4 Basic Exercise Tips for Beginners

These tips will give you super-fast results, whether you're a newbie, a regular, or a fanatic.

Tips for Beginners
Whether you've been working out for two weeks or two decades, you're probably making mistakes that prevent you from getting optimal results. Here are some exercise dos and don'ts from top fitness pros.

1. Warm-Up

The basic rule before starting any physical activity is to warm up. Warm up will increase the blood circulation in the body which will reduce all kinds of pains, injuries and other complications. Warming up the body will help the muscles to loose and you will be able to perform the exercises efficiently.2. Work out every day

Work out every day. That's right, seven straight. "It's important for beginners to form an exercise habit. Doing something daily, even if it's small, helps with consistency," says Liz Neporent, a New York City-based trainer and coauthor of The Fat-Free Truth. For the best results, don't overwhelm yourself. Neporent recommends aiming for 30 minutes of cardio every day and strength training twice a week for two to three months, or until you feel that exercise has become an ingrained part of your daily routine.

3. Exercises

Do not begin with some heavy exercises in the start even if you have done with the warm up. You should always start off lightly doing some slow and light exercises to build up the endurance for some more strenuous exercises. Begin with some easy exercises like brisk walk and jogging and even do these simple exercises for a shorter duration in the beginning.

4. Warm Down

The third and the important step is the warm down which is equally important. This can be done through stretching. Stretching helps the muscles to become tight again and is important for proper shaping as well growth of the muscles. Stretching also helps the flow of oxygen and blood to the muscles.

These are the four basic exercise tips for beginners which will help you to develop your stamina and with few days practice you will move on to some more heavy exercises depending on your endurance and limits.

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Bigger Muscles, Shorter Workouts&Intensity Boosting Techniques

Gain Bigger Muscles With Shorter Workouts – Intensity Boosting Techniques
Bigger Muscles, Shorter Workouts

I've been training for more than 20 years, and I'm pretty sure I've tried it all: high-volume body-part splits; high-intensity, low-volume splits; high-frequency training; low-frequency training; even total-body training.

If I were forced to pick just one style of workouts to do for the rest of my life ... well, I'd be pissed! But once I got over it, I'd pick high-intensity, low-volume training with a body-part split. Nothing I've tried produces dense, granite-like muscle tissue quite like this system.

I can't recall even a single training cycle in which I did this type of workout and didn't make incredible progress. In fact, the primary reason I deviate from it at all is boredom.

On the one hand, saying that you get bored with a program in which you get stronger with each and every workout is about as weird as complaining about the monotony of sleeping with Playboy centerfields night after night, when there are so many less-attractive women you could be seducing.

But on the other hand, the fact you do get sick of these workouts is a pretty good sign that you need to use high-intensity splits in short, strategic increments. A little goes a long way. Your body makes progress, but your brain knows when you've had enough.

Let me show you how you can take advantage of high-intensity workouts to make huge gains in size and strength.

Volume and intensity have to be inversely proportional. But what about frequency? With lower volume, you should be able to train each muscle group more often. As a general rule, I suggest training each body part once every four to seven days. When you use the intensity-boosting techniques described and which are included in the programme below, once every five to seven days is plenty.

Finish a workout with one set of 15 to 20 reps. Then, as hyperanemic supercompensation (aka the pump) occurs, stretch the muscle for as long as you can stand it. This pump/stretch technique helps expand the fascia around the muscle, giving you a larger muscle belly over time. It also reduces hypertonic adhesions (aka muscle fibres getting stuck to each other), which decrease performance.

Here are workouts for an example of how you can use a variety of high-intensity techniques to train your back.

Back Workout 1

    Exercise                                           Sets     Reps     Intensity-boosting technique(s)

1     Rack deadlift                                 2         4-6        Straight sets to concentric failure

2     Chest-supported row                    2         4-6     After concentric failure on    second set, do an isometric hold and a negative rep

3     Low-cable row (neutral grip)      1           6-8     Triple rest-pause set *

4     Machine pullover                          1        15-20     After concentric failure, do as many partial reps as you can

Back Workout 2

Exercise                                              Sets     Reps     Intensity-boosting technique(s)

1     Pull-up                                           1         6-8     Triple rest-pause set, finishing with an isometric hold and negative rep *

2     Barbell bent-over row                  2         4-6     Straight sets to concentric failure

3     Lat pulldown (underhand grip)  1         6-8     Triple rest-pause set, finishing with an isometric hold and negative rep *

4     Chest-supported reverse flye       1      15-20                                                                                               (lie face-down on an incline bench set to a 30-degree angle)After concentric failure, do as many partial reps as you can

* Choose a weight that you think you can lift 6 to 8 times before you hit concentric failure. Set it down, rest 20 to 30 seconds, then lift again to concentric failure. Set it down again, rest 20 to 30 seconds, lift one more time to concentric failure. In Workout 2, you’ll add an iso-hold to the final rep of the final set, followed by a negative, lowering your body or the weight as slowly as possible.

Do one or two warm-up sets for several of the exercises, especially the first exercise of each workout and any exercise in which you’re doing straight sets to failure.

Train your back once every five to seven days. Do Workout 1 the first time, then Workout 2 the next week and rotate until you decide to change workouts.

Control the weight on each and every rep.

Although the sample workouts are for your back, you can use this template to train any body part.

The shorter the workout, the more focus you need.

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The 5 Best Science-Based Back Workout For Target Every Muscle

Backs make bodybuilders, that’s a bit of an overstatement, but consider this, powerlifters, football players, and wrestlers may possess colossal legs, arms, and necks, but how many of them have attention-grabbing backs?

Big backs mean big back workouts. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing someone with a beastly back doing a back workout. It’s motivational beyond belief. That’s why the following training video caught our eye.

In the following video YouTuber Jeremy Ethier a certified NASM and FMS professional shows you the best Back Training workout that utilizes exercises for a big back, as well as exercises for a wider back based on current scientific literature and our anatomical understanding of the back muscles. It’s essential that you not only choose the right exercises when performing a back workout for mass but also to perform these exercises in the correct fashion to target the right muscles. If you’re looking to add more mass, depth, and width to your upper back and lower back while targeting muscles that are important for scapular and shoulder stability, then this is the best back workout video for you.

1. Deadlift

The deadlift is at the core of any great weightlifting program.

My back sucked in both strength and size until I started really working on my deadlift and I’ve never looked back.

Many people are afraid of this lift because they think it’s inherently bad for your lower back or dangerous.

At first glance, this fear would seem to make sense: lifting hundreds of pounds off the ground—putting all that pressure on your back, particularly your low-back and erector spinae muscles—would be a recipe for thoracic and lumbar disaster, right?

In fact, when performed with good form, the deadlift is actually a fantastic way to build lower back strength and prevent injury.

That said, if you have sustained a lower back injury in the past or have a disease or dysfunction affecting the area, you may not want to deadlift. Unfortunately, I have to recommend that you consult with a sports doctor to see if it will or won’t work for you.

2. Wide-Grip Pullup

The wide-grip pullup is one of the best exercises you can do to build the middle of your back and your lats (especially as you get stronger and can add weight with a dip belt).

 3. Seated Cable Row (Wide- and Close-Grip)

Last but not least is the seated row, which is yet another row that’s great for building your upper back.

 4. Lat Pulldown (Wide- and Close-Grip)

The lat pulldown is a machine variant of the pullup that allows you to work in given rep ranges more easily (because you can accurately control the amount of weight you have to pull).

5. T-Bar Row

The t-bar row is another worthwhile type of row that I like to do.

The Ultimate Back Workout

A good back workout trains all the major muscles of the back, including the lower back, and focuses on heavy lifting.

Just like any other muscle group, back can benefit from higher rep work, but you have to emphasize heavy weightlifting if you want the best possible results.

So, here’s what I want you to do for the next 8 weeks, once every 5 to 7 days:

    Deadlift

    Warm up and 3 sets of 4 t0 6 reps (about 85% of 1RM)

    Lat Pulldown (Wide- and Close-Grip)

    3 sets of 4 to 6 reps

    Wide-Grip Pullups (Chin-Ups if you can’t)

    3 sets of 4 to 6 reps (add weight if possible)

    Optional

Seated Cable Row (Wide- and Close-Grip)

    3 sets of 4 to 6 reps

T-Bar Row

        3 sets of 4 to 6 reps

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The 6 Best Push Up Workout for Chest Gains

Want to elevate your pushup game? Try this compound progression—a combination of exercises that targets the same muscle group with a few different moves.

Each pushup variation in this progression will work your chest in a slightly different way. “You’ll have to fight through fatigue, but since you’re changing the challenge with each move, you can keep going,” says Andy Speer, creator of The Anarchy Workout—an intense new fitness DVD from Men’s Health that will help you melt fat in less than a month and a half.

“This will help you squeeze in a lot of muscle-building work in a short period of time,” Speer says. 

1. Clap Push-up

Be sure to land with soft elbows after the clap! And, as always, a lot of core control is crucial to performing this push-up variation correctly. Don’t be afraid to start out on your knees or on an incline to get the hang of the timing.

2. Wide-arm press-ups

Build a strong back and chest by placing your grip as wide as possible and performing reps. Adding additional strain to the standard press-up, this exercise targets the outer pectoral.

3. Close grip push-ups

Turn your hands slightly inwards, place them together so your thumbs and forefingers form a triangle. Perform a press-up with your arms tucked. This focuses on the inner pectoral and tricep.

4. Weighted push-ups

With either a weighted vest or a weights plate placed on your upper back, you can add a huge amount of resistance to your standard press up. Adding resistance causes more muscle recruitment and more micro-tears, helping to build more mass as a result.

5. Stagger Plyo Push-up

Switch the position of your hands after every push-up. If this movement is too explosive or challenging for you. Simply switch your hands without the “jump” until you’re able to work your way up.

6. X-tap Push-up

Keep in mind you really have to get some air in this push-up variation! Let’s say this is the next step after the clap push-up!

Keep in mind you really have to get some air in this push-up variation! Let’s say this is the next step after the clap push-up!

Push up workout routine

To fit these variations in, build a routine that incorporates three or four of the exercises at a time. Include them in your barbell and dumb-bell chest workouts as a finisher or dedicate a session to them.

Example ‘A’ day:

    3 x 20 Plyometric push up
    3 x 6 Dumbbell bench press
    3 x 10 Wide grip push ups
    3 x 10 close grip push ups

Example ‘B’ day:

    3 x 6 barbell bench press
    3 x 6 dropping push ups
    3 x 10 one arm press ups (5 on each side)
    3 x 5 handstand press ups

Ensure your post-training nutrition is up to scratch, consuming protein to help support a growth in muscle mass and creatine to support increases in physical performance during short-term, high intensity, repeated exercise bouts. A minimum of 3g of creatine should be consumed per day.

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Shoulder Workouts for Mass: 4Tips

We all want a good-looking physique. That being said, most of us train our arms and chest hard. But don't forget your shoulders. Broad shoulders fill out your clothes and make you look manly.

Here are some shoulder workouts for mass that I recommend for general fitness, not for athletes. (Training your shoulders frequently can take time away from exercises that actually improve athleticism.)


Go heavy

Working in the 8- to 12-rep range is generally the best way to add muscle mass to most body parts (the one exception being legs, which respond better to slightly higher reps). But I firmly believe that muscles, especially the deltoids, also need to be subjected to very heavy weight to grow to their potential—a weight at which you can do only 5-6 reps. Go ahead and do lateral raises in the 8-12 range (even 15-20), but I suggest doing overhead presses in the 5- to 6-rep range at least every other workout. It's not that every set of presses has to be heavy; if you're doing, say, 4-5 sets of seated barbell presses, you can do your first set or two for eight reps, but then make your last 2-3 sets heavier.

Increase Metabolic Stress with a Superset of Compound Movement and Isolation

Another key factor for muscle growth is metabolic stress. Metabolic stress is caused by the buildup of a variety of metabolites such as lactate, hydrogen ions and creatine.

One way to tell if metabolic stress is happening is to create a "pump" in your muscle. The pump is basically caused by fluids building up in the cells and the accumulation of metabolic by-products. Also, more metabolic stress can be created during the lowering portion of a lift, which is why doing isolation exercises is useful.

How to do it: Pair a compound movement (e.g., Arnold Press) and perform it for 8-10 reps, followed by an isolation movement (e.g., Lateral Raises) for 8-10 reps, with emphasis on the lowering portion.
 

 Utilize rest-pauses on presses

As intensity techniques go, I think drop sets and supersets are great when doing front-, middle-, and rear-delt raises. On overhead presses, however, my favorite technique is the rest-pause. The reason behind this is with rest-pauses, you never have to lighten the load—you start with a heavy weight and stick with it for the whole set. To refresh, here's how to perform rest-pauses: Pick a weight for a Smith machine overhead press with which you can do about six reps. Do a set of 4-5 reps, rest 15-20 seconds, and then do 2-3 more reps with that same weight. Rest another 15-20 seconds, then do another 2-3 reps. At that point, you'll have done 8-11 reps with a weight with which you could normally do only six. These tips will help spark growth in your shoulders, so give them a try next time delts day rolls around. Follow your pressing moves with high-intensity laterals and you'll have the best of both worlds: size and definition.

Perform a Shoulder Isolation Exercise 4-5 Times a Week to Increase Frequency

An increase in exercise frequency can further promote muscular hypertrophy. But don't get carried away. Performing Overhead Presses every other day might cause you to have banged-up shoulders.

Opt instead for an isolation movement and perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps 3-5 times a week to increase frequency and total volume. The Lateral Raise fits the bill perfectly because it's joint-friendly. Start with 3 times a week and slowly increase to 5 as you progress.

How to do it: Perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps of Lateral Raises 3-5 times a week.

Excercise                                                         Sets             Reps
Smith Machine Overhead Press                      4              5-6*
Arnold Press                                                      4          10,8,6,6
Barbell Upright Row                                        3                 8-10
Dumbbell Lateral Raise                                   3             10-12
- superset with -          
Dumbbell Bent-Over Lateral Raise                3             10-12

* On your last two sets, perform 2-3 rest-pauses.

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