15 Beginner Lifting Tips

15 tips

So before I go into these 15 tips, I want you all to know that these are tips based off of my experience

of lifting and what I knew and should have known when I first started out. Others will have different

views and opinions on the tips a give or what ones I may have left out so don’t think that these are like

the 10 commandments to beginner lifters, but this will definitely get you going down the right path.

1. Wrists straight when benching or with any upward lifting motion

The reason I emphasize this is because I see a lot of beginner lifters with their wrists almost at

a 90 degree angle while doing something like bench press or dumbbell press. It’s going to put yourself

at risk and will damage your wrist joints.

2. The use of lifting belts and their purpose

This I see being used in almost all the wrong ways with the exception of the correct usage of them.

Belts are for maxing out or when you are doing three reps or less. In better reference it’s for LEGIT

heavy weight, not your 10-12 rep sets. And just as a myth bust on top of this, it’s not just there to keep

your belly button from popping out during heavy lifts. One of it’s bigger purposes is to keep a slight

arch in your lumbar spine during your lifts to help with proper form when your abdominals or spine

may not be able to take the load that your legs can. Although, it is still possible for a belly button

hernia (popping out) to happen, that is due to weak abdominal muscles. Strengthen your core and

you’ll have nothing to worry about.

3. Come in the gym with a plan

Coming into the gym without a plan on what you’re going to do is like standing in front of the

McDonald's register not knowing what you want to eat. You’re not going to make the smartest choices

because you will be in a rush to try to piece together a routine in your head as soon as you get there.

Having a plan or a program to follow BEFORE you enter those gym doors will help you keep a clear

mind and will have your mind set on what you are going to conquer that day.

4. Lifting buddies/spotters WILL increase your gains

That is almost guaranteed I believe. Throughout my beginning years of lifting I stayed at a consistent

level with my weights and size. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that a buddy and teammate

of mine offered to started lifting and training together. We started in the spring of our sophomore year

and throughout the summer to prepare for football. Throughout that time period my max bench jumped

from 135 to 195. Having another person there to push and motivate you to lift more, eat better, and

most importantly, squeeze out that extra rep in your set. One thing that we did was help reps. No

matter how tired you were, if your goal was 10 reps and you could only get out 7 or 8 alone, you are

forced to finish the set with a little help from your spotter so it’s just enough to get it up.

5. Keep a consistent schedule

This one can also go for eating as well, your body loves having a set routine throughout life.

For example, if you are normally a night lifter and you try lifting in the morning, your body won’t be

used to it and it will take some time to get into a rhythm with it. Or if you go from eating healthy 24/7

and eat a lot of junk food one day, your body will feel awful because it’s not used to trying to digest

those types of foods. So this also applies to your muscle gains and weight loss. Have a set amount of

days and rest days and stay consistent with it so your body can become accustomed to the schedule

and can start functioning and adjusting with your workouts properly.

6. Everybody starts at a different weight, don’t be discouraged

Confidence plays a huge role in fitness. Walking into the gym you need to be confident with yourself

and what you’re doing, no matter what. I know for a lot of people self-image is a big step to take, but

as soon as you cross the threshold and start saying, “This is what I have been given or gave myself to

work with, now it is time to mold me into the person I want to be.” Many lifters see weightlifting and

fitness as an art, not by how much we lift and whatnot, but by the process and knowing this lift works

this muscle in a certain way and molding our bodies into what we envision. So go into the gym as a

determined artist ready to mold your body in the way YOU want it to look. Another big thing is to be

confident in what you are lifting. Lots of people will start stacking the weight on the bar that they

usually do and see someone nearby doing the same thing with more weight and you become

discouraged. This happens to the best of us. We all want to be the strongest or at least within the

ballpark of others at the gym and sometimes that just isn’t the case. That person that is lifting all of

that weight was where you were in weight before, we all start on different levels and having a different

weight than someone else is okay. Don’t overkill your ego and grab the 35 pound dumbbells when you

really can only do 20’s properly.

7. Form is everything

Coming into the gym and lifting heavy weights is not going to be beneficial to you if you don’t have

the proper form. And especially for beginner lifters, form is going to be the biggest thing that you

should be focused on doing. The heavy weight and gains will come later down the line, but you need

to create a strong platform first. You have to think about it like a pyramid, you wouldn’t put the tip of

the pyramid at the bottom and have the biggest portion at the top, it wouldn’t be stable. Just like if you

slack on your form, you aren’t creating a sturdy base for your future fitness endeavors.

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8. It’s okay to ask for help

For me this was the hardest thing for me to do in the beginning and still is to this day because

everyone wants to be right, everyone wants to act like they know everything, but that can lead to

injury if you don’t do an exercise correctly. Most to all of the people in the gym would be more than

willing to help you out and teach you an exercise that you might not know or if you need a spot and

your gym buddy isn’t there.

9. Diversify your workouts

Diversifying your workouts is another important aspect that not many lifters take into consideration for

a while that would be something good to pick up in the early stages to where it can become natural.

Yes, if all you do bench press, you will be good at bench press and your chest will look pretty decent,

BUT you will only be dominant in that movement. If you try incline or decline bench press, or even

flyes, you won’t be able to do as much because you didn’t diversify your chest exercises. This can

also go for a program or routine. Just like hammering a nail, you can only strike it so many times

before it is flush. You wouldn’t keep hammering a nail if it’s already flush with the wood, you move

onto the next nail.

10. STRETCH

This is something that even I still need to work on as well as many others. Stretching is a very

important step in the healing and progress of your muscle gains. Not only does stretching help the

healing process of your muscles, it increases flexibility and the amount of muscle you gain after your

workouts. Also to make sure that you are stretching correctly and at the right times, there’s two

different types of stretches that you need to do. The first is a dynamic stretch, which is for before your

workout. Dynamic stretching  involves motion and moving around to warm-up and stretch your

muscles. Examples of this would be like high knees, butt kicks, lunges, etc. The second type of

stretch is a static stretch. Static stretching involves just sitting and holding. This should be done after

your workout is complete. During these stretches you are doing stretches but fairly sedentary.

11. Control the weight you are moving

We’ve all seen the lifters in the gym that bounce the weight or the bar. That’s not only hurting your

body, it’s hurting your gains as well. When you bounce the weights, you are using more momentum

than your own muscle. For example with dumbbell curls, we’ve all seen that one guy who puts his

back and hips into getting the dumbbell up rather than just his bicep. That is stress on other muscles

for a movement that should be done for another muscle. Selecting the right weight and taking your

time in bringing the weight up and controlling it on the way down will increase your gains more than

you would expect. The more you focus on controlling the weight, the more you will properly work the

correct muscle for that exercise.

12. Eating clean before starting supplements

Many beginner lifters will want to hop right on the supplement train without looking at your own diet

first. One of the reasons you’re not seeing results could be from how unhealthy your diet is. If you’re

eating chips and mainly processed food, you’re not going to get the same results as eating lean

chicken and turkey with fresh produce. If after all of that you still want more protein or enhancers, then

go for the supplements, but don’t make it be the first thing you go to.

13. Cardio is key

As much as everyone hates this word, CARDIO is going to play a big role in how you will function and

look. It’s really important to keep your conditioning strong and healthy for more overall health purposes.

Cardio is also going to be the door to the tone body you oh so crave because it will burn off those

layers of fat that are covering your muscles.

14. Start with body-weight training if you are a true beginner

If you are completely new to the fitness community and this is your first experience with fitness and

the whole gym scene, start small. Starting with body-weight training is the best way to work into it

because you can focus on form and endurance before adding other objects such as the barbell or

dumbbells. It will also help build up your hand-eye coordination before handling weights. You can

notice a beginner lifter by how unsteady he or she is lifting the weights because they went right into

the weights before establishing a base.

15. Stick through the course

This one is big. You don’t want to be one of those New-Year’s resolution lifters who is only there for

the first week MAYBE, but then gone by the next two weeks. If you want to see results, not only in

fitness but in everyday life, you need to ride out the course. Sticking with going to the gym every day

or whatever your set days and times are will create a stronger self-discipline within yourself and help

give you confidence in yourself with everything you do in and outside of the gym.

Those are my 15 beginner fitness tips that I saw as the most important to recognize. Now this isn’t

any written in stone 10 commandments because many other people will have different tips that they

would want to highlight and really it’s all based on what we experienced as we grew as lifters.