Strength Training for Beginners: Your First Four Weeks at Mas Body Gym
Most people who join a gym for the first time do one of two things. They wander between machines doing a bit of everything, or they copy what the biggest person in the room is doing and hurt themselves. Neither works. Strength training is simple when someone tells you exactly what to do, so here is the four-week start I give every beginner at Mas Body Gym.
The rules before you touch a weight
Three full-body sessions a week, with a day off between each one. Every session uses the same handful of movements: a squat pattern, a hinge, a push, a pull and some direct work for the arms or core. Two working sets of each, eight to twelve repetitions, with a weight that makes the last two reps hard but not ugly. Write down what you lifted. Next time, add a little.
That is it. You do not need supersets, drop sets or a programme off the internet with forty exercises in it. You need consistency and a small increase every week.
Why we start beginners on machines
At Mas Body I start most beginners on machines rather than free weights, and it is not because machines are easier. It is because a good machine takes balance out of the equation so you can concentrate on the muscle doing the work, and it lets you train hard safely from day one. We have chosen our kit for exactly this. The Precor V-Squat lets you load the legs with your back supported. The Nautilus chest press puts the movement on a fixed path so your shoulders stay where they should. The Panatta rows teach you what pulling with your back feels like before you ever pick up a dumbbell.
The four-week plan
Weeks one and two
Session A: Precor V-Squat, Nautilus Nitro Chest Press, Panatta Low Pulley Row, Nautilus Seated Leg Curl, Ab Coaster. Session B: Panatta 45 Degree Leg Press, Panatta Power Smith at 45 degrees for an incline press, Life Fitness Lat Pulldown, Nautilus Lying Leg Curl, Nautilus Ab Crunch. Alternate A and B across your three sessions. Two sets of ten on everything, and pick a weight you could do fourteen with. The first two weeks are for learning the movements, not proving anything.
Weeks three and four
Same sessions, three sets instead of two, and the weight goes up on anything you completed comfortably. Add one arm movement to each session: the Nautilus Preacher Curl on session A and rope pushdowns on the Watson cables on session B. By the end of week four you should be able to look at your notes and see every number higher than it was on day one. That is strength training. Everything after this is the same thing for longer.
How hard should it feel?
The last two reps of each set should be a real effort with good form. If you finish a set and could have done five more, it was too light. If your form falls apart before the set ends, it was too heavy. Rest for about ninety seconds between sets. A beginner session should take forty five minutes to an hour, not two hours.
What to do on the days off
Walk. Ten thousand steps if you can manage it, and do not worry if you cannot. Rest days are when the muscle you trained actually grows, so sleep matters more than most people think. If you want to do something in the gym on an off day, a twenty minute incline walk on one of the Technogym treadmills is plenty.
Eating to support it
Strength training without enough protein is like building a wall without enough bricks. Aim for a palm-sized portion of protein at every meal, which for most people works out around 1.6 to 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight a day. If you are trying to lose fat at the same time, keep the protein up and trim calories from the carbohydrate and fat instead. If cooking is the bit that always falls apart, Macro Based Diet cooks calorie-counted, protein-labelled meals in the kitchen next door to the gym, and Mas Body members get 15% off.
When to move on
After four weeks you have two choices. Keep the plan and keep adding weight, which will work for months, or come and see me or Ashleigh and we will build the next block around what you want: more muscle, fat loss, or HYROX. Gym Only members get free training plans, so ask.
Start this week
Membership at Mas Body Gym is £34.95 a month with no contract and no joining fee, or £54.95 with unlimited classes. If you would rather have a look round first, a day pass is £7.50. Bring this article on your phone, tell whoever is on the desk that you are starting the beginner plan, and we will show you where everything is. Join online or see the membership options.
Mike Hind MBE