The Best Weight Training Exercises for Beginners

Weight training is an important way to stimulate muscle growth, burn calories, and increase your overall strength. Explore the best weight training exercises for beginners so you can make the most of every workout.

Squats

Squats are a great way to build overall strength and muscle mass, whether you’re a beginner or expert in the gym. Squats are ideal for building lower body and leg strength since they are a compound exercise, with the movements engaging multiple muscles and joints at once. You’re required to use your core to successfully perform a squat, so you also improve the strength of your torso and upper body.

You can use either a barbell or two dumbbells to perform a squat. If using dumbbells, you’ll hold one weight in each hand as you bend your lower body. Alternatively, a barbell can be placed on top of your shoulders to add extra weight as you bend. Keep in mind you’ll want to lift the proper amount of weight and with the correct form to avoid injury.

Chest Presses

Another one of the best weight training exercises for beginners is a chest press. A chest press targets your chest, arms, and shoulders. When you’re performing a chest press, you’re engaging the pectorals, the main muscle of the chest. Increasing chest support is helpful both inside and outside the gym. If your daily activities require you to push or carry heavy objects, strong pectorals are highly beneficial. Plus, any type of sport that involves swinging, such as baseball, tennis, or golf, is easier if you have a defined chest.

Like squats, a chest press can be performed with either dumbbells or a barbell. If you choose to use a barbell, you’ll lay flat on a bench and use your core to push the weights up and down. When you’ve completed the desired number of reps, you’ll place the barbell back on the rack. With dumbbells, you’ll also lay flat on a bench, but you’ll raise and lower a free weight in each hand.

Lat Pulldowns

A pull-up is a great way to build back muscles, but most beginners are unable to pull themselves up. Thus, the lat pulldown machine is a good starting point to build back and shoulder strength. Lat pulldown machines are available in almost any gym. The machine has adjustable resistance, so you can find the ideal weight for your abilities.

The lat machine requires you to sit with your upper thighs under a pad. While sitting, you pull down on the hanging bar until it’s level with your chin. Once the bar is pulled down, release it with control. After enough repetitions, you’ll begin to see defined back muscles, especially the latissimus dorsi. As mentioned before, the cable pulley machine has a series of weights attached to it, so you can slowly increase the resistance as you build muscle mass.

These simple exercises are a great way to tone your muscles and increase your overall strength. If you’re heading to the gym, keep all your gear neatly organized in one of WOLFpak’s medium backpacks. Our functional bags are big enough to carry all your workout essentials in style. Find your favorite design or color when you visit our online shop today!