Being new to any gym is a daunting experience. Gym’s can be a rather intimidating environment…
You walk in, peering around the gym floor frantically, noticing the meat heads wearing their vests pumping iron over In the free weights section….
The Instagram hounds snapping photographs of themselves in front of the mirrors dressed in their revealing gym wear…
I get it…
I understand your sense of self worry…
Even more so, because you’re so new to this environment…
You can feel particularly self-conscious if you have no idea of what you are doing. This is the same for anything we do in life…
That’s fine though.
Many others are in the same boat…don’t allow this uncertainty to stop you in your tracks!
It’s a temporary feeling….
Anyone and everyone have felt self-conscious or intimidated walking into a gym at some point in their lives.
It’s expected!
You don’t know your environment, you aren’t confident in your actions…
That’s understandable…
Don’t let it throw you…
Don’t turn around, never to return!
Instead,
LEARN…
Learn what you need to do to make the most of your time in the gym…
Learn what exercises you should be performing to achieve your goals…
Learn how to perform these exercises correctly…
Learn how to use the equipment effectively and safely…
Don’t be the guy/girl who spends 90% of their time wandering around, jumping from one machine to the other without any thought or structure to what they’re doing.
You see these people all the time, they’ll wander into the gym, jump on a random machine, do a set of reps with poor form, no thought of an appropriate weight, slam the weights down then wander off to another random machine…
No warm-up, no structure, no flow of exercises, random weights/reps/sets/exercises, looking around at what everyone else is doing then jumping onto that machine before the person has finished…
No cool down, no stretches….
No progress…
No results.
If this is you, don’t worry, fear not!
Seek help…
Seek advise…
Ask and you shall receive!
Follow these top tips to get you started down the right path!
Whichever gym you’ve joined, however expensive or cheap, they’re obligated by law to give all members a thorough gym induction.
A gym induction basically involves a fitness professional showing you and teaching you how to use the different types of equipment safely and effectively.
From cardiovascular machines e.g. rowers, treadmills, cross trainers etc to resistance/weight machines, free weight or bodyweight exercises, a core exercise or two and some basic stretches.
They should discuss with you the general structure of any workout routine…i.e. begin with a warm-up and finish with a cool down and/or stretching exercises.
This is a golden opportunity to learn some of the basics to get you started.
Booking yourself onto one is a no brainer!
Basic components of a workout routine for a new starter looking to increase strength and improve general fitness;
Warm up- 5-10 minutes on any cardio machine at a moderate intensity
Usually followed by some dynamic/activation exercises (arm swings, ankle circles, dynamic stretches, hip adduction, torso twists etc)
Weight training– 8-10 exercises focusing on major muscle groups of the body (Hamstrings, quads, glutes, back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps etc) for 3 sets x 8-12 reps each (weight should be a moderate load)
Cardio component: 10-15 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on any cardio machine
Core component: 3-4 core exercises (e.g. sit up versions, knee raises, planks, back extensions)
Stretch: Always finish any gym routine by stretching off all of the major muscles used during your routine.
It’s all well and good that you’ve decided to join the gym…fantastic choice!
But, what’s your reasons behind it?
What do you want to achieve?
What do you want to work towards?
What benefits do you wish to gain from your time in the gym?
Do you want to improve your fitness? Or maybe you’d like to lose some belly fat?
Or both!
Maybe you just want to go to the gym to look good and improve your body shape?… Great! There’s nothing wrong with that, don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise!!
Clearly understanding what your goals are will allow you to focus on working towards achieving them!
It’ll also help any fitness professional understand how best to help you on your journey.
Have a think and be clear and true to yourself what these goals are…
Then you can action working towards them!
Once you’ve clearly defined what your goals are, the next step is to set out a plan you can follow whilst in the gym to best utilise your time and efforts.
It’s no good knowing what you want to achieve but being clueless as to how to achieve it!
A plan in the form of a workout routine or a set of guidelines to follow will steer you in the right direction!
Just make sure your plan aligns with the goals you aim to achieve…
It’s no good following a powerlifters workout routine your friend gave you if your goal is to increase your cardio fitness…
You can often find many examples of basic workout routines you can follow which will align with your goals…Have a search of you tube…Join a similar type exercise class….
Failing that, go direct….
Speak to a fitness trainer…
If you’d like a personalised plan putting together, most trainers will include a workout routine as part of a PT session if you don’t have a free workout as part of your gym membership benefits.
*Your time in the gym isn’t the only component of importance…your diet, lifestyle habits, sleeping pattern and other factors are all important to achieving most fitness/lifestyle/health goals*
As the old saying goes…..”Don’t run before you can walk”
It’ll only serve to increase your risk of injury.
Now, I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying new exercises, not at all, just do so safely…
Ask a friend (if they know what they’re doing) or better yet, ask a professional to show you or to check your form…
You could also join an exercise class or two to learn some of the basic movements…squats, lunges, planks, press ups etc can all be learnt from classes.
The last thing you want happening is to sustain an injury after only being at the gym for a fortnight.
Don’t copy what others are doing in the gym, focus on yourself.
Focus on what you need to do to achieve YOUR goals.
Who gives a dam what anyone else is doing anyways…
How do you know that what that person is doing is correct?
You don’t, your completely new to fitness club…
If all fails, stick to the resistance machines. All resistance machines have clear guidelines written on them outlining how to adjust the machine and how to perform the exercise correctly.
You can’t go wrong….3 sets of 8-12 reps, select a weight that’s challenging for the last repetition or two in every set. Adjust the weight accordingly.
But if somehow you do go wrong, ask a fitness professional for assistance.
Any exercise session should begin with a suitable warm up that’s specific to the routine you plan on executing.
Generally, 5-10 minutes of cardio should be followed by activation/mobility/balance exercises depending on what your goals are.
If you’re hitting the weights, you could start off with a warm-up set at a lower weight to practice the movement and prepare the muscle by increasing blood flow to the muscle region involved.
This will work particularly well if you’re pushed for time or don’t want to follow a cardio warm up with dynamic stretches/ activation exercises/ mobility exercises etc.
Despite what any of your friends tell you or anyone else for that matter, you should always stretch off the muscles used at the end of ever session using static stretches…
Unless you want to pull your body out of optimal / natural alignment.
Or, increase your risk of injury.
A quick internet search will result in a whole host of static stretches for you to use at the end of your workout routine.
Or better yet, ask a fitness professional to show you!
Start off right by following these simple steps and you’ll make great progress towards achieving your health & fitness goals!
Stay well,
TheLakesCoach