I did my first bodyweight workout for beginners at 44 years old, after years of sidestepping the weight machines at the gym in favour of the treadmill.
I’ve always been nervous about lifting weights, very uncertain about what to do (and how to do it). But since turning 40, I’ve been flooded with advice on strength training for women going through menopause, and almost bombarded with information about how important it is to do weighted workouts during this life stage.
The thought of doing a bodyweight workout seemed almost pointless to me. I had images of women doing heavy squats and deadlifts on my social media pages. But, after an eye-opening body pump class one day, where I struggled to lift the 5kg weights over my head, I knew I had to make a change. A bodyweight workout for beginners seemed like a good first step.
While plenty of workout apps have workouts you can follow to do strength training for beginners at home, I had little clue where to begin. So, I booked a couple of sessions with a personal trainer at David Lloyd, and together we worked out a plan.
Benefits of a bodyweight workout for beginners
1. Boosts strength
While weights can help you get stronger, if you’re new to strength training like I was, a bodyweight workout can be all you need to get started. After one session with my personal trainer, I was knackered and sweaty. The following day, my muscles ached.
After a couple of weeks, I started to notice the real benefits. I could lift my shopping more easily and get up the stairs quicker. I knew I’d have to progress onto using weights soon to keep making progress, but in just a few weeks, I was surprised by how much stronger I felt.
But as well as helping out in daily life, I was assured my new and improved strength would be beneficial the closer I got to menopause. “Building muscle helps regulate blood sugar, supports heart health, and reduces the risk of age-related conditions like diabetes and dementia, which we are more susceptible to in midlife,” says Lavina Mehta, a personal trainer and the founder of Feel Good With Lavina.
2. Better sleep
I started sleeping better after about a week of doing my bodyweight workout. While I thought it could just be a placebo, Evelyn Sekajipo, a strength training coach at Ultimate Performance, says it’s a direct benefit of strength training.
“Women who train regularly have more energy, improved sleep, and better moods,” she says.
Though I went to bed feeling the aches and pains, and had to work through muscle soreness for the first couple of sessions, I woke up in the morning with more energy, and I felt excited to get back in the gym. When I was doing cardio exclusively, I often felt exhausted.
3. Better posture
One big difference between strength training and some types of exercise is the focus on form and keeping your body aligned throughout the movement. Even though I was doing the exercises without weights, I had to constantly remind myself to keep my back straight, shoulders back and down, and to look up.
When I started mirroring these instructions in my regular life, I noticed a change in my posture and less tension in my upper shoulders and neck, and as I spend a lot of my day sitting down at a laptop, this is a huge benefit.
3. Improved heart health
I always thought I had to go for a run to improve my cardiovascular fitness, but as it turns out, a bodyweight workout can be intense enough to make a difference.
Since including bodyweight workouts in my routine, I’ve noticed I’m running faster and able to navigate my way over hills more easily. My fitness has definitely improved too, which will positively affect my cardiovascular health in the long term.
A study published in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise has shown that even one session of resistance training a week, away from cardio exercise, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
4. Better mental health
Mentally, I’ve also noticed a big difference. I feel more confident in myself as I’ve got stronger, I’m holding my head higher, and taking the time to do a couple of dedicated workouts a week has helped clear my mind before the start of my day. No doubt, the added benefits of better sleep have also helped.
The only thing I need to work on is not putting myself down for not getting stronger earlier. We all start somewhere.
I did a mixture of lower- and upper-body exercises across three bodyweight workouts.
(Image credit: Minreet Kaur)
My bodyweight workout for beginners
- Session 1:
- Bodyweight hip thrust – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Standing hamstring curl (using a chair for stability) – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Hip hinge (bodyweight deadlift) – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Seated hip abduction – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Incline push-up – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Session 2:
- Squats – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Reverse Lunges – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Wallsit – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Bench dips – 3 sets of 12 reps
- 90-degree external rotation – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Session 3:
- Diamond push-up – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Side plank – Hold in position for 30 seconds, 15-second rest and then repeat 5 times in total
- Push-ups with knees on the ground – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Good morning – 3 sets of 12 reps
- Bodyweight Chest Fly – 3 sets of 12 reps
Why is a bodyweight workout so good for beginners?
A bodyweight workout is a full-body strength training session. Instead of using dumbbells, a barbell, or kettlebells, your own body weight works against you as resistance. Doing exercise like this regularly is “essential for our bones, heart, brain, metabolism, muscle mass, and helps reduce the risk of chronic illness,” says Lavina.
“It’s especially important coming up to menopause as oestrogen declines, and can help prevent osteoporosis, reducing the risk of injury, and improving joint health,” she says.
While using any extra resistance, including resistance bands, will be important for me to continue seeing changes, I found a simple bodyweight workout like this one to be the perfect introduction to resistance training.
“Strength training doesn’t have to mean lifting heavy weights in a gym. Bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups are great starting points,” says Lavina. “I’ve used tube cans, plastic bottles, and safe household objects to break the barriers of costs and make movement accessible to all in my workouts before.”
Is a 20 minute bodyweight workout enough?
If a 20-minute bodyweight workout is what you can manage, that’s a great place to start, the experts say. “For those juggling other responsibilities, the key is to start small and smart,” says Sekajipo.
Provided you’re making the workouts harder for yourself when they become easy, you’ll see changes, she says. “The trick is to be consistent and progressively challenge the body by adding reps, slowing down movements, or doing superset-style training.
“Superset-style training is where you alternate between upper and lower body movements with minimal rest. It maximises fat burning and muscle building, while keeping sessions efficient and doable.”
How often should I do a bodyweight workout as a beginner?
How often you should lift weights will depend on your personal goals, but Sekajipo says that “full-body workouts using just your bodyweight can be done at home [or at the gym] in as little as 30 to 45 minutes, two to three times a week.”
I did three sessions of my bodyweight workout per week, each one lasting about 45 minutes, before doing some cardio.
However, if you can’t manage this, studies also show that even a 5-minute workout, when done every day, can make a positive difference to long-term health. Anything is better than nothing.
An update: 4 weeks of doing a bodyweight workout
After doing a bodyweight workout for four weeks, I moved on to adding weights and more core exercises (like dead bugs and the bird dog exercise) into my workouts, with the help of my personal trainer. I’m doing the same exercises, now with more resistance.
Over the past few months, I’ve been helping redecorate my house. Before my stint in the gym, I could only spend a few minutes painting above my head before I had to bring my arm down. Recently, I’ve noticed I can paint for longer, and I was able to move the sofas, washing machine, and dishwasher myself.
Walking past me one day, my mum said with surprise: “It’s all that strength training you’ve been doing”.
While I’ve always loved running and will continue to pound the pavements and trails, I can’t recommend a simple bodyweight workout for beginners like this one enough.