Working out - first steps

 You decided to start working out. That’s excellent news!

You got yourself a gym membership or you bought some equipment and created your own wonderful gym in the basement, garage or wherever.

Now … the journey begins (and hopefully, it will never end 😀)

The first few months are critical in learning the basics and mastering technique. 

For this reason, DO NOT go heavy with your exercise. I’d even suggest that you go really light for your first month of training. There is no shame in this. 

What’s the point of throwing discs on the bar and trying to bench press, when you don’t know the proper technique?! All you’ll get is an injury (moderate or severe) and most likely you’ll stop lifting altogether. There’s good and there’s not good… that’s not good.

A very important thing to keep in mind is that you are not there to impress anyone. The gym is not facebook or instagram or w/e. You are in the gym to improve yourself - both physically and mentally. That’s it. 

The only person you are competing against is YOU. Not the guy that benches 150kg (330 pounds) or the girl that squats more than her bodyweight for reps. 

You are taking your first steps down this awesome road of self-improvement and, as with all good things, how you start, really sets you up for success or failure.

There are so many resources available online on proper form/technique. Sometimes it even gets confusing - this guy says this, that guy says that … whom do I believe? Well, fortunately enough, when it comes to the basics, pretty much all people agree on the correct form. 

However, there is something that you always need to pay attention to, especially when you are beginning to lift weights -  your body! What I’m trying to say is that sometimes, you will find that an exercise can be performed correctly in two or more ways. But, for you specifically, one form is causing pain and another is not. 

That’s why I said above, for the first month of training, go light with the weights! Experiment with proper forms/techniques and see what feels good for you. 

Let’s take an example. The standard bicep curl (one of the best exercises for the biceps).

You can perform this exercise from start to finish with a supinated grip (palms facing up) or you can start the exercise with a neutral grip (palms facing inside) and rotate/twist while you curl the dumbbell. 

If you’re sitting in front of a computer, or having a desk job, for 8 or 9 hours a day, the second form will most likely feel better for you. Why? Because having a supinated grip in full extension will probably hurt your wrists, especially if you are using some moderate weight dumbbells. 

Same thing goes for chin-ups - you will probably feel better with a neutral grip vs a  supinated grip. Does it compromise the exercise? Nope, you’re still using your back for approx. 80% of the movement and your biceps for the other 20%.

Wait a minute, you might be saying … there’s another grip for curls - pronated grip (palms facing down) - that’s true, but in this case, you are targeting more your brachialis (muscle beneath/on the side of your biceps) and your brachioradialis (forearm) muscles - yeah, that’s what they’re called 😀 - this variation of the curl is great for building forearms, making your biceps look bigger/better defined and it improves grip strength - excellent for squeezing things harder!

I’ll make some detailed posts about most of the basic exercises, proper techniques and more.

Given that you are just starting out, I strongly recommend you learn how to correctly perform compound lifts and free-weight exercises that involve more than one muscle group. Here’s a list of the most common ones:

• Flat bench press;

• Incline bench press;

• Deadlift (before attempting, please make sure you don’t have any back issues!);

• Squats (don’t hate me for not placing it at the top);

• Pullups; (in the beginning, assisted, since you probably can’t perform one rep);

• Chinups; (in the beginning, assisted, since you probably can’t perform one rep);

• Shoulder press (standing or seated);

• Narrow grip bench press;

• Barbell or EZ-bar biceps curls (again, the way you grip the bar can make a world of difference for your wrists);

• Dumbbell lateral fly/raise;

Is the list above complete? NO - but please learn and master those exercises. They play a vital part in your new gym life/experience. They will help you gain significantly in terms of strength, and, in the future, shape your body in an aesthetic manner 😀

Why not use the machines in the gym, I hear you ask. Well, try benching X kg on a special bench pressing machine and then do it with the barbell. I guarantee that it will be harder when bench pressing with the barbell. Why? Because you activate ALL of your muscle fibers - stabilizing muscles are also used.

Am I against gym machines? Not at all - I think they are valuable for isolating specific muscle groups. But, you are just beginning - you don’t need to isolate - you need to grow and improve all around! 

Remember - master the basics and leave your ego at the door!