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Catrina from Phoenix needs help getting started with exercise.

"Hi Chris,
I have a membership at a gym and I walk in there and have no clue on what to do. I don't have the money to pay for a trainer. What should I do? Thank you."

Hi Catrina,
This is one of the most common questions I get from people. I am so glad you brought this up, because if you don’t have a plan, gyms can seem very intimidating. There’s a lot of equipment, and people moving around everywhere. So what do most of us do? We mimic the exercises that the people in the best shape are doing! However, this is not always the best solution and can actually lead to poor training technique and injuries.

Most gyms will allow a free training assessment, where a trainer will take you through several exercises that can help create a base for your program. Some trainers will show you some really cool stuff, and others just sit you down to try to sell you a training package. Many gyms are now offering smaller training packages (like 3 sessions) for people who can’t afford trainer on a regular basis – it is a great opportunity to learn what to do in the gym and build a program to stick to.

To help you get started, I’ve put together a ‘First Day’ Program, that will take you through your first gym experience and help you prepare for the amazing journey ahead J

Use the Exertion Scale below to guide your intensity levels:

WARM UP – Always start with a 5-10 minute warm up on a piece of cardio equipment. Most gyms have treadmills, elliptical machines and exercise bikes to choose from. During the warm up we are increasing blood flow and warming up the muscles. Start out easy, and slowly increase your intensity until you reach a brisk pace. You don’t need to spike your heart rate, but just keep your warm up at a ‘4’ or ‘5’ on the cardio training exertion scale.

STRETCH – It is very important that once we’ve got the blood pumping, we take our body thru it’s full range of motion to make sure that the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are excited and ready to move.

Try the following Stretching Movements below. Hold each stretch for 6-10 seconds, then alternate. Do 8-12 reps each movement. Trust me, this can seem like a workout in itself!

Hip Twisters


Reach & Touch

Swoops

Deep Lunge

Gorilla Squat

WORKOUT – Ideally, the best thing you could do is to focus on your core strength for the first week or two of your training. If your core is weak, you can risk injuring yourself as you progress into more challenging exercises.

Supermans

Basic Crunch

Bridge Ups

Core bridge - beginner	Core bridge - advanced

For your first total body workout, avoid the machines. To train your body the RIGHT way, you should be able to master your own bodyweight first. We are going to focus on only TWO exercises, encompassing some of the major movements of our body: Pushing and Squatting.

We need to keep your resistance training exertion at about a ‘5’ to make sure that we do not load the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints too much on the first workout. They are new to this too! After the first workout, they will begin to adapt and become stronger. Simply follow along with the pictures, keeping the motions slow and controlled. Aim to do 10-12 reps of each exercise or until the muscle begins to fatigue.

Beginner Push Up

Intermediate Push Up

SQUATTING EXERCISE

Beginner Bench Squat

Follow these exercises for the first week or two, and then you can move on to other more advanced exercises – these will help build a great base!

~ Chris

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