You don't have to have expensive equipment or belong to a gym to strength train. Bodyweight exercises will work all of your body parts sufficiently to get the benefits of strength training. It's just a matter of finding the right exercises to challenge your body. And, hey, one of the benefits to working out at home is you can do it whenever you want to and you don't even have to comb your hair. Beginners should start with basic movements, not only to get their bodies used to the movements, but also to prevent injury.
However, expect to experience some soreness, at least the first few times you workout. And try not to overdo it...as one of my friends told me shortly after his first strength training workout, "I thought I would need a crane to pull me out of bed the next day!" Some basic equipment that I would recommend having, if you plan to strength train at home, would be a Swiss ball, a pull-up bar, bands and/or dumbbells and a medicine ball.
The average reader of this blog is interested in a lean, toned body. You can't have a toned body without muscle, so most people do need to increase muscle mass to help increase their metabolism for that lean look and to have muscle tone. The type of strength training workout program that will promote a small increase in muscle mass and will burn fat is a full-body workout, also known as functional training. This workout involves exercises that focus on more than one muscle at a time. For example, the squat focuses on quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes and even the back muscles, to some extent. As indicated in the name, this type of workout will work the full body; therefore, you should have at least one day in between these types of workouts.
The types of exercises to use in a workout would be a knee dominant exercise such as squat or lunge movement, a pushing exercise such as push-ups, a hip dominant exercise such as a deadlift movement, a pulling exercise such as bent-over rows with bands or pull-ups (if you are working out at home with a pull-up bar, place a chair underneath the bar, stand on the chair and use your legs for assistance to pull yourself up), and one to two core exercises such as planks and supermans. There is a huge variety of exercises involving all of these movements. Some people like to change up their workout often, even daily.
As a beginner, I would recommend coming up with one or two workouts (two workouts will allow you to alternate workouts if you get bored easily) and stick with them for at least 4 to 6 weeks. This amount of time will allow you to get used to the moves. Then, as you become more experienced and comfortable, you can change more often, if you prefer. You can perform a search on Google or YouTube to find different exercises from the various categories mentioned above. I do recommend that you consult with a personal trainer or other fitness professional to instruct you on proper form, especially if you are a beginner. And you should also have your physician's approval to begin this type of workout.
You should warm-up for at least 5 minutes prior to starting. There are different levels of all of these exercises and you want to choose a level that will allow you to perform 8 to 15 repetitions in a set. For example, if you can perform a squat with relative ease, try performing split squats. If you are a beginner, your last repetition should feel like you could only do one or two more reps in proper form. If you are experienced in strength training and prefer to work until muscle failure, that's fine, but, regardless of your experience, you should end the set as soon as you know you cannot complete another rep with proper form. If you have access to and prefer working with weights, you should choose a weight that allows you to perform 8 to 15 reps as well. You should perform at least 2 sets of each exercise with a 1 to 2 minute rest between sets.
As you gain more experience, you can add intensity to the workout by any one of the following: decreasing your rest periods, supersetting your exercises, performing the exercises in circuits, performing the exercises in a tabata set, adding plyometric exercises (jumping and agility moves), and I could go on and on. That's one of the great things about strength training...there is a huge variety and getting bored is not an option.
About this Author
Shellie Wingate is a certified personal trainer, is owner and instructor of Body Boot Camp, and has a health and fitness blog at http://www.coachshellie.com. Visit the blog to subscribe to her free Coach Shellie Health and Fitness Magazine or visit http://www.coachshelliemag.com to view the Coach Shellie Health and Fitness Magazine. You can also find articles written by Shellie in Kentucky Monthly Magazine.
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