You’ve had enough. Enough of the extra large pepperoni pizzas washed down with a coke. Enough of the “convenience” of cheeseburgers and French fries because you’re bogged down at the office. You just received your membership to that gym you were always curious about with the goal to lose that extra belly fat you’ve accumulated over the years and you’re ready to get started. Just one problem: where do you start?
If you’re about to step into the gym for the first time, it can be intimidating. Some people are moving seamlessly from one exercise to another, with nothing but determination in their eyes. Others are easily lifting 100-pound weights, barely breaking a sweat.
Don’t worry, whether you’re thin and want to build muscle, or have a little extra weight you want to lose, getting started is easier than you think.
It’s important to note that you’ll want to incorporate both strength and cardio training in your exercises to get the best results. Strength training helps to build muscle, while cardio training helps to burn off excess fat.
Stretching
When you first step into the gym, make sure you devote 5-10 minutes to stretching out your muscles before starting your routine to avoid injury. For each stretching exercise, make sure you hold your position for at least 10 seconds before moving on to the next.
Strength Training
Not only is strength training great for building muscle, it also helps to speed up your metabolism. A fast metabolism helps to burn calories faster.
Machines are good for beginners because you are using less of your entire body when doing a specific exercise, hence less strain. Free weights incorporate your “core” in order to properly complete an exercise. For example, if you’re doing a chest press on a machine you’ll find that you can do heavier weights than if you were to do the same exercise with free weights.
If you’re just starting out, get used to the motion and “feel” of machines before moving on to free weights. If you feel more comfortable using machines rather than free weights for certain exercises, go right ahead. However, be extremely careful if you are using free weights as they cause injury much more easily than machines due to the extra strain on your muscles.
If you are doing any type of dumbbell/barbell curl, make sure your elbows are locked. When you are going through the motion, make sure your elbows stay straight and do not push upwards. A good example of this is here.
Cardio Exercises
Both endurance and interval training have their benefits; however, it is suggested that you begin with the former. Endurance training basically involves running at a set speed for as long as possible. It’s simple, anyone can do it, and is a great way to burn calories, but can be time-consuming. Interval training, on the other hand, is a little more advanced. In interval training, you run at a moderate pace for a set amount of time, then run at maximum, or “burst” speed for a short duration.
This is an excellent exercise if you play any type of sport, as they all incorporate some form of burst speed. It’s a great exercise if you want to ramp up your metabolism or increase your fitness level. Once you feel comfortable enough, experiment with different durations. Start with 2 minutes of a moderate pace, followed by a 15-20 second “burst” pace and move on from there.
Half The Battle
Understanding how to work out properly is beneficial, but it isn’t the whole story. The second half of this article will tackle how eating properly is equally important.
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