I wrote a guide to help you choose a beginner weighlifting program

I wrote a guide to help you choose a beginner weighlifting programHere’s the guide: How to Choose a Beginner Weight Training Program That You’ll Stick To A couple of weeks ago I wrote a guide on consistently going to the gym that had a pretty awesome response. As part of that response, I had a lot of people ask me about what programs they should start out on. A few people asked in the comments section as well. Now, the /r/fitness wiki has a ton of super useful info, but there are often still posts asking for beginner routines. I think the wiki is a great resource, but it can also be tough to pick a program when you’re faced with so many options. To be clear, I think the most effective program is the one you can stick to. Still, it can be nice to have more information to work with. With that in mind, I wrote another guide (sorry, this one is also long), this time on what you should be looking for in a beginner program. It covers the aspects of a program that help you be consistent, the aspects of a program that get you results, and the types of exercises that a good program includes. Part 1 covers the aspects of a program that help you be consistent: Time: How long does your program take? Complexity: How confusing is your program? Progression: Can you see yourself making progress? Punishment: How do you feel after a workout? Credibility: Do you believe that your program will get results? Reducing time commitments, complexity, and punishment while increasing progression and credibility make you more likely to stick to a program. Part 2 covers the aspects of a program that get you results: A focus on compound exercises Built-in progressive overload Any effective intro program is going to emphasize gradually adding weight to compound exercises. Part 3 covers the main exercise movements that a good program includes: Hinge: Movements that involve bending the hip without much bending of the knees Squat: Movements that involve bending the hip and the knees Push: Movements that push things away from you or push you away from things Pull: Movements that pull things towards you or pull you towards things The programs in the wiki typically have these, but in my experience a lot of beginners sub out exercises that they don’t like. Hopefully understanding exercise categories can reduce that, or at least help pick better exercise substitutions. After that I talk a little bit about unilateral exercises and warm-ups. My guess is that people here will have more opinions about this than they did about my last post. What do you think makes an introductory program effective? submitted by /u/pianoelias [link] [comments]

Read More about this post