Resistance Training
If you are a beginner, you can start off with 2 days per week (Faigenbaum & McInnis, 2003). Otherwise, I would recommend a 3 or 4 day split. Each body part should be trained ONCE a week; this gives it plenty of time to recover before the next training session. For example, Monday = Legs & Abs, Tuesday = Chest & Back, Thursday = Shoulders & Traps, Friday = Arms & Abs. (You only need to do Abs twice a week; it works the same as any other body part).
Exercises that you should be doing are multijoint, compound exercises, as they use more than one muscle, and are the most effective for not only building muscle, but also in burning fat, because they are recruiting more of your body to perform the exercise (Heyward, 2006) than isolation exercises (these are a waste of time unless you are looking for a pump close to competition). The best compound exercises that you can do are the squat and the deadlift, as they use pretty much EVERY muscle in your body (Baechle, et al., 2000). Other compound exercises that are good to include are the power clean, bench press, shoulder press, pull-ups, dips, and calf raises (the only isolation exercise that’s really good).
You should be doing at least 2 exercises for each muscle group, with 4 sets of 6-10 (even up to 12) reps per exercise, with 1-2 minutes recovery in between (the shorter the recovery, the lighter your weights will possibly be, which will give you a ‘cardio’ workout as well).
Be sure that you ALWAYS use good form for EVERY exercise; otherwise you are putting yourself at risk for injury. All reps should be CONTROLLED and with good form. It is not about how MUCH you can lift, but how WELL you lift. You WILL get stronger as you keep at it (although maybe not so much when trying to lose fat, but this depends on the individual).
You should never spend longer than 45-50 minutes in total lifting (i.e. your session should take that long from the time you walk in to the time you walk out, excluding if you do a warm-up – and this is strictly your own preference); otherwise you become too catabolic and can end up losing muscle.
You also need to change your weights programme around slightly every 4-6 weeks, just so that your body does not get used to it and stop adapting (Epley, 2004). This can be as little as changing the order of exercises in a session or the number of sets and/or reps that you do for an exercise (and it only needs to be one exercise changed at a time, small adjustments over the weeks).
Here’s a sample circuit plan for a beginner:
This is a very basic routine, designed to get you 'used' to resistance training and condition your body for it, building a base to work on, whilst also targeting your goals (Aaberg, 1999). After 4-6 weeks you will need to change your programme.
Instructions: Do an easy 10 minute warm-up. Select weights that you can do for said reps on each exercise (but not too much more), and use these for the entire session. Complete exercises in order from 1-8, with minimal recovery (ideally it should be moving from one exercise to another; but since you are a beginner 30-60 seconds will be ok). At the end of one set (i.e. 1-10) rest for 1-2 minutes, and then repeat. You can increase to 3 sets after 2-4 weeks (or as you see fit). Stretch full-body for 5 minutes after session. This should take ~45 minutes in TOTAL. Every week your weights should increase (i.e. not on ALL sessions, but keep weights the same for a week, and increase as you can for the next week's sessions), so that you keep challenging your body.
1. Dumbbell/Barbell Squats 2 x 12 (changing stance can change which muscle are targeted more: narrow stance hits quadriceps more, wide stance hits gluteals and hamstrings more; sumo stance hits gluteal and adductors more, etc.)
2. Dumbbell/Barbell Romanian Deadlifts 2 x 10
3. Calf Raises (on a step) 2 x 15-25
4. Pull-Ups 2 x as many as possible (with a minimum of 6 reps; when you've done what you can then go to the Lat Pull-Down, and finish the set there)
5. Push-Ups 2 x as many as possible
6. Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 2 x 12-15
7. Dips 2 x 12-15 (do as many as possible as you can with your bodyweight; when you've done what you can then go doing Bench Dips, and finish the set there)
8. Crunches 2 x 50
I highly recommend getting a personal trainer if you are a beginner, so that you can be shown the correct technique (very important) for each exercise. Personal trainers can be there with you for your first few sessions, to determine starting weights, as you get acquainted with resistance training. They also provide motivation, support, and a source for accountability.
