Complete Beginner's Guide to the Gym | DO's and DON'Ts

 Welcome back to my website for more tips and tricks. Today, I want to go over a beginner's guide to the gym; starting your fitness journey can be intimidating; putting yourself in a new, uncomfortable situation is not easy, especially not walking into the gym for the first time. Many people going to the gym for the first time feel insecure and wonder, Where do I start? What type of training should I be doing? Can anyone help me with the program? How does this machine work? And is everyone staring at me right now? Well, most of us have been there at some point. 

Trust me when I say that as soon as you take those first steps, you will feel so much better and realize that you had nothing to worry about in the first place. The gym is the place where you'll meet a lot of like-minded people who are on a similar journey to yours. I feel connected to the people I meet at the gym for my gym, almost like a brother or a family. Before you go the first time, you should ask yourself, What's your motivation for going to the gym if you go in for the wrong reasons or have unrealistic goals? To start, you might get discouraged and eventually quit. Remember, this should be a lifestyle shift and not a face. It's a marathon and not a sprint.

 So, let's talk about preparation. How should you prepare? What should you bring to the gym? Should you be taking any supplements? Which gym is right for you? I would test a couple of gyms before buying a membership. Most gyms allow tours and free trials or sessions before you need to make up your mind. What about your workout partner? Many people love going to the gym with a friend or a partner. I'm not against it entirely. But starting on your own and holding yourself accountable is extremely important.

 If you go with a friend or accountability partner, the risk is that when they quit, you quit before going to the gym; I make sure that you've eaten something you don't necessarily need to eat before, but there's an anabolic window of three hours, you need to make sure to eat some protein in a three-hour window before or after working out. I prefer to eat some carbs, some good fats, or one with some protein about an hour before going to the gym. What I bring to the gym when I go is a water bottle. And every once in a while, I'll bring my headphones that can connect to my iPad or phone as well. 

There's nothing worse than seeing a person at the gym putting on a big pair of headphones, which means they can't hear anything about what's happening outside those headphones. And they're blasting music, obviously, and then slamming weights like crazy. Regardless of whether it's free weights or machines that can't hear the noise they are making, people start dropping weights and slamming them. But everyone else in the gym can hear it, and it'll make you go deaf. If people start slamming weights around you, it is uncomfortable and bad for hearing. 

So don't be that person; make sure to wear something comfortable. It is all about functionality, not what you look like. And with that said, don't show up in jeans; you see that occasionally, so avoid that. Then, you want a good pair of sneakers that support what you're doing in a gym. I shouldn't have running shoes if I'm trying to do deadlifts or lift weights. And I shouldn't have a lifting shoe when I'm running on the treadmill. So try to get a shoe that supports what you're doing. 

And there are hybrid shoes as well because many people are doing a combination of everything. But that's important. Get a shoe that supports what you're doing in the gym. So let's talk about the training program. Suppose you will invest the time and money going to the gym to reach your goals of getting healthier and being fitter. In that case, You need to know that the program you're on is a good program that will help you with all of that to ensure that you're on a good regimen or program that suits you. 

I would talk to someone at the gym; every gym gets a personal trainer or instructor who can help you with that. There's also a lot of good information online. Only some things on the internet are scraped, but if you type in Magnus method att.com, this guy pops up, and I have a ton of programs that you can do. A typical program could consist of doing lower body work one day, a push and pull day, and an arm day. 

So, in three or four days, you work through the whole body, and then it starts over. The philosophy behind this type of training or Programming is that you allow yourself to target every muscle much more and harder. Then, let them rest for a few days while targeting other muscles. And then you come back and work them again, the first couple of weeks, I would not overdo it; I would start with maybe three sessions a week, and then slowly ramp it up to four, or five or six, whatever you have time with and what you prefer to do. If you keep coming up with new exercises every time to keep it fun, that will hinder your progress, set you up for more injuries, and possibly cause you not to reach your goals, at least not as fast. So stick to a basic program, learn the foundations, build a strong foundation, and ramp it up slowly.

 When it comes to reps in the beginning, I prefer more reps, let's say 12 to 15. Instead of dropping down and doing heavy weights and doing six to eight or even 10 reps, I do think it's important to work on that movement pattern and build a strong foundation to make sure that your ligaments and tendons are in on it and that you build up over time resting in between sets is super important to me. For me, it's about the quality of the sets and how you execute your reps in the beginning. And that also takes us to the next thing I want to discuss. Make sure that you execute these exercises with good form. If you don't, you might work the wrong body part; you will most likely set yourself up for an injury anyway; make sure you learn how to do every exercise with good form. 

There's a lot of talking about cutting or bulking as well. Bulking is when you're trying to gain weight, you want to put on maximum amounts of muscle mass, and you don't care about your body fat; they have cutting when it's all about getting toned and treading fat while keeping your muscle mass as high as possible. In the beginning, I wouldn't even think about bulking or cutting. You want to get in. You want to build a strong foundation, and then you can decide what you want to do. When it comes to training and programming, you should know it's mostly nutrition when it comes to bulking cutting; try to keep your training to about 60 minutes or less. I always say what doesn't happen in the first hour in the gym will not happen in the second; here's some essential gym equipment you should know how to use. 

So, the leg press is a great fundamental machine that works your legs. It also allows you to lift a lot of weight without putting you in a compromised position. Start sitting down and place your feet on the board before starting the exercise. Make sure that you push down your glutes against the two cushions that you have behind you. You want to ensure you don't allow your pelvis or hips to rotate forward as you lower the weights. Make sure you're pressed with the whole foot, especially the back of the foot. 

Always keep some resistance on the way down. Keep that tension in the muscle eccentric when you're lowering the weight, and then you want to be more explosive on the way up. Make sure you don't lock out your knees at the top. The leg press will work your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and entire lower body bench press. In the bench press, we use a barbell that works the chest. Start with placing yourself on the bench. Ensure you're putting your feet on the ground with good support. You want to tuck in your shoulder blades towards the bench, and then you want to lower your shoulders, and they want to push up as explosive as possible without compromising on the lat pulldown works your latissimus in the back, your big back muscle. 

So remember there are two movements for this: lowering your shoulders and then pulling down on the way up, you do the same thing. But opposite. If you go on my app, I have articles and descriptions for all the exercises you can think of. Nutrition is hugely important. And before we continue, don't forget to subscribe so I can continue to share with you guys all the knowledge and experience that I have gained over 20 years as a trainer and nutritionist; you can run a marathon and be overweight, and you can have a six-pack and be allowed to shape nutrition is key if you want to gain some muscle mass or if you want to lose some body fat. Your nutrition mostly determines your body fat. 

You need to eat enough protein in a day to gain or keep your muscle mass and eat the right amount of carbs and fat to lose or gain body fat. There are 1000s of diets and strategies out there. You know where to find me if you want to know how I do things with my actors and artists. Check out Magnus method app.com.

I believe in a balanced diet. I don't restrict myself from food. I just make sure to eat the right amount or proportion of fat, protein and carbs with every meal. To gain weight, you need to eat more carbs and fat. If you want to lose weight, protein stays the same, more or less. If you're active and want to keep some muscle mass in your body, my philosophy is that you should enjoy food and 17 out of 20 meals; I make sure that I'm on point three out of 20 meals; I eat whatever I want. 

So, here are a few final tips that I want to give you: don't start too extreme; start with three times per week and then ramp it up over the next few weeks. I do, five days a week, making training a part of your life when looking at your physical activities. I want you to think about three different things. One, what do I like to do? Two, what does my body need three? Is there something I want to master or improve when looking at those three things? You also know how to program your training. Running is your number one, strength training is your number two, and swimming or golf is your number three. Make sure to create a program or a weekly program run. All these free are represented. And last but not least, enjoy the process. And expect to be motivated only some of the time. Motivation is overrated, and discipline and accountability are what matters. Good luck.