Lose weight, gain weight, get taller, gain muscle, whatever you joined the gym for you’ll need guidance, and the first week is nearly the same for fat, skinny and fit bodies. The first week at the gym is going to be all about getting your bodies open and warmed up. It would be about getting to know all the equipment and knowing your body goals. The first week is all about adapting than changing.
First Week Workout
The First Week is more like a Beginner’s Guide to Gym. Your workout is going to be mainly linked to getting your body warmed up. Getting your muscle flexed and ready for what is going to happen over the next few months and years. This portion right here is the most important part and people still ignore it. Your first week is going to decide whether you’ll get addicted to fitness or never show up again for months.
Cardio
All the workout for the next month is going to revolve around this word – Cardio. Treadmill, cycle, elliptical, floor exercises, everything will revolve around this. This one word is all you’ll hear from everyone around you!
There is going to be one point where you’d wonder how many more miles do you need to cover before your trainer or partner understands that you are here to gain muscle! No matter what you feel this is going to create your basis. You’d be lifting hundreds only when you can balance yourself.
Schedule
For the first week, there are going to be 2 days of weight training and 3-4 days of cardio and 1-2 rest days. The first days is going to be cardio, it goes like this
- Day 1 – Cardio
- Day 2 – Weights
- Day 3 – Cardio
- Day 4 – Rest
- Day 5 – Weights
- Day 6 – Cardio
- Day 7 – Rest
Cardio sessions are going to be about 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes long at the most. It will include everything. 15 minutes of treadmill, cycle and elliptical and floor exercises.
Weights’ Day
First of all you need to know this. Leg days aren’t that bad! They are fine. It’s just that they are a little more tiring than all other days and a little more painful. But, most wannabe gym-ers take it as an excuse to skip out on them. You need to realize that even if you have gigantic shoulders, you won’t look good in shorts with those chicken legs. So, before we move on, never miss leg day!
Exercise 1 – 5 minute Cardio
Your workout will start with a few minutes of cardio just to get your body going. This will warm up all your muscle that means lesser muscle ache at the end of the day- I am lying, at least for the first week. You can do treadmill, cycle or elliptical to just get your body going.
Exercise 2 – Push-ups
This is one of the most important exercises to build you. Most beginners complain that they don’t want to do push-ups because they can’t. Most could do only 2 or 3 of these while others are stuck between 5 and 10.
In the gym, no one judges you for what you do. If you are ashamed of not being able to do a hundred push-ups on the first day, then don’t be, don’t stop yourself because that’s the entire point of a gym, doing what you aren’t able to do. Try doing one in each of the 4 sets. Then we’ll take it to 3, 5, 10 and eventually 20, 50 and 100. It might take months to get there or maybe just a week, but that is definitely where we are headed.
If you are lifting weights, then reduce the weight and increase the reps, in bodyweight exercises, go for assisted paths if you can, also, reducing the reps won’t harm much for starters.
You want to get 3-4 sets and 5-15 reps of these in each set.
Exercise 3 – Squats
Like I said, never skip out on legs. A squat is one of the most important workouts variations on leg day, you’ll see. There’s no leg day without squats, and you should never skip out on these. If you are feeling a little off, try doing free squats or dumbbell squats instead of using a bar.
If you don’t build your most dominant muscles right now, you won’t be able to build your other muscles. Without strong leg muscles, you can’t lift heavyweights. Right now you’ll think you can, but eventually, you’ll feel the fatigue and slip out of balance. Skipping out on leg days now will mean decreasing your performance on all other days a few months down.
You want to get 3-4 sets and somewhere between 15-25 reps on free squats and 8-12 reps on weighted in each set.
Exercise 4 – Lateral Pull Down
The Lateral Pull Down or Lat Pull Down in to get those bumps on your upper back. The workout is just like pull-ups and almost equally effective. In pull-ups, you lift your body up towards the bar and here you pull the bar down. The workout is meant to trigger your trapezius muscle.
The only advantage of Lat pull down over pull-ups is that you can control the weight. Here you can under-do or over-do your body weight without supports. Adjust the weights according to your own will and get ready for wider backs!
You want to get 3 sets and 8-12 reps of these in each set.
Exercise 5 – Flat Chest Press
The flat chest press is a bench exercise and focuses on the center of your chest. The chest muscle is divided into three parts. Lower pecs, central pecs and upper pecs corresponding to the lower, central and upper muscles respectively. The flat chest press triggers your central pecs.
The workout will boost the size of your chest, while the lower and upper are intended to give a much better shape. You need to mainly focus on increasing the size of your chest or reducing the fat. The flat chest press is ideal for this.
You want to get 3 sets and 8-12 reps of these in each set.
Exercise 6 – Bicep Dumbbell Curl
The Bicep Dumbbell Curl is the most basic workout for biceps. All other workouts are more or less variations of these. Everything starts from this curl. If you could master this then you’ll be able to do all others perfectly without slipping out of the posture.
In dumbbell bicep curl you hold a dumbbell in each hand and curl the arms up. This should be done without moving your elbow. This might look very easy at start but it isn’t. However, once you get the hang of it, it is one of the easiest exercises.
You want to get 3 sets and 8-12 reps of these in each set.
The Build
Remember, if you are focusing on showing off your body to any of your friends, the first thing you need to get rid of your belly and the first thing they will notice will be your shoulders and biceps. There won’t be any dominant shoulder exercises till next week. But, once you get into the drill a lot will be focused on each muscle of your body.
And remember, when I say focused on a muscle, I just mean the exercises for the day, because you can’t really grow your biceps without working on shoulders and triceps. What I am trying to say is, we will be focusing on one muscle because you can’t grow one without the other, makes sense? Don’t skip anything!
Also, the rep range of 8-12 is set for a purpose, I’ll get into that soon, that isn’t the topic for this article. There are a few very common types of workouts and you could choose one of those before your work on further.
Okay, Bros and Broettes, that’s all for week one, enjoy a fit and healthy life and follow Cannot Cardio for more fitness posts! Remember to Stay Awesome!
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