What are some introductory fitness exercises for beginners?

There is no need to search for all kinds of tricks like "training the waistline in 7 days" and "burning off fat in 3 days". The most practical basic compound movements for beginners are a few basic compound movements without any threshold, such as bodyweight squats, chest presses (both push-ups/dumbbell chest presses will work), bent-over rowing, light deadlifts, and planks. If you master these movements, you will be enough to survive the novice bonus period in the first three months, and you will progress faster than if you practice blindly for half a year.

A while ago, I coached an Internet operation girl with no basic knowledge. She started practicing 100 crunches and 200 jumping jacks every day following short videos. After a week of practice, her back hurt so much that she couldn't sit still. She almost gave up without losing any weight. Later, I changed my plan to practice these movements first, 3 groups of 12-15 times each, and then walked slowly for 20 minutes. After only half a month, I said that my shoulder and neck pain from sitting for a long time was relieved, and my waist felt loose when I put on pants.

There has been a debate in the fitness circle for a long time about whether newbies should try fixed equipment or free weights first. In fact, there is no standard answer. If the gym you go to has a reliable coach to help you find a sense of force, the trajectory of the fixed equipment is fixed, the error tolerance is higher, and it is not easy to bend the joints during practice.； If you don’t have anyone to practice with you at home, just practice the movement patterns with your bare hands or two bottles of mineral water or an elastic band. It’s cheap and convenient. It’s a waste of time to worry about equipment. It’s better to move first than anything else.

For example, when you get home from get off work and slump down on the sofa, you can stand up and do squats while holding on to the dining table while checking your phone. It's like there is an invisible small stool behind your butt. Sit back until your thighs are parallel to the ground and stand up. Don't bend over and buckle your knees in. Do 3 sets of 15 in a group. You can climb 6 floors in a week without breathing. If you go to the gym, don't just watch others playing with the gantry and join in the fun. First, find an empty bench and use two of the lightest dumbbells to practice chest presses. Don't hunch your shoulders toward your ears. When you push, you can feel your chest being pulled and exerted force. If only your arms are sore, you must be doing something wrong. Be gentle and don't lie. This is really the golden rule for beginners. I met a young man before who deadlifted 40 kilograms just after applying for the card. His waist flashed and he lay at home for half a month. It was not worth the gain. Don't just add weight when practicing deadlifts. First do the hip hinge with your bare hands, push your butt back, and straighten your waist and back like an iron plate. Just feel the muscles on the back of your thighs are tightened. Once you are familiar with the movement, slowly add more weight. It will be very stable.

Some people may say that I just want to practice partial exercises. Are these big movements useful? It is really much more effective than practicing isolated movements alone. These compound movements can mobilize several muscle groups at a time. They are highly efficient in burning fat and can help you quickly develop the habit of directing the muscles to exert force. When your body fat slowly decreases, the waistcoat line and tight arms you want will naturally appear. If you practice 200 abdominal crunches alone, the fat covering the waistcoat line will still be invisible, which is a waste of effort.

There is really no need to stock up on a bunch of fitness equipment or sign up for thousands of personal training classes at the beginning. Practice these few movements first, and you can accurately feel the target muscles exerting force, and then slowly increase the weight and movements. It is more reliable than anything else.