Absolute Beginners: Weight Training with Jules Benson Phil Ross

Absolute Beginners: Weight Training is an introduction to full body weight training for the beginning exerciser. This workout has three separate training type segments: singular exercise focus, supersets and triple sets, and circuit training. During the tutorial the instructors, Jules Benson and Phil Ross, explain and demonstrate each exercise to aid beginning home exercisers in learning safe and proper form for weight training.

Required Equipment: light weights, medium weights and heavy weight and bench.

This workout is taught by Jules Benson and Phil Ross, who take beginning exercisers through multiple weight training exercises that target the whole body. One instructor explains the exercises while the other instructor demonstrates them. The pacing is targeted to beginners with cues to rest as needed as well as cues to blend proper breathing into each exercise. There are three workout segments. The single exercise focus segment targets one muscle movement at a time for two sets of ten repetitions giving 30 second breaks between each exercise. The supersets and triple sets segment combines previously filmed portions of the singular exercise focus into double and triple sets of exercises that focus on legs, chest and back, shoulders, biceps/triceps, and abdominal and core work. The circuit training segment combines previously filmed segments from the single exercise focus with only one set of each exercise all the way through, from legs to core work, and is followed by a repeat of that entire set. Each of the three segments begins with the same warm-up and cool down.

The pacing is slow enough to allow beginners time to recover between the exercises. Both instructors are encouraging and they demonstrate brief stretching between each exercise. The three workout variations, singular exercise focus, supersets and triple sets, and circuit training, provide beginners with options for choosing a solid exercise experience.

This workout is a good choice for beginners who are just starting whole body weight training. There is an emphasis on learning proper form, and cueing is provided to incorporate breathing into each exercise. The two instructors demonstrate good form themselves, have a nice rapport with each other, and are encouraging to beginning exercisers. The setting is a normal indoor video studio but there is a bit of darkness at times which may make it harder for beginners to see the proper form; beginners should review some of those segments a couple of times prior to performing them. Weight suggestions aren’t specified but appear to be 3 and 5 pound varieties. The superset/triple set segments are repeated from the main footage.

TIMINGS:

Warm Up: 6 min
Segment 1: 30 min
Segment 2: 33 min
Segment 3: 33 min
Cool Down: 6 min
Total Running Time: 108 minutes