5 Tips to ensuring a safe, successful and fun time in the gym

The worst experience I ever had in a gym was when I was a newbie and walked into a large gym for the first time. I knew I had been taught I should weight train not just do cardio but I just had no idea what I was doing. I walked around blindly not sure where to start and finally just went and got on the treadmill since that was what I had done so much in the past. My goal today is to keep you from making the same mistake. Every person deserves an opportunity to walk into a gym with confidence and be successful. Here are five tips to ensuring a safe, successful and fun gym experience.

Create a realistic schedule and training program:

If there is one thing I have learned with any beginner in the gym it is that 5 days a week right off the back is pretty intense. It is not that it is too big a goal but to go from zero to a hundred over night for most people does not help create a habit or a lifestyle it is overload which most will crash and burn from. That is what happens to a lot of people during January for New Year’s resolutions for example. Instead I prefer an alternate program of 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. This allows a break in between to help with muscle recovery, energy and managing time during the week. This would mean you go to the gym Monday and Tuesday, take off Wednesday and then workout on Thursday and Friday. Also it allows you to work every muscle group without overtraining which is fairly common and can result in getting sick and overwhelmed. Monday is most likely my “Lower Body/Leg Day” (Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Inner and Outer thigh, and Calves). This is because I have had my whole weekend off and I always have the energy to hit such a large area of muscle groups really heavy. Tuesday s are typically shoulders, then on Thursday chest and Triceps and I finish my week off strong with back and biceps.

Weight Train, don’t just hit the treadmill:

When I was 20 years old I learned a valuable lesson. I was dating a guy who had owned a supplement store and been a trainer for years. I was fairly skinny but my legs are quite dominant naturally (comes from 15 years of soccer), he got so tired of me doing cardio and saying I couldn’t lift legs because I was thick enough I didn’t want to put on muscle. His solution…. He grounded me from cardio for 3 months!!! I learned a valuable lesson during those 3 months, lifting weight leans you out while adding just enough muscle your body needs. Needless to say I lost 3 pant sizes. I was very lucky to have had him in my life, he taught me to make a schedule of the gym and he taught me how to use the gym. He took the time to make up a workout plan and teach me what each exercise was. I highly recommend doing the same for anyone else. Plan ahead devise your workout plan at home. RESEARCH! Typically you can work with a trainer one or two times to create a plan or you can create one at home using tutorials you can find online by trainers that have posted on places like youtube.com or on websites that do weekly videos such as mysportsnutrition.com. Always make sure they are certified however so you are getting good information.

Form (Workout Smarter not Harder):

Proper form is essential when training. It will deter and prevent any injury, and it can be a lot of fun because you can use your “Super Woman” or “Super Man” walk. This is the proper form of standing – Keep your chest up, abs in tight, slight curve in your lower back, chin up and head held high. Then picture an imaginary cape off of your back flying in the wind! This proper form is critical in making sure you don’t injure yourself. It’s also vital in making sure you execute the exercise correctly. Form is also so important because it won’t allow you to cheat!

Nutrition:

Ever heard the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen?” The reason you have probably heard it is because it is true. No matter how many ab exercises you do you will never have a 6 pack unless you clean up what you eat. I am not saying never eat sugar again but I am saying there are some basics you can start with. I generally recommend people to start the 3-2-1 method, 3g protein for every 2g of carbs and 1g of fat. So if you are eating a meal that has 30g protein then you would want 15g carbs and 10g of fat. The second thing you want to do is switch over to 5-6 small meals a day. I find that by starting clients with this strategy it allows you to eat food you would like while getting the general proportions you would need.

Have Faith in Yourself:

Faith can be a very powerful word and a powerful concept when used correctly. There is a phrase that says “faith without work is dead.” This is SO true! You must first have faith in yourself that what you want to do in the gym is something that you can accomplish. Once that seed is planted in your mind then there is nothing stronger that you cannot mentally overcome. I am going to highly recommend taking a before picture of yourself. This is the moment we all dread but it must be done. Then take a picture of someone that inspires you and hang them both up on your fridge. A lot of people say hang it on your mirror so you see it every morning but I find that it helps keep our minds and hands out of the fridge when unnecessary and helps remind us to make better choices when necessary.

I really hoope these 5 tips will help getting you on the right track to success and being comfortable in the gym as you all deserve to be. Remember “That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the object has changed but that our power to do has increased” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson.