Going into the warmer weather, many people have the drive to get fitter, lose weight, and generally become fitter. While most focus on their diet and weight, strength exercises are much more important. With stronger muscles, you will have improved overall fitness, a better physique, and increased stamina. Strength training can even help you to lose weight and increase your metabolism. For personalized guidance on your fitness journey, consider consulting an online weight loss coach from Riselean.

This article will look at some simple weight workouts for beginners to try out and improve their fitness in time for the summer. 

Legs

Working purely on your upper body will not only result in you looking a little strange but building your leg muscles helps your upper body grow and strengthen too. Forgetting your legs can also result in being physically unbalanced, leading to a greater chance of injuries.  

Walking lunges: A great introduction to strength training as they’re closer to cardio workouts, which you may already be used to. 

Jump squats: Pull into a squat position, and come out of the squat forcefully into a jump with your hands fully extended and legs stretched. Remember to provide proper support to your knees during these workouts by using the best knee sleeves, which can help prevent injuries and discomfort while you work on strengthening your muscles.

Sumo squat: You can add a dumbbell weight easily to this exercise to increase the resistance. If you buy a set like the Mirafit dumbbell set, you can keep increasing the weight as you get stronger. 

Arms

When you’re starting weightlifting for the first time, you should start off very slowly. First, choose a weight that you can lift correctly 10-15 times and progress from 1 set to 3. Once you can do this, move on to bigger weights, only increasing by up to 10% each time. 

Hammer shoulder press: Use dumbbells at shoulder height and raise them above your head and back again. There are many variations, including the positioning of your hands. 

Bicep curl: You should focus on controlling your muscles and not allow the weight to pull your hand back down. 

Tricep extension: An area often forgotten and can also help with the shoulders. 

Core 

Core muscles help with stability throughout normal activities, and having strong core muscles will improve your posture – leading to less back pain. If you have an office job, focusing on your core muscles will be a significant improvement. 

Plank: Holding a plank will help strengthen your core on its own, but you can add twists and leg exercises, too (mountain climber, for instance). For a beginner, set a time between 10 and 30 seconds to hold it, relax, and then try again – the repetitions will increase your strength and endurance. 

Russian twist: This exercise is great for increasing core strength and improving rotation movement. Again, you can add a weight to increase resistance if needed. 

Dead Bug: This is great for beginners (it’s often recommended in injury recovery plans). There are also plenty of modifications if you’re struggling with the full version. 

Remember that part of your fitness program should always include a recovery period. Your muscles recover and grow during your periods of rest, so without them, you are not giving your body a chance to strengthen. You should have one complete rest day for every few days of exercise that you do.