When you first walk into the gym let’s be honest, there’s a lot of machines and it can be very overwhelming to those of us just starting. To keep it simple, here are the things I wish I had paid more attention to when first starting at the gym.
1. The Importance of Compound Movements
Compound Movements work multiple muscles at the same time. For example, the infamous bench press. The bench press works your chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and when utilizing proper form even your legs. I can’t stress enough how important these movements are when you first start. Compound exercises include but are not limited to squat, deadlift, bench press, barbell row, and overhead press. These are the main exercises that should build the foundation of your routine and should be incorporated throughout your fitness journey. They build the most muscle compared to other movements because you’re working a large volume of muscles with each rep.
2. Full Body Routines
Man, do I wish I had done these sooner. I can’t emphasize enough that full-body routines are the only routines you should be doing in at least your first six months of training. They give you more time to recover, they keep scheduling simple, and in my experience, they will help you progress faster. They’re a great building block and should be performed especially if you’re trying to bulk up. The amount of muscle mass you can put on with a full-body split in your first six months is incredible. But this type of routine isn’t just for beginners. In fact, to this day I stand strongly by full-body routines. It allows you to work the same muscle groups more times per week than any other split. And getting a higher frequency of stimulus while getting enough sleep means more gains.
3. Newbie Gains
The reason full-body routines are so effective in your first six months to even a year of training is that without prior weight training, your body is hypersensitive to any stimulus it receives. Our frames have so much room for growth when we start because we are so far away from our genetic muscular potential. Because we are so far from our potential our bodies can build muscle very quickly. If you’re stimulating all your muscles three times a week using big compound lifts, I guarantee you that if you’re eating right you can expect to put on at least 15-20 pounds of muscle in your first year. Take advantage because it only gets harder to put on mass from there.
4. REST
I see so many people and so many of my friends start with the “no days off” mentality and I had it too. But when working out every day, how is your body supposed to recover? You may be okay for a few weeks, but after that, you will seriously risk overtraining. The only exception to this is if you aren’t training intensively which if that’s the case, what exactly are you doing? Just always know that the more intense the workout the more recovery time you need. Listen to your body and do what works for you but you should be getting around 7-9 hours of sleep and have at least two days off a week. Your muscles don’t grow in the gym, they grow in your bed.