Let’s be completely honest: the gym is terrifying. Not to mention the Mizzou Rec with all the big guys grunting and walking around dapping each other up. It can easily feel like everyone is watching you, silently critiquing your form and just judging you in general.
As someone who gets extremely nervous in these types of situations, I’ve come across some tips and tricks that have helped me – maybe they can help you too.
Where to go for which weights?
First off, I only go to two different sections of the Rec to ensure complete control and assertiveness over my workout. To stretch, the first place I go to is the top level by the track with the mats, light weights and workout balls. I grab a workout mat, lay it down at a comfortable distance away from others and begin stretching.
- Remember it’s important to do dynamic stretches (that means with movement) before a workout and static stretches (that means with little to no movement) after a workout:
Upper body dynamic and static stretches
Lower body dynamic and static stretches
After stretching for five to 10 minutes, I walk downstairs through the doors and turn into the weight area with the machines and free weights – like dumbbells (the ones you grab by the mirror and benches) and kettlebells (the ones by the mats with the handles).
- Dumbbells are good for exercises like shoulder press, lateral raises, bicep curls (in the video she also does hammer and incline curls; these are just other bicep curl variations)
- Kettlebells are better for exercises like squats and core or ab workouts
How many exercises and for what muscles?
If you’ve ever tried to research how many sets or reps you should do to build muscle, you can probably agree that things get confusing fast.
The bottom line is: four sets of eight reps is a comfortable range to begin with (four sets means you’ll do the workout four total times with rests in between, and eight reps means eight times per set).
As you progress and the weight you’ve chosen feels lighter and lighter over time, you can move to six reps with a heavier weight, still at four sets. Then, once that weight gets to the point where you’re comfortably doing eight reps again, increase the weight. This is what’s known as progressive overload and it’s what builds muscle and strength.
For an entire workout, you’ll only want to do between three and five different exercises. I typically only work two or three different muscles in a single workout, so for a complete workout, I do about two or three exercises for each muscle.
You may have also heard of a split which is the term for what muscles you work when consistently. For example, it might be biceps/triceps on Monday and then hamstring/glutes on Tuesday.
It’s not super important to have a split when you’re starting out in the gym, but as you progress it’s helpful to keep track, so you make sure you’re getting two or three rest days between working each muscle group.
These are examples of workouts you can do for each muscle groups, all of which are possible at the Mizzou Rec (TikTok videos are great at demonstrating how these work and good form):
- Biceps – bicep curls, hammer curls, incline curls
- Triceps – tricep dips, overhead tricep extensions, tricep pushdowns
- Shoulders – shoulder press, lateral raises, rear delt flys
- Back – lat pulldowns, seated cable rows, assisted pull-ups
- Glutes – hip thrusts, RDLs, hip abductors
- Hamstrings – hamstring extensions, RDLs, kettlebell swings
- Quads – lunges, goblet squats, leg press
- Calves – seated calf raises, standing calf raises
It’s also important to do core or ab workouts and cardio. I personally just work these in as needed and do them in addition to my workout. I do about 30 minutes of cardio every couple of days and core workouts every other day for reference. You want to target doing each about two or three times a week to ensure they can be effective.
- Abs – leg raises, planks, crunches
- Cardio – treadmill, stairmaster, stationary cycle
Generally taking two or three minutes to rest between sets is ideal for muscle growth. This makes your entire workout something you should be able to get in about two hours, depending on how long your cardio takes.
Any general interaction tips?
Something else often overlooked in beginner tutorials is basic gym etiquette. It’s easy to find a video on how to do a certain workout, but how to actually interact in the gym is nerve wracking and I don’t believe enough people help others out with it.
First off, to reserve a machine, just place a water bottle and your phone, that’s enough and others will stay away. If you have to change out the attachment on a certain machine, it’s totally okay to put your stuff down and go get the attachment you need. In addition to that, if you see a water bottle or phone, that machine is probably taken.
If it’s busy and you’re waiting for a machine, I always wait in the back near the glass that overlooks the rock wall or right by the large pole next to the trash can. It’s also completely okay to go up to someone at a machine (as long as they’re not in the middle of a set of course) and ask how many sets they have left.
In addition to that, someone could come up to you and ask how many sets you have left. Someone might also ask if they can work in, which just means that you’ll go back and forth, so while you’re resting between a set, they’ll do their set and vice versa.
If you’re between sets as well and it just feels strange to sit there and look around for two or three minutes while you’re resting, I always just go on my phone and watch TikTok. I’ll also look up at the screens and watch whatever’s on, since there’s no way you’ll make accidental eye contact with anyone looking up. People often also listen to music in the gym, but sometimes I prefer not to because when I do, I get the feeling that everyone is watching and judging me and I can’t hear because I have headphones on. Personally, it grounds me to have no music or headphones on and be able to hear the gym environment around me.
Bottom line
At the end of the day the gym is for everyone who goes there. Even if all of this information just disappears out of your head the moment you walk in, you still deserve to be there and whatever you do there will be better than having done nothing. Don’t worry about what you’re wearing, as long as you can move comfortably in it and it’s not too heavy. Don’t worry about your water bottle; whatever it is will still hydrate you. Don’t worry about how much you’re sweating; that’s half the point of the gym. Ultimately, whatever you’re doing there is bettering you and that’s motivation enough to keep trying.