Starting out in the gym can be intimidating. Trust me, it’s a universal experience. I remember my first time walking through the Planet Fitness doors… Oh, my gosh. I was lost, confused, and in desperate need of guidance. I’m sure you can imagine the look on my face when I first heard the “Lunk Alarm” go off.
But after countless resets and telling myself “I’ll start Monday,” I finally learned the tips and tricks to be successful in the gym.
Your Pre-Workout Basics
Just like any other day, you need to make sure you are hydrated and nourished. You don’t want start feeling fatigued five minutes into your workout! Trust me, it’s not a good feeling. Registered dietitians and nutritionists recommend eating some light carbs like white rice, potatoes, cereal, bananas, apple sauce, bagels or white bread before a workout. Remember, carbs are good for energy and protein is good for recovery.
Your Weekly Split
How you plan your workouts is very important. Certain muscle groups thrive together, while others don’t. Exercise physiologist, molecular biologist, and biostatistician, Brad Dieter, breaks down the benefits of the split (gym lingo for a workout rotation) into three main categories: weight loss, muscle growth, and recovery. A balanced split increases calories burned, muscle gain, and rest time.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s tempting to only workout the parts of your body you want to see change the most… but you’re not going to reap the same benefits. To avoid injuries and see the most progress, it’s best to keep a split that balances recovery time and working time of your muscles.
Push Day
Chest + Triceps
Leg Day
Quads + Hamstrings + Glutes
Pull Day
Back + Biceps
Shoulders & Abs Day
Shoulders + Core
Your Form
Before you throw that 45 pound plate on the bar, practice your form. Getting the results you want is heavily dependent on your form. Starting with low weight, or even no weight, is best to learn how to correctly do an exercise without risk of injury.
But how do you know what to do? What does good form look like?
There are so many resources available online that teach you different techniques and methods… which can be a little overwhelming. To help slim it down for you, I was recommended a couple resources from personal trainers and girls who recently graduated from the “gym newbie” status. For beginners that are looking for that walk you through, step-by-step process, here are some inspo ideas!
NASM Exercise Library (Website)
This is my personal favorite resource to use to explain the form for an exercise. It’s direct and straight to the point, easy to navigate, and extremely beginner friendly.
- Video demonstration
- Step-by-step explanation in description of each workout
- Filter option to find exercise that meets difficulty level, equipment accessibility, and targeted body part.
Playbook – Trainers & Workouts (App)
This platform is great if you’re looking for something that covers more than just learning proper form. With 30k ratings and 4.9 stars, Playbook has crazy amazing reviews worth notice. Instead of figuring out your workouts yourself, Playbook has trainers that craft workout plans for you.
- Short video clips to show you correct your form
- At home workout guides
- Community chats
- Nutrition plans
Grounds: Fitness App for Women (App)
This app operates pretty similarly to Playbook, but with a twist. Grounds is designed for women! If you’re wanting something more curated to the woman’s body, this is definitely a program you should check out.
- Guided workout programs
- Women-only community chats
- Menstrual tracking
- Inexpensive annual plans
Your Rest Time and Recovery
You’ve put all of your hard work and energy into the gym–now it’s time to give your body a break! Believe it or not, recovery time is actually just as crucial as the workout itself. When you exercise, you make microscopic tears in your muscle tissues. During recovery, your muscles re-build stronger. If you’re not giving your body time to recover, you’re not going to build the muscle mass you’re looking to see.
To prevent muscle exhaustion and give your body proper rest, the International Sports Sciences Association recommends prioritizing healthy post-workout meals (I am extremely guilty of buying “reward” milkshakes after hitting legs), stretching regularly, getting healthy hours of sleep, and planning recovery time into your schedule.
Your Motivation and Progression
Now, as important as your nutrition, split, form, and recovery time are, motivation is the factor above all else. Showing up is arguably the most difficult part of going to the gym. Finding that motivation to go consistently, to push yourself each day, is a choice you have to continue to make. This is where discipline and accountability come into play. How can you hold yourself accountable? In other words, what is going to get you to show up?
- Get an accountability buddy. Since this past October, my friend and I have gone to the gym with each other multiple days a week. Every time one of us tries to bail, the other is there to push us harder. I cannot imagine how inconsistent I would have been without her!
- Schedule it into your planner. Creating designated times in your week acts as a visual reminder to stay active.
- Use an incentive method. There are plenty of ways to track your progress that will keep you motivated and moving forward. I like to use the “star method,” where I keep track of the weights, reps, time stamps, and routines I do. Each time I increase weight and reps or decrease time, I get a star. If I ran a mile in 11 minutes one week and the next I ran a mile in 10 minutes and 45 seconds, I would get a star. Each week, I aim to get five stars, but you can always adjust that to less or more if you’d like!
Resources
Kaminski, J. (n.d.). What to Eat Before a Workout: Preworkout Nutrition Tips. NASM. https://blog.nasm.org/what-to-eat-before-a-workout
Dieter, B. (n.d.). Upper/Lower Splits Explained: How to Get the Workouts Right. NASM. https://blog.nasm.org/upper-lower-splits-explained
International Sports Sciences Association. (2021). Stop Making These Common
Post-Workout Recovery Mistakes! ISSA.
https://www.issaonline.com/blog/post/stop-making-these-common-post-workout-recovery-mistakes