As a gym newbie, walking into the gym for the first time can be pretty intimidating and daunting, especially if truthfully you don’t have a clue what you’re doing. Remember, we all need to begin somewhere and even the best of the best were once beginners just like you. When it comes to training in the gym, preparation is essential, which is why we’ve outlined the five
fitness tips for gym newbies below.
Always warm up first – Before you begin any
gym training session, you should always set aside an extra five minutes or so, and stretch and warm up. Stretching and warming up before you train will help to increase your core body temperature, it will get your blood flowing, and it will help you to improve muscle fibre elasticity so you’ll be less likely to suffer from a torn muscle or similar injury.
Leave your ego at the door – Before you walk into the gym for the first time, make sure you leave your ego at the door. People that lift with their ego not only look foolish to others, but more importantly, they put their health at risk. Never try lifting more weight than you can handle just to try and show off to other gym-goers because truthfully, none of them really care what you’re doing, and you could be putting yourself in danger. In terms of
gym training, only work with weights you know you can handle. Even if it’s incredibly light, nobody cares, and you can always increase your weights as you become stronger.
Don’t worry about others – Some people are put off by going to the gym for the first time because they’re worried they’ll be ridiculed and judged by other gym regulars. In reality, other gym members will barely even notice you’re there because they’ll be too busy focussing on their own workouts. More importantly, they certainly won’t mock you or ridicule you, because truthfully, a gym is one of the most positive environments you could wish to be in.
Make sure you lift with perfect form – When lifting weights as a beginner, one of the best fitness tips you’re ever likely to receive is to make sure you lift with perfect form. Each exercise you perform is designed to target a specific muscle group, providing it is performed correctly. When you perform barbell curls for biceps for example, you want your biceps to be doing all of the work when you curl the bar, so if you’re having to arch your back and rock back and forth to gain momentum then the weight is far too heavy and you won’t feel the benefit. Read books and magazines, watch videos online, and study how each exercise is designed to be performed.
Make sure you get enough rest – As an overly enthusiastic gym newbie, your motivation levels should be through the roof to begin with, as you’ll be excited to start making some serious gains. Training frequently is important, but so too is getting enough rest. To begin with, aim for at least two full days off from the gym, and from training in general, and get enough sleep. This time off will allow your body to recover following a hard week of training, and it is during this time that much of your new muscle will be built.
