often develops within the first day or so after training and can be most noticeable over the following couple of days.

The good news is that as your body becomes accustomed to the exercises, you will often experience less soreness from similar workouts.

And something I always try to explain to people is that being sore isn't a reliable measure of whether you've had a good workout.

You can make excellent progress without struggling to walk for three days afterwards, and I'd actually prefer beginners to leave their first few sessions feeling as though they could have done a little more.

Starting gradually, allowing adequate recovery, getting enough sleep and doing some gentle movement can all help you manage normal post-exercise soreness.

If you experience severe or unusual pain, significant swelling, marked weakness or dark urine after exercise, seek urgent medical advice rather than assuming it's ordinary muscle soreness.

Do you need protein shakes and supplements?

No, you don't need supplements to start weight training, although you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you've spent any time looking at fitness content online.

You can build strength and muscle perfectly well by following a sensible training programme and eating a balanced diet that provides enough energy and protein.

Protein is important because it helps your body repair and build muscle tissue, so it's worth including a reasonable source of protein in your meals, whether that's meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, beans, lentils or other foods you enjoy.

Protein shakes can be convenient if you struggle to get enough protein from your normal diet, but they're not essential, and they don't contain anything magical.

Creatine is another supplement that has good evidence behind it for improving performance during certain types of exercise, but again, it's not something you need to worry about before you've even learned how to use the chest press machine.

I'd concentrate on getting comfortable with training, eating reasonably well and building some consistency before spending money on a cupboard full of powders.

Is weight training different for women?

The basic principles are the same, regardless of whether you're male or female.

You still need to challenge your muscles, recover properly and gradually increase the demands placed on your body.

However, there are some things worth being aware of, particularly around menopause and the menstrual cycle.

Some women notice that their energy levels, recovery, symptoms or motivation fluctuate at different points in their cycle, while others experience very little difference.

There's currently no good reason to assume that every woman should automatically train harder during one particular phase and reduce training during another. Individual experiences vary considerably, so I'd rather adjust somebody's training based on how they're actually feeling and performing than follow a rigid cycle-based schedule.

During perimenopause and after menopause, resistance training can be particularly valuable for maintaining muscle strength and supporting bone health, although the appropriate programme will still depend on the individual.

And if you're concerned about building too much muscle, remember that you have control over your training goals. We can focus on strength, muscle development, general fitness or a combination of those things, depending on what you want to achieve.

Do you need a Personal Trainer to start lifting weights?

Not necessarily.

Plenty of people learn to lift weights successfully without working with a Personal Trainer, and there are some excellent educational resources available.

However, if you're completely new to the gym, feeling nervous about using the equipment or unsure how to put a programme together, having somebody guide you through the basics can make the process considerably easier.

A good Personal Trainer should do more than simply count repetitions and tell you to work harder.

They should explain what you're doing, why you're doing it, how to adjust the exercises and what you're trying to improve over time.

I think that's particularly important because the more somebody understands their training, the more confident and independent they can become.

You shouldn't need to rely on a Personal Trainer forever just to know whether you're using the right weight or what exercise you're supposed to do next.

And if you're following an online programme, it's worth making sure you understand the exercises and have a way of asking questions or getting feedback if something doesn't feel right.

What should you focus on during your first few months?

If I could give one piece of advice to somebody who's just starting weight training, it would be to stop worrying about doing everything perfectly and concentrate on becoming comfortable with the basics.

Learn a handful of exercises, practise them regularly and gradually increase the challenge as you get stronger.

Keep a record of what you're doing so you can see your progress, and give yourself enough time to recover between sessions.

You don't need to change your programme every week because you've seen a new exercise on Instagram, and you certainly don't need to compare your progress with somebody who's been training for ten years.

There will be exercises you enjoy more than others, sessions where you feel brilliant and occasional days when everything seems considerably heavier than it did last week.

That's all part of the process.

And while it's nice to see changes in the mirror, I'd encourage you to pay attention to the other improvements too, because being able to lift something that felt impossible a few months ago is a pretty good feeling.

So is noticing that carrying the shopping, climbing the stairs or getting up off the floor has become easier.

Those things might not make particularly exciting Instagram posts, but they're often the changes that matter most.

One final thing

I've been lifting weights for a long time, and although my own training goals have changed over the years, one of the main reasons I continue to train is because I want to remain strong and capable as I get older.

I'm not particularly interested in reaching eighty and discovering that I've spent the previous thirty years gradually losing the ability to do things I enjoy.

Of course, none of us can predict exactly what our health will look like in later life, but I think building and maintaining strength is one of the more useful things we can do to give ourselves a better chance of staying active.

And you don't need to be particularly young, naturally athletic or already fit to get started.

You just need a sensible starting point.

If that's two sessions a week using a few weight machines, brilliant. Start there, learn what you're doing and see how you get on.

You can always make things more complicated later, although there's a reasonable chance you'll discover that you don't actually need to.

Need some help getting started?

I'm Ben, a Personal Trainer and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist based in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

I help people build strength, improve their fitness and feel more confident in the gym, whether they're complete beginners or have been training for years.

If you're local, I offer face-to-face personal training in Hinckley, where we can work through the exercises together and build a programme around your goals, experience and any limitations you might have.

I also offer 1:1 online coaching, which includes a personalised training programme, regular contact and ongoing support to help you make progress wherever you're training.

You can find out more about my online coaching or send me a message if you'd like to discuss getting started.