6 Tips For Gym Beginners

Gyms in Ireland have been back open for a week now. If you’re new to the gym, about to join or still consider yourself a beginner here are some tips that may help you.

Get A Member Of Staff To Show You The Equipment And How To Use It Correctly

Too often people join gyms and stick to using the only equipment they’ve used before. For most, that’s the cardio equipment. To get the most benefit from the gym learn how to use the resistance machines as well as other cardio pieces. It’ll help you get stronger and fitter as well as give you more things to do. This way you won’t get bored of doing the same routine over and over. Sometimes people also feel uncomfortable or embarrassed if they don’t know how to do things by themselves. These are big pieces of machinery with lots of moving parts and different setups. Ask how to set the machine up for your body that makes it comfortable for you and allows you to do the exercise safely.

Start Slowly And Progress From There

If you’ve been out of training for a long time or are completely new to training, start slowly. First learn how to execute the exercises safely and with control over the weight and/or your body position. When you have the correct technique for any exercise you can then start increasing the challenge. Don’t go too heavy too soon with resistance exercises. If doing bodyweight exercises master lower impact ones before progressing to higher impact ones. Walk before you sprint. Until your body gets fitter and stronger you may not be able to handle a lot of volume or recover quickly between training sessions. Give yourself time to adapt.

Don’t Copy What Someone Else Is Doing

If you look around the gym you’ll see people doing all sorts of different things. Even if you see someone who is incredibly fit or looks like they know what they’re doing, do not copy that person. They may still be doing an exercise incorrectly and are an injury waiting to happen. They may be much fitter than you and are doing an exercise too advanced for you. There are lots of different scenarios here. Get the help of a qualified trainer or instructor to show you how to train properly. Friends or family might be more experienced than you are and sometimes give you ideas of what to do. Again, they aren’t qualified either. You’d be surprised how many people have been training for a long time and yet have bad technique habits. Just because what they’re doing feels OK to them. Your body is different to theirs and unfortunately they might be on their way to an injury. If an exercise doesn’t feel right, is awkward or even hurts, don’t do it.

Focus On Yourself And Your Reason For Being There

Chances are that you joined the gym to get healthier and fitter. Whatever deeper reason you joined the gym for is your business. A lot of the time people will feel uncomfortable that people are watching or judging them for being a beginner or being out of shape. Everyone was a beginner at some stage. The majority of people in gyms who look fit and are in good shape didn’t start off that way. Don’t be afraid of doing something or pushing yourself because you’ll look sweaty, be huffing and puffing and people will see you. It’s a gym, everyone is there for the same reasons. To exercise, get fitter, healthier and stronger. Sweating is a consequence of that so don’t feel uncomfortable. 99% of the time everyone is in their own zone and not even noticing what others are doing around them. And if for whatever reason someone is looking at you, look right at them and ask “Can I help you?” They’ll snap out of it right away. They might also be unsure what they’re doing and are looking to copy you. In which case point them to this post!

Build Up Consistency

Every year people join gyms with all the best intentions in the world. They’re going to train every day of the week, change their habits overnight and everything is going to be amazing. What happens to most of these people? They quickly burn out and we don’t see them very long. Don’t let the same thing happen to you. Find a routine that you can stick to and be consistent with. If that’s a gym session once or twice a week, great. Stick at that if it works for you. Build up to 2 or 3 sessions per week as you get fitter or if your schedule allows it. Don’t immediately think you can go from no training at all to 4 or 5 sessions per week. What will happen is you won’t make it to all the sessions you planned, you’ll feel let down or you’ll do too much too soon and burn yourself out.

Enjoy Your Training

You’re taking steps to improve yourself by improving your health and fitness. If you’re improving your looks while at it and it gives you more confidence, even better. However, it won’t happen overnight, it won’t happen in just a couple of weeks either. The point is you should enjoy this process of positive transformation. If you’re feeling negative energy at all, you need to change something. Don’t put too much expectation on yourself to train so often or be great at the exercises straight away. The same goes for seeing results right away. If you’re a complete beginner with very little strength or fitness, you should see a big difference in a relatively short time. Strength and fitness can be worked on in the gym. If you have awful nutrition habits outside of training you might not see a big change physically. The good news is that can also be worked on. Find a way of training that you enjoy, if you like what you’re doing you’re more likely to be consistent with it. And in health and fitness consistency is the key to progress. Train twice a week for the whole year and you’ll do 104 sessions. On the other hand you could do 5 sessions a week but burn out in a month, you’ll do just 20 sessions and we won’t see you in the gym anymore.

If you want help and guidance to make the most of your training and nutrition contact me at 0870536322. You’ll be glad you did. Together we will work to transform yourself physically as well as mentally, saving you time and energy.