As per the research every day, thousands of new member register for a gym membership and hit the gym with full of excitement, in which only 10 to 20% are aware with the techniques and sharpness of workout. Wrong way of doing something mostly gives an adverse effect. So, here I’ll explain the random 21 tips to keep in mind for the beginners.
Consistency is the most important factor you have to maintain.
Losing weight is 80% diet and 10% exercise.
Building body is 60% diet and 40% workout.
Spot reduction is a myth. By just doing tummy exercises like crunches you won’t lose your pot belly. You need to use all the muscles in your body to get optimal results and flatten your tummy. You can lose weight only by being in a calorie deficit, you need to eat about 500 calories less than your normal requirement a day to lose about a pound of weight every week. You can do this by eating less and not exercising or eating your daily caloric requirement and exercising to lose the 500 calories.
The soreness in muscles and joints which people who have just started exercising is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This usually begins about 24 to 48 hours after exercise and settles in a few days. DOMS is a normal inflammatory response of muscles to the trauma caused due to exercise. Pulling and stretching during exercise causes small tears in muscle fibers, the body tries to repair these tears and this leads to DOMS
There is no way to prevent DOMS. You can reduce it by gentle stretching and paradoxically light exercise reduces DOMS by improving blood flow to muscles. Many people abandon exercising due to DOMS. You just need to persist and things will improve.
Try to do a combination of cardio and weight exercises. Cardio is good for your heart and weight training for weight reduction. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) for 15 mins is more beneficial than slow cardio like jogging for 60 mins for burning fat. If you want to retain muscle then don’t do long distance running like marathons as the body starts breaking down muscle when you exercise for more than 45 mins to 1 hour. HIIT does not lead to muscle loss.
Give yourself rest days for your body to recover otherwise you will end up with overtraining syndrome. Compound exercises which involve multiple joints and recruit a large number of muscles are better than isolated exercises to gain strength. Examples of compound exercises include pushup, pull-ups, squats, bench press, and deadlifts.
To gain muscle you need to increase the resistance every few days to weeks. This is called progressive overload. Curling a 2 kg dumbell for a year will not help you to gain big biceps. You need at least 1 to 1.5 gm of proteins per kg body weight to help in muscle growth. 8 to 12 rep ranges are optimal for muscle hypertrophy.
Don’t forget to work out your legs regularly otherwise you will end up having a large upper torso and a small thin lower torso like chicken legs.
Vary your exercise program to avoid getting bored. If you play a sport it is great. You will feel more engaged than running on a treadmill or lifting weights. Sports increase speed, agility, balance, and concentration.
A healthy balanced diet is usually enough if you want to stay fit, not everyone needs to take supplements. But, if you are busy and can’t sit and make a shake for you then go for authentic supplements only. Unless you want to be a professional bodybuilder and win Mr. Olympia stay away from anabolic steroids. It’s harmful. You want to translate your gym workout to day to day activities. Try functional workouts.
Get adequate sleep. You need at least 8 hours of sleep for your muscles to grow. Growth hormone secretion peaks at night and while you are sleeping.
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