Do you want to start a healthy and more active lifestyle, but have no idea where to start? Try these exercises for beginners.
This 4-week beginner workout routine is specially designed to help you get moving and make it a habit to exercise regularly.
Although 8-12 weeks is the standard for an effective training program, this 4-week training plan for beginners has been shown to be effective, achieving good results such as increased strength and fat burning in a short period of time.
However, this exercise plan is only a quarter of what you need to get in shape.
Consistency, a healthy diet, and determination are also key factors in making it all work.
A good pair of training shoes and a good pair of wireless headphones will also take you far in your fitness goals.
At the end of this blog, you’ll find an example of a 4-week beginner workout routine, and be sure to add any warm-ups and stretches before and after each training day.
Before that, let me briefly explain how this beginner workout routine works:
4-week beginner workout routine
Week 1: Get used to your body
When starting an exercise routine for the first time, it’s important to take care of your whole body first.
The reason behind this is to get your body used to more complex activities, thus increasing your tolerance for more intense workouts focused on body parts later on.
In most cases, beginners are recommended to spend 3-4 days a week with full day breaks in the middle of a total body workout.
It is much better to start with free weight exercises to increase physical and cardiovascular strength.
Our sample exercises consist of basic and intermediate movements, which you can do even without any equipment or help from anything.
You will perform 2-3 sets per movement per training day throughout the week.
Week 2: Upper/Lower Body Split
In your second week of training, begin to split the focus of your training and pay attention to the upper and lower half of your body separately.
The split between the upper and lower body works perfectly for increasing strength and gaining muscle.
Each group is trained separately on their own day to ensure maximum results.
Typically, an upper body workout targets muscle groups to some extent, such as the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
Meanwhile, a lower body workout trains muscle groups like quads, hamstrings, calves, lower back, and abs.
There are a couple of ways to schedule your upper and lower body training.
But the most common and recommended for beginners is to do the classic 4-day split between upper and lower body, where you do the upper body on one day followed by the lower body the next day and then a day of rest.
Week 3: Push/Pull/Leg Part
In your third week, you will divide your training into three separate days – push day, pull day, and leg day.
Each training day you will target specific muscle groups in your body.
Push day targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Pull day works your back, traps, and biceps.
Lastly, leg day focuses on your lower body.
The push/pull/leg split is ideal if you’re pressed for time, since you’re only doing it for 3 days on particular muscle groups, and you’re almost always guaranteed to get good results in a short amount of time.
Week 4: High-Intensity Full Body Exercises
And finally, for the fourth week, you will return to the full-body division.
No new exercises will be introduced to you so you can focus your attention on the intensity of your training.
The only difference is the volume of your training, or simply the number of sets and reps you perform on an exercise.
This means that you will now do high-intensity exercises for four days.
Each movement should work with each muscle group at least once.
Example of a 4-week beginner exercise routine.
Week 1: Whole Body
Day 1 – Strength
Squats (10 reps)
Pushups (10 repetitions)
Jumps (5 per leg, 10 total)
Abdominal Crunches (5 repetitions)
Planks (25 seconds)
Do 2-3 sets for each exercise. Rest between the different series.
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Interval
Squats (10 reps)
Pushups (10 repetitions)
Stairs (30 seconds)
Jumps (5 per leg, 10 total)
Abdominal Crunches (5 repetitions)
Jumping Jacks (15 repetitions)
Planks (25 seconds)
Lunges (10 per leg, 20 total)
Do 2-3 sets for each exercise. Rest between the different series.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Cardio
Walk/Run/Jog (30 minutes)
Jumping Jacks (30 seconds )
Lunges on the Steps (30 seconds)
Knees up (30 seconds)
Do 4 sets except for Walk/Run/Run. Rest between each series.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 2: Upper/Lower Body Split
Day 1 – Upper Body
Pushups (10 repetitions)
Triceps (10 repetitions)
Inchworm (10 repetitions)
Planks (25 seconds)
Make 3 series. Rest between sets.
Day 2 – Lower Body
Squats (10 reps)
Knee raise jumps (10 reps)
Calf raises (10 repetitions)
Squat Jumps (10 reps)
Make 3 series. Rest between sets.
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Upper body
Pushups (10 repetitions)
Triceps (10 repetitions)
Inchworm (10 repetitions)
Planks (25 seconds)
The right side of the table (20 seconds)
Left-back (20 seconds)
Make 3 series. Rest between sets.
Day 5 – Lower Body
Squats (10 reps)
Knee raise jumps (10 reps)
Calf raises (10 repetitions)
Single Step Squats (10 per leg, 20 total)
Knee up (20 repetitions)
Lateral jumps (10 per leg, 20 total)
Make 3 series. Rest between sets.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 3: Push/Pull/Leg Part
Day 1 – Push
Pushups (10 repetitions)
Inchworm (10 repetitions)
Triceps (10 repetitions)
Planks (20 seconds)
Lateral plank walks (15 seconds per arm, 30 total)
Make 3 series. Rest between sets.
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Throw
Arm Circles (10 reps per direction, 20 total)
Pushups (10 repetitions)
Biceps planks (20 seconds)
Superman (10 repetitions)
Pull-ups (10 reps)
Make 3 series. Rest between sets.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Legs
Courtesy jumps (10 reps)
Lower Leg Raise (10 per leg, 20 total)
Back Leg Elevated Squats (10 per leg, 20 total)
Wall Sit (20 seconds)
Do 3 sets. Rest between games.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 4: High-Intensity Full Body Exercises
Day 1 – Strength
Squats (15 reps)
Pushups (15 repetitions)
Jumps (10 per leg, 20 total)
Abdominal Crunches (10 reps)
Planks (30 seconds)
Make 4 series. Rest between sets.
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Interval
Squats (15 reps)
Pushups (15 repetitions)
Stairs (40 seconds)
Jumps (10 per leg, 20 total)
Abdominal Crunches (10 reps)
Jumping Jacks (20 repetitions)
Planks (25 seconds)
Lunges (15 per leg, 30 total)
Make 4 series. Rest between sets.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Cardio
Walk/Run/Jog (45 minutes)
Jumping Jacks (45 segundos)
Steps (60 seconds)
High Knees (45 seconds)
Do 4 sets except for Walk/Run/Run. Rest between sets.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Strength
Squats (15 reps)
Pushups (15 repetitions)
Jumps (10 per leg, 20 total)
Abdominal Crunches (10 reps)
Planks (30 seconds)
Make 4 series. Rest between sets.
With this exercise routine for beginners, you will begin to achieve your goals.
