By Emily Gianni
Going to the gym may be scary in the beginning. You may need to create a set schedule for you to stick to when you’re first starting out. This will motivate you to go to the gym, even if you are nervous.
You do not have to start going to the gym seven days a week either right in the beginning. You do not want the gym burnout to happen, especially right in the beginning. Instead, you can start going to the gym about two to three days a week. It is also to go with a workout partner to motivate you and so you can help each other. In the beginning you may be super sore: your body is not used to using weights to work out.
When I go to the gym, I divide my days by legs and shoulders, chest and triceps, back and biceps, glutes and abs, and cardio. In the beginning, I was not committed to a daily schedule; but I did pick three days to go and alternate between different days of the body parts I wrote above. I would normally do legs one day and arms the next time I went to the gym, just in case I was sore the next time, I wasn’t overworking my muscles.
Also, do not be embarrassed when you go to the gym. Everyone was once a beginner in the gym and everyone there wants to be fit and healthy! Try not to stress yourself out when going to the gym or talk your way out of going to the gym. I used to watch YouTube videos or TikToks when I was in the gym so I could remember how to do each exercise! Personally when I work out, I do 10 times for about three or four sets.
Here are some beginning workouts to do for each body part. You can also watch workout videos on TikTok or YouTube to help!
Legs:
Calf Raises. There are a few different ways to do this one. One way is standing up and simply going on your toes. To make it harder, you can hold a weighted plate. The second way is by sitting on a bench, putting a weighted plate on your quads, and raising onto your toes. The third way is that some gyms actually have a calf raise machine and you just push the bar with your toes.
Leg extensions. This is a self explanatory machine at the gym. You sit down in the machine and you lift your legs. You can change the weight you want to use on this machine and this works out your quads.
Leg curl. This is another easy to use machine. This machine you also sit at and instead of lifting, or extending, your legs, you curl them under the seat. You can change the weight you want to use on this machine as well. This works out your hamstrings.
Shoulders:
Shoulder shrugs. You hold dumbbells (with your weight of choice) and shrug your shoulders to your ears while leaving your neck as relaxed as it can be. As you get better at it, you can increase the weight.
Overhead shoulder press with dumbbells. You get dumbbells with your weight of choice, and hold them in a flexing your muscles position. Next, you push the dumbbells up to the sky over your head. You will bring the dumbbells together at the top, and then bring them back down to the flexing muscle position.
Chest:
Flat dumbbell press. You lay flat on your back on a bench, and press the dumbbells straight up from the center of your chest up.
Chest press machines. There are also machines in the gym that are labeled “Chest Press.” With these machines, you can add any weight you want to add, and press the handles either up, or away from your body.
Triceps:
Triceps extensions with dumbbell. You hold a dumbbell over the back of your head and lower it behind your back to about a 90 degree angle. You then straighten your arms, but you never straighten them all the way and lock out your elbows. This can hurt your elbows!
Triceps dips. You can do dips either on a bench or on a tricep dip machine (the pull up machine normally has the dip bar). If you are doing it on a bench, you put your feet on the ground and your arms behind you on the bench with your hands facing the same way your feet are. From here, you bend your elbows and then push back up to have your arms straight. With the dip machine, you have your knees on the knee pads, and lower yourself down, bending your arms to a 90 degree angle, and then push yourself back up. Again, use as much weight as you need.
Glutes:
Stairmaster. You just start the machine and walk up stairs. You can walk straight, or go sideways up the stairs to work different parts of your glutes. This is also great for cardio!
Incline on treadmill. You increase the incline on the treadmill and just walk. Again, this is great for cardio.
RDLs. With RDLs, you hold a dumbbell in each hand, and you bend forward. You slightly bend your knees as you roll the dumbbells down your body. Then you stand back up. Don’t go too fast, you want to feel it in your glutes!
Fire hydrants. You go on your hands and knees. You work one leg at a time. You will lift one leg up to the side. It is supposed to look like a dog using the bathroom on a fire hydrant. You can do this exercise at home too. It may look funny, but it actually works!
Abs:
Russian twists with a medicine ball. You sit on your behind and pick your feet off the floor. You twist side to side slowly. To make it harder, you hold a medicine ball while doing it.
Crunches. You lay on the floor and lift the top half of your body slightly off the floor. To make this harder, I use a dumbbell and place it on my chest, which gives it extra weight to lift the top half of my body.
Side crunches standing with a plate. You hold a plate and lean your body to the side slightly. This exercise is such a killer for your abs. I take turns for each side, and do as light of weight as you need!