Between the endless exercise variations, tens of machines and advice that often contradicts itself, strength training is overwhelming for pretty much everyone when they first get started. But the truth is, you don’t need a complicated routine – or even a gym membership.
According to Caroline Idiens, founder of virtual fitness platform Caroline’s Circuits with 25 years of experience coaching women, the below six exercises (requiring just one pair of dumbbells) are all you need to get started.
When explaining why these should be your first choice, she says they’re ‘functional movements to build daily strength patterns’, and ‘compound exercises using more than one muscle group at a time’ (meaning that you train more of your muscles in less time – and with less fuss setting up for new moves). She adds that they’re also ‘exercises you can build on as your strength increases’.
Here’s exactly how to do them, plus how to make them into a workout and which weights to start with.
How to make it into a workout: ‘Do 10 reps of each exercise, resting in between each exercise for 20 seconds and 3 sets,’ says Caroline. This should take you around 20 minutes.
What weights to choose: ‘Start with 2kg and build up slowly – mine are 3kg here,’ Caroline says.
6 best beginner strength exercises1.Squat and press 
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, feet shoulder-width apart. Lower into a squat by pushing your hips back and bending your knees, keeping your chest up. Drive through your heels to stand, then press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are fully extended, lowering them back to your shoulders to repeat.2. Romanian deadlift and row 
Hold a dumbbell in each hand, hinge at your hips to lower the weights down your legs with a slight bend in your knees, keeping your back flat and core engaged. At the bottom of the hinge, row the dumbbells towards your ribs, squeezing your shoulder blades together, then lower them and drive your hips forward to stand back up.3. Split squat and raise 
Step one foot back into a split stance, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Lower into a split squat by bending both knees, keeping your front knee tracking over your toes and chest upright. As you stand back up, raise the dumbbells straight out in front of you to shoulder height, then lower them with control and repeat. Remember to complete reps on both sides.4. Bicep curl and shoulder press 
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand by your sides, palms facing forward. Curl the weights up to your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your body. From the top of the curl, press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are fully extended, then lower back to your shoulders and return to the start position.5. Chest press and glute bridge 
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest level. Press through your heels to lift your hips into a glute bridge, keeping your core engaged. At the same time as lifting into a glute bridge, press the dumbbells up over your chest until your arms are straight, then lower them with control before lowering your hips back down and repeating.6. Deadbugs
Lie on your back with arms extended above your chest holding a dumbbell in each hand, legs in tabletop (knees bent at 90 degrees). Brace your core and press your lower back into the floor. Slowly lower one leg towards the floor while lowering the opposite arm overhead, then return to start and alternate sides, maintaining control throughout.RELATED STORIES
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.