Lifting in the Gym for the First Time? Here's What You Need to Know.
Photo from Victor Freitas via Pexels.
Your first time lifting in the gym can be confusing and scary. While you figure out how to load up the barbell, dudes are repping 315 for 12 on the bench. While you figure out what lift to start with, your friend is explaining the intricacies of missing out on forearm gains by using a suboptimal grip on hammer curls during push day. But don’t worry, none of that matters, you will pick up bits and pieces of knowledge along your fitness journey. As long as you stick with it for longer than the first week of New Year, you should see progress. So, without further ado, let us introduce you to lifting.
We need to address the trenbolone-blasting elephant in the room: the fact that everyone appears to be stronger than your whole bloodline. Being a beginner in the gym, you won’t be as strong as some people who have been there longer. This is okay. All gym goers will not make fun of you because you can only bench the bar for five reps. “We all start somewhere” is a very common saying in the gym. If someone in the gym is making fun of you for going light, they’re a loser with nothing better to do. Don’t be tempted to ego lift to impress others, this will only hinder your own progress. Mind your own business and get stronger over time.
While your workouts are important, your diet and sleep are where you recover. You can crush it on the weights for hours, but if you're living on energy drinks and four hours of sleep, you're basically sabotaging your own progress. Sleep is the ultimate recovery tool, it's when your body releases the growth hormones needed to grow stronger. Without at least eight to nine hours of shut-eye, you'll likely feel sluggish, lose focus, and even increase your risk of getting injured because your reaction times are off. Nutrition is the fuel that keeps the whole machine running. Some experts say 70% of your results in the gym come from what you eat. You need carbohydrates for energy and protein to help those muscles recover. Skipping meals or eating junk can trigger sugar cravings and mess with hormones, making it way harder to stay motivated. If you want to see actual changes in the mirror, prioritize your pillow and plate as much as your bench press.
The gym is a polite society. Thus, there is some gym etiquette that you should follow. The first rule is to wipe down your equipment, whether you sweat an African village’s worth of water or not at all. Nobody wants to sit in a stranger’s sweat, so wipe down your equipment with a spray bottle and towel (should be in most commercial gyms). The second rule is to re-rack your weights. If you can put the weights on the barbell, you can take them off. By re-racking the weights, you don’t make others re-rack it for you. This holds especially true if the person who has to re-rack your weights is incapable of putting your plates back. Finally, don’t interrupt someone who’s midway through their set. Not only is this rude, it is harmful as well. If you interrupt someone while they’re repping out 225 on bench and they get crushed, that wouldn’t be very good. In conclusion, don’t interrupt someone mid-set. Instead, wait until they’ve finished.
We could give you a workout plan here and now, but everyone’s needs are different. Some people work out to stay healthy, some for a sport, others may workout to recover from an injury. Everyone’s needs are different, but all plans have one thing in common: consistency is key. Instead of hyper-obsessing over what is optimal, try to stay consistent with whatever exercises you choose. You can fix your form on the way. That being said, there are a few important things you should include in your workout plan. First off, hitting each muscle group is important for balance. For example, you could follow an upper, lower split with a rest day in the middle, where you hit your upper body muscles on one day, and your lower body muscles on the next day, followed by a rest day. Rinse and repeat. Second, your lift days should be around 45 to 90 minutes, with 1 to 3 minutes of rest in between each set. It’s okay if your workouts are longer, but we would not suggest having lifting sessions that are less than 45 minutes. Timing your rests helps a ton for making your workout more efficient and making sure you are rested enough for the next set. Finally, make sure you have a plan for getting enough sleep and eating enough food as well.
If you’re just starting your fitness journey, it might be tempting to look for a fast forward button to get those gains, but jumping straight to steroids is a massive mistake. When you're new to the gym, your body is already primed for “newbie gains” meaning you'll see natural progress quickly just by learning the ropes and staying consistent. Throwing gear into the mix this early isn't just unnecessary, it's dangerous. Especially since your joints and tendons aren't used to lifting heavy yet. Plus, the long term side effects like hormonal imbalances, heart issues, and mood swings, are a high price to pay for a shortcut. Trust the process, eat your protein, and give your body a chance to show what it can do on its own before even thinking about taking a shortcut that could mess you up for life. Using steroids when young can disrupt natural growth and development. Your bones are still growing and steroids can prematurely stop this process, potentially limiting your final height. The developing brain can also be negatively impacted, which may lead to behavioral and cognitive issues (roid rage). Hormonal balance is delicate during youth, and introducing external hormones like steroids can interfere with puberty and future fertility. Furthermore, young people using steroids may experience irreversible physical changes related to sex characteristics. Avoiding steroid use, especially during the crucial years of growth and development, is important for overall health.
By making the commitment to consistency at the gym, you will change yourself for the better. Your self esteem will improve, you will become stronger, and you will have a better quality of life. That’s why millions of Americans’ New Year's resolutions include going to the gym, only for them to stop going two weeks in once the resolution fad is over. If you don’t want to end up like them, you need to find your reason for working out. Whether it’s because you lost a fight, got your heart broken, or simply because you want to get stronger, finding your reason will make pushing through your workout easier.
