How to Workout at the Gym for Beginners?

Dr. Susan Evans
how to workout at the gym for beginners

Common mistakes beginners make are lack of a training plan and improper exercise technique. It’s good if you have a competent mentor, but not all amateurs can afford individual professional advice. And not all teachers are qualified enough and interested in the result and ready to delve into the client’s problems. Just because an instructor looks good doesn’t mean he can coach others well.

Knowing how the training program in the gym for beginners is drawn up, you can easily determine the level of professionalism of a potential personal trainer and will be able to independently select exercises based on your goals.

Universal Tips for Beginners

It is not so important to pass for “your own” as to draw up a training plan correctly. The starting program is designed for about a year. During this time, it changes significantly, as the athlete progresses and gains experience.

General guidelines for beginners:

  • Let the body adapt to a new lifestyle: Do not overload yourself as much as possible from the first session, increase the intensity gradually and do not try to impress others;
  • The optimal training frequency for most men and women is 3-4 times a week. Rest one day (maximum two) between workouts. After “vacation” for more than 10 days, take a step back and reduce the load a little;
  • Do not neglect joint warm-up and aerobic exercises. Treadmill, exercise bike, or stepper to help you. It is better to warm up without training than training without warm up;
  • Give preference to a workout program for the whole body;
  • Exercise for 40-60 minutes, in rare cases, for 1.5 hours. If you can train more, it means that you are performing the movements poorly;
  • Learn the correct exercise technique before your first gym workout. It is needed not only to prevent injuries, but also to fully work out the muscles;
  • Learn to feel the muscles you are training and start with a light weight;
  • The spine gets a lot of stress in many basic exercises, so be sure to hang on the bar for 15-30 seconds after training;
  • Cooling down (stretching) after class is optional, but desirable. It will reduce muscle pain, speed up recovery and burn fat;
  • Eat right and don’t overeat. Eat 1.5–2 hours before exercise and abstain 1–2 hours from food after exercise. Strength training;
    will increase your appetite a little , but it doesn’t have to be brutal. If you are unable to control yourself at the table, then you have over trained;
  • Use your workout diary to schedule, record your results and calculate CBF (calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates). Try to study the table for a month and you will immediately notice how your performance and motivation will improve.
See also  The Best Arm Exercises at Home: Arm Workouts You Can Do at Home

Aerobic Exercises is the Foundation of Your Workout

Don’t start in the gym, but start with low- to medium intensity aerobic training. It can be exercising on cardiovascular equipment (treadmill, stationary bike, stepper, ellipsoid) or jogging in the street, cycling, playing tennis, etc. The pulse should increased to 85% of its maximum value.

full-body workout for beginners

Full-Body Workout for Beginners

The full body program is dearly loved by professionals and is ideal for beginners. It provokes such muscle growth that other loads do not give debutants. It is based on basic exercises. This workout tones the body and burn calories no less than in cardio workouts.

Basic exercises are the most important exercises that have a comprehensive effect on the body, such as; deadlifts, squats, bench press, barbell-to-belt pull, standing press. They are performed with free weight and unsecured apparatus (dumbbells, bodybar, barbell). To maintain balance, the body spends additional calories. These exercises increase testosterone levels, improve muscle symmetry and build mental focus (brain-muscle connection).

A basic workout is performed after a 15 minute warm-up and cardio. Beginners need a lot of reps with a minimum weight and start with 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps each. When the working weight becomes significant, start each exercise with a warm-up approach, such as; 10 repetitions without weights or 50% of the working weight.

Rest time between sets is 50–90 seconds. If definition is more important to you than muscle mass, the break can be shortened to 15 seconds. Monitor your heart rate during training and keep it within the range of 100-140 beats per minute.

Full body workouts are also great because they make it easier to catch up on an unplanned weekend. This is true for girls who suffer from pain on critical days and cannot exercise, and for those who find it difficult to combine sports with work. Of course, omissions reduce performance, so you can’t lie down for no reason.

See also  Jay Cutler: Back Workouts for Men (2021)

Full-Body Workout Routine

Option I:

  • Squats;
  • Pull of the vertical block;
  • Bench press lying;
  • Raising dumbbells to the sides;
  • Lifting the bar for biceps.

Option II:

  • Abdominal crunches for the abs;
  • Bench press lying;
  • Pull-ups on the bar;
  • Leg press in the simulator;
  • Shoulder press while standing;
  • Curl of arms with dumbbells for biceps;
  • French press; extension of the arms with dumbbells from behind the head.

Option III (for women):

  • Squats;
  • Deadlift;
  • Row of a dumbbell in an incline or an upper cable to the chest;
  • Extension of the arms on the cables while standing;
  • Abdominal crunches for the abs.

Split Workout for Beginners

Basic training (usually after 7-9 months) is followed by a split program. The stage begins with a two-day split. The most popular is “top-bottom”: One day the muscles of the lower body are trained, the other day, the upper muscles of the body are trained.

Later a three-day split is used. Such a system is popular: Back and biceps, legs and triceps, chest and shoulders. There are eight types of splits in total for solving specific problems. This is typically the routines used for building muscle.

Wave periodization is a critical for this and low weight is needed to first asses your techniques and tolerances to such programs.

split workout for beginners

Mistakes Women Make in the Gym

Just because full body workouts with basic exercises and weights build muscle, doesn’t mean they will make women look masculine. Even guys find it difficult to become more masculine and that’s when testosterone levels are high.

With strength training, a girl can ruin her figure if she:

  • Uses steroid drugs;
  • Does side bends with any heavy weights, which will expand the waist;
  • Overuse the trapezius (muscles at the base of the neck) and forearm;
  • In leg exercises, focus on the quadriceps, the front of the thigh (for example, squats with a narrow stance);
  • Pump a lot and often press heavy;
  • Do exercises that are contraindicated by doctors (for example, squat with varicose veins);
  • Perform the same type of workout daily.

Don’t be afraid to pump and build too much muscle, with the right training and nutrition, this is not possible. Even if you make a mistake, get rid of the “extra” muscles with more repetitions within the exercises and use low weight. Use static exercises (planks, a high chair against a wall, etc.) and do not train in low repetitions like bodybuilders for 6-8 repetitions. Do not be afraid of sports nutrition, but avoid protein shakes when losing weight.

See also  5 Best Deltoid Exercises for Shoulder Workout Program

Body Types

There is no one universal program for everyone, otherwise there would be no need to compose individual workouts. Details that seem unimportant to beginners are of great importance, such as; technique, breathing, pace, range of motion, break between sets. These “little things” greatly affect the appearance. Take into account all the subtleties of the training and do it accordingly so that it is adjusted for your body type:

body types
  • Endomorphs easily gain muscle mass, it is difficult to part with fat reserves and it is difficult for them to “get defined”. If this is the type of person, train with moderate weights, high intensity and minimal rest between sets. Boost your metabolism with prolonged loads of 60 to 90 minutes. Take time for three aerobic workouts per week. Endomorphs need a low-calorie diet (more protein, less carbohydrates) and sports nutrition to improve relief.
  • Mesomorphs with a muscular body and strong bone structure, do not suffer from overweight problems. A set of high-quality muscle mass is easy for them. Such a body responds well to exercise with large weights at a fast pace and does not respond well to aerobic exercise. Moderate and varied training is the key to success. The diet should have enough protein (at least 2g per 1 kg) and complex carbohydrates. A quarter of the calorie intake can come from fats, which help the mesomorph build muscle and strength.

When will the Training Results be Visible?

The most important thing for losing weight or growing muscle is nutrition. If you work out intensively in the gym and eat fast carbohydrates, then fat will increase, not muscle. Insufficient amount of protein in the diet will contribute to the development of diseases. Therefore, you will also have to work in the kitchen, carefully read the labels on the goods and prepare the right food in advance.

Not a single elite sports club and super trainer can help you achieve results until you yourself take your classes seriously. If you’re unsure of what to do in the gym, learn physiology, workout basics and technique skills. Welcome to a world of discipline, tedious physical activity, frustration, and thrilling take-offs!

Next Post

5 Best Deltoid Exercises for Shoulder Workout Program

Every man dreams of having broad shoulders. The best deltoid exercises at the gym allow you to achieve this. Let’s look at the features of shoulder training, exercises for them and also a possible program option for their regular and systematic training. Anatomy of Deltoid Muscle First of all, you should understand that […]
best deltoid exercises

Subscribe US Now