Ready for your gym to be mobbed?

With the new year upon us, one thing you’ll notice is that the gym is going to be a busy place if you decided to go or join one. Now that you’ve decided you want to get into better shape and you signed up to go to your local gym do you know where to get started? You’ll have trainers coming to you to try to sell a package to sign up or perhaps you signed up for a class at the gym but neither makes you comfortable because either the trainer isn’t fit enough to inspire you or doesn’t know what you specifically need or perhaps the class you signed up for only has super fit people in there and you don’t want to stand out. So what should you do?

First, let go off all those negative thoughts. If you decided to exercise and get healthy, let that be the thought that drives you. Your trainer will usually give you a stock program from a template to get started so start with that and see how you like it but eventually find a trainer that customizes to your needs. You don’t want to pay a trainer for tips and exercise demos that you can watch on Youtube and get a beginner’s program from the Internet so definitely assess how long you want the trainer’s help before moving on. As far as classes go, remember you can always try it out and if you don’t like it, move on to another class at the gym. You might be surprised by what you like or don’t like. Just because Yoga may not excite you and Zumba does, doesn’t mean that if you gave Yoga a shot that it wouldn’t result in more flexibility, patience, and serenity for you. All options should be on the table when signing up for a class—of course, we sign up for classes based on schedules but you are more likely to go to one that you enjoy!

Let’s fast forward a little bit. Now that you have figured out what exercises you should be doing and what exercises you are comfortable with perhaps, you need a program that covers all body parts (total body workout) so that you don’t have to go every day. Total body workouts are great because you can work out x3 a week and rest between each day without having to think about which muscle group am I going to work today. An example of a total body workout is below. You can Youtube demos of each movement or ask your trainer if you have one. Remember to rest between each set adequately (90sec or more) and definitely warm up and stretch before you start any exercise program. Your body adapts to weight stresses when it is resting, hence the importance of resting between workouts (for example, workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and resting during the workout (rest 90 sec or more). I prefer dumbbells for weight training as it requires coordination and skill and forces you to go slower. When should you move on to a heavier weight? When doing 15 reps becomes easy. What weight should you start with? Start with a challenging for 8-12 reps but not so challenging that you can injure yourself. Remember, you are trying to get healthier not hurt!

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Dumbbell Bench Press

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Single Arm Dumbbell Row

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Barbell Military Press

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Dumbbell Pullover

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Barbell Squats

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Hyperextensions

2-3 Sets of 8-15

Medicine Ball Curl-Ups

Have a fun workout and don’t forget to log what you did in a notebook or a note-taking app as this will help you track your progress!