Going to the gym goes under one of those ‘’hard to start’’ types of things. Anything new you want to try can, and usually is, difficult in the beginning, but the beauty lies in overcoming those first obstacles and seeing progress at a constant rate.
This self-motivation is all the fuel you need for the gym, but unfortunately, it is not enough. You can very easily start wrong, and even get injured or worse, so it is crucial to get some professional assistance before you start your lifting endeavors.
I recently started going to the gym and I am loving it, but before I finally decided to go I was a complete beginner, so I decided to get some valuable insights from fitness professionals at Fit Athletic who were more than glad to show me the ins and outs of a number of exercises I’d be doing for the next couple of months or so.
Gym Etiquette
You are all here to work on your self-improvement, and there’s no room for mocking or bullying. A gym is a place where people should help each other out, and be kind to one another. You are all working towards the same goal, and the whole process of people in a room exercising is another form of motivation which is precisely what you need when starting out. You could even make new friendships there, and after a while be that veteran guy that can help out newbies who struggle.
You should always remember to bring your towel, a bottle of water, gloves, or any other equipment you might need. Do not use machines to rest, you might be interrupting someone else’s program by spending time on a machine doing nothing.
Common Mistakes
Take your time, don’t expect instant results, and don’t expect that bigger weight will increase your muscle form faster. Listen to your body and start with weights that are just enough to do a full series of 6 to 8 repetitions. If you start swinging the weights or you rely on the momentum you are doing it wrong.
Speed is also not going to help, on the contrary, you are probably going to miss the muscle group you were aiming for and waste time while under risk of injury. You need to find the balance, if it feels too easy to do like 20 reps then you need to increase the weight, but again, not too much. Start slow, go slow, and work your way until you feel it’s enough. You also don’t need to lift fast because you might end up compensating by relying on inertia instead of your muscles. Be methodical, work slow, and try to hit the right muscles with the exercise.
Don’t rest for too long, don’t let your body cool down completely. Spend about a minute or minute and a half taking a breath and then proceed with the next series. Some exercises require more rest than others, but you will soon understand your own tempo.
Tips
Have a balanced meal an hour before and after your training. The meal should include protein like chicken or fish and carbohydrates.
It is recommended to do cardio after the weight lifting, or at least not mix these two types of exercises in one session.
The self-motivation part will come from the progress you make each time you visit the gym. You should keep track of that progress by simply writing down what you’ve achieved or use an app. You can also go as far as to take pictures of yourself every now and then, and also keep track of your weight loss. This will complete the full circle of putting in effort for the self-betterment, and seeing results of the hard work.
