All the exercises on this page have been designed by fitness trainers and are available in the public domain. They are only meant as a guide and not to advise and the author will not be held responsible for any claims arising from their use of. The exercises are “as is” but I have added or changed the bulk of the text to make it more reader friendly.
Exercise Routines for Beginners
This is an ideal warm-up routine, especially for those who have done no, or very little, exercise for quite a considerable time, to include as part of your weight loss program.
But before you “grab the bull by the horns” and get “stuck in”, just one word
of warning: As with weight loss and losing weight, it takes time to achieve a good standard of fitness, it doesn’t happen overnight, in a week, or even a month, although it will improve slowly and safely if you persevere.
Let’s start with this very important rule: Unless you have a qualified trainer to guide you, Never Overdo The First Few Sessions. Too much to quickly will only result in muscle and joint pain or, even more seriously, result in torn ligaments and muscles or bone damage needing medical attention.
Exercises for beginners: Avoiding Fitness Pitfalls
To avoid pulled muscles, etc, never start any strenuous workout before warming up, workouts should start out smooth and easy. The following warm-up routine is designed to do one set before every workout, but doing three sets of these alone can be a pretty good workout for a beginner before going on to more advanced fitness training.
Leg Stretch
Lean over deeply on your left foot while your right leg is stretched out to your right side. Maintain balance.
Slowly, raise yourself with your left leg to a standing position.
As you stand, spread your feet wide apart.
Repeat this for ten counts.
Do steps 1 to 4 again; this time, alternate the legs’ position (left becomes right, and vice-versa).
This exercise warms up your legs, calves, and abdomen.
Leg Squat
Stand erect, chest out, with your buttocks protruding and your stomach in. Put your hands straight out in front of you. Relax.
Do squats by bending your legs to lower your body. Bend your legs until your upper legs (thighs) are parallel to the ground and you are in a squatting position. Keep your body erect as you squat.
Then raise yourself as you straighten your legs back to a standing position.
Do around five to ten squats. Inhale deeply as you go down. Exhale as you stand up.
This exercise warms up your leg muscles, calves, and the muscles in your abdomen.
Trunk Twist
Stand with your feet about three feet apart. Relax.
Place your hands behind your head with your elbows out to the sides.
Very slowly, twist your body to your right without moving your legs or feet. Try to twist to your right as far as possible. Your face and body should be facing your right side while your legs remain steady. Then hold on to this position for ten seconds.
Do the same to your left side.
This exercise warms up your legs, back muscles, and abdomen.
Arm Rotation
Stretch out your arms to your sides. Keep them level with your shoulders.
Simultaneously rotate both arms to the front. Do this twenty times for each rotation.
This exercises your shoulders, arms, and back muscles.
Arms Press
Bring your right and left palms together. Have all fingers and palms pressing each other in front of you while pointing the fingers upwards.
Simultaneously push one palm against the other as hard as you can. Keep pushing for 5 seconds. Relax. Then push again for five seconds.
Do this ten times. Exhale as you push, and inhale as you relax.
Then press both palms in front of you while having their fingers pointing in different directions one set of fingers pointing to your left, the other set to your right. If your left fingers point to the right, your left hand should be under your right hand.
Push both palms against each other, the left palm pushing upwards, the right palm pushing downwards.
Exhale as you push, and inhale as you relax. Do this ten times. Then change the positions of your palms (left over right) and do the same procedures.
This exercises your forearms, arms, shoulders, and latissimus muscles (the muscles at the sides that give your body a V shape).
Neck Push
Gently move your head to your right side while your right hand gently pushes back against it. Do this once.
Gently move your head to your left side as your left hand gently pushes back against it. Do this once.
Gently move your head backwards as your left or right hand gently pushes back against it. Do this once.
Gently bow your head to the front as your right or left hand gently pushes against your forehead. Do this once.
This exercise strengthens your neck muscles. Never do neck rotations.
Push-Up
Do slow push-ups from ten to fifteen counts.
This exercises your arms, chest, shoulders, part of your abdomen, and part of your back muscles.
Jogging
Jog in place for three minutes.
Then jog in place a lot faster for two minutes.
Then jog in place with a normal pace for another 3 minutes.
This exercise gives you a good leg and calf warm-up. This also serves as aerobics for your lungs and heart.
There you have it! A way to gain fitness without risking injury, but in the early days you will probably feel some degree of stiffness in muscles and joints. This is normal when you haven’t done any exercise for a while but they shouldn’t be so severe that they interfere with your daily routine.
If, after doing the exercises for the first time, you feel your muscles and joints are locking up and become painful, reduce the number of times you do each exercise, increasing them slowly until you can do them and still feel comfortable.
The beauty of these exercises is that, eventually, they will give you a good standard of fitness while costing you nothing but your own efforts.
As always, your medical practitioner or suitably qualified persons should always be consulted before starting on any weight loss or fitness program, as what may suit one person doesn’t necessarily suit another.