Mandatory basics for a gym beginner
Your body was made to move and it is very good at it. The rate at which your body will learn exercises or skills will be very individual. But some people will quickly pick up exercise technique and some people will take longer. Regardless, as a Gym beginner if you apply yourself consistently and be patient, you will succeed.
Once you go through this video, you will have a good understanding of how to approach this full body routine.
Starting to workout as a gym beginner its important that you have an understanding of much weight you should be lifting. Take a few minutes to watch this Youtube video.
Before your Start your full body workout
Warm up
As a gym beginner, it’s important to understand the significance of preparing your body for a workout. A good warm-up should involve exercises that target the main and supporting joints used in your workout. These exercises should be performed at low to moderate intensity with the intention of increasing your heart rate, which, in turn, increases the blood flow to the muscles. A simple way to warm up is to use a cross-trainer at the gym for about ten minutes. In addition, you can do three sets of ten reps for each of the exercises mentioned below to further warm up your body, specifically the spine. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle where you sit for long hours, these warm up exercises can really be helpful in more ways than one.
Day 1
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-4), 4×10 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
Keep your glutes squeezed and prevent your hips from lifting while performing the leg curl. Avoid holding your breath and refrain from rushing to lower the weight back down. Instead, focus on controlling the lowering phase. Concentrate on the muscle being worked and be mindful of its movements from the beginning of the exercise.
Alternative dumbbell leg curl- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-2), 3×10 (Weeks 3-4), 4×10 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 2 minutes
Initiate the squat by sitting back with your hips. As you bend your knees and lower yourself down, ensure that your knees do not collapse inward. Push your knees out to the sides, so they are in line with your middle toe. Keep your weight centered on your midfoot. Ensure that your feet remain firmly planted on the ground, with both your toes and heels touching the floor throughout the exercise.
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-3), 3×12 (Weeks 4-6)
- Rest Interval: 1-2 minutes
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-4), 3×12 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
Exercise 6: Tricep Push Down
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-4), 3×12 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
Instruction
On weeks 5 & 6 aim to hit 12 reps without reducing the weight you used in the previous weeks to do 10 reps.
Alternative: Band Resisted Tricep Push Down
Exercise 7: Bird Dog Exercise
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-2), 3×12 (Weeks 3-4), 3×16 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 30 seconds to 1 minute
Instruction:
Make sure you keep your spine stable and move only your limbs and Make sure you add a good pause at the top of each repetition.
Exercise 8: Standing Calf Raises
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-2), 3×10 (Weeks 3-4), 4×10 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
Instruction:
Pause at the top and bottom of each rep and feel the muscle contraction. At the bottom of the rep, take a moment to feel the stretch on the calf muscle. Make sure you repeat it across all sets.
Alternative: Standing Dumbbell Calf Raises
Day 2
Exercise 1: Active Scap Pulls
- Sets x Reps: 3×8
- Rest Interval: 30 seconds
Instruction
Focus on lowering your shoulders and hold that position for 1-2 seconds on each rep. Avoid rushing through the movement.
Exercise 2: Pronated Lat Pulldown
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-3), 4×10 (weeks 4-6)
- Rest Interval: 2 minutes
Instruction
Keep the focus on your back muscles throughout the entire movement. Avoid pulling the bar go too far down. Grip the bar well and lead the movement using your elbows.
Alternative: Band Assisted Pull Ups
Exercise 3: Barbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
- Sets x Reps: 3×10
- Rest Interval: 2 minutes
Instruction
Practice the hip-hinging movement with an empty barbell to ensure proper form. Maintain a flat back and keep your core engaged throughout the movement. Gradually add more weight as you feel comfortable. Keep the barbell close to your body, and avoid rounding your back or jerking the weight up.
Alternative: dumbbell rdl
Exercise 4: Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-4), 4×10 (weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 2 minutes
Instruction
Avoid letting your elbows flare out as you lower the weight. Keep your wrist and elbow joints stacked on top of each other.
Alternative: Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-2), 3×12 (Weeks 3-6)
- Rest Interval: 1-2 minutes
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-3), 3×12 (Weels 4-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×10 (Weeks 1-3), 3×12 (Weeks 4-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×20 seconds (Weeks 1-2), 3×30 seconds (Weeks 3-4), 3x40s (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 30 seconds to 1 minute
Day 3
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-2), 3×12 (Weeks 3-4), 4×12 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-2), 3×12 (Weeks 3-4), 4×12 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute 30 seconds
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-2), 3×12 (Weeks 3-4), 4×12 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute 30 seconds
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-4)
- Rest Interval: 2 minutes
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-2), 3×12 (Weeks 3-4), 4×12 (Weeks 5-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-4)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-6)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-4)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
- Sets x Reps: 3×12 (Weeks 1-4)
- Rest Interval: 1 minute
What to focus on as a gym beginner?
The main focus should be on learning the proper technique and maintaining form on your exercises. As a gym beginner, its important to consistently practice speed & rhythm throughout every repetition of every set.
increase the weight you lift
Aim to increase the weight of your lifts by 1-2kg every 2-3 weeks. But be aware that there will come a point where adding more weight will affect your technique or the number of reps you can perform.
Don’t be discouraged when this happens. Instead, slow down the speed of each rep by 1 second and continue training with the same weight for another week or 2. After this period, try increasing the weight again while going back to your previous rep execution speed & rhythm.
seek professional guidance
It is important to seek the guidance of a qualified personal trainer or fitness instructor who can provide feedback and correct any form issues. Your first financial investment after joining a gym should be to get good guidance, Specially if the gym instructors are not paying attention to you.
Listen to your body
As a gym beginner, it is essential to listen to your body because a simple mistake can mean taking months off of training. Make sure when you train to stop immediately if you experience any pain or discomfort. Once you stop, talk to your trainer and discuss the next step.
Work on building a good mind muscle connection
I have another article on ‘5 Tips on Building Your mind muscle connection‘ For your Training. It will be usefull for you to read that as well.
Be patient
As a gym beginner, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed by all of this. However, it’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself to get everything right in the first week. Take your time and be patient with yourself. What you are embarking on is a long and challenging journey, and there will likely be many points where you feel like giving up on your goals. This happens to nearly everyone, but what sets successful people apart is their willingness to keep trying and learning from past experiences while taking greater responsibility and accountability for their actions.
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