Recently, weight lifting has gained immense popularity among women, and for good reason.
Weightlifting is an effective way to build strength, boost confidence, and transform your body.
Unfortunately, as good as weight lifting is, not everyone has access to a gym or the time to make it there regularly.
However, this doesn’t have to stop you from starting a weightlifting routine.
In fact, you can actually start weightlifting at home.
In this post, I want to talk about all the steps you can take to create a simple and effective, at home weight lifting routine.
In this post you’ll find:
The best tips you need to start an at-home weightlifting routine
1. Define your goals to create an effective workout plan
The first step to starting any new workout routine is to define your goals. Ask yourself what do you want from this new routine?
Are you looking to build strength? Gain muscle and lose stubborn fat? Tone your muscles? Lose some weight? Or maybe increase your endurance?
Whatever it may be that you’re looking to achieve, it’ll be best to decide beforehand so that you can use your goals to shape your routine.
2. Choose your at-home weightlifting equipment
This part of the process can be difficult for some people, especially if you have no gym equipment at all.
But, the great news is you don’t need a fancy home gym to get started with weightlifting.
So don’t let this step hold you back!
If you have a strong enough desire to lift, you can start an effective weightlifting routine, no matter equipment you have at home.
Get creative! Anything that’s accessible to you and heavy enough can be used to build muscle.
For example, things like dumbbells, resistance bands, or even household items will do.
Really anything you can find that adds resistance can be used to build muscle.
As a result, anything that adds resistance can be used as weightlifting equipment.
3. Plan your at-home workouts
The most effective way to have a plan for your workouts is to create a workout split.
A workout split, or gym split, is basically what days you do what at the gym. Essentially, all it is is a workout schedule.
When creating your workout schedule, you’ll want to make a well rounded routine that directly reflects your goals.
Additionally, you’ll want to incorporate different exercises to target different muscle groups.
The most effective way to do this is to break your routine into a weakly schedule, where you target different muscle groups on different days.
Here’s an example of a super simple workout schedule for beginners:
1. Monday: Upper body
2. Wednesday: Lower body
3. Friday: Full body
I’d recommend doing something simple like this when you’re getting started.
Starting out with a simple routine is a great way to avoid overcomplicating things and just get yourself working out.
Then, over time, as you gain more experience and even find inspiration in others’ gym routines, you can create a more customized routine for yourself.
4. Add a warm-up and cool down to your home workout routine
Warming up and cooling down are crucial, yet often overlooked, parts of any workout routine.
Especially in a weightlifting routine, where you regularly push your muscles towards growth.
For example, as soon as you start weight training, you’ll notice how sore your muscles are going to be after almost every workout.
This is especially true at the beginning, when your muscles aren’t used to working out.
The best way to combat this as well as prevent injuries from working out is by adding a warm up and cool down to your routine.
And, since you’re starting an at-home weightlifting routine, these shouldn’t be too hard for you to incorporate.
Something as simple as a five to ten minute walk or stretch can be a simple and effective warm-up or cool down.
For warm-ups, you’ll want to get your blood moving so something like light cardio or dynamic stretches would be great.
Whereas after your workout for your cool down, you’ll want to either do some light cardio again or do some static stretching to improve your flexibility, speed up the healing process, and decrease soreness.
5. Prioritize proper form for effective at-home lifts
The importance of good form when working out is tremendous.
The more you get into the gym, the more you’ll here the phrase “form over weight”.
This basically means prioritizing good form is far more important than lifting heavy weight.
And this is 100% true. No matter how much weight you’re lifting, if your form is incorrect, then it’s basically pointless!
That’s because lifting with bad form causes you to dramatically decrease the effectiveness of the exercise you’re doing, while also increasing your risk for injuries.
By training with proper form, you allow yourself to get the most out of every exercise and maximize your progress.
As well as decrease your risk of workout related injuries, since most weightlifting injuries come from bad form and ego lifting.
So yes, good form in the gym is super important!
If you don’t know how to correctly perform an exercise, then don’t hesitate to ask someone or even hop on YouTube!
Remember, there’s never any shame in needing help knowing how to perform an exercise or do something in the gym.
6. Incorporate progressive overload to keep your home workouts intense!
As you get stronger, you’ll want to do something known as progressive overload.
Progressive overload means you’ll want to either be continually increasing the weight on your lifts, or continually increasing the number of reps.
Doing this allows you to continually increase the intensity of your workouts.
This keeps your workouts challenging and fresh for your muscles. A great formula for growth!
Additionally, you might want to try including some variety into your routine.
Doing multiple different exercises for one muscle group is a great way to add variety into your workout routine.
Adding a different exercises to your routine will help you train and build many different muscle groups and parts of these muscle groups.
Doing this will help you avoid muscle imbalances, create well rounded muscles, and make the most workout progress.
7. Incorporate rest and recovery into your strength training routine
Rest is extremely important for woman who weight train. Rest is when your body recovers and your muscles grow.
Because of this, it’s extremely important to add into your gym routine.
I like to add two rest days to my workout routine. That means I’m lifting heavy for five days and taking at least two days off, sometimes more if my body needs it.
Generally, it’s most effective to incorporate about one to three rest days a week into your weightlifting routine.
More or less usually depending on how intensely you train and how quickly your body recovers.
You want to give each muscle group at least 48 hours before training it again and you should never train a muscle group if it’s still sore.
That’s why it’s extremely important to listen to your body.
If you’re feeling extra fatigued or sore, then don’t be shy to take some extra rest days.
By doing this, you’ll give your body any additional time it needs to fully rest and recover.
Then, by your next workout, you’ll feel much better and be much stronger than if you just tried to push through.
8. Stay consistent in your at home strength-training routine
Consistency really is key when it comes to lifting weights.
Most of the benefits of weightlifting for women are slow processes that take time.
That’s mainly why weightlifting gets better the more you do it.
Additionally, that’s also why it’ll be critical for you to learn how to be patient with your gym progress.
By being patient, you help yourself stay motivated and consistent in your routine long enough to actually see significant progress.
The best thing you can do is fall in love with the process.
Fall in love with working out everyday, and seeing your progress over time, even when it feels slow.
9. Track your at-home weightlifting progress
When progress is slow and you see yourself everyday (which makes it even harder for you to see progress) it can start to feel like you really aren’t getting anywhere.
But, by finding a way to keep track of your progress, it helps you see your progress flat out in front of you.
One of the best ways to track your weightlifting progress is by taking progress pictures.
This allows you to see the changes and make side-by-side comparisons.
There are other ways to keep track of your progress, and they all can be just as effective at keeping you motivated!
What you can do now
As a woman, creating an at-home lifting routine is not only achievable but also extremely rewarding.
It’s the first step you can take to kickstart your weight lifting journey and eventually will help you be more comfortable in the gym.
With the right equipment, planning, and dedication, you can reap all of the benefits of weightlifting from the comfort of your own home!
More of my posts on women’s weightlifting:
How to start actually feeling glute exercises in your glutes
The benefits of regular physical activity for your body
5 Tips you need to transform your confidence in the gym
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