Free Weight Resistance Training: Exercises for a Full Body Home Workout

16.07.202315.06.2023 by alexxlab

How can free weights be used for a full body home workout? What are the benefits of free weight resistance training? How can you ensure proper form and safety when using free weights at home?

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The Benefits of Free Weight Resistance Training

Free weights, such as dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands, offer a flexible and effective way to strength train at home or in the gym. Unlike fixed weight machines, free weights allow for more natural and functional movements that engage multiple muscle groups at once. This can help build overall strength, stability, and muscle tone while also improving balance and coordination.

Additionally, free weight resistance training has been shown to provide numerous health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar, as well as increasing bone density and hormone regulation. By incorporating free weights into your home workout routine, you can achieve a full-body workout that targets all the major muscle groups.

Choosing the Right Free Weights for a Home Workout

When outfitting a home gym, there are several free weight options to consider. Dumbbells and resistance bands are compact and versatile, allowing you to perform a wide variety of exercises. Kettlebells are great for dynamic, full-body movements that combine strength and cardio. Barbells provide the ability to lift heavier weights but require more space and setup.

If you don’t have access to traditional free weights, everyday household items can make effective substitutes. Filled water bottles, canned goods, or bags of rice or flour can all be used as makeshift weights. The key is finding items with a weight that challenges you without compromising proper form or safety.

Ensuring Proper Form and Safety with Free Weights

Proper form is essential when using free weights to avoid injury and maximize the effectiveness of each exercise. Start by practicing the movements without any weight to get a feel for the correct posture and technique. Pay close attention to keeping your core engaged, shoulders back, and maintaining control throughout the range of motion.

When using free weights, it’s important to maintain control of the movement and avoid relying on momentum. If you notice your form starting to deteriorate, it’s better to stop and rest than to push through with poor technique. Additionally, be mindful of your surroundings and ensure you have enough space to move freely without risk of hitting nearby objects.

Incorporating Free Weights into a Full-Body Home Workout

Free weights can be used to target all the major muscle groups in a comprehensive home workout routine. Some key exercises to include are:

Squats and lunges for the legs and glutes
Rows and pullups for the back and biceps
Shoulder presses for the shoulders and triceps
Chest presses for the chest and triceps
Core exercises like planks and ab crunches

By mixing and matching these compound exercises, you can create a challenging and well-rounded workout that targets your entire body. Remember to start with lighter weights and focus on proper form, gradually increasing the intensity as you build strength and confidence.

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Free Weight Exercises

To get the most out of your free weight workouts, it’s important to pay attention to factors like tempo, rest periods, and progressive overload. Experiment with slower, controlled movements to enhance time under tension and better target specific muscle groups. Adjust rest periods based on your fitness level and the intensity of the exercise.

Additionally, gradually increase the weight, reps, or volume of your workouts over time to continually challenge your muscles and drive progress. Mixing up your routine by incorporating new exercises or variations can also help prevent plateaus and keep your workouts fresh and engaging.

Conclusion

Free weight resistance training is a highly effective and versatile way to build strength, improve overall fitness, and achieve your health and wellness goals. By incorporating free weights into your home workout routine, you can enjoy the benefits of a full-body workout that challenges your muscles, enhances your stability and coordination, and helps you reach new levels of fitness. With proper form, safety, and a well-rounded program, free weights can be a game-changer in your fitness journey.

Free Weights Exercises for a Full Body Home Workout

Whether you’re a well-seasoned gym pro or fitness novice, the free weights area in the gym can be an intimidating and daunting place for many of us to begin with. Some are concerned with not being able to perform the exercises correctly, using the equipment properly or finding the right free weight to help train a particular parts of our bodies.

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Having a better understanding of everything you need to know before entering the free weights area will help to make your fitness regime more enjoyable, keep your anxiety at bay and make sure you’re getting the most out of your regime.

What Are Free Weights?

Free weights are a form of strength training that can be defined as resistance exercises provided by ‘free’ objects that aren’t attached to anything and that you can quite literally pick up and move. These include items such as medicine balls, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, resistance bands and sandbells. They are used to tone and build muscle, which in turn helps to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure, stabilise blood sugars and encourage hormone health and bone density.

They also offer a more flexible approach to working out, as they can be used both inside the gym and in the comfort of your own home. Whereas when using fixed weights such as cable machines, weight or exercise machines and resistance bands, your body can often be placed in unnatural or uncomfortable positions. Your training is also often focused on a targeted or isolated area such your legs or arms. Meanwhile, free weights can provide more of an inclusive workout.

Using Free Weights in your Home Workout

Free Weights also offer a more flexible approach to working out, as they can be used both inside the gym and as part of your home workout regime.

If you’ve got your own set of dumb bells, then brilliant. If not, however, there are a few household items you can use instead. For example, one litre of water is equivalent to one kilogram, so filling empty bottles with water and using them as weights make for fantastic substitutes.

You can also make use of pre-weighed items such as unopened packets of flour and sugar. To lift multiple numbers of these, simply put them in a shopping bag and lift that. These make for great alternatives to both dumb bells and kettle bells.

Meanwhile, resistance bands are also reasonably inexpensive, so if you’re working out at home, they are a fantastic alternative to free weights.

Whereas when using fixed weights such as cable machines, weight or exercise machines and resistance bands, your body can often be placed in unnatural or uncomfortable positions. Your training is also often focused on a targeted or isolated area such your legs or arms, while free weights can provide more of an inclusive workout.

Using Free Weights Safely

Ensuring you use free weights safely is an absolute must. If you use them incorrectly, they can cause you significant injuries. Not only will this put the brakes on your exercise regime, making it more difficult to reach your fitness goals. As well as this, using free weights incorrectly can cause you long-term damage, requiring treatment from doctors and physiotherapists.

The Importance of the Correct Free Weights Form

Your ‘form’ is, essentially, your body shape when you’re exercising. Ensuring you hold the correct body shape – or ‘form’ – while exercising is a key part of ensuring that you both get the most out of each exercise you perform, as well as helping ensure you don’t hurt yourself while exercising.

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Proper form is always important, but especially so when using free weights, or doing any other type of weight training. This is because your joints and muscles are under significant extra loads, forcing them to work harder.

The two places you should concentrate on initially when looking at your form are your core (abs, glutes and lower back) and your scapula (shoulders). By making sure these are properly engaged when using free weights, you’ll stabilise your body, protect your spine, shoulders and neck.

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To help you ensure you use the correct form when using free weights, here are three great hacks to use:

Practice – Before you start exercising with the weights, first try completing the movement without using any weights. This will help your body get used to the movement before you put it under any extra strain.
Posture – Between each rep, do a very quick mental scan of your posture, making sure your core is engaged and your shoulders are back. This will help support the movement, making the rep more effective and reducing your risk of injury.
Control – It’s vital to make sure you maintain control of the movement in each rep. Once you notice that your form is beginning to slip, or that you’re relying on momentum to perform the lift, you’ve reached your limit and you need to stop.

Free Weights vs. Weight Machines

Free weights have plenty of advantages over weight machines. For starters, they are much more flexible. Each weight machine in your local gym usually only works one or two muscle groups, so there are a finite number of exercises you can perform. With free weights, however, there are an almost endless number of exercises you can add to your regime, giving you a true whole-body workout.

Secondly, you can also have free weights at home and they don’t take up much space, so if you don’t fancy going to the gym that day, but still want to work out, you can do so in the comfort of your own home. They’re also fairly inexpensive – you can pick up resistance bands for just a few pounds – and don’t take up much room, so even in the most space-limited of homes you can still enjoy a fulsome exercise regimen.

Free Weights Exercises for Different Parts of Your Body

Arms and Shoulders

Shoulder Press

Designed for beginners, this move can be mastered by anyone. Begin by using a small to medium sized medicine ball. Once you’re comfortable you can increase the intensity of your free weights workout by moving onto a heavier medicine ball.

First, place the ball around an inch away from the central part of your chest.
Lift your arms to the ceiling, extend the ball overhead and then lower gently back to the starting position.
Repeat 10-15 reps of three sets.

One Arm Swing

Using dumbbells this move works on your shoulders, lower back muscles and quadriceps and develops co-ordination and grip strength.
In the squat position, swing the weight between your legs and quickly drive yourself forward. Then move the dumbbell upwards towards your head and straighten up.
Repeat and then alternate arms between your 10-15 reps of three sets.

Legs

Single-Leg Hip Bridge

With a medicine ball, we move our focus onto working the legs, glutes and core with the single-leg hip bridge.

Lie on your back and lengthen your arms out frontwards. Hold the medicine ball with both arms, ensuring your elbows are slightly bent.
Bend the knees and bring heels to the floor. Engage your core by bringing your right leg to the ceiling and flex your right foot. Remember to keep your knee a little bent.
Shift your attention to your core and glutes muscles by thrusting your hips into the air. Your weight can be supported by your shoulders and left leg.
Hold for a single count and then slowly begin returning your body back to the mat.
Repeat and then alternate arms between your 10-15 reps of three sets.

Core

Barbell Lunge

To assist you in achieving those perfect six-pack abs and developing vital core strength, try out the barbell lunge. Your core will be working twice as hard to keep the spine neutral, due to the position you are holding the bar and weights in.

Select your desired weight, if you’re unsure start with 5kg on each side until you feel comfortable enough to increase it.
Place the barbell with the weights across your back. Move forwards with your left foot and step into a lunge. Both legs need to be bent and the back of your knee as close to the floor as possible.
Lift yourself back up and then repeat 10-15 reps of three sets.

Back

Deadlift

Using a weightless Olympic bar, the deadlift not only concentrates on targeting the back, but also the glutes and hamstrings.

Stand with feet hip-width apart and place the Olympic bar on the floor.
While ensuring you are keeping your back flat, chest up and bottom low, firmly grip the bar with the hands. Make sure this is a little wider than the position of the feet.
Driving with legs, maintain arms straight down, shoulders back and stand up straight. The back needs to remain flat and the bar close to your body.
Repeat 10-15 reps of three sets.

Glutes

Goblet Squat

This exercise is brilliant for any fitness level and uses dumbbells to focus on targeting your glutes and promoting both thoracic and hip mobility.

Position yourself with feet set more than shoulder-width apart.
With both hands, hold the dumbbell in front of your chest. Then sit back into a squat and drive back up and repeat.
Repeat 10-15 reps of three sets.

Importance of Rest Days

While some of us can be defined as dedicated gym bunnies, others may struggle to find the motivation they need to take regular trips to the gym. Although it’s vital for our overall health and mental wellbeing to remain active and take part in physical activity, it’s equally beneficial to give our bodies the adequate time needed to rest, repair and recover a couple of days a week.

Over-exercising, whether that’s cardio exercise, or using the free weights can put added strain and stress on our bodies. This can then lead to a number of harmful side effects. These include fatigue, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, changes in your mood, lowered immunity, decreased performance and a number of other factors.

A number of factors can contribute to the amount of rest time needed. These include age, the number of weekly workouts you do, the intensity of those workouts and your fitness levels. Getting at least eight hours of sleep a night and eating the right foods will also aid in fuelling both your workout and recovery.

You can also try out our extensive library of video workouts and training plans, as well as sampling the Les Mills on Demand service, alongside the 8fit and NEOU fitness apps with our fantastic value £9.99 online fitness membership.

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15 Free-Weight Exercises: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Routines

Machines and cables and dumbbells, oh my! The gym floor is chock-full of equipment to choose from, but where should you start?

Although machines have their place — they’re great for beginners as they assist with form and allow you to lift heavier — free weights can give you more bang for your buck.

Free weights include any weight you can pick up and move around, such as dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells.

Unlike machines, where the movement — and you — are fixed, free weights allow you to work in any range of motion you’d like. This requires you to work against gravity and use those stabilizer muscles to engage.

Below, we’ve curated 15 free-weight exercises for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Are you ready to get lifting?

Before you start a new workout regimen, think about how to maximize your time and effort.

Set a goal

Are you looking to build strength, gain size, or increase your endurance? Decide what your goal is and create your regimen accordingly.

To build strength and size, stick with high weight, low reps, and more rest between sets.

For endurance, go for lighter weights, higher reps, and less rest between sets.

Set a schedule

Whatever your goal, aim to work out 4 or 5 days per week.

You can get a good workout in 20 minutes or in an hour, so don’t worry about duration as much as the quality and composition of your routine.

Avoid training the same muscle groups hard 2 days in a row; recovery is super important to progress.

Order is important

In general, you’ll want to perform harder, full-body exercises, like squats, before more targeted, smaller movements, like bicep curls.

Your goal determines your weight

Choose heavy, challenging weights — whatever that means for you — if your goal is to gain strength and size.

Opt for lighter (but still challenging at the end of your set) weights for more of an endurance approach.

Proper form is a must

If you don’t perform exercises with proper form, you could miss out on benefits of the movement, or, in more serious cases, cause injury.

Practice the movement with your body weight before you add additional weight.

Once you’ve thought these points through, begin with one of routines below.

If you’re new to lifting weights, don’t fret. This beginner-friendly free-weight routine is a great place to start.

As a beginner, focus on working up to 3 sets of 10–12 reps of each of these exercises with as light of a free weight as you need. Rest for 1 minute between sets.

When this gets easy, choose a heavier free weight. After you’ve upped your weight several times and feel strong in the movements below, move on to the intermediate routine.

Weighted glute bridge

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Glute bridges are a key exercise to strengthen the posterior chain, or the back of your body.

This exercise hits many of the same muscles as a squat would without placing undue stress on your lower back.

The main muscles worked include your:

glutes
hamstrings
calves

How to:

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Position a dumbbell just above your hip bones, holding it in place with your hands.
Brace your core and push up through your heels, hiking your hips up to the sky and squeezing your glutes as you go. At the top, your body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Pause here, then release back to starting position.

Lunge

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A lunge is a unilateral lower body exercise, meaning it works one leg at a time.

It’s a great movement to promote leg strength, as well as balance. It can also help remedy strength discrepancies from side to side.

Lunges work bigger muscles like your:

quads
hamstrings
glutes
calves

Practice this movement with just your body weight to ensure that you’re stable. When you’re ready, use lightweight dumbbells to start.

How to:

Hold one dumbbell in each hand with your arms down by your side and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Lift your right foot off the ground and take a big step forward, bending your knee and lowering your body as you go. Stop when your right thigh is parallel to the ground. Ensure that your chest stays proud and your shoulders stay back throughout the movement.
Push up from your right foot, returning to starting position.
Repeat, lunging with your left leg.

Overhead shoulder press

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Improve your balance and posture and strengthen your entire upper body with the overhead shoulder press.

This move works your:

deltoids
chest
triceps
traps

Start with two lightweight dumbbells, ensuring that you have the movement down before working on building strength.

If you feel your lower back straining or your torso moving to push the weight overhead, try splitting your stance to provide more balance, or try a lighter free weight.

How to:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand.
Bring the weights up to the fronts of your shoulders, palms facing out.
Keeping your core braced and torso upright, push the dumbbells up, extending your arms as you go.
Pause at the top, then release, bending your elbows and letting the weights come back down to above the shoulders.

Single-arm dumbbell row

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An accessible exercise for beginners, the row also hits all of those important posture muscles, like your:

traps
lats
rhomboids
rear deltoids

You’ll just need one dumbbell. Choose a moderate weight to start.

How to:

Position yourself next to a bench, table, or other elevated surface, bracing yourself with your torso slightly bent.
Split your stance and hold a dumbbell in your free hand.
Row up, pulling your elbow up and back and squeezing your shoulder blade.
Pause at the top, then release and repeat.

Floor press

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Essentially a chest press on the ground, a floor press is a great exercise to teach bench press to beginners because you can feel your shoulder and back engagement with your upper body flat across the floor.

The main muscles worked in the floor press are your:

pecs
triceps
anterior deltoids

How to:

Lie with your back and feet flat on the ground with a dumbbell in each hand.
Position your upper arms at a 45-degree angle to your body with the dumbbells in the air.
Push the dumbbells up by extending your arms.
Pause at the top, the return to starting position.

If you’re no stranger to weightlifting, or if you’ve graduated from the beginner routine, try the intermediate routine below.

Complete 3–4 sets here, with a minimum of 8 reps and a maximum of 15.

Regardless of how many reps your programming is calling for, you should barely be able to complete the last one with proper form. Adjust your weight accordingly if this isn’t the case.

Barbell back squat

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Touted as a “functional” exercise, squats have a plethora of benefits.

Not only will they strengthen some of the largest muscles in your body, they’ll help you perform everyday tasks with ease.

Weighted squats can actually be considered a full-body exercise, but they target muscles like your:

quads
glutes
hamstrings
calves

Choose a lightweight barbell to start, as you’ll have to safely load it onto your shoulders from the floor.

Once you can back-squat more than 30 or so pounds, transition to a squat rack to ensure that you can set up and squat safely.

How to:

Load a barbell onto your shoulders, positioning your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Initiate the squat by sitting back in your hips, then bending your knees. Keep your chest up and gaze ahead.
When your thighs hit parallel, pause and push up back to starting position.

Barbell deadlift

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Deadlifts are a super beneficial exercise to incorporate into your routine, but nailing correct form can take some practice.

Because it hits muscles from head to toe, the strength benefits are nearly unmatched.

The main muscles targeted include your:

traps
rhomboids
erector spinae
glutes
hamstrings

Again, start light here until you can execute with proper form. Deadlifts have a reputation for stressing the lower back.

How to:

Place a barbell on the ground and stand right behind it, feet shoulder-width apart.
Hinge at the waist with a straight back, bend your knees, and grip the barbell.
Roll your shoulders down and back, inhale and pull the barbell up by straightening your legs.
Once your legs are straight and the barbell is resting against your body, sit back in your hips, bend your knees, and return the barbell to the ground.

Bent-over row

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A progression on the single-arm dumbbell row, the bent-over row takes it up a notch with no added support and two dumbbells instead of one.

Muscles worked include your:

traps
lats
rhomboids
rear deltoids
lower back

In this variation, you’ll target your core, too.

How to:

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with extended arms. Hinge at your waist 45 degrees, keeping your back straight and neck neutral.
Bracing your core, pull your elbows up and back, squeezing your shoulder blades at the top.
Pause here, then release back to starting position.

Floor chest fly

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Challenge your chest in a different way with the floor chest fly.

You really need to be in tune with what muscles are initiating the movement here to ensure that you’re executing with proper form.

Main muscles worked include your:

pecs
anterior deltoids
biceps

How to:

Lie on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
Position a dumbbell in each hand and extend your arms out so your body forms a T shape. Your palms should be facing up toward the ceiling.
Keeping a slight bend in your elbow, brace your core and pull the dumbbells up toward the center of your body, using your chest muscles to do so.
When the dumbbells touch in the middle, pause and release back to starting position.

Arnold press

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A progression on the overhead shoulder press, the Arnold press — made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger — requires a bit more finesse. It targets the front of the shoulder a bit more.

Muscles worked include your:

deltoids
triceps
traps

How to:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Bend your elbows like you’re doing a bicep curl, bringing the dumbbells to your shoulders with your palms facing your body. This is the starting position.
Brace your core and begin to rotate your palms out while you simultaneously extend your arms above your head.
Pause here, then release back to starting position, rotating your palms back toward your body as you go.

When you can solidly complete the beginner and intermediate routines, give the advanced routine a go.

Here, you’ll challenge more of your balance, stability, and strength.

Aim for 3–4 sets of 8–15 reps, upping the weight accordingly.

Renegade row

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Take your row up a notch with the renegade version, which combines a plank with a row.

This exercise works your:

lats
traps
deltoids
core
quads

Start with lighter dumbbells here until you get the form — and endurance — down.

How to:

Assume a high plank position but grip a dumbbell with each hand. The dumbbells should be positioned parallel to your body.
Maintaining a strong core, row up with your right arm, pulling the elbow up and back and squeezing the shoulder blade. Keep your chest square to the ground.
Release and return to starting position, then row up with your left arm.

Single-leg deadlift

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Up the ante with a single-leg dumbbell deadlift. It’ll give you the same benefits of a deadlift with extra core work.

You won’t be able to go quite as heavy, but the added balance work will still challenge you.

Muscles worked include your:

lats
traps
lower back
glutes
quads
hamstrings

How to:

Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Put your weight in your right foot and with a soft knee, begin to hinge forward at the waist, kicking your left leg up behind you. Keep your chest and your back straight.
Keep hinging forward until your left leg is parallel to the ground. Your hips should stay square to the ground throughout this movement.
Pause here, then stand in a controlled way.

Bulgarian split squat

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Challenge your balance and strength again with the Bulgarian split squat, a can’t miss exercise for leg strength.

Main muscles worked include your:

quads
hamstrings
glutes
calves

How to:

Stand about 2 feet in front of a knee-level bench or step.
Position the top of your right foot on the bench with your left foot far enough in front of the bench where you can comfortably lunge.
Brace your core, keep your chest proud, and lower down on your left leg, bending your knee. Stop when your thigh is parallel to the ground.
Push up through your left foot to return to starting position.

Bench press

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One of the “Big 3” weightlifting exercises, the barbell bench press is one of the best upper body exercises for overall strength.

You’ll hit main muscles like your:

pecs
triceps

Go conservative on your weight unless you have a spotter with you.

How to:

Lie with a flat back on a bench with the barbell positioned at chest level. Grip the barbell at a shoulder-width distance.
Bracing your core and engaging your shoulders, inhale and push the barbell up off the rack, then lower it until it skims your chest.
Push back up to starting position in an explosive movement, exhaling as you go.

Dumbbell front squat

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A front squat targets the quads a bit more than a regular squat. It also requires more core strength as the weight is shifted to your front instead of on your back.

Muscles worked include your:

abdominals
quads
glutes

How to:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Bend your elbows and bring the weights to a resting position on your shoulders, with one end set on it for stability.
Resting the dumbbells here, squat, sitting back in your hips.
Push up through your heels to return to starting position.

Choose a goal, start at an appropriate level, and watch your results come.

Remember, making it to the advanced movements doesn’t mean you can’t revisit the beginner routine. These 15 free-weight exercises are beneficial no matter how advanced your fitness level.

Nicole Davis is a writer based in Madison, WI, a personal trainer, and a group fitness instructor whose goal is to help women live stronger, healthier, happier lives. When she’s not working out with her husband or chasing around her young daughter, she’s watching crime TV shows or making sourdough bread from scratch. Find her on Instagram for fitness tidbits, #momlife, and more.

Free Weight Workout Plan for Strength

Best Free Weight Workout Plan for Strength
How to organize meals during training
How to train
First practice: pushing
Second workout: deadlift
Third workout: rotation

Best Free Weight Training Plan for Strength Building

This workout plan will help you learn three movement patterns to effectively develop strength and build muscle.

You don’t have to use free weight training to build muscle and lose weight. But if you do them correctly, dumbbells, kettlebells and a barbell will definitely help you achieve the desired result. However, everything must be done correctly. It’s easy to overestimate your ability when choosing weights for training, it’s better to train correctly with lighter weights or even no weights at all than to lift weights that you are not ready for.

The workout plan below is a great way to manage free weight. You will work with barbells as well as dumbbells and kettlebells to challenge every muscle in your body. The complex includes basic complex exercises such as squats, lunges and deadlifts. In addition, exercises allow you to work out certain muscle groups very effectively, such as, for example, biceps.

For four weeks, you will focus on the correct execution of movements, and not on certain muscle groups during training. The first workout is built around pushing exercises with a load on the chest, shoulders and triceps. The second workout is strength exercises with a load on the back, hamstrings and biceps. In the final workout, all exercises involve twisting and twisting resistance movements.

By exercising, you will build strength, becoming not only stronger, but also leaner. This will benefit you in your daily life as well as improve your performance in the gym.

How to organize nutrition during training

Whether you’re using dumbbells, barbells, any type of machine, or none at all, your workouts need to be effective. And for this you need to support your efforts with proper nutrition. This is especially true if you want to get leaner, because losing weight and building muscle requires a certain amount of dietary discipline.

Include at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day in your menu – this is the absolute minimum. And the more vegetables and fruits, the better. Also, try to add at least 30 grams of fiber to your diet daily. Opt for foods rich in carbohydrates.

Protein is also important because it’s the fuel your muscles need to recover from hard workouts. If you are going to exercise regularly, your diet should include 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Consuming about 20 grams of protein immediately after a workout is another good habit.

All the necessary proteins are in ordinary food. It is necessary to correctly compose a diet from ordinary dishes, since in addition to proteins they contain many other vital nutrients. However, you can use special supplements to make progress faster.

How to train

Follow exactly the instructions for movement technique, reps, and rest periods for each movement to get the most out of your workout. Do each workout once a week for four weeks, aiming to increase the number of lifts each week. Memorize the number of repetitions in each workout and track your progress.

How to warm up before training

When you’re lifting heavy free weights, it’s important to warm up before starting your workout. You will not only reduce the risk of injury, but also prepare your body for stress. You don’t have to overcome instant fatigue while your body is drawn into the dynamics of the activity.

The warm-up should not take more than 5-10 minutes, but its implementation should be associated with a set of exercises that you are preparing to perform. There is no point in just jumping on the treadmill and then assuming that you are ready to lift heavy weight.

Start with dynamic stretching to get your muscles warm before moving on to strength training. The easiest way to do this is to perform a cycle of movements that exactly repeat future exercises, but do these movements with very light weight or no weight at all. So you will be sure that you are kneading exactly the muscles that you are going to work out.

Shorten your warm-up time before lifting very heavy weights. Remember that you’re just trying to get your muscles to work, not exhaust yourself before you start your workout.

First training: pushing

1 exercise. Bench press with dumbbells

Sets – 3, reps – 10, rest between sets – 60 seconds.

Target

The week of training begins with this exercise. You start with dumbbell bench presses because it’s easier than barbell exercises and better for warming up your shoulders. First you need to do exercises that stabilize the joints.

How to do

Lie down on a weight bench. Place your feet on the floor, bend them at the knee at a right angle. Hold the dumbbells over your chest. Lower the dumbbells to your chest, and then firmly plant your feet on the floor and forcefully lift the dumbbells up to the starting position.

2 exercise. Incline Bench Press

Sets – 4, reps – 6, rest between sets – 60-90 seconds.

Target

The incline version of the exercise allows you to focus on other muscles. In this case, the front muscles of the shoulders are worked out a little better than on a horizontal bench. You may very well not be able to lift the same weight as in the previous case.

How to do

We lie down on a power bench set at an angle of 45 degrees, hold the barbell above the chest, arms slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Lower the barbell until it touches your chest, then push up again.

3 exercise. Barbell Squat

Sets – 5, lifts – 5, rest between sets – 90 seconds

Target

The movement of the legs here takes on all the load, since the entire upper body muscles are involved in control and balance. This is a really useful, functional exercise, so if your abilities allow, make it the cornerstone of your entire training program.

How to do

Place the barbell on your forearms with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes slightly forward. Keep your back straight, looking at a point on the floor about two meters in front of you, then lower yourself down as if you were sitting in a chair. Lower yourself until the thigh line begins to drop below the knee. When lifting the bar, transfer your weight to your heels.

4 exercise. Upper Press

Sets – 4, reps – 6-8, rest between sets – 60 seconds

Target

Lifting a heavy weight over your head stimulates the shoulder joints, as well as training overall strength and abdominal muscles. During the exercise, all these muscle groups are contracted to stabilize your spine.

How to do

Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the barbell on your upper chest with your arms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Tighten your abs, glutes, and quads as you lift the bar straight up. Pause at the top, then lower.

5 Diamond press-up

Sets – 4, reps – 6, rest between sets – 60-90 seconds

Target

This exercise is quite difficult. Joining the arms in a diamond shape will concentrate the load on the triceps. Don’t be surprised if you can’t complete the planned number of reps at first. If you are a beginner, just focus on keeping fit.

How to do

Take a prone position with your hands close together so that your thumbs and forefingers are touching. Keeping your body parallel to the floor, lower yourself until your chest almost touches the floor, and then rise up.

Second workout: deadlift

1 exercise. Deadlift with snatch grip

Sets – 3, reps – 10, rest between sets – 60 seconds

Target

Any form of deadlift is a great exercise for all the muscles in the back of the body. We chose the snatch grip version because the wider grip allows for lighter weight, so you don’t have to expend too much energy at the start of your workout. The second and third sets are quite tiring, so save the main energy for them.

How to do

Hold the bar with your hands wide (about 2 shoulder widths). Rest on your heels and keep your chest high as you lift your hips to lift the barbell.

2 exercise. Romanian deadlift

Sets – 5, reps – 5, rest between sets – 60-90 seconds

Target

Like the previous exercise, this develops your glutes and hamstrings. Movements develop the entire hip area, which subsequently has a positive effect on health and well-being.

How to do

Stand up to your full height with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the bar with your hands at hip level. With your knees slightly bent, lean forward and lower the barbell down along your shins until you feel a good stretch in your hamstrings. Push your hips forward to raise the barbell to the starting position.

3 exercise. Tilt rod with deflection

Sets – 5, reps – 5, rest between sets 60-90 seconds

Target

This exercise is one of the best for training back muscles. Having a strong back will improve your posture, allowing you to safely lift heavy loads and also reduce the chance of injury.

How to do

Hold the barbell with a shoulder-width grip with your knees slightly bent. Bend at the hips until your torso is at about a 45 degree angle to the floor. Pull the bar up until it touches your chest, then lower it gently. Try not to move your back, lift the weight with your hands.

4 exercise. Biceps Curl

Sets – 3, reps – 10, rest between sets 60-90 seconds

Target

You have done a very worthy job. Now it’s time for the high point. Resist the temptation to train with heavy weights. Choose a weight that allows you to complete your reps at a slow, steady pace. And your T-shirt will definitely become small for you soon.

How to do

Stand up to your full height, roll your shoulders back and place your feet close together. Hold a pair of dumbbells with your palms facing you, and keep your hands slightly away from your hips. Keeping your elbows at your sides, pull the dumbbells up to your chest, stopping just before your forearms reach a vertical position. Lower your arms without relaxing to return to the starting position.

Third workout: rotation

1 exercise. Kettlebell Walking Lunge

Sets – 3, reps – 10 on each side, rest between sets – 60 seconds

Target

Lunges are a great technique, and this version of the lunge is useful because it improves coordination and stability. You spend a significant amount of time on your feet, so your body must overcome the forces that throw you off balance.

How to do

Stand up straight and take the weights in your hands so that there is enough space in front of you. Take a big step forward and bend both knees at the same time until your back knee is directly above the floor. Make sure your front shin is parallel to the floor. Push off with your front foot to straighten up, and then step forward with your other foot. Continue alternating throughout the entire set.

2 exercise. Windmill

Sets – 2, reps – 8 on each side, rest between sets – 60-90 seconds

Target

This impressive exercise is one of the most effective abs workouts out there. It also helps train hamstring flexibility and shoulder stability. It is important to concentrate on the movements during each part of the exercise. This is a difficult technical step, but if you persist and put in the effort, you will be rewarded.

How to do

Raise the kettlebell above your head, then tilt your torso forward and to the side so that your free arm moves down your leg. Keep your arm and back straight at all times. Look up at the bottom of the movement to make sure the kettlebell is directly above your head. Move back in the same way to return to the top position.

3 exercise. Russian turn

Sets – 3, reps – 10 on each side, rest between sets – 60 seconds

Target

This is a much easier ab exercise than the windmill, which is why we introduce it into the workout when fatigue has already set in. The key to proper execution is a slow, focused movement with a focus on tension on the abdominals.

How to do

Sit on the floor with your back at a 45° angle to the floor and bend your knees. Hold the kettlebell with both hands and then turn the kettlebell to the side. Return the kettlebell back to its original position, and then turn it the other way. Then return the kettlebell to the middle again to complete the first rep. Once you can do reps with relative ease, lift your heels a few inches off the floor to increase the pressure on your abs.

4 exercise. Turkish rise

Sets – 3, reps – 5 on each side, rest between sets – 60 seconds

Target

This is not the most popular exercise, but it has a number of advantages. Each rep includes about 20 seconds of continuous work, which makes your heart beat faster. It increases strength, improves coordination and proprioception (a sense of the position of one’s own body parts relative to each other and in space).

How to do

Lie on your back with a kettlebell in one hand. Start lifting the weight up, helping yourself up with the opposite hand. To continue lifting, place your foot on the floor on the same side as the kettlebell. The foot on the floor will be the supporting one as long as you lift the other leg under you to straighten to your full height. Raise the kettlebell over your head. Repeat all movements in reverse order to return to the floor.

Source: coachmag.co. uk

March 22, 2023

The Best Free Weight Training Plan for Building Strength
How to organize meals during training
How to train
First practice: pushing
Second workout: deadlift
Third workout: rotation

Best Free Weight Workout Plan for Strength Building

This workout plan will help you learn three movement patterns to effectively develop strength and build muscle.

By exercising, you will build strength, becoming not only stronger, but also leaner. This will benefit you in your daily life as well as improve your performance in the gym.