In the ocean of training equipment and different training trends it is pretty hard to find the best gym equipment for beginners. People are bombarded with advertisements that offer instant success and instant results. When it comes to the gym, there are no instant results. You should be aware of that before you step into the gym and start training.
Strength and conditioning are a grinding, step by step process. The very first step in that process is choosing appropriate gym equipment and learning techniques. In the further text, find out which equipment is perfect for learning techniques, beginner’s strength, and conditioning training, injury prevention training and a lot more.
#1 Kettlebells
Kettlebells are a starting point for learning techniques such as the deadlift, squat, different kind of pressing and pulling patterns. The first reason for marking them as a number one piece of equipment for beginners is their simplicity. It is a bell with handles, how hard can it be? Put a joke aside, it can be hard. Beginners should use kettlebell training as a foundation for learning patterns which they will use in further training. Simple Fitness Hub is a great resource that shares several kettlebell exercises that beginners can work on.
Hip hinge, kettlebell goblet squat, kettlebell swing is just some of the movements your future strength and conditioning workouts will benefit from. Once all techniques are on a satisfactory level, you can start with building strength, muscles, and level of condition. Kettlebell workouts for beginners are a great tool for fat loss, hypertrophy, and all-around strength development.
Unilateral training, bilateral training, beat the clock training, Tabata … you name it. All of those can be done with one or two kettlebells. Also, kettlebells are a great mobility tool. You can include different kinds of beginner’s mobility routines in your warmup-up sessions.
That will help you to feel better, build a better posture and it will prevent injuries. Even the top athletes in the NBA expert picks use kettlebells on their training routines.
#2 Barbells
In the second place, we have barbells. Gym equipment comes and goes, but barbells always stay. Why is that so? It is because they work, easy as that. They are the number 1 piece of equipment for developing strength and hypertrophy for beginners, period. 5×5 for strength and 4×8-10 for hypertrophy and you are ready to go, or not? In the very beginning, yes, but later you have very high odds to hit a plateau. Barbells are a core piece of gym equipment for beginners.
The foundation exercises such as the deadlift, bench press, squat, military press, and many others are unimaginable without them. They engage your musculature in a challenging way, and they engage it all, not just the “main” muscle working. Stabilization muscles and rotation muscles are also “under the heavy fire” if you do the movement in the right way. Those exercises are called compound exercises, and certainly, they must be included in your beginner’s barbell workout.
#3 Elastic bands
I bet you are a bit surprised with this choice. Yes, elastic bands. The main reason to put them on this list is next. As a total gym beginner, you have developed some kind of disbalance in your muscles, joints or both. Prolonged sitting, bad posture and bad habits are the main reason for that.
Lumbar lordosis, rounded shoulders, tight hips … the list is endless. The body is a machine and if one piece is not working right, expect a problem in the other place. That is a short path to injuries and chronic pain. Elastic bands come here.
They are a perfect beginner’s tool to prevent those problems. They can be used for mobility work, warm-up muscle activation routines and for a different kind of stretching for beginners. Optimizing muscle length and range of motion of your joint will help you to prevent injuries and to train smoothly. Remember that only a muscle on an optimal length can contract in the right way. A muscle that contracts in the right way is a pain-free muscle and it doesn’t cause an imbalance in surrounding joints. The final result is a pain-free body.
Time to start
Now that you have read all of those beginners’ training advice it is time for you to jump in into the world of training. It is highly recommended that you learn techniques under the eye of a professional. Once all of the basic exercise techniques have been learned, you can create your beginner workout routine.
If you include pieces of advice from this text into it, it will result in a great result, not just in terms of strength and conditioning, but also in terms of pain relief and injury prevention. All together will make you a healthier and more satisfied person.
