How to start in the gym? 7 tips for the first day
Seven tips for going to the gym
- Find a motivation
Let’s face it: if you’re not motivated, you won’t go. That is why the first thing is to find something that makes you want to play sports. In general, this is equivalent to setting well-defined objectives. They can be losing weight, toning muscles, increasing flexibility, or improving breathing capacity. There are many possibilities. You decide what you want to achieve. Of course, you have to set realistic goals. You cannot pretend to lose ten kilos in a month when you know that you will not healthily achieve this. The only thing you would do is demotivate yourself when you see that you do not complete it.
- Choose a gym and the right equipment.
After wondering how to start training in the gym, the second thing you should do is to choose a gym that meets your expectations. For this, you have to consider the quality of the professionals, the level of hygiene, and the facilities. Also, keep in mind the location of the center. If it’s too far or inaccessible, it’s easier to stop going, especially if you want to exercise early in the morning.
The next thing is to get a piece of essential equipment that fulfills its function, and the most basic is good shoes and sportswear. Remember that the latter must be breathable. You can include many other accessories, such as those that help you control the intensity of the exercise. However, it is perfectly valid to start with what is strictly necessary and acquire new items as you go.
- Do not demand more than necessary.
When wondering how to start in the gym, many believe that it is best to start going every day. However, sometimes we want to get things done too quickly. For this reason, this is not very advisable when you play sports since it can lead to avoidable injuries. Keep in mind that the first thing is to learn the basic techniques. If you don’t know how to do the movements well, they won’t give the expected result, and you can also hurt yourself.
- Prepare your things the day before
Procrastination is one of the big problems when starting to exercise. The “tomorrow I start” is lengthening and never comes. Therefore, if you are going to go in the morning, leave things prepared the day before. This way, it is more difficult for laziness to overcome you and you will feel somewhat more obliged.
- Enlist the help of a coach
The best thing you can do when you start going to the gym is to have a trainer. Perhaps it is the best advice for the first day of the gym since he will explain to you how to do the movements and control that you do not make gestures that can be harmful to you. Likewise, he will make sure that you do not involve muscles that you should not do so as not to distract attention from the muscle group that you do want to work on.
Also, at first, it isn’t easy to know how to start a routine in the gym or which patterns work well to meet your goals. The exercises will not be the same for a person who wants to treat back pain and someone who wants to mark abdominals. That is why we recommend that you speak with your trainer so that he can make you a personalized routine.
He will explain how to start in the gym to lose weight, tone up, or do whatever you want.
- Watch out for injuries.
We already said that you have to be careful to avoid injuries when you exercise. It is a precaution you have to take at the beginning when you are still not 100% sure that you are doing the movements correctly.
To prevent the best thing you can do is warm-up before starting the central part of the routine and stretch afterward. This will ensure that your muscles are prepared. Don’t worry too much about this point if you have a coach, because he will mark it for you on your exercise table.
- Keep track of your progress.
This is a tip that not only applies to the first day, but you can use it every time. We already said that it is essential to find the motivation to start going to the gym. However, it is easy to lose it if you do not notice the progress.
That is why it is indispensable that you become aware of what you are achieving thanks to exercising. The advances can be of any type: more marked muscles, lost kilos, more energy, more excellent resistance… You will notice many changes in your body, and looking at them is your primary motivation to continue.
You have already seen how to start in the gym. These are essential tips that you can apply easily. Of course, the main one is the following:
- Do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today.
- Prepare your shoes and your sports bag and start as soon as possible.
- Start with simple and not too demanding routines and progress little by little. The results will not take long to be noticed.
Routine to start in the gym
Even though you comply with the advice that we have previously mentioned, it is still possible that you still have a hard time going to the gym. For this reason, we propose a routine to start in the gym that we hope will make things easier for you. This routine consists of 5 exercises that are easy to do and not heavy.
- Run, pedal, or row
A little cardio never feels terrible, and it is the best option to warm up and start the routine. No matter what you do, you can get on a treadmill and start jogging or pedaling on a spinning bike or rowing on the rowing machine. This exercise will warm up the muscles and prevent any injury. Think that if you don’t go to the gym, muscles don’t get stronger or take more time to exercise, and if we start to use them and take them to the limit, we will likely injure ourselves.
Do cardio for 15-20 minutes.
- Squats
This exercise consists of sitting in the air, positioning yourself as if you were seated but without a chair, then and without letting time pass, standing up again.
The good thing about doing squats is that you can increase their complexity. You have to add more weight by taking a fitball or doing them in a multipower.
Do three sets of 10 squats with weights.
- Pull-ups
This exercise cannot fail in your routine, to start in the gym. It is so crucial since doing so exercises many muscles. However, if you are not used to it, the first few days will be hellish, but when you see that you can do more and more pull-ups every day, you will love it.
To get started, do three sets of 5 pull-ups each. If you see that you can do them calmly, increase the number of repetitions; on the contrary, reduce it if you know that you cannot. The important thing is that you start with just the right pull-ups, don’t hate yourself, and gradually increase the number of pull-ups.
- Bench press
When you ask us what routine to start within the gym, one of the classic exercises that personal trainers tend to like is the bench press. This exercise will work the upper body, such as the serratus, triceps, pectoralis, anterior deltoid, and coracobrachialis.
To carry out this exercise, you must put on the weight you see fit on the bar. Once this is done, stretch out on a flat bench with your feet touching the ground. Take the bar that you previously loaded and secured. The arms should be bent so that the elbows form a 90-degree angle. Take a deep breath and lift the weight as you exhale. Lower the bar until it almost touches your chest. Please take a deep breath, and raise it back up.
Do three sets of 15 repetitions.
- Dumbbell Lateral Raises
You will need to take a pair of dumbbells of the weight you see fit to do this exercise. Please stand up, and extend your arms without bending them to the sides, so that they are aligned horizontally. With this exercise, you will be able to tone the trapezius and the middle deltoid.
Do three sets of 15 repetitions.