A beginner’s workout plan for using gym machines: convenient and a safe start for your gym career.
- Goal: acclimate your muscles for training at a gym
- Technical complexity: easy
- 2 – Day Split
- 2 times a week
- Workout duration: 40 – 50 minutes
The best exercises for a complete beginner are the exercises executed while using gym equipment because the equipment helps control your movements. Most of the exercises in this training program are to be done while utilizing specific gym equipment so that you can focus on controlling the speed of a movement.
The best tempo for these exercises is a “1-0-2 tempo” (1 second for pushing the weight, 0 seconds for holding the weight and 2 seconds for bringing the weight back). For instance, when doing Cable Pull Downs you should pull the weight rather at a normal speed followed by NOT letting the bar retract back up in an uncontrolled manner. Bringing the weight back up should be controlled in a way that you are able to feel the exercise in your muscles during the whole movement.
Since your goal is to familiarize your muscles to gym training, you need to develop muscle endurance. The best way to do that is with the use of light weights (about 40 % of your estimated one rep maximum), high rep sets (15-20 reps) and short (30 – 60 sec) rest periods. Muscle endurance training is also a great way to lose weight.
This is how you calculate your estimated 1 rep max>>
This workout plan is very similar to this 2-Day Split Workout Plan for Beginners, however the exercises are primarily executed using gym machines. The gym equipment that I have chosen for this workout should be found in any reasonably well-equipped gym. The machines in your gym are not necessarily exact replicas of the ones found in the example videos, but I encourage you to find the right one – or you can simply ask the instructor at your gym.
Training Day 1: Upper Body
- Lever Chest Press 3 x 15 reps
- Lever Shoulder Press 3 x 15 reps
- Cable Pushdown 2 x 20 reps
- Cable Front Pull Down 3 x 15 reps
- Cable Seated Row 2 x 15 reps
- Cable Curl 3 x 20 reps
Training Day 2: Lower Body / Core
- Leg Press 3 x 15 reps
- Lever Lying Leg Curl 2 x 20 reps
- Lever Leg Extensions 2 x 20 reps
- Back Extensions 3 x 10 – 15 reps
- Crunches 3 x 15-20 reps
- Dumbbell Side Bend 2 x 20 reps
Rest between sets: 30 – 60 seconds (at the beginning, 60 sec. is good but try to shorten the rest time as your stamina increases)
Before each exercise, do 1 – 2 brief sets as a warm-up. When warming up, use significantly lighter weights than you normally would use for your actual training.
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Training diary as an excel sheet and printable picture.
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