What Should Beginners Learn at the Gym?
Part 1, laying out the Big picture
So congratulations, you have finally made the commitment to GO TO THE GYM.
You invested in the membership, you put on your gym clothes, and you showed up.
The biggest issue when people first join a gym is always the same…you dont know what to do.
“Im here…now what???”
The sheer variety of equipment can be overwhelming. Cardio equipment is easy to figure out, but the machines and weights section of the gym is probably intimidating.
You’ll see people running. You’ll see people lifting. You will see people in classes.
Some people will have great physiques. Some people will look average. Some will be sweating and focused. Others meandering and socializing.
You can talk to 10 different people, and get 10 different answers on what a good workout is.
Im going to demystify Fitness for you
This is the conversation I would have with my new clients the first time I met them.
We would not launch immediately into a workout.
We would sit at the desk, and I’d explain some basic scientific principles of exercise, and break down any false beliefs or misconceptions you might have.
I want you confident that when you come to the gym, you know not only what to do, but WHY you are doing it.
Principle 1: training is a scientific and objective process.
Exercise is not based on magic. It's not based on someone's individual theories that they pulled out of a vacuum It's not based on unfounded opinion. It is not esoteric.
Exercise is a science. It follows the laws and principles of biology.
You are living organism. You need to breathe in oxygen for your body to function (and to not die). Improving your cardio improves your bodys ability to use oxygen.
You have a skeleton. Muscles are what enable your skeleton to move. Getting stronger muscles improves your strength and overall movement ability. Lifting weights is how you get stronger muscles.
Your body can adapt to stress (the SAID Principle). Your body will adapt specifically to the demands you place on it.
As the human body has a universal design, we all do the same kinds of exercise. Your individual results from exercise will vary. Genetics are real. The only way to learn about your body is by doing. Everyone trains similar, but no two people train exactly the same.
If you exercise in the correct manner, you will get stronger. You will build muscle. You will probably lose some bodyfat as well if you eat a nutritious diet at the same time.
These effects WILL happen, so long as the correct actions are done.
Principle #2-Being Healthy has an Objective definition
People love to argue about what makes someone “fit”.
Is it lifting a certain amount of weight?
Being able to run a marathon?
Is it how fast you can run?
What about gymnasts, they are really athletic, right?
I would distinguish being healthy and being fit as two different categories
When people try to define fitness, they usually focus on the ability of being able to perform a particular exercise or physical task.
The problem is that being able to perform a physical feat does not neatly correspond with living a long time and having a healthy metabolism
You could have a 500lb bench press and be significantly overweight.
You could jog regularly and have poor physical strength and subpar body composition.
You could lift weights daily and lack aerobic endurance and have high blood pressure.
What does being healthy mean then?
Healthy: your body is robust, you rarely get sick, you have high energy levels each day. and barring some sort of catastrophic event, your future health outlook is positive. All relevant health markers are in healthy ranges (which will get to shortly).
Basically, if you are healthy, you are likely to live a long time, and not have health problems.
Unhealthy: Your body is fragile, you struggle to move, your energy levels are low, and you are more likely to get sick and die prematurely from preventable diseases.
Said simple, being unhealthy means are not likely to live a long time, and will have health problems.
There are FOUR Measurements that indicate whether someone is healthy or unhealthy
1. Bodyweight and BMI
2. Bodycomposition
3. Heart Rate and Blood Pressure
4. HDL/Triglyceride Ratio
Improving your fitness SHOULD improve all of these metrics, especially if you are overweight or obese.
Principle 3: Progressive Overload. If we are not making improvements, our training is not working
Progressive overload is the practice of increasing the intensity of exercise to promote continuous adaptation.
Specific to lifting weights, that means adding reps, and adding weight.
Training is not “hoping” that our workouts have an effect. The reason that we count reps and count weight is because we want to build muscle, and get stronger over time
If you are not training with progressive overload, your training is probably not effective.
Principle 4: Working Out Should be Organized and Easy to Understand
Over the course of training, you should learn a few things, such as
-Basic anatomy, learning major muscle groups
-Basic biomechanics, learning what each major muscle does
-How to perform a set with appropriate effort
-How sets and reps work
-How to organize a workout in a way that makes sense to YOU
-How to warmup properly
-How long to rest for
Whether you train with me for 1 year or only 1 month, I want to give you enough knowledge that you have autonomy and feel confident in your ability to train yourself.