Enhanced Beginner Total Body Strength Workout Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Beginners Enhanced Beginner Total Body Strength Workout Take It to the Next Level By Paige Waehner Paige Waehner Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer"; and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness." Learn about our editorial process Updated on January 03, 2021 Reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by nutrition and exercise professionals. Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Heather Black, CPT Reviewed by Heather Black, CPT Heather Black, CPT is a NASM-certified personal trainer and owner of Heather Black Fitness & Nutrition where she offers remote and in-person training and nutrition coaching. Learn about our Review Board Print This beginner total body workout is a step up from a basic total body strength workout with more exercises and heavier weights. It focuses on the major muscles in the body, including the hips, glutes, thighs, chest, back, shoulders, arms, and abs. This simple, straightforward workout is a great way to target the entire body while building lean muscle tissue and strength. Precautions: See your doctor before trying this workout if you have any injuries, illnesses, or other conditions. Equipment Needed: Various weighted dumbbells, a step or weight bench, an exercise ball, and a resistance band. Workout Format Begin with a warm-up of light cardio exercise for 5 to 10 minutes Perform each exercise for 1 set of 15 reps. If you need more of a challenge, do 2 sets of each exercise with 20 to 30 seconds of rest between sets. Use a weight for each exercise that is heavy enough that you can only complete the desired number of reps. Do this workout on one to three non-consecutive days a week, taking at least one day of rest between workouts. For best weight loss results, combine this workout with regular cardio and a healthy, low-calorie diet. 1 Squat With Dumbbell Verywell / Ben Goldstein Stand with feet wider than shoulders and hold a heavy dumbbell in both hands. Bend knees and, keeping your weight in the heels, squat until the thighs are parallel to the floor (or as low as you can). Keep abs in and make sure you keep your chest tall. Push through the heels to stand up. Repeat for 15 reps. 2 Pushups on the Ball Verywell / Ben Goldstein Kneel on the floor with the ball in front of you and roll forward on it, walking the hands out to where you can comfortably support your body with the abs in, shoulders retracted and the body in a straight line.Place the hands a bit wider than shoulders and bend the elbows to lower into a pushup.Press back to start.Repeat for 15 reps. If performing this move on a ball is too difficult, modify by doing regular pushups. How to Do a Stability Ball Push-Up: Techniques, Benefits, Variations 3 Split Squat Verywell / Ben Goldstein Stand in a split stance, with feet about 3 feet apart.Hold weights in each hand and bend the knees.Lower the back knee toward the floor, keeping the front heel down and the knee directly over the center of the foot.Keep the torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position.Repeat 15 reps on one side before switching sides. 4 Chest Presses Ben Goldstein Lie on a bench or step and begin with the weights over the chest, palms facing out.Bend the elbows and lower the arms down until the elbows are just below the chest (arms should look like goal posts).Press the weights back up without locking the elbows.Repeat for 15 reps. 5 Deadlifts Neustockimages/Getty Images Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent and hold medium-heavy weights in front of the thighs.With the back flat, shoulders back and abs in, tip from the hips and lower the weight as far as your flexibility allows.Raise up, squeezing the glutes.Repeat for 15 reps. How to Get Out of Your Deadlift Rut 6 Double Arm Dumbbell Rows Neo Vision/amanaimages/Getty Images Bend over at the waist until the torso is parallel to the floor or at a 45-degree angle, abs in and knees slightly bent. Hold the weights straight down without locking the elbows. Bend the elbows and pull the weights up until the elbows are level with the torso in a rowing motion, contracting the back. Lower and repeat for 15 reps. 7 Side Step Squats Verywell / Ben Goldstein Place a resistance band under the feet and hold onto handles with both hands. Take a wide step to the right, and lower into a squat, knees behind toes and keeping tension on the tube. Step the feet together and continue stepping to the right for 12 to 16 steps or the length of the room before switching sides. 8 Triceps Kickbacks David Foster/Blend Images/Getty Images Stand with feet hip-width apart and bend at the waist until back is parallel to floor.Pull the right elbow up next to torso.Keeping the right elbow static, extend the arm out behind you, contracting the triceps.Lower and repeat for 15 reps. Then switch sides and complete with the left arm. 9 Incline Curls on the Ball Verywell / Ben Goldstein Sit on the ball with the weights resting on the thighs and slowly walk forward until you're at an incline with the ball supporting your back. You'll have one weight in each hand with palms facing the midline of the body.Bend the elbows and bring the weights towards the shoulder without swinging the arms.Lower and repeat for 15 reps. 10 Seated Rotation for Abs Johner Images/Getty Images Sit with good posture holding a medicine ball or dumbbell in front of ​your torso, elbows slightly bent. Keeping the abs contracted, rotate the ball to the right while keeping the hips and legs facing forward. Contract abs to bring the ball back to center and then to the left. Go slowly and concentrate on rotating only at the torso. Repeat for 15 reps. 11 Crunch on the Ball Verywell / Ben Goldstein Lie with the ball under your mid/lower back and place hands behind the head or across the chest.Contract your abs to lift your torso off the ball, pulling the bottom of your ribcage down toward your hips.As you curl up, keep the ball stable.Repeat for 15 reps. 12 Bird Dog Verywell / Ben Goldstein Begin on hands and knees, hands directly under shoulders, knees under hips and back straight, abs tight.Slowly raise right arm and left leg up until level with the body, holding your balance and keeping torso tight.Lower back down and repeat with the left arm and right leg.Repeat for 15 reps. How to Do the Bird Dog Exercise: Techniques, Benefits, Variations 3 Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Heinrich KM, Patel PM, O'Neal JL, Heinrich BS. High-intensity compared to moderate-intensity training for exercise initiation, enjoyment, adherence, and intentions: an intervention study. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:789. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-789 Andersen V, Fimland MS, Kolnes MK, Saeterbakken AH. Elastic Bands in Combination With Free Weights in Strength Training: Neuromuscular Effects. J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(10):2932-40. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000950 Obert J, Pearlman M, Obert L, Chapin S. Popular Weight Loss Strategies: a Review of Four Weight Loss Techniques. Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2017;19(12):61. doi:10.1007/s11894-017-0603-8 By Paige Waehner Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer," and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness." See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles Bicep Curl Strength Exercises Using Dumbbells or Barbells Try This Total Body Home Workout With Dumbbells for Beginners 8 Simple Moves to Build Strength in Your Chest, Back, Arms, and Shoulders 8 Simple Strength-Training Moves to Work Your Whole Body Work Your Lats With These Creative Exercises 14 Full-Body Exercises With Weights to Burn Fat and Build Muscle The Best Pull Exercises for Targeting Different Areas of the Body Want to Get Started with Bands? Try This Beginner Band Workout Try This Upper Body Strength and Endurance Superset Challenge The 8 Most Effective Exercises for Your Triceps 45-Minute Back and Biceps Workout With Supersets 10 Quad Exercises For Stronger Legs Learn About Doing a Lower Body Circuit Blast to Tone Your Legs 19 Effective Cardio Exercises for a Gym-Free Workout 9 Hamstring Exercises for Stronger Legs 7 Best Hip Flexor Exercises When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept All