Lift, rest, recover: how to start weightlifting

Human beings have always been obsessed with picking up heavy things. Lifting a heavy rock was reportedly a test of manhood in prehistoric tribes. In cultures across the globe, stone lifting became a sport and ceremonial practice. Today, you can test your strength with Louis Vuitton dumbbells or a kettlebell shaped like Bigfoot’s head.

Lifting something heavy is satisfying. And as more and more research shows, it can also be a key component of health and longevity.

The benefits of strength training exercises like weightlifting include stronger bones, increased metabolism, lower risk of injury, reduced risk of heart disease, improved body image and even improved brain function.

“It helps us maintain overall function, especially as we age,” says Dr Andrew Jagim, director of sports medicine research at the Mayo Clinic Health System. Especially in older populations, strength training helps maintain balance and coordination, and gives older adults “the autonomy to support themselves independently”.

So how does one get started? We asked experts.

Start without weights

Before you grab a barbell, experts recommend practicing bodyweight exercises that allow you to build a base level of strength and familiarize yourself with the movement patterns of lifting. These include squats, pushups, lunges and planks.

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“You want to get the form correct, because we don’t want to injure ourselves, or put our bodies and joints in any sort of compromised position,” says Claire Fountain, a somatic therapist, yoga instructor and former personal trainer.

In a perfect world, everyone would have access to qualified personal trainers who can help us get comfortable with the various movement patterns of lifting. But for those on more limited budgets, Fountain suggests finding instructional videos online that break down each exercise. Make sure you check who is making the videos; shredded fitness influencers may promise eight-pack abs, but you’re better off finding content produced by qualified professionals. Look for personal trainers who have been certified by organizations like the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF) or the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT).

When watching these videos, note how an instructor’s body looks, and also pay attention to any cues the instructor gives about the position, Fountain says. These might include where your heels or hips should be, or what your arms should be doing in any particular exercise.

Don’t be intimidated by the gym

You do not necessarily need to join a gym to practice strength training. You can use resistance bands or body weight, or lift household items such as bottles of water.

If you do have the time and money to access a gym, it is a helpful place to find equipment and meet other lifters. Some gyms also offer a free session with a trainer when you join, and they can help with form.

“Joining a gym can be really scary, especially when you feel like everyone knows what they’re doing. It’s OK to be a novice,” says Fountain. “And you might meet a gym buddy.”

Machines are your friend

“Some people think machines are a waste of time. I think machines are probably one of the best things a beginner can [use],” says Mathew Forzaglia, a certified personal trainer and the founder of Forzag Fitness.

Because machines like a leg press or a chest press have a fixed movement pattern – they move forward and backwards, and that’s it – you don’t need to worry about balance or stabilizing the weight. This means you can familiarize yourself with the movement of a squat or bench press with a much lower risk of injury.

“It’s focusing on the movement pattern and building some fundamental strength right off the bat,” Forzaglia says.

Find the right weight for you

When it comes to lifting, don’t bite off more than you can chew, says Forzaglia. It’s safer to start lighter and move to a heavier weight when you have good form and you feel comfortable, rather than start too heavy and risk injuring yourself.

To test a weight, Forzaglia suggests doing 10 repetitions – or, in lifting lingo, “reps” – of an exercise. If you get to 10 and feel like you could do 10 more reps, your weight is probably too light. If you get to the end and you are barely able to eke out your last rep with good form, the weight is probably too heavy.

“For a beginner, a 10/10 effort is never what we want to do, because there’s a chance they may not come back tomorrow” because of soreness, Forzaglia explains.

If, at the end of 10 reps, you feel like you could do two or three more, that is a good weight to work with.

Structure your workout

When it comes to exercise, doing something is generally better than doing nothing. But you’ll get more out of a workout if you go in with a plan rather than wandering aimlessly around the gym and hopping on whichever machines are free.

If you are able to work with a trainer, they can tailor a workout suited to you. There are also hundreds of workout plans available online – as with instructional videos, look for plans put together by certified professionals.

If you’re not ready to commit to either of those yet, Jagim suggests structuring workouts around five types of exercises – lower body push and pull, upper body push and pull, and full-body – and doing one of each type.

Push exercises involve pushing a weight away from you, like a leg press, chest press or squat. Pull exercises involve pulling a weight towards you, like a leg curl, lat pull-down, or pull-up. And full-body exercises are complex movements that engage almost every muscle in the body, like a plank or a farmer’s carry, in which you hold weights in two hands and walk for a certain distance.

“That’s a good foundation for a full-body strength training program that doesn’t require a lot of advanced planning and allows for easy substitutions,” says Jagim. If your gym doesn’t have a leg press machine, you can do another lower body push exercise and “still train the muscles we’re trying to target”.

Once you have a plan, warm up with dynamic stretches like walking lunges or arm circles, and then for each exercise do three to four sets of eight to 12 reps, with a minute rest between each set.

Don’t overdo it

“The internet can make it seem like you need to be in the gym every day,” says Fountain. But when it comes to weight training, less is more.

“You want to give your body time to rest and recover,” says Fountain. After lifting, muscles need time to heal and grow. That means that, especially for beginner lifters, two to three sessions a week is usually plenty.

Eat to support your training

When embarking on a new workout routine, it’s best not to change too much at once. Forzaglia says a common mistake people make when it comes to fitness is trying to overhaul their entire lives by committing to a grueling new workout schedule and strict diet. This overwhelms people and causes them to burn out quickly. It’s better to implement changes little by little, Forzaglia says.

Still, you want to make sure you’re eating enough to support your activity level and allow your muscles to recover. Carbohydrates and protein are especially important, because carbohydrates give you the energy to complete a workout, and protein helps your muscles rebuild after.

For people practicing strength training, “it’s usually recommended to get 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight,” says Jagim.

If this feels too abstract, Forzaglia suggests aiming for a fist-sized amount of protein at every meal and a palm-sized amount of carbs. “And you can go crazy on the vegetables.”

If you want to improve and grow:

Incorporate progressive overload

“If you want to keep making progress over time, you need to find a way to increasingly make your workout just a little more difficult,” says Jagim. This could be by increasing the number of reps you do from one week to the next, or increasing the weight you use.

Without progressive overload, your body will adapt to the workout and your muscles won’t continue to grow.

Keep track of your workouts

Every session, write down which exercises you do each session, which weights you used, and how many sets and reps you completed. This helps with remembering how to progressively overload, and allows you to see your progress over time.

Find what works for you

As you continue lifting, don’t be afraid to try different programs, says Forzaglia. “Go online and research different types of programs and choose one that fits,” he says. Try it out for at least a month, and if you don’t like it, that’s fine. “You’ve just gotten more knowledge about your ideal style of training.”

Then, if you find a program you prefer, stick to it. “People think they have to do all these complicated exercises they see online, but it’s simple, and more about consistency,” says Fountain. “I do the same exercises I’ve done for two decades.”