Beginners Guide to the Gym

10 tips to make you feel like you own the place

by Michael O’Neill

Goals of this article

• Understand that it’s perfectly normal to feel gym intimidation
• Develop your own strategy to navigate the a gym with confidence

If you are new to the gym, going in for a session can be quite a daunting experience. As soon as you enter the gym, you are immediately surrounded by hyperactive testosterone mixed with whatever supplements everyone around you has filled their shakers with. It isn’t always a pleasant experience. The gym can feel dirty, sweaty, smelly, and not welcoming. No one wants to talk to you because they have their headphones on. Then, there’s a steady stream of grunts from gym rats trying to bench press more than they should.

As a personal trainer, I have seen lots of gyms and worked with many beginners whether they are new to the gym, or completely new to working out. If you’ve never worked out in your life, there are a few simple things you can do to ensure you stay safe, dedicated, motivated and effective. If you go to the gym from time to time, you will still find some useful tips below.

1. Go with a workout buddy. The best way to stay motivated is to have someone hold you accountable. This can be done by consistently going to the gym with a friend who’ll be there to push you and make sure you aren’t flaking on your workouts.
2. Turn up those tunes. It sucks to work out listening to the Top 40 playlist on the gym intercom. Instead, get a playlist of your favorite upbeat songs to keep you going. It’ll help you get “in the zone.”
3. Put your ego away. This advice applies to so many aspects of the gym, but most importantly if you are new to working out. Exercising requires practice, dedication, and more practice. Your body needs to develop at its own pace and doing anything without proper form will only lead to injury. Ask a personal trainer out on the floor for tips on your form, or better yet, invest in a personal trainer for a couple of sessions.
4. Drop the weight. Most people are using too much weight during their exercises, no matter what level. There is a notion that everyone is looking at you and how you are performing at the gym, so people tend to up the weight and show how strong you are. Lifting too much weight without having proper form not only makes you look stupid, but it’ll also interfere with your muscle development. Start with low weight at high repetitions (about 20 on each set), then slowly increase the weight as it gets easier.
5. Use the machines. Most people who workout say that machines are for wusses, but those same people are not performing their exercises the proper way. If you’ve never worked out before, your muscles will be too unstable to use the free weights. You need to develop base strength by using the machines that work the biggest muscles in your body: your legs, back, core, and chest. Machines limit your range of motion and keep your body moving in one plane, ensuring that your muscles are performing the movements properly. Once you’ve spent about a month on the machines, you can graduate to more unstable means of weight lifting.
6. Take it slow. For some reason, people believe moving weight faster is better. If you are an Olympic lifter, faster may be better. For most people and exercises, moving faster produces the least effective results. Exercises are meant to be slow and controlled so that you never use momentum to get the weight up. Once you start trying to use momentum, you’re only opening yourself up to injury. By not being slow and controlled, you’re not contracting your muscles to their fullest ability, thereby not having the best results in the smallest amount of time (which I assume is why you are working out).
7. Find a program. Don’t go into the gym to do a few bicep curls and leg abductions. Go in with a plan so that you aren’t wandering around the gym getting in the way of people who know what they are doing. You may not know what you’re doing at first, so you need to have a list of exercises. Carrying around a pad of paper is acceptable at the gym. True athletes keep a log.
8. Breathe. People always try to hold their breath as if not getting oxygen to the muscles is going to help them work better. Your muscles need oxygen to function, and when you’re not breathing properly throughout the duration of your exercise, you may become light headed or sick. Breathe out when exerting force; breathe in when resetting.
9. Rest. When you try to do too much at once, you may feel sick. If you’ve never worked out before, your body is susceptible to producing high amounts of lactic acid that you’re not used to. As a result, you’ll start feeling nauseous (memories of gym in high school?). If this happens, sit down, drink some water, and finish your workout early. To avoid getting nauseous in the first place, ensure that you are breathing properly throughout your exercise and taking rests between.
10. Be confident. Know that you are going to the gym for you and nobody else. So many people go to the gym to lose that “flabby stomach” or build up their pecs or to get a bigger butt, but the most important thing you need to worry about is getting healthy. Don’t worry about the aesthetics. Worry about how well your heart is working so you can enjoy life longer than those who don’t. You are at the gym to feel better about yourself and to enjoy your life, not just to find ways to look better in it.

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