New to Working Out? Try Our 30-Day Beginner Workout Plan (2025)

One of the easiest parts of starting an exercise programis deciding to do it. Usually, something inspires you to make a change: Maybe you tried on a pair of jeans that were too tight or there's an upcoming event—a reunion, wedding, or party—where you will see people you haven't seen in a while.

Whatever it is, you'remotivated and excited, and the fantasy of a revamped you is enough to inspire you. It's the start of your exercise program that can be tricky. Here's how to harness that energy to get started and follow through, making your wellness goal a reality.

Getting Started

Planning and preparationare important when you're getting started with exercise, but to be successful, you also need momentum—and the more you can create, the easier it is to stay motivated.

The best way to build and maintain momentum is with action. While it's great toponder your weight loss and general fitness goals,focusing on your exercise commitment and finding success in the workout can help motivate you to keep at it. There's something about just doing it—before too much contemplation drains your energy.

But before you jump into your workouts, there are a few things you should do to prepare.

Get Your Doctor's Clearance

If you have any injuries, illnesses, or conditions, or are on any medications, talk to your doctor to make sure it's OK to exercise. Some medications may affect your heart rate.

It may be helpful to make an appointment with a personal trainer to guide you in using proper form for different exercises. When you are new to exercise, it can be beneficial to have someone watch your body to ensure you aren't moving incorrectly.

Prepare to Work Out

When it comes to slimming down and toning up, there are two key types of workouts: cardio, which burns calories by raising your heart rate, and strength training, which builds lean muscle that boosts metabolism, the rate at which you burn calories. Together, this pairing can produce powerful weight-loss results.

The cardio workouts included in this beginner workout plan are designed to be done on any cardio machine (e.g., treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, or rowing machine). If you prefer other activities (for instance, running, cycling, fitness videos, group fitness classes, or even battle ropes),choose another optionas a substitute.

Gather Your Workout Equipment

For thebeginner strength workouts, you'll need the following equipment:

• Exercise balls: These are some of the best tools to strengthen the abs and back and increase stability. They come in different sizes to accommodate your height. When you sit on one, there should be a 90-degree angle at your hip and knee joints.
• Exercise mat: Yoga mats are thinner and have more gripping ability to hold poses. Thicker mats are best for Pilates and abdominal exercises because they cushion the spine while lying on your back.
• Various weighted dumbbells: Some exercises require heavier weights while others need lighter weights. Try to have a range of dumbbells including a light set (3 to 5 pounds for women, 5 to 8 pounds for men), a medium set (5 to 10 pounds for women, 10 to 15 pounds for men), and a heavy set (10 to 20 pounds for women, 15 to 30 pounds for men).

Learn the Basics

When beginning basic workouts for beginners, start with a lighter weight and perform a set. Continue adding weight until the exercise feels challenging but you can do the desired number of reps with good form, which includes moving slowly enough that you're using muscle—not momentum—to lift the weight.

Record Your Measurements

This isn't a must, but tracking your progress has many benefits, especially if your goal is to lose weight. In addition to keeping you accountable to yourself and committed to achieving your goals, it makes it more likely you'll reach—and even surpass—them.

Weighing yourself and keeping an exercise journal are two ways to track your progress, but taking your measurements (chest, arms, waist, hips) will give you more information. For example, you may lose inches even if your scale weight doesn't change. In that case, monitoring your measurements every few weeks can reassure you that you are, in fact, making progress.

Beginner Workout Plan

Here is a list of workouts for beginners. Find more information below.

Beginner Cardio Workout

Choose any cardio machine, set it on a manual mode (versus pre-set programs), and findyourwarm-up pace.

For the bulk of the workout, you'll change the settings (including incline, speed, and resistance) every few minutes to work at a moderate level, ending with a cooldown. Throughout, you'll use the perceived exertion (PE) scale to gauge the intensity you're exercising from 1 to 10, to work at the suggested levels.

This 20-minute workout is designed to determine how cardio feels to your body. Change the settings to adjust to your ability.

• 5 minutes: Warm up at an easy-moderate pace (PE: 4).
• 5 minutes: Increase speed, incline, and/or resistance so you're just out of your comfort zone but still able to talk (PE: 5); this is your baseline.
• 2 minutes: Increase your speed, incline,and/or resistance until you're working harder than baseline (PE: 6).
• 3 minutes: Reduce your speed, incline, and/or resistance to baseline (PE: 5).
• 1 minute: Increase your speed, incline,and/or resistance until you're working harder than baseline (PE: 6).
• 4 minutes: Reduce speed, incline, and/or resistance back to a moderate level (PE: 4).

• Repetition (Rep): A single instance of an exercise like a dumbbell biceps curl
• Set: The number of repetitions performed sequentially, like 2 setsof 10 reps of biceps curls

Beginner Flexibility Workout

Cardio and strength training may be the cornerstones of any solid workout program, but you don't want to end your workout without stretching.

The great thing about stretching is that you don't have to spend a lot of time to get the benefits. This total-body flexibility workout, which includes eight stretches, can be done in as little as 2 minutes.

Week 1

Now that you've completed your first workout, it's time to plan your first week of your workouts for beginners.Here's an idea of how to schedule your cardio and strength-training activity.

Day 1

Perform the 20-minute cardio routine outlined above.

Day 2

For this basic strength-training workout, you'll do 1 set of 15 reps of each of the nine exercises listed below, resting briefly between exercises as needed.

This beginner workout plan targets all muscles in your body, including your chest, shoulders, arms, back, hips, glutes, and thighs. It's short and simple—a great way for beginners to get started with strength training.

• Assisted lunges
• Modified pushups
• Ball squats
• Overhead presses
• Dumbbell rows
• Biceps curls
• Triceps extensions
• Crunches on the ball
• Back extensions

Day 3

Today you'll do the same20-minute cardio routine as Day 1, followed by 10 lower-body stretches included in this lower-body stretching workout.

Day 4

For today's beginner workout, go through the following eight yoga poses, holding each for 3 to 5 breaths. Do the workout anytime you like—it will refresh you in the morning and help you unwind before bed.

Take your time performing each exercise and focus on your breath. Breathe in and out through the nose, taking air in through the back of your throat. Do each pose at least once.

• Standing cat stretch
• Sun salutation
• Hanging back stretch
• Warrior I
• Warrior II
• Modified triangle
• Spine twist
• Corpse pose

Day 5

Today's workout for beginners involves basic strength training you did on Day 2. Perform 1 set of 15 reps for each exercise, resting briefly between moves as needed. If you feel that's too easy, add another set or use heavier weights.

Day 6

Today's cardio workout involves interval training where you alternate work sets (working at a higher intensity) with rest sets using theperceived exertion scaleto monitor your intensity. This beginner workout can be done on any cardio machine.

• 5 minutes: Warm up at an easy pace (PE: 4).
• 3 minutes: Rest set: Increase speed and resistance/incline to a moderate level (PE: 5).
• 1 minute: Work set: Increase incline and resistance by 1 percent to 5 percent to raise the intensity level (PE: 7).
• 3 minutes: Rest set (PE: 5).
• 1 minute: Work set (PE: 7).
• 3 minutes: Rest set (PE: 5).
• 5 minutes: Cooldown (PE: 4).

Recap

• Day 1:20-minute cardio routine
• Day 2:Basic strength-training workout
• Day 3:20-minute cardio routine
• Day 4:Basic yoga
• Day 5:Basic strength-training workout
• Day 6:Beginner intervals

On Day 1, you completed your first workout. During week 1, you got through a full week of cardio, strength, and flexibility workouts. Now you're ready to build on that success with progressively more challenging workouts.

Week 2

Continue with the same beginner workout plan as last week but progress with a few small changes to keep you challenged.

For cardio, do the same workouts with an added 5 minutes to build endurance and increase your exercise time.

• 5 minutes: Warm up at an easy-moderate pace (PE: 4).
• 6 minutes: Increase speed, incline, and/or resistance so you're just out of your comfort zone, but still able to talk (PE: 5); this is your baseline.
• 3 minutes: Increase your speed, incline,and/or resistance until you're working harder than baseline (PE: 6).
• 4 minutes: Reduce your speed, incline, and/or resistance back to baseline (PE: 5).
• 2 minutes: Increase your speed, incline,and/or resistance until you're working harder than baseline (PE: 6).
• 5 minutes: Reduce speed, incline, and/or resistance back to a moderate level (PE: 4).

Your strength-training workouts include the same exercises, but you'll be doing 2 sets of each for added intensity. Interval training increases by 4 minutes, to 25 minutes.

Modify this beginner workout plan as needed for your fitness goals.

• Day 1:25-minute cardio session
• Day 2:Basic strength training; perform each exercise for 2 sets of 15 reps, resting 20 to 30 seconds between sets.
• Day 3:Beginner intervals level 2
• Day 4:Basic yoga
• Day 5:Basic strength training; perform each exercise for 2 sets of 15 reps, resting 20 to 30 seconds between sets.
• Day 6:25-minute cardio session

Week 3

This week, the changes to your beginner workouts are more drastic with higher-intensity cardio, a more challenging strength routine, as well as a new yoga workout to try.

Your cardio workouts go up from 25 minutes to 30 minutes and the interval workout takes you to higher levels of intensity. The strength workout includes new exercises and heavier weights. A new yoga routine is performed on an exercise ball for extra support and challenge.

• Day 1:30-minute cardio session
• Day 2:Beginner total-body strength level 2; perform each exercise for 1 set of 15 reps.
• Day 3:Beginner intervals level 3
• Day 4:Yoga on the ball
• Day 5:Beginner total-body strength level 2; perform each exercise for 1 set of 15 reps.
• Day 6:30-minute cardio session

Week 4

With three weeks of workouts under your belt, you'll maintain your previous schedule with a few small changes to keep things interesting.

Continue your 30-minute cardio workouts for beginners, but try a new interval routine that includes making more frequent changes. Your strength workout remains the same, but you'll add a second set to challenge your muscles and continue progressing.

• Day 1:30-minute cardio session
• Day 2:Beginner total-body strength level 2; perform each exercise for 2 sets of 15 reps, resting 20 to 30 seconds between sets.
• Day 3:Interval workout level 3
• Day 4:Yoga on the ball
• Day 5:Beginner total-body strength level 2; perform each exercise for 2 sets of 15 reps, resting 20 to 30 seconds between sets.
• Day 6:30-minute cardio session

Week 5 and Beyond

Change things up in your beginner workout plan to continue making progress. In exercise lingo, it's called exercise adaptation. Change can come in a variety of ways—modifying weights, repetitions, intensity, speed, duration, variations on exercises, and more. You only have to make one change at a time to make a difference and continue reaching new goals.