Beginner's Guide to Weight Lifting: Simple Exercises and Workouts to Get Strong

by Kyle Hunt

From square one to living strong―a beginner’s guide to weight lifting.

You don’t have to hire a personal trainer to learn how to lift weights the smart, safe way. The Beginner’s Guide to Weight Lifting is the perfect companion for men and women who are starting from scratch and want to begin working out at the gym or at home.

From air squats to barbell bench presses, you’ll explore beginner-friendly exercises with clear illustrations so you can perfect your form, get stronger while building muscle, and improve your cardiovascular health. The Beginner’s Guide to Weight Lifting can help you get the most out of your workout routine by sharing how to set up your home gym, safety tips, nutrition, and more. It doesn’t matter who you are, your age, or physical ability, it’s never too late to start weight lifting.

This ultimate beginner’s guide to weight lifting includes:

Get started―Learn weight lifting fundamentals like how to choose the right weight, defining gym jargon, and using proper gym etiquette.
Get training―Build muscle and stamina with 35 beginner-based exercises and a complete 4-week weight lifting routine that includes specific exercises, sets, and reps that can be modified for your skill level.
Get results (and compliments)―You’ll feel fitter and healthier, and you may even notice a firm muscle or two―plus you get well-timed encouragement when you need it.
Lift weights without the heavy lifting―all you need is the Beginner’s Guide to Weight Lifting.

Genres: Fitness, Nonfiction, Health

139 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Melissa Borsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide with weightlifting exercises and exercises that don't need weights. Pictures are accompanied with every exercise as well as the proper instructions, tips, and do's and don'ts. There is also a complete four-week weight lifting routine with three workout days per week. Highly recommend. I thank Callisto Publisher's Club for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The best way to change your life is to improve your health and fitness." This book gives advice on using weight lifting to get a healthier heart, stronger bones, better mental health, increased metabolism, and better flexibility and balance. Beginning with goal setting and information about muscle groups, this book has everything a beginner needs to begin training.

I really like that this book includes a glossary for weight lifting terms that not everyone would know. There is really good advice about warming up, cooling down, muscle groups, recovery, and nutrition.
There are tips for how to find a good gym or set up a gym at home, as well as gym etiquette rules and how to choose the right weights.
There is an entire chapter just about warming up, and then there are sections for basic exercises, as well as routines for designing your workouts for 4 weeks.

Each weight exercise has illustrations showing the proper movements, instructions that describe the right alignment, and dos and don'ts tips to stay safe while lifting. There are tips for doing the exercises at home, and advice for making the exercise a little easier or a little harder.

I'm really impressed with all the good information in this book, and the excellent organization of the chapters which make it easy to follow the steps and routines. This book is perfect for any beginner wanting to try weight lifting, or for stepping up your game if you already do weight lifting.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Callisto Media in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[lunarlibrarian]

I bought this book to beef up the physical health section in my high school library. (Which was totally non-existent when I started working here.) It's definitely a beginner friendly format, and it had all the trademarks of good readable teen non-fiction: clear and concise, good format, great organization, and helpful illustrations.

Even though I'm in CrossFit, I considered myself a beginner when I picked up this book, but I quickly learned that I'm definitely not a beginner. It should have been common sense after all those CrossFit workouts, but it can be really earth-shaking sometimes to change how you see yourself. I'm *not* a beginner (even though all my stats are beginner level 😋) because I have experience points and those matter.

It reminds me of when I looked into beginner backpacking videos, and realized that those were totally not applicable to me anymore. I was like, "why are these videos so bad now? They used to be so good!" when in reality their quality had remained consistent, but I had simply outgrown them. That was when I realized I was an experienced backpacker. Oh my god, I'm just realizing it again. Like, I was a total beginner, a hopeful, a dewey-eyed girlchild fawning over the incredible solo women backpackers out there... but now I'm *exactly* that person. That is wild. Wild! oh, haha, no pun intended. I could literally take my pack and go off into the wilderness and walk a hundred miles when I want to. Me! I'm just amazed at how much our own identity can change, without it doing a lot of changing at the same time.

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyle Hunt is a powerlifter, coach, and business entrepreneur. He discusses the absolute basics of weight lifting. For example, why bother with weight lifting at all? He lists the benefits of weight lifting on the heart, the joints, the muscles, and more. The book is not comprehensive, but it is a great introduction.

Muscle growth depends on three stages; stimulus, recovery, and adaptation. The stimulus is the workout, the recovery period is where your muscles repair themselves, and the adaptation is where you get stronger.

One problem with beginning a gym routine or weight lifting program is that other people are further on in their health journey. You may see these other people and think that you can't possibly catch up. Hunt discusses these issues along with keeping a journal. Going to the gym is not a competition.

The included nutritional information isn't comprehensive. I appreciate this because, with all the knowledge to sift through, it is easy to muddy the waters and confuse beginners. You have to focus on protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

The book discusses proper form and gym etiquette. Furthermore, it talks about limiting your time in the gym to around one hour and other useful tips. The limiting time tip refers to keeping your workouts effective.

Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Ramona Mead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not an absolute beginner to weight lifting. I'd been lifting under the guidance of a trainer, but now will be going to the gym solo. I chose this book to get a refresher on the basics and have a reference on hand for workouts, and it proved to meet my needs and then some.

I learned a couple things from this book that I hadn't learned from a trainer. Specifically, the science behind lifting and how my muscles work. This is a great guide for absolute beginners. It stresses the importance of form over everything else, which I know from experience is accurate!

The illustrations are great. The instructions are easy to understand, and provide modifications for making the exercises easier or more challenging, depending on your needs. I also like how the author stresses the importance of consulting a professional at times. He also includes a little info on other aspects of fitness, like cardio and a healthy diet.

Many thanks to the publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[SOMDReigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for the beginner, but also a great refresher. Explains the common weight lifting terms and gym equipment. A good variety of exercises for each muscle group with do’s and don’ts and tips. Part three offers you a weight lifting routines with a four-week program. A very useful guide. The book is easy to read with clear instructions and illustrations for each exercise. There are modifications to make sure the program meets you where you are in your fitness journey. There are different pieces of equipment used, helpful if going to a gym, but you may not have at home. I have very basic equipment at home and found plenty of exercises to do to start off.
Note: I’m slowly getting back to a fitness routine, as much a bad back and a torn meniscus will let me. I am forgoing the PT visits by strengthening and exercising at home (with guidance from my ortho doc). I found quite a few exercises that I can do from this book.
ARC provided by publisher

[Witch-at-Heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been weight lifting off and on for several years but not with guidance from a professional most of the time. I have had a few trainers at gyms that helped with form and techniques nothing serious or long term. I have mostly taken a few training sessions and continued to work out on my own.

The illustrations are very helpful and the instructions I feel this will be very helpful moving forward since I prefer not to spend money on regular training. I would say if your serious about persuiing body building you should get a trainer. However, this book is perfect for beginners looking for proper form and techniques.

This book has great tips and advice for nutrition and exercise routines.

I recieved this book from Calisto Publishing and Rockridge Press for an honest review.

[Karthika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is really for beginners. It has great explanation and introduction. Almost all the exercises need some equipment. Highly recommend for seriously interested people. But you need a gym membership or invest in the equipment.

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[Rosemary Evers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starting point

This is a great basic learning too in layman's terms. Very easy to read and understand how to get started safely i..weight lifting.

[Aine Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful book for breaking down different weight exercises and includes ways to make them easier or more challenging. Great resource book. Defo one I would keep my library.

[Greg Hitchcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back to the basics. Not bad, but not enough information.

[Jakob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the collection of beginner friendly exercises for different muscle groups!