When it comes to training, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and throw yourself in at the deep end. But 95% of people don’t need to train all day everyday like an athlete. You might want to, but unfortunately life gets in the way.

If you’re a beginner, it can be tough finding the best training plan for your goals and experience level. Fortunately, Gareth Sapstead aka The Fitness Maverick knows how to program for beginners.

Example Strength Training Plan

If you’re a beginner, then it’s best to stick to the basics. Complete three full body resistance sessions a week. Full body workouts are beneficial because they allow you to target all of the key muscle groups several times a week. This is important as not only does it allow muscle growth, but it also gives beginners the chance to practise a variety of movement patterns on a regular basis.

Likewise, three training sessions a week is enough to make good progress, but it’s also achievable for most people. Any more and you risk pushing yourself too hard, this is known as overtraining and can be detrimental to your progress. It’s best to incrementally increase the amount of training you do as you become more confident.

Key Movement Patterns to Include in Your Training

Start simple, focus on 3 resistance workouts a week, full body and covering all of the key movement patterns -

• Squat - bodyweight squats, Kettlebell goblet squats, barbell back squats.

• Hinge - dumbbell Romanian deadlift, barbell deadlift, hip bridge.

• Horizontal push - push up, barbell Benchpress.

• Vertical push - dumbbell push press, military press, barbell z-press.

• Horizontal pull - Barbell bent over row, single arm row, cable row.

• Vertical pull - pull ups, cable lat pulldown.

To complete your training, sprinkle in some core exercises such as: plank, side plank, dead bugs and Russian twists. Then you’ve got a solid workout. By covering all of the above movement patterns you’ll get results. There’s no need to think about more advanced movements. When you stop seeing newbie gains, then you can start to progress into more advanced training.

Gareth Sapstead's Training Advice

Gareth’s best piece of advice is to find and follow good resources. This isn’t always easy with social media, as people like short form content with quick information. Search for social media accounts, articles and books from credible sources. Learn from people that have coached in real life and have the credentials to back it up. 

The Importance of Setting Mini Fitness Goals

We all know that staying fit, healthy and in shape is a mental game as well as a physical one. The best thing you can do is begin by setting mini goals that you can achieve throughout the week. This can be something as simple as walking 10,000 steps a day. At the end of every day, tick that box.

For a beginner it’s all about overcoming the first hurdle and ticking off the small wins that will motivate you to keep going. If you're doing a simple task such as 10,000 steps one week, that might turn into 12,000 steps the next week. From here you can add in some extra resistance sessions. Slowly but surely, things build up and that’s how you form healthy lasting habits.

On the other hand, if you’re fairly sedentary and you tell yourself you’re going to hit the gym 5 days per week, walk 10,000 steps a day and smash cardio every day, it’s not going to last. This is when you end up back at square one. 

If you want more training inspiration, follow Gareth on Instagram for his latest workouts and training tips.

Written by guest author Eryn Barber.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Mirafit Ambassadors