How do I get started at the gym?
Or 'where do I get started?' are common questions that you might be asking if you've rarely or never been in to a gym.
It's perfectly okay that you don't know where to start. It isn't okay for you to be trapped by paralysis from those questions.
The New Year is coming up and many of you guys want to improve yourself by going to the gym. Awesome! The gym is one of the best ways to improve yourself, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally.
This article will give you guide on going to the gym for the first time, and how to be consistently going even after the first few weeks of the 2023.
First - The Fears of Going
We're first going to tackle one of the biggest reasons many people are hesitant about going to the gym: the fears about the gym. Fear of judgement, fear of not knowing where to go, and fear of not knowing what to do to.
As you keep reading, the fear of not knowing where to go and the fear of not knowing what to do, will be answered. But let's go over the most common fear of the gym: the fear of judgement.
A totally understandable and valid fear to have. When you think of the gym, you might be thinking of huge, jacked dude with biceps the size of your head, in the tiniest of shirts or straight shirtless, screaming and yelling at everything; testosterone to the max.
If you were to walk into the gym, they would confront you on why you're here, call you names and ridicule you for trying.
I won't lie, those guys do exist, in terms of the first section (the screaming and yelling is pretty exaggerated but you know what I mean). The second part, dealing with you, doesn't make any sense when you really think about it.
A new person wanting to improve his or herself, stepping into unfamiliarly territory, willing to put in the time and effort to reach his or her goals. Why would someone who knows what's that like, be judgmental of her?
Remember this.
Everyone starts from somewhere.
Just like in any career, the master chef was once a basic grill cook learning the fundamentals; the star basketball player was once a kid learning how to dripple and shoot the ball; the bodybuilder was once a skinny kid who was inspired. Everyone starts from somewhere.
Now I'm not trying to say your goals is to be a bodybuilder, or that only skinny kids can get fit. It doesn't matter who you are, whether your fat or skinny or tall or short or anything of the sort, what matters is that you start.
Let's imagine a realistic scenario. You walk into the gym after signing up. You're nervous because you think others will judge you. You see a person heading your way, look at you... and pass you as she's heading toward the bench to continue your workout. You look around as you're walking toward the locker room. No one is even looking at you. Everyone is focused on their own things.
That's the truth. No one gives a damn about you.
Everybody in the gym is too focus on their workouts that they're not even going to notice anyone new. They're going to notice you when they see you come consistently and believe you're a regular gym goer. And guess what, they'll respect you.
When I'm at the gym and over the weeks notice a new gym goer and I give it any thought, I nod to myself and smile because I'm happy that someone wants to improve his or herself.
And I know I don't just do that. I know my friends who go to the gym do the same exact thing. I'm pretty sure 95% of people who notices a new regular either doesn't given him or her a second thought, or does a little nod of respect.
I started to go to the gym around 6 years ago. In all my times going to the gym, I've never seen someone been ridicule for going. It just doesn't make sense as to why you would ridicule a person doing something to improve his or herself that you would also be doing.
I've only ever seen one instance of someone ridiculing another at the gym on social media, in which case a few ripped dudes (even more fit than the person who was doing the ridiculing) defended the new person and kicked out the person who was harassing him.
Don't be afraid of being judged. If you ever are, you'll probably have 6'2 jacked dudes with biceps the size of your head be your personal body guards for 5 minutes as they kick out the harasser.
Honestly, pretty cool!
Second - What gym do I choose?
Now unless you lived in a small town like me and only have your town's main family-owned gym, you're wondering what gym you should choose.
There are multiple types of gym. You have your Membership Gyms (I personally like to call them commercial gyms), bodybuilding gyms, specialize gyms (for doing stuff like CrossFit), and more.
Let me keep it straight, for most people it's best to go to a commercial gym.
You've probably heard of the main ones, like Planet Fitness and LA Fitness among others. But what are the differences between different commercial gyms? Are there even any key differences?
There are some differences between the different commercial gyms. Mainly pricing and hours they are open; however, there's a more important personal question you need to ask yourself.
What is the most convenient for you?
You need to pick a gym that will be convenient for you in your daily life. A gym that can fit in with your schedule that makes going to the gym less of a hassle. This step is crucial when starting out because if the gym you choose isn't convenient to go on a daily basis, the higher the chance you will quit.
The convenience is totally subjective to you. Some people have preferences when it comes to convenience.
For example, let's say you have a 9-5 job that's a 30 minute commute both ways. You notice there's a commercial gym on your way work that's $45/month. There's another gym with a membership of $10/month that's 10 minutes away pass your work; however, it's 10 minutes in the direction away from your house. Increasing your commute by 20 minutes since you have to spend 10 minutes going to the gym, and an extra 10 minutes on your way back home.
Which do you choose?
Here's where people have different opinions. Some will choose the $45/month gym because it's in-between your work and home, saving the convenience of adding to your daily commute. Others will choose the $10/month gym because it's $35 cheaper than the other gym, and only adds an extra 20 minutes to the commute.
There is no right or wrong answer. I myself have a preference in this; I personally value my time more.
The thing is, what do you prefer more in convenience?
By choosing a gym that's convenient for you and your schedule, you increase the chances that you stay committed. It's common sense.
So when you're choosing a gym to go to, focus on convenience.
Third - Your Workout
So you've gotten over your fears of going to the gym and chose a convenient gym for you, now you actually need a workout plan.
It's important to have a workout plan so you're just going to the gym, confused and lost, and hitting random machinery. To be consistent, it's best to have a workout plan and schedule.
I'm going to give you guidance like I'd received when I first went to the gym.
Firstly, you need a schedule for what days you are going and what muscle groups you plan to hit. Personally, if you're new or relatively new to the gym, I recommend a 4-days per week schedule. Here's an example of a 4-day per week schedule that I'm personally using right now.
- Monday - Upper Body
- Tuesday - Lower Body
- Wednesday - Rest
- Thursday - Upper Body
- Friday - Lower Body
- Saturday - Rest
- Sunday - Rest
Some fitness influences will tell you to start with 3-days per week, hitting your full-body. I disagree with full-body days. The time it'll take you to hit every muscle group adequately will take much too time in my opinion.
I believe splitting it up into 4-days per week is a great start. Eventually you can move to 5-days per week or even 6-days per week after a while if you're ready for it.
Now what workouts do I recommend for these days?
For Upper Body there are 5 major muscle groups that you'll focus on: chest, biceps, triceps, back, and shoulders.
Down below are exercises that I recommend for these muscles groups. In your workout you won't have to do all the exercise I mention. Pick two of them from each group and go at it!
Some great exercises for chest are Barbell Bench, Dumbbell Bench, Dumbbell Cable Fly, Machine Chess Press, and Cable Flies.
Some great exercises for biceps are Bicep Dumbbell Curl, Bicep Bar Curl, Hammer Curls, Zottoman Curls, and Spiderman Curls.
Some great exercises for triceps are Skull Crushers, Cable Rope Pulldowns, and Overhead Tricep Extension.
Some great exercises for back are Wide-Grip Lateral Pulldowns, Close-Grip Lateral Pulldowns, T-Bar Row, Seated Row, and One-Arm Dumbbell Row.
Some great exercises for shoulders are Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Arnold Shoulder Press, Barbell Shoulder Press, Dumbbell Lateral Raises and Dumbbell Front Raises.
Like I mention earlier, pick one or two exercises for each muscle group and do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
Before you do any of these exercises, research them and understand how you're supposed to properly do each exercise with correct form! When I was relatively new in the gym, I researched the workouts that I wanted to do so I knew how to do them properly.
Now for Lower Body, there are four main muscle groups: quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
Hitting legs is just as important as hitting Upper Body. So don't skip out on Lower Body!
Some great exercises for quads are Barbell Back Squat, Leg Press, Leg Extension, Bulgarian Split Squat, and Barbell or Dumbbell Lunges.
Some great exercises for hamstrings are Barbell Back Squat, Seated Leg Curls and Laying Leg Curls.
Some great exercises for glutes are Barbell Back Squat, Barbell or Dumbbell Lunges, and Cable Glute Kickbacks.
Some great exercises for calves are Standing Machine Calf Raise, Seating Machine Calf Raise, and Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise.
Notice how Barbell Back Squat, hits quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Barbell Back Squat is an exercise I highly recommend and should be a part of your workout, as it's probably the best leg workout there is.
There we go, now you're all prepared and ready to hit the gym and start striving towards your goals!