Workout Plans for Beginner - Simple & Effective Routines to Get Started!
Jumpstart your fitness journey with our beginner workouts designed for all fitness levels. These structured routines focus on fundamental exercises, proper form, and gradual progress to help you build strength and confidence.
Top 10 Beginner Workouts
Beginner Yoga Poses
Yoga is a form of exercise that uses slow movements and stretching to increase flexibility, balance and is even good for relieving stress and relaxing. These are a standard set of beginner yoga poses for those interested in trying this form of meditation and stretching by helping you get adjusted and used performing yoga without over-stretching and stressing the muscles. There are no set days to which these poses or routine can be performed, they can be done at any time or whenever you might want to try yoga. This lasts for around 30 - 45 minutes with the set of poses in this routine.
Kettlebell Beginner Workout
This is a beginner kettlebell routine for those who are just starting to use kettlebells and looking to build muscle using this unique tool for weight lifting. Kettlebells are a popular tool used in exercise to help burn fat, build muscle, increase heart rate and perform high intensity cardio in a short workout. In this routine you will be performing 6 various exercises that are used to target each muscle group and help build muscle. Each exercise consists of 3 sets with 12 reps for each sets. *** Notes: It is important to warm up before performing any kettlebell workout. Make sure you understand the weight you are using as you can possible injure yourself while working with kettlebells in an incorrect manor and higher weight.
Sculpting Your Abs (Beginner Level)
This is the 1st, or beginner level, installment of our 3 part program to get you the ripped and shredded abs that you have always wanted. Why This Routine Works This abs routine is extremely effective as it hits your abdominal muscles from 3 different angles to tighten and strengthen your core. As this is a beginner level abs routine, it is designed for those who are just getting into ab workouts, want to try starter abdominal exercises and take that first step to a leaner and more defined midsection. This part will help strengthen and stabilize your core to get prepared for other stages. Since you are performing this routine for 7-days a week, you will want to even split your workout days accordingly so that you are allowing your body needed time for recover and preparation for the next time you perform that workout day. With this program you will workout 7 days out of the week with 2 days designated for strength training ab exercises, 3 days for circuits and 4 days for cardio training. Since this is a beginner routine, it is important to keep the repetition range between 12 - 15 repetitions so that you can strengthen your muscles and test your endurance with these workouts. Once you feel confident in your ability and how you are doing the workout, then increase the amount of reps. On cardio only days, you will want to do a cardio exercise of your choice with moderate to intense speed for 30 minutes. Once time is up, you will want to do a cool-down with a slower paced cardio exercise. You aren't limited to running as your cardio of choice, you may do any cardio that you see fit and can get 30 minutes worth of exercise in. Sculpting Your Abs - Beginner Level Training Stats Monday Total Workout Time : 18 Minutes, Total Rest Time : 13.5 Minutes Tuesday Total Workout Time : 15 Minutes, Total Rest Time : 3 Minutes Wednesday Total Workout Time : 18 Minutes, Total Rest Time : 13.5 Minutes Thursday Total Workout Time : 40 Minutes Friday Total Workout Time : 15 Minutes, Total Rest Time : 3 Minutes Saturday Total Workout Time : 18 Minutes, Total Rest Time : 13.5 Minutes Sunday Total Workout Time : 40 Minutes Nutrition With any cutting and abdominal routine you will want to keep your protein intake high, a 2 to 1 ratio compared to carbohydrates as well as minimizing fat intake. Keep any and all carbohydrates to your morning meals as at night you are more sedentary and carbs eaten at night will be stored as fat rather than being burned as energy. Protein - Egg Whites, Lean Chicken, Lean Beef, Protein Shakes, Cottage Cheese, Greek Yogurt, Lean Ground Turkey, Peanut Butter Carbs - Sweet Potatoes, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Beans (Black or Kidney), Oatmeal, Whole Wheat Toast, Of course you cannot forget your fruits and vegetables for a balance of nutrients, antioxidants and fiber. As with any diet that is gear towards putting on clean muscle and size, you will want to eat a clean and healthy diet. Stay away from any snack foods, chips, sweets, or anything that will put on excess fat, carbs or sugars into your diet. This will be detrimental to your gains and goals of muscle building. Notes As to any cutting routine, diet is KEY. You need to eat a healthy, clean and strict diet to maintain proper calorie intake to stimulate the fat loss you are looking for. Heavy carbs and processed foods should be stayed away from at all costs while trying to lose weight. You can have a carb heavy meal once a week to help spark an increase in metabolic rate. Drink plenty of water while performing this routine as drinking water helps keep up your metabolism and hydrate your body/muscles.
5x5 (Beginner 2-Day)
The 5x5 workout style is centered around 1 thing: 5 sets of 5 repetitions. The workout focuses on heavy compound lifts 3 times a week to promote muscle and strength growth. Who is this workout plan for? This program is built for improving strength of your core lifts and building a foundation for strength training. If you're already quite experienced and have a specific fitness goal that is more towards physical appearance, fat loss or cardiovascular capacity there could be a better workout in our database. Progression between weeks Depending on how progressed you are in your strength training you may need to increase the weight in the core lifts from week to week. We recommend you increase the weight by 5 to 10 lbs. each week if during the previous week you were able to comfortably complete all the reps for an exercise. Warming Up Especially for compound lifts we recommend warming up with lighter weights before your working sets. A common warmup scheme is 10-15 sets with a very light weight, followed by intermediate sets until you do 1 rep of your working weight. Reps, Sets and Rest There are many different rep schemes that'll help you reach your goals. We've set 3 sets of 8 reps by default, but feel free to change it to your own liking. Getting Help If you need some help getting started, join our Jefit Facebook community and our existing community would be happy to help! Stay Strong with 5x5, MICHAEL WOOD, CSCS Jefit Team
Beginner Weight Training (Phase #1)
This is an 8-week, beginner strength training program. It is designed to work all your major muscle groups, three times a week. Workout sessions should take 30-45 minutes depending on training experience. There is a follow-up routine, phase 2, to this program which is basically the same plan with a higher volume (sets x repetitions) for each session. Build a strong base (or foundation) with this plan and progress from here. Again, this program should be performed 3x/week for 8-weeks (24 workouts) before moving to phase 2. Stay Strong, MICHAEL WOOD, CSCS Jefit Team
Beginner Full Body Challenge
This is a 2-day audio-based coaching workout. You can expect to hear audio cues like you would hear if you were working with a personal trainer. Remember to turn "on" you Audio Cue button at the bottom of the page. The majority of the exercises use a dumbbell. Each workout session also includes some stretching and ab work. At the end of each session you will be asked to do an "ab burner". **Make sure your "Audio Cue" button is switched ON. It will be Highlighted Blue, when it is (lower right side). ** Have Fun, MICHAEL WOOD, CSCS Jefit Team
Build Muscle Program (Beginner)
This is an beginner-level muscle building routine that involves four days of training each week for 8 weeks. You will have the opportunity to work your upper and lower body twice per week. This is plenty of training - as long as your nutrition is where it needs to be - to add muscle mass. Speaking of nutrition, adequate protein intake is really important for the next 8-weeks. Your goal is about 150 grams of protein each day. Work on getting 25-30 grams/protein for all meals and snacks to ensure you reach that level. Day 1: Upper Body Day 2: Lower Body Day 3: Upper Body Day 4: Lower Body In regard to the length of your workouts, upper body workout sessions should take about 60-75 minutes while lower body workouts should take about 50-55 minutes. Stay Strong Together, MICHAEL WOOD, CSCS Jefit
3-Day Split: Beginner
This is a 3-day split geared towards beginner weightlifters. Your workout days are M/Wed/Fri and you will use the following training format. Each session is about an hour long. Monday: Push day/Chest, Shoulders and Triceps Wednesday: Pull day/Back and Biceps Friday: Legs/Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, Calves and Core Stay Strong Together, MICHAEL WOOD, CSCS Jefit
Beginner Back Routine
The back is a major muscle which provides stability to the entire body and is an important muscle to build and strengthen which will also help you perform other exercises. This routine is for those who are just getting into their workouts and weight lifting. It helps individuals build muscle, size in their back, and strength. The exercises selected are great choices for individuals who are just starting to work out their back, such exercises such as the lat-pull downs work the little muscles in the back along with other muscles to help build strength. For this workout, it is performed once a week to provide for proper amount of recovery for the muscles especially for beginners who are just getting into their routines. *** Notes 1.) Before beginning your first set of the workout, you should performed 1 - 2 warmup sets to loosen up and prepare your muscles for the rest of the routine. 2.) For those who feel comfortable, you can substitute major muscle building back exercises such as pull-ups, chin-ups, deadlifts, etc... to increase muscle growth and strength. (This will lead into more advanced back routines and workouts)
Workout Tips & Advice to
Elevate Your Fitness Journey
Beginner workout routines are designed for new gym-goers who have little to no experience in structuring their own workouts. These routines help you build a solid training foundation, establish good habits, and gradually improve your endurance. Whether your goal is cutting, bulking, or enhancing overall fitness, a well-structured beginner routine can help you achieve results efficiently.
If you're just starting out, it's recommended to begin with either full-body workouts or split routines. You can use The Ultimate Beginner’s Weekly Exercise Plan as a reference. Download the Jefit app to build a personalized workout routine based on your schedule and fitness level.
Not sure how much weight to start with? Here’s a good rule: pick something that lets you complete 8-12 reps with good form. If you’re breezing through, it’s too light. If you’re struggling by rep five, it’s too heavy. You want to feel challenged on those last few reps but not completely wiped out. Want a more detailed guide? Check out How to Choose How to Choose Initial Weight for Beginner Strength Training.
If you’re just getting started, 3-4 workouts per week is a solid plan. That way, you’re making progress without overloading your body. Ideally, mix resistance training and cardio to keep things balanced. Want to make the most of your gym time? Training Tips for Beginners has everything you need to get started.
Tracking your workouts is the best way to stay on top of your progress. With JEFIT, you can log your weights, reps, and workout duration to see how you're improving over time. Plus, you’ll get insights to help optimize your routine—including your 1RM (one-rep max) and exercise recommendations. The more you log, the smarter Jefit gets at tailoring your workouts.