The fitness world is an overwhelming place at times, especially when you’re first starting on your lifting journey. Gyms are packed full of free weights, machines and equipment that looks so complex to use, even the veteran gym-goer can get mildly perplexed.
But don’t worry, you’re not lifting alone - we’re here to help. At Ryderwear HQ, we put in the brain gains to give you credible and accessible resources to achieve your goals and to live your best life.
THE BENEFITS OF LIFTING
Resistance training is how you build strength in not only your muscles, but your bones and joints too. Believe it or not, you’ll actually burn heaps of calories during a lifting session too, which in turn boosts your metabolism, especially post workout. If you dabble in a bit of sport, strength training can improve your athletic performance and reduce the likelihood of injury.
COMPOUND EXERCISES
As a lifting newbie, it’s great to start out mostly performing compound exercises. It’s also good to understand the #science and mechanics of a compound movement as it might just give you that next level edge to perfecting your technique and targeting the right muscles. A compound exercise uses multiple muscle groups at the same time in order to perform the movement. These exercises are fantastic for beginners allowing you to work more muscles in a shorter amount of time and at a heavier capacity. They can also improve your coordination and balance as well as improving joint mobility and stability.
SOME QUICK TIPS
WARM-UP
It’s crucial to warm up thoroughly before you jump into your epic sweat session, especially when performing exercises your muscles might not have used before. Options for warm-ups can include aerobic activity such as walking or jogging or even bodyweight versions of the exercises you’re about to perform.
START LIGHT
When starting, you should constantly perfect your form before you start adding weight. Therefore starting light and completing 10 - 15 reps for roughly 2 - 3 sets is a good place to start. Slowly progress to heavier weights, but ensure your form is always correct.
INCREASE WEIGHT GRADUALLY
The key to successful lifting is to gradually add more weight. When your reps and sets seem easy to complete, it’s probably time to throw on an extra plate. But don’t be fooled: remember that story about the hare and the tortoise - slow and steady wins the race. Gradually add 5 - 10% of your total weight and make sure your technique is still present throughout your reps and sets.
REST IN BETWEEN SETS
If you’re performing 10-15 reps, sixty seconds is generally a good amount of rest time to take in between sets to prevent extreme muscle fatigue throughout your workout.
STRETCH POST-WORKOUT
This is one of the most important tips of them all. Take time after your workout to invest in your stretching and recovery - it’s worth it. Stretching is crucial for keeping the muscles flexible and strong and maintaining or increasing the range of motion in the joints, and keeping you mobile and healthy. Without stretching, muscles shorten and become tight, making them weak and unable to extend in full. Therefore the chances of muscle damage, joint pains and strains increase dramatically.
BE CAREFUL
If you experience any acute pain or a lack of mobility while performing the following exercises, go back to perfecting your technique with little to no weight. Additionally, if you’re experiencing stiff ankles, immobile hips, a weak core or perhaps just general discomfort during your exercises, you probably have an incorrect movement pattern that needs some adjustment. Don’t be afraid to seek the help of a fitness professional or a friend with lifting knowledge if you are experiencing some trouble with your technique. Safety and form come before weight.
No. 1 - SQUATS (BODYWEIGHT PROGRESS TO BARBELL WITH WEIGHT)
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT
Squats hit the knee dominant range of movement. If you have never performed a squat before, a handy tip is to use a chair to squat/sit into and then stand back up to focus on the proper technique. Squats hit not only the quads but also the glutes and the core. As well as increasing strength, squats are fantastic for helping your balance, mobility, flexibility and strengthening the knee joints - all crucial for lifting weights in the first place.
HOW TO DO IT
Make sure the height of the rack is set just below your shoulders. With your hands placed in a comfortable position, duck under the bar and put it on your traps. Pull your elbows back and squeeze your shoulder blades together to create a stable platform for the barbell. Step away from the rack and set your feet up around shoulder-width apart, with your toes slightly pointing out; this is your starting position.
EXERCISE STEPS
1. Lower yourself down by bending at the knees and flexing at the hips until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor.
2. Push through the floor to bring yourself back up to the starting position.
3. Repeat for reps or time.
4. Return the bar to the rack safely.
TIPS
- Brace your core and keep your back straight throughout the movement.
- Ensure you keep your upper back braced by squeezing your shoulder blades together and pulling your elbows back.
- If you cannot get your thighs to parallel without your heels lifting off the ground, we advise not completing this exercise with a barbell on your back. Go back to body weight and work on ankle mobility.
- Squeeze your glutes on the way back up to the starting position. Twist your feet into the ground outwards to aid with this.
- Keep your knees in line with your feet throughout the movement. Try to avoid them caving inwards. -Screwing your feet into the ground will also help with this.
- You may add a band to add a little more resistance to your glutes and to help you keep your knees out in line with your feet.
- You should be spreading your weight evenly through your feet, not on your heels or on your toes.
- Think of your foot like a tripod: big toe, little toe and heel.
- Make sure your rack height is correct. When you're fatigued, the last thing you want to worry about is trying to get the bar back on the rack because it’s set too high or low.
No. 2 - DEADLIFTS (BODYWEIGHT & PROGRESS TO DUMBBELLS OR BARBELL)
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT
Deadlifts incorporate the hip dominant movement and hip hinge motion. It utilises the upper, lower back and the glutes, hamstrings, core, lats, and forearm muscles, so it’s great to hit many muscle groups. The deadlift, however, is a more complex exercise to perform and requires the correct technique to be safe and effective. The deadlift starts in a bent-over position; therefore, the risk of straining your back is much greater. In saying that, if you have suffered from a lower back injury in the past, deadlifting with the correct form can help strengthen and support those affected muscles and significantly help prevent any future back injuries.
HOW TO DO IT
Let the barbell up in front of you on the ground. Place your feet underneath the barbell and bend down to hold it in an overhand grip (with your palms facing you). Push your hips up and back, creating tension on the hamstrings. Your hips should be above your knees.
Keep your head and neck inline as you roll your shoulders back and pick up the slack of the bar, bracing through your whole body, including your lats; this is the starting position.
EXERCISE STEPS
1. Once braced, push the floor away from you as you pull the barbell up to your legs while keeping your arms straight.
2. Extend your hips and straighten your legs by engaging through your glutes, hamstrings and quads, reaching the lockout position.
3. Once the lock position has been reached, lower the bar back down your legs by hinging at the hips and then slightly bending at the knees.
4. Return the bar to the floor, reset and brace again before you begin another repetition.
TIPS
Bracing before you lift is vital for injury prevention. Take the total slack of the bar before beginning to lift.
Keep the head and neck in line with the body at all times.
Try to keep the bar as close as possible to you at all times; you should be activating your lats to do this.
The bar should remain over your midfoot for the entire lift.
No. 3 - BENT OVER ROWS 
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT
Bent over rows are excellent to incorporate into your beginner’s workout and uses a vertical pull movement. This exercise uses the middle and lower traps, posterior deltoid, teres minor and major, infraspinatus, rhomboids and lats. Indirect muscles also used include the rear deltoids, biceps, forearms, core and hamstrings & glutes - so many, right? This is great for building strength and another exercise that requires the correct technique before adding weight, so make sure you invest your time into perfecting your form.
HOW TO DO IT
With the barbell set in front of you by your feet at hip-width apart, hinge at the hips whilst keeping your back straight to pick the bar up in an overhand grip (palms facing towards you). You must stand up straight fully before getting into the starting position. From the standing position, hinge at the hips and keep your back straight until your body is slightly above parallel with the ground; this is the starting position.
EXERCISE STEPS
1. Pull the barbell up towards your sternum by drawing your elbows back.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades while pulling and at the top of the movement.
3. Lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
TIPS
- Keep your core engaged and back straight.
- Avoid looking up throughout the movement and keep your head and neck in line with the rest of your body.
- Avoid swinging your body up and down. The angle of your body should be held consistent throughout the whole movement.
No. 4 - BENCH PRESS (START DUMBBELLS & PROGRESS TO BARBELL) 
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT
Utilising the vertical push movement, this exercise targets the pectorals, deltoids, serratus anterior and biceps, all while building your upper body strength. The great thing about this exercise (and the others in this blog) is that there are plenty of variations to make it easier or more difficult depending entirely on the individual and their level of fitness or particular goals. You have seated, standing, incline, decline, neutral grip, floor press or plate loaded. An advantage to using the dumbbells is the even distribution of weight to each arm, eliminating any chance of using your stronger arm to do more than your weaker. Dumbbells also require more core activation to maintain balance throughout the exercise.
HOW TO DO IT
Set yourself up seated on the bench with one dumbbell resting on each leg. As you lie down, kick your knees up to help bring the dumbbells up to the lockout position (directly above the shoulders with elbows locked out). Brace through your body and push your feet into the ground. Pull your shoulders back and dig your shoulder blades into the bench; this is your starting position.
EXERCISE STEPS
1. Lower both dumbbells down, roughly level with your chest, in a controlled manner.
2. Once lowered, push the dumbbells back up to lockout position by squeezing through your chest and triceps.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for reps required.
TIPS
- Keep everything tight.
- Keep wrists flat, avoid bending them back.
- Elbows should be at 45 degrees to your body at the bottom of the movement.
- The position of your hands at the bottom of the movement should be a little lower on the body (in line with the sternum area) when compared to the lockout position.
No. 5 - PULL-UPS ( START WITH ASSISTED & PROGRESS TO BODYWEIGHT)
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT
The humble but challenging pull-up uses the vertical pull movement and is a fantastic and extremely difficult bodyweight exercise. The exercise relies on the lats, traps, thoracic erector spinae infraspinatus, arms and shoulder muscles. This exercise improves grip and is excellent for progressive overload options. It’s best to start this exercise hanging from the bar, on an assisted pull-up machine or with a resistance band and then progress to a complete bodyweight pull-up. Power up for an advanced version by using a weighted belt or vest.
HOW TO DO IT
Set the band up around the pull-up bar and use a bench or box to help you put one foot into the band and to reach the bar itself. Place your hands in a neutral position (palms facing each other) and step off the bench or box, taking your body weight with your arms outstretched; this is your starting position.
EXERCISE STEPS
1. Pull your elbows down by your side as you lift your body towards the bar.
2. Once your chin has reached the bar, slowly lower yourself back down in a controller manner.
3. Repeat for reps or time.
TIPS
- The tension of the band will play a significant role in making the exercise harder or easier. A band with greater tension will make it lighter or easier, whereas a band with less tension will make it harder or heavier.
- Be careful when getting out of the band. Step back on the box or bench and hold the tension with one hand as you take your foot out.
- Aim to pull your chest to the bar rather than your chin to the bar.
- Try to pull evenly through both arms.
- Keep your hips level, and don't let the band pull you to one side. Engage your core to achieve this.
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