10 Tips to Start Working Out
Getting off the couch and going to the gym can be a very intimidating step to take, especially when you notice that others know more about working out than you do! To be successful, it’s important to start off on the right foot! You don’t want to be one of those people who starts off wrong, gets into some bad habits, and then struggles to achieve their goal of having well-developed muscle mass and no body fat. I don’t want you to have any more challenges in terms of workouts, I’m sure the ones you’re facing now are enough for you. And many of them can be avoided! If you’re willing to take some positive first steps, you’ll find that you’ll make great progress right from the start and won’t feel lost once you begin your fitness journey.
1. MAKE FITNESS A HABIT
It’s fine to go to the gym even once, but if you want to see some positive changes in your body and mind, you need to make it a habit. I know it sounds pretty impossible what I’m saying right now, especially if you have a very busy day, but going to the gym 3-4 times a week for at least 3 weeks is absolutely essential to your success. Lasting habits develop over time, but once you get them ingrained in your mind, you’ll notice that when you fail to stick to them, you’ll feel irritated. Experts say it takes 21 days to create a new habit. Which means that only after those 21 days of consistent workouts at the gym will you feel frustrated when you miss one. Does skipping a workout bother you? No problem, it‘s a normal reaction that pretty clearly indicates you‘re slowly but surely moving towards success! Give yourself more time to create a new habit. A week is not enough.
2. CONTROL YOUR LIFTING
Beginners often learn by forgetting. This isn‘t a bad thing, but if you’ve copied a wrong move from someone else, then you’ll continue to do it wrong in turn. Poor form comes from trying to lift a lot of weights too fast. In such cases, many resortto mechanical momentum rather than muscle contraction to move those weights. Your efforts need to be focused and controlled. The key is to strategically isolate and work your muscle groups through different exercises, from different angles, and with different techniques. The better you can contract a muscle group during a lift, the more those muscles will develop! Big weights can wait. In the big picture, it matters less what weight you can lift when doing bicep curls. What’s more important is learning how to best flex the muscles to move the weight, not how to push it off your hip.
3. COMBINED (COMPOUND) MOVEMENTS
At first, when you first enter a gym, you’re probably tempted to be distracted by all sorts of complex training techniques. You may have seen some of them in fitness magazines or on various websites. And, more than likely, you’ll want to do them yourself. Wait a minute! Take your time. If you‘ve never been to a gym before, it’s not the best time to rush into muscle group isolation exercises, because they won‘t do you much good at the moment. Remember that an isolation exercise is designed to train only one muscle group! For best results, I recommend starting with squats, barbell push-ups, shoulder thrusts, straightening, dumbbell rows at 90 degrees. These types of lifts require the use of several muscle groups at the same time. By performing them, you‘ll be able to lift more weights, train more muscles, and increase your metabolic rate much better than doing dropsets of isolation movements like tricep extensions. Choose those lifts that involve using at least half your body to do them. Isolation exercises can be added as you go, start with what I told you earlier first.
4. PERFECT POSTURE
The way your spine is positioned when you lift weights can have a huge impact on your body and the weight you lift. The best posture in your case, unless you are a performance athlete who can adapt your position as you wish, is to keep your back slightly arched, your chest up, and your head and neck in as neutral a position as possible, regardless of the lifts you do. Experts say that if your back doesn’t stay in the correct position during a lift, you risk injury. Plus, the exercise you‘re doing won’t be executed correctly either, and the results you’re hoping for won‘t show up any time soon. A strong spine mirrors a strong torso. If the torso is weak, the spine has nothing to stand on. When you lift weightsfitness – even with simple movements like biceps curls – you are training your core muscles. You may think you‘re doing nothing more than flexing your abs, but in reality, all of your trunk muscles, even the smaller ones that protect your spine, are being trained in this movement.
5. PAY ATTENTION TO DIET
Forget pizza and other fast food when trying to sculpt your body and shed fat. Don’t try to sabotage yourself! Just because you go to the gym and work out doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want! Workouts are just one part of the fitness puzzle. What you do after you leave the gym is even more important than the exercises you did there. A proper diet is important for the well-being of your mind as well as your body. Before you worry about other things, get the diet thing straight! I know, the word diet, for many, is a scary one. But I’m not telling you to start eating only herbs and drinking water with every meal. Nutrition doesn’t have to be something that puts fear in your bones. For starters, try to get rid of all those processed foods that aren’t good for anything and eat more protein and vegetables at the table. You can still enjoy good food, but you need to choose wisely. Instead of pizza, make some chicken with quinoa and green beans. Even if you don’t have enough time to go to the gym, make a change in your diet and you’ll start to see some results.
6. TIGHTEN PROPERLY!
What is one of the important things that matters when you go to the gym? Finishing the workout you started, I‘d say. But just as important is how you try to get the most out of each individual workout. An often overlooked principle in lifting is the strong contraction (or strong squeeze) at the top of each movement. It doesn’t matter what exercises you’re doing, whether it’s bicep curls or leg extensions, it’s important to squeeze as hard as you can when you get to the top of the lift to build muscle. You don’t need to squeeze for more than 2 seconds, however, those 2 seconds are all that matters in the end!
7. LEARN FROM MISTAKES
Nobody is born an expert in anything. Everything you know, you’ve learned in your lifetime. When you’re just starting out in anything, including a sport, be aware that you will inevitably make some mistakes. The point is to pay attention to those mistakes and learn from them. Think a little about your body and how it responds to the lifts, the diet and even the attitude you have. We humans are very different beings. You won‘t find two people who are identical! The better you understand yourself, the better you will be able to design a training program that fits you perfectly.
8. FINISH EACH REPETITION
Too many beginners focus too much on the first part of the lift (the concentric movement) and forget about the second, eccentric (or lowering) part. Yes, it looks pretty cool to see your muscles flex, but if you let the weight fall quickly and uncontrollably, the results can be disastrous. During the concentric phase of any lift, your muscle acts like a brake, slowing the weight as it descends, pulled by the force of gravity. This is just as important as the contraction, or concentric phase, because your muscles are still engaged in the effort. It is preferable that your muscles are strong throughout the movement, not just the first half! If you can‘t control the weight you‘re about to drop, it‘s too much for you. Switch to some lower weights and try again.
9. ASK QUESTIONS
Anyone starting out in any activity will have many questions to ask. When you went to your first day of school, you’re bound to have a lot of questions. When you got your first job, I can bet you had some concerns about your new job, so you had to ask someone for help. There‘s nothing wrong with asking questions. The worst thing you can do is not ask any questions or be ignorant. If you don’t ask questions, you’ll end up with bad habits, you won’t lift weights properly, and you’ll work hard for mediocre results at best. If you don’t feel comfortable asking questions in front of other people at the gym, get a personal trainer. He can help you with anything you need in fitness and answer your questions (or at least he should, since he’s supposed to be the expert). The gym can be a pretty intimidating place for a beginner. Even so, you shouldn‘t be embarrassed to ask someone how to do a certain exercise or what muscle group you should be working. Again, a trainer or instructor at that gym can help you understand how to use a machine and what specific benefits it has for the muscle group you want to train. If you become confident enough in your own strength and stop being shy, it’s very likely you’ll return to that gym again in the future!
10. THINK ABOUT YOUR MUSCLES
This may sound ridiculous, but it’s really important to focus on the muscle group you’re working. Learn to feel your muscles! You can also do this at home without the need for a weight. Flex your arm and feel your biceps contract. If you can focus on this, you can be said to be able to make what‘s called a “mind-muscle connection“. This connection is the best way to maximize a workout.