Tag: beginner workout plan

  • VBWP: The 4-week Very Beginner workout plan

    VBWP: The 4-week Very Beginner workout plan

    If you haven’t worked out in a while, or never picked up a dumbbell before in your life, VBWP, or the very beginner workout plan, is the perfect place to start. It’s a slow build, then you’ll progress quickly, and you can add more sets to strength exercises or more duration to your cardio workouts whenever you feel comfortable.

    Related FAQ: I haven’t worked out in years! What do I do?

    If you truly are a very beginner, we also suggest you read the following posts:

    How to start a new diet plan

    25 of the best foods for starting a new diet

    The perfect day of eating for lean muscle

    20 of the best exercises and how to do them right

    How to optimize your day for brain & body performance

    If you think this might be a bit too beginner for you, check out any of our 30+ free workout plans here.

    How the Very Beginner workout plan works

    The primary focus of the Very Beginner workout plan is to slowly build your body up to be able to take on more of our challenging HFP programs in the future. To do that you’ll want to do the following: Improve or increase joint range of motion, improve the stability of those joints, strengthen your core muscles, and develop a baseline level of cardio. Following a basic structure will set you up for success. Once you feel ready for more, you can progress within this plan, or move onto one of our other 30+ free plans.

    Directions

    Complete three (3) bodyweight strength workouts per week and two (2) cardio workouts per week including a minimum of three (3) mobility/range of motion routines per week. This might seem like a lot, but they can be done all in one session. (Example: You could warm up with a mobility routine, do a bodyweight strength workout next, and finish with a cardio burst.) Alternatively, the mobility/range of motion routines are gentle stretches that you can easily use before you go to sleep.

    After you finish your four weeks, you can cycle through the plan again, but try and add extra sets per exercise and 10-15 minutes more onto your cardio sessions.

    The Very Beginner Workouts

    Bodyweight strength: Perform 3 days per week with a day of rest in between.
    Warm-up: shoulder circles (10-20 seconds each direction), lateral hip swings (5-10 / side), jumping jacks (30 seconds)

    1. Plank x as long as possible
    2. Superman x 10
    3. Bodyweight squat x 10
    4. Bodyweight forward or reverse lunge x 10 / side
    5. Push-up x as many as possible

    Perform 3 sets of each exercise with 30-60s rest in between before moving onto the next exercise. In week 3 or 4, increase to 4 or 5 sets with 30s rest.

    Baseline cardio: Perform this workout 2 days per week with a day of rest in between. You can also do this after your bodyweight strength workout twice a week (avoid doing it beforehand and doing strength in a fatigued state)

    For 30 minutes, hop on a bike or the treadmill and move at a comfortable pace (think 5-6 out of 10 in terms of intensity). In week 3 or 4, bump up your duration to 40 minutes.

    Mobility/range of motion: Perform this workout as many times per week as you’d like in addition to your other workouts. Pro tip: It’s a great ritual to start or end your day as there’s no equipment required and you can do it right in your bedroom.

    Your New Beginner Mobility Routine

     

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    Walk-out to push-up x 5
    Cossack squat/lateral lunge x 5 side
    Scorpion x 2-3 side
    Single-leg deadlift & stretch x 6-8 side
    Repeat 2x

    How to progress from the Very Beginner workout plan

    Check out the Foundation workout plan, the Introduction plan, the Redemption plan, and the Reconstruction plan.

    Advancing even further in your fitness?

    Check out the Recession workout plan, the Unlabeled workout plan, and the 10x10s. To learn some more advanced moves, check out our feature on 10 exercises to work into your new routine, and challenge your body control with 25 ways to give your core a great workout.

  • The care-free summer workout plan

    The care-free summer workout plan

    The care-free summer workout plan is not: Work, eat, sleep, chill, repeat until Labor Day.

    Care-free can mean very different things to different people, but in this case it means to just do what you’ve got to do to get it in. Have fun with it, don’t stress missing workouts or not knowing what to do.

    You know what it takes to get fit or stay fit. Keep moving and eat clean. Side note: Read this piece on intuitive eating or this incredible 12-week body transformation, if you’re stuck on the diet stuff.

    The care-free summer workout plan is great for anyone—beginner or advanced—because it’s flexible and basic.

    Best use for the care-free summer workout plan

    Get fit or stay fit without having to think (or stress) so hard about what to do.

    Rules of the care-free summer workout plan

    There’s one and only one. Commit to doing your best. Do whatever it is you can, where ever you can, any way you can.

    The preferred and suggested care-free summer workout plan

    Try to get in the gym two to three days per week to lift weights. There are two to pick from below.

    Get two cardio sessions in a week: one interval day and one longer day. For intervals, try one of these HIIT workouts. For the longer days, you could run, swim, bike, hike, etc. for 30, 40, or more minutes. (Coming soon: fresh cardio workouts)

    Casually stretch throughout the day, and most definitely at night. Check out these moves you can do in bed or at the office. These low-intensity workouts do the trick too.

    This will help maintain a good level of cardiovascular endurance, increase muscular strength, and maintain or improve flexibility and mobility. We recommend 4-6 weeks on this plan. You could continue it longer if you’re still seeing results.

    The Full Body Workouts

    Option 1: “Summer kickoff full strength circuit”

    You could do this workout up to three days per week with a day of rest (or other activities) in between. Complete all of the exercises as a circuit for 5 or more rounds. Depending on your fitness level or how you’re feeling, you could do more or fewer rounds. Keep your rest periods to a minimum so there is an endurance and cardio element to the workout.

    Reverse lunge x 5 reps per side with immediate transition to front squat x 10 reps
    Bent-over row x 10 reps
    Alternating dumbbell press x 10 reps
    Bench curl up x 10 reps

    You’ll want to supplement this with some daily stretching and a longer duration cardio workout, such as a distance run. Some additional core training could be worked in but watch for any exercise redundancies as there is a core-taxing exercise within the circuit above.

    Option 2: “5 rounds of 5 moves for just about everything”

    This workout is very similar to the “Summer kickoff full strength circuit’. Same suggestions apply: up to three days per week, move through the exercises quickly for a strength+cardio combo. Do more or fewer rounds depending on your abilities or how you feel.

    Complete 5 rounds, quickly but with good form, and keep rest periods to a minimum.

    Overhead press x 10 reps
    Single-leg deadlift x 10 reps per side
    Front squat x 10 reps
    Plank row x 5 reps per side
    Dumbbell push-up x 10

    The Add-on Workouts

    You could add these workouts onto the ones above, or use them if you’re traveling or tight on time.

    “4 for the core”

    A workout like this could be done up to 5 days per week or more if you’re not doing much else. If you’re coupling it up with strength training (like the workouts above) and endurance training, then 2 or 3 days per week with a day of rest in between would work.

    Complete 5 rounds of the follow exercises in a circuit:

    Hanging knee raise x 10 reps
    Bird dog row x 10 reps per side
    Static squat hold + plate rotation x 10 reps (5 or 10 per side)
    Low lunge/mountain climber x 10 reps per side

    Keep rest periods to a minimum.

    Can’t do this workout? Then try any of our other 25 ways to give your core a great workout. You’ll find one you like.

    “No BS bodyweight conditioning”

    You could probably, very easily, do this workout 7 days per week, but it would be most useful as a supplemental workout done a couple times per week. Maybe when traveling or tight on time.

    Complete 7-10 rounds as quickly as possible. Keep rest to a minimum for a good cardio challenge.

    High knees x 30s
    Push-up x10
    Squat x 30s
    Controlled mountain climber x 10 per side

    Need a little more structure to your workouts? Check out any of our 30+ free plans. How about something highly-personalized? Check out digitalfitnessadvisor.com

  • FAQ: How long does it take to see results from a workout plan?

    FAQ: How long does it take to see results from a workout plan?

    Generally speaking, when working with DigitaFitnessAdvisor.com clients, most beginners experience small progressive increases in strength and endurance in as little as the first few weeks. Some improvements to posture are noticeable as well. After that, strength and endurance continues to improve for a few more weeks before hitting a potential plateau. (Not always, but potential). At this point, about 4-6 weeks out, as long as the diet is lined up well with the needs of the body; strength, endurance, and postural changes should be get a bit more noticeable. As for the very noticeable body composition changes (muscle vs. fat): that’s usually around week 8,10,12. However, it is very possible to see significant changes in body composition in is as little as 3 – 4 weeks, but those are usually in either highly-controlled/restrictive environments or with previously fit people. (Or with use of illegal substances)

    As a general rule of thumb, here at HFP, and with DFA clients, we like programming with several phases lasting 4,6, and 8 weeks, but that’s not a hard rule. Sometimes there are shorter phases and other times there are longer phases.

    Try these: 30 FREE workout plans for different goals and ability levels or our 12-week Size, Strength, and Shred program

    Read also: The purpose of training in phases

    Check out our training and nutrition documentation for Australian actor Ben O’Toole’s body transformation.

    For your very own customized workout plan, check out DigitalFitnessAdvisor.com

     

  • FAQ: Are bodyweight workouts enough to get me fit?

    FAQ: Are bodyweight workouts enough to get me fit?

    Bodyweight workouts can build you a solid base of muscular strength and size. And the sky’s the limit when it comes to improving muscular endurance (being able to perform bouts of exercise for extended periods of time) and cardiovascular conditioning. Weight loss? Fat loss? Yep, that too. However, at some point, you’ll max out on the amount of muscular strength and size that it’s possible to build with bodyweight alone.

    Also read: Is cardio the best way to lose weight?

    For example, if you’re very, very new to exercise, then your body isn’t used to training. Something as straightforward as a set of 5 push-ups, 10 squats, and 20 sit-ups could have you sweating, leave you sore the next day, and build your base of muscle. However, as you progress along (which you will very quickly as a beginner), eventually there comes a point where your body will adapt to that training and no longer be able to increase strength. As you start performing 10, then 15, then 20+ reps at a clip with ease, you’ll be starting to build more muscular endurance, not strength, and if you continue progressing from there, it could even start to become much more like a cardiovascular workout. Now, this doesn’t mean that bodyweight exercise is useless or ineffective because you’ve built your strength to a certain point, but if you want to start actually building more muscle mass or muscular size, you’ll want to push it further. There’s a concept called progressive overload. Basically this means in order to progress (e.g. more muscular strength or more muscular size), you’ll need to gradually increase the amount of stress (or, weight/resistance) you place on the body. Bodyweight exercise, because it’s only your bodyweight, has a cap to it.

    If building bigger muscles or super strong muscles isn’t much of a priority, then by all means, stick to the bodyweight stuff. You can still build that base of strength, increase the endurance of those muscles, and if you work in fast-paced circuits, build up serious cardiovascular condition.

    You may also like: The 10 best bodyweight workouts for building muscle and losing weight

    But, if you’re really looking for a bit more mass, then you’ll want to start hitting the weights and/or machines and gradually increase the amount of work you’re doing. For muscular size, the general rule of thumb is to use resistance (in which you nearly reach failure) for 10-12 repetitions. For endurance, it’s usually 15+, and for explosive power, under 5. For general more strength, somewhere around 6, 8, 10. What’s important to note here is going to failure or near failure. Doing a doing a set of push-ups for 5 repetitions isn’t going to increase strength, especially if you could potentially do 10 or 20. Also, there are no hard rules, you’ll most likely want to experiment with a variety of rep ranges. Time under tension is another factor. If you’re ripping through 10 reps in 10 seconds, that’s not nearly enough time under tension. But all of that is a whole other nut to crack.

    In summary, there’s a lot you can do with your bodyweight alone, but if you want muscle, don’t be afraid to lift some weights. And remember, how and what you eat is what really brings on the changes, check our our article on intuitive eating for lean muscle.

    Want a completely customized bodyweight workout plan? Check out our new exclusive programming service at DigitalFitnessAdvisor.com

  • The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan

    The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan

    Due to the high demand for a program more squarely focused on beginners, we’ve decided to create The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan.

    The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan was designed to help you progressively build lean muscle while improving strength and endurance. The workouts include basic (but effective) exercises with a conservative amount of volume to start you out slow and steady. Then, things will increase in difficulty as you progress. 

    To start, you’ll begin with the Foundation workout plan for 8 weeks. During the first 4 weeks you’ll quickly notice an increase in strength—that’s your neuromuscular system adapting to the challenges. The 4 weeks following that will be where you aggressively work to double-down on those gains by adding weight and pushing to your failure points. At the 8 week point you’ll follow a brief “recession” or “de-load” to prevent plateauing or burn out. This recession will give you more time to recover, but will still stimulate your muscles for growth. The final two weeks are an introduction to circuit training—this is where you’ll put the fat loss into overdrive. Upon completion of your 12 weeks you can cycle through again or move onto another program like The Size, Strength, and Shred Cycle.

    The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan is a streamlined PDF that you can download or print out. No more waiting for web pages to load!
    • Purchasers of The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan get access to our exclusive Premium Members group on Facebook where you can ask questions, post before and after photos, or simply interact with other folks on the plan too.
    • If you decide to track your progress, save your photos and send us a message at the end of a change to be interviewed and featured here on humanfitproject.com

    The 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan is available for $18.99. Web-based versions of our individual programs will remain free here.

    If you’re looking for tips on nutrition or diet, check out the following free resources here on HFP:

    What are you waiting for? Download the 12-Week Accelerated Starter’s Plan now!

  • The Foundational beginner workout plan to build muscle

    The Foundational beginner workout plan to build muscle

    Looking for a beginner workout plan you say? Let me tell you a little story first.

    I think I graduated high school 135-pounds, maybe 140. Whatever it was, I was super skinny, and I hated it. In my opinion, people don’t give the skinny guys that get big, enough credit. It’s still a lot of work. Whatever, enough of my own personal story. If you’re skinny and want to add slabs of mass, here’s how I changed all of that:

    First thing: I started lifting on a basic beginner workout plan for three to five days per week. I didn’t love it at first. In fact, I actually didn’t like it at all. But then I started to see veins popping out of my arms a bit more, abs getting more defined, a back that was widening, chest that was broadening, etc.

    If you’re new to exercise, you will find our how-to guide of the 20 best exercises for beginners helpful.

    Second thing: I started to absolutely demolish food. For the most part it was all very clean foods: loads of chicken breast, lean beef, eggs, fish, etc. But one other little secret was peanut butter sandwiches. I mean, I think I bought and ate more peanut butter than anyone on earth for like two-three years of my life.

    Long story short: I lifted and ate like an animal and that’s what’s going to do it for you too.

    For a more in-depth look at food and dieting, check out our comprehensive piece on intuitive eating for lean muscle to learn what to eat, when to eat, and how to figure out what works for you. Also, our story on the 25 best muscle-building foods is a great resource for overhauling your grocery shopping list.

    Now, let’s move onto the program…


    How the beginner workout plan works

    No fluff, no gimmicks. That’s how we roll around here, and that’s always how HFP will roll.

    The key thing about the Foundation workout plan is that the exercises are very basic and the total amount of work is conservative. Because you’re relatively new to exercise and working out, this will provide you with a good base of fitness without pushing you too far to start. Another program you might want to explore is out Introduction/Transition workout plan.

    Directions for this beginner workout plan

    Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are workout days. Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday are off/recovery days.

    Complete this beginner workout plan for four weeks. After the forth week you may recycle the plan, however, add 1-2 sets per exercise and attempt to increase the weight used.

    After you’ve progressed beyond the beginner workout plan, check out our listing of all 30+ FREE workout plans you can follow next. There are many different options for different ability levels and specific goals. If your gains seem to be coming along a little slow, check out our piece on the top 10 ways to build muscle faster.

    The Foundation Workouts

    DAY ONE: Legs and Intervals

    1. DB Squat
    3 sets x 10

    2. DB Forward and Reverse Lunges
    3 sets x 5 each leg and direction

    3. DB Plie Squat
    3 sets x 10

    4. DB Step Up
    3 sets x 10

    5. Burpees x 50

    DAY TWO: Shoulders and Abs

    1. Alt. Single-Arm DB Shoulder Press
    3 sets x 10

    2A DB Side Lateral Raise
    2B DB Front Raise
    2C DB Rear Flye
    3 sets x 12-15

    3. DB Shrug
    3 sets x 10

    4. Cable Face Pull
    3 sets x 10

    1. Cable Crunch
    3 sets x 10

    2. Cable Rotations
    3 sets x 10 (each side)

    3. Planks
    3 sets x failure

    DAY THREE: Chest and Triceps

    1. DB Chest Press Variations
    5 sets x 10 (3-5 variations)

    2. DB Flye
    3 sets x 10

    3. Push Ups
    100-200 reps as quickly as possible

    1. Close-grip Presses
    3 sets x 10

    2. BB Skullcrushers
    3 sets x 10

    3. Bar-Cable Pushdown
    3 sets x 10 reps

    DAY FOUR: Back and Biceps

    1. Trap Bar Deadlift
    5 sets x 10

    2. Single-arm DB Row
    3 sets x 10

    3. Pull up (or Inverted Row)
    3 sets x as many as possible

    1. BB Curl
    3 sets x 10

    2. Lying Cable Curl
    3 sets x 10

    3. Open-grip Concentration Curl
    3 sets x 10