8 Key Weightlifting Exercises For Beginners

Whether losing weight or gaining it, weights are an excellent way of getting fit and strong simultaneously.

When I first started, I was fed up with being the ‘lanky’ one of the group. I looked like a strong gust of wind would blow me over. So, I decided to do something about it.

As the years go by, your goals will change. You will become more experienced, picking up all sorts of exercises to target specific body parts. For now, you will want to cover all bases to build up a base level of strength. This will allow your muscles time to adapt to the new circumstances and prevent injury (if you perform them correctly!)

Here is my guide for beginners:

Squats

The prospect of piling weight on your shoulders and squatting can be quite daunting, especially for the untrained leg. However, these are essential for building a base for the rest of your body to work off of.

When first starting out, you may find that the bar resting on the top of your shoulders/back of your neck may hurt. My advice would be to tough it out as, over time, you will get used to this. However, for now, you may want to use a Barbell Pad for comfort.

Use a light weight. I cannot stress this enough. Don’t go overboard or you will fail — a mistake I…