Kyle Hunt - Strength Training for Beginners: A 12-Week Program to Get Lean and Healthy at Home

Copyright 2020 by Rockridge Press, Emeryville, California
Illustration 2020 James Pop

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To my unborn twins, Kyle Jr. and Eleanor.
I cant wait to meet you!

Contents

Welcome to Strength Training for Beginners! I want to congratulate you for picking up this book. This is the first step in committing to your health and living powerfully for decades to come. The first step is often the hardest. My goal is to meet you where you are, since everyone begins their journey in a different place.

My fascination with strength started in my sixth-grade gym class. I was a tiny kid, easily one of the smallest in my grade. Having never worked out before, I wasnt sure what to expect when our class found out we would be spending the next few weeks in the weight room. I remember feeling nervous. Little did I know those weeks would have a huge impact on the rest of my life.

That class sparked a fire that continued through my teenage years. I started taking training seriously when I made the varsity wrestling team as an eighth grader. Being the smallest kid on the team, I knew lifting weights and getting stronger was going to help me level up. In high school, I was not only obsessed with lifting weights, but also with learning everything I could about the topic. As I grew older, I knew I wanted to make it part of my career. I became fascinated with the process, effects, and overall lifestyle that strength training had brought into my life and I wanted to help others achieve these same passions. Eventually, I earned a degree in exercise science and started my fitness company, Hunt Fitness.

Over the past ten years, Ive worked with hundreds of people just like you. I believe one of the best ways to change your life is to change your body, and Ive seen some amazing transformations. We get only one body to carry us through this life, so it makes sense to make it stronger and more resilient.

I wanted this to be an all-inclusive program. You dont need fancy equipment to get started. As you progress, new exercises will be introduced to help you along the way. Theres practically an unlimited combination of ways to customize the program for your goals. Ill provide you with the information you need to make the necessary assessments and regulate your workouts based on your changing needs.

For beginners, learning proper technique is often a struggle, so I include in-depth descriptions along with images on how to perform every exercise discussed. Later, well look at a few tips and common mistakes to avoid. This book and its 12-week program are the beginning of your lifelong journey for strength. Lets get started!

S trength training is a versatile form of exercise that can be beneficial for everyone as well as an activity that can be done over a lifetime. Aside from building muscle, a well-structured strength training program can help lower body fat, improve bone health, and boost cardiovascular health. This form of exercise can be structured to meet the needs of everyone, including novices, older folks looking for ways to improve their health and pursue longevity, and even current and former athletes who want to incorporate a new style of training into their existing routines.

While you probably imagine heavy barbells and big machines when thinking of strength training, thats only one way to do things. None of that is required for results. In fact, you can achieve a great workout by utilizing just your bodyweight and dumbbells. Youll also find that it is easy to transition to more advanced methods and modalities as you progress in your fitness journey.

How Training Works

The science of strength training and how muscles are built can best be described as a three-step process of stimulus, recovery, and adaptation.

The process starts in the gym with a stimulus, or a workout. Immediately after the workout, the bodys recovery systems begin to heal and rebuild the tissue damaged by the workout. Although lifting weights sets the stage to make progress, you dont actually build muscle or gain strength while training. Muscle size and strength are actually both reduced immediately following a training session as the body repairs itself.