This is a topic that I don’t see discussed enough.
I see it often: Some poor, unsuspecting soul posts on social media asking for workout (and eating) plan recommendations, and is quickly overwhelmed by a barrage of people throwing their pet plans in the comments without thinking about the fact that this will be a new experience for the person.
The poster is probably intimidated and confused about what to even do when they get to the gym.
So, for all you people getting into the gym for the first time, or getting back into it after a long time, I’d like to break down how that first day ought to go.
For simplicity's sake, I’ll just use the squat with sets of five reps as an example.
1. The first thing you want to do is watch a GOOD video (I will send one if you want it) on how to perform the movement correctly. Watch it a few times in the car before you go into the gym so you know what you are trying to do. Maybe drink some coffee while you do it. For the love of all things holy, don’t use other people in the gym as your guideline for how to perform the lift.
2. When you go into the gym, walk past the treadmill and the elliptical. Ignore the disturbance in the Force and whoever’s voice is in your head telling you that those are the way you “warm up.” You’re going to warm up the exact muscles you will use for your squat. Guess how? By doing warm-up sets on the squat.
3. Find a power rack or whatever your gym has (NOT the Smith Machine, the thing that has the fixed bar. You want a bar that you can grab and move around), set the hooks that hold the bar so that the bar rests at about mid-sternum. Set the safeties at a height that will save you if you can’t squat back up (which won’t happen on your first day), and grab the bar. The empty bar. (Now, if you are guy, unless you are a senior citizen, you will probably be able to squat this bar pretty easily. Most women can squat it pretty easily too, but a few may not be able to. This has nothing to do with gender equality, it unfortunately just has to do with the genetic makeup of men vs women. (But, women will have some different advantages that I’ll talk about a different time).
4. Doing your best to emulate the form you saw and learned about in the video, squat down and back up with the bar five times. If you have a partner, have them video you. If you don’t, set up the phone somewhere. Make sure that you get your whole body in the shot. I know this is awkward, but trust me, you need it. Typically we are not doing the exercise the way we think we are, and the video will show you the differences between what you’re doing and what that person in the demonstration was doing. I’ve been lifting for years, and I still video and analyze my lifts.
5. After you squat the bar five times, go up in 10 pound increments until it gets too heavy to do the weight with the correct form. For most men new to lifting, this will probably be somewhere between 95-115 pounds, and for most women, it will probably be between 65-85. Use the highest weight with which you can execute the proper form. Once you find that, this was your first actual set, so do two more sets of five. Video them.
6. Write down what this weight was so you can beat it next time you come to the gym and do that exercise. These are your “working sets,” upon which you will move up each workout. Next time, move up 5-10 pounds.
7. Post your video somewhere credible so people can give feedback on your form (The Strength Rebellion, my Facebook Group, is good for this, as are the forums of the Starting Strength website. If you don’t want to do blast it publicly, feel free to DM me the video of your first day).
One note. You need to be focused and go in with an “I don’t care” attitude regarding other people. Resist all of the things that come your way. There will definitely be a lady in the rack next to you squatting 185 and making you feel like a pansy. Ignore her and squat your weight. There may be some guy who looks at you with light weight and stares because you are videoing the lift. Ignore him, you will probably beat his squat weight in like a month anyway since you are sticking to a proper strength program.
To recap:
-Watch a form video
-Go in, Walk PAST the cardio stuff
-Set safeties and the bar holder hooks (may have to experiment a little to find the right Gu t height for you).
-Let your warmup be starting with the bar and doing the movement, and going up in weight until you get to the weight that is difficult to keep form with. Video the squats. If it is too difficult, move down 5-10 pounds and start there
-Do two more sets of five reps at that weight. Video them.
-Write down the weight you lifted and move up the next training day
-Post the video for critique so you can establish good form early
Happy lifting, and let me know what questions I can answer for you!
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