12-Week Beginner's Workout
You have finally made the decision to start workout out. No more love handles, no more feeling out of breath after a flight of stairs,no more deciding if you want to take your shirt off or not. You have made up your mind and I am going to try to help all you beginners to replace some of that fat with muscle and trim that spare tire.
THis basic 12 week beginner's program is divided into two six-week phases, gradually stepping up your excerise volume and intensity as you progress and gain confidence. This post will help you begin your journey towards a toner,fitter you
Charting the Course
Before you start, you'll make better and faster gains if you plan your attack. Assess your goals: What do you want out of bodybuilding? All around toning and fat loss? A larger, more imposing physique? Perhaps you just want a good set of guns. Whatever you are looking for, pinpoint it before you begin. A goal not written down is soon forgotten, or altered by selective memory as time passes.
A goal should be attainable, specific and time-constrained to make it happen. For example, "Lose three inches around the waist in six months" is a concrete aspiration. Under that scenario, you'll have to lose half a inch per month. Thus, to make the overall objective more attainable, you will want to set that half inch mark as your monthly main. This will keep you on track and give you something short term to strive for.
When I say attainable, I mean it. Don't go for the moon right off the bat. Losing 30 pounds or gaining 30 pounds in three weeks just won't happen and you'll be discouraged after working so hard towards something that you simply cannot reach. Yes, you can achieve amazing results over time but it requires patience,dedication and long term vision.
The Workout
For starters, you will be going to the gym twice a week to lift weights, working your whole body each time mostly machine movements. Barbells and dumbells should ultimately be your exercise mainstays. You can also use machines because they are built to move through a predetermined motion and help beginners form the neural mind muscle connections and learn correct excercise form. Machines also allow you to focus on the intended muscle without having to worry about balancing the weight, sometimes a tricky thing for beginners to handle.
For these first weeks, take it slow. You'll likely be temped to add more sets or push to use more weight but don't. Give you body time to adjust to the new burden your muscles will be under. Instead of concentrating on putting more weight on, put your energy into feel and form. Feel the muscles contract and relax, and move through a complete range of motion with proper form. Don't rest longer then 60 seconds between sets.
Weeks 4-6
You will continue to do two resistance training sessions per week but you will add sets to a number of excercises, meaning you will spend more time in the gym.(you should still be able to finish within 45-60 minutes at most) At this point, don't worry about how much weight you are moving, just be sure it's heavy enough to challenge you, but not so heavy that you can't complete the recommended number of repetitions. If you aren't breaking a sweat then you are taking it too easy!
Phase II: Weeks 7-12
Here we divide the body in half to add more excersises and more throughly work each individual muscle group while still keeping each workout to 60 minutes. You will also performa third training session each week. As in the first phase, spacing your training sessions apart by a day or more.
You should be feeling stronger and ready to challenge yourself with heavier weights which is relected in lower rescribed rep ranges. Now that your body has started to adjust to the new burden it has been put under, you will be ready to begin your drean of your new body
Sure and Steady
Your enthusiasm to start working out and make changes is probably brimming over. Unfortunately, like teen pop music evenually burn out if you go too much too fast. Don't let yourself be another year with another broken promise to yourself!
Transforming your body isn't an overnight process. After all, how many nights of eating pizza in front of the TV did it take for you to get out of shape. Take it slow and gradually introduce your muscles and tendons to the new weights. Another thing to remember is don't swear off all chocolatre forever, or decide to spend the next week logging more miles on the stationary bike then Lance Armstrong. That's a surefire way to totally derail your efforts. Instead, carefully plan changes in your diet and lifestyle to help harness the power of fitness for a lifetime. Sticking to this workout is one piece of the puzzle.
Today is your first step: Make the resolution to keep your resoulution this year, and get in shape right away
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