Let me tell you about your first workout in the gym. I aim to help the beginners make their first workout a little bit more useful and get the best out of it. Please, feel free to share my fitness tips for beginners with your friends or new clients to help, if you like.

Working all day long in the gym since 2007, I have learned a lot of essential fitness skills for coaching newbies and advanced athletes alike that I want to share with you. I just need to spread that knowledge so you stop or avoid wasting your time.

I believe that all fitness tips for beginners should start with this one…

Don’t be a superhero on your first workout

No matter if its gym, pool or the playground across the street you’ll impress nobody by lifting twice the weight of your living room table, swim the pool underwater or do all the reps that you can in your first set. Not only will it looks ridiculous-looking from aside but also it will cost you several days out of order plus the conclusion “that’s not for me”, even if it actually is.

I have seen so many New Year’s resolutions crashed in a day. Over 90% of them are made by people who are not ready and just don’t have any idea of what they are doing (unnecessary to embed here another compilation of funny videos).

Take away: Make a tour of the gym. Just a tour. Look around and try a few exercises. Do that with a Coach. Use light weights and make about 8-10 reps. That’s enough. So lift your spirit and do your first workout. It’s a long race, not a walk to the corner shop for a Snickers, meanwhile, keep your enthusiasm.

Don’t try lose the belly in your first workout.

Spending four hours in the gym on your first day is a bad idea. A common mistake that people make in their first workout is to overwork their bodies. Better do a little by little every day and make the change from “sitting all day in front of the monitor” to “I’m a passionate in all kind of sport” not that fast.

Getting in shape is a marathon, not a sprint, nevertheless that the latter could help you through the way. Overtraining leads to decreased performance, lack of good mood and decreased immunity. So by doing it you have not only a wrong approach to your better shape but could harm yourself and affect your health in a negative way.

Take away: Start with 5-6 exercises and increase step by step. You’ll give your body the time to recover, avoid soreness and prepare for the next workout

Don’t copy the workout of the strongest man or the fittest lady in the gym

I have seen it so many times. A newbie comes in the gym and looks around searching for someone looking more experienced or for a Personal Trainer working with a client and then the “copy-paste” begins. Not only it is annoying for both of you, but it could also get worse than that. Following the plan of another person is like to put someone else’s clothes – it just doesn’t fit your needs. It is because you don’t know what she/he is training for. The result is – overtraining or training over.

Take away: Better get in touch with the Personal Trainer or ask for advice on the person you find fit. Or better yet ask for advice about yourself (and your desired results). Either way – the free tips that you’ll get won’t be enough to complete your new year’s fitness resolution but will be fine and better than leaving your heart, joints, and lunges on the floor by trying to copy the several-years-gym-addicted person in front of you.

The athlete in your bag.

You know the proverb “Dressed to kill”. Surprise, the gym is not an exception! No, I won’t tell you to put on the newest pair of shoes of any brand, just put any sports pair that you have. Have dedicated sports apparel for your gym activity. Never mind if you choose to name the sleeping t-shirt for that. And do launder that

Take away: Bring a towel to wipe off your sweat after you finished with an exercise. Even lay it down on the machines you used to avoid getting someone else’s sweat on you.

If the gym doesn’t offer, or you believe only in your bottle of water, do bring it. Because you’ll get thirsty. Any sporting activity leads to/increases the thermogenic process, so while your body is cooling your new super athletic shape you are losing water (nope, the pound you lost at the end of the first workout is not fat).

Warm-up, Warm-up and in case you forget–Warm up!

Fitness tips for beginners are here to help you get the most out of your workout. The second worst thing that you could do with your first workout and any other workout after is to skip the warm-up! The warm-up prepares your body for exercises by gradually increasing the heart rate and blood circulation. This will loosen the joints and increase blood flow to the muscles. Stretching the muscles prepares them for physical activity and prevents injuries.

Take away: Never mind if it costs 5 or 15 minutes of your workout – “pay the bill” and get more of your muscle fibers involved in the exercises.

Last but not least fitness tips for beginners is to stretch

Never mind if you believe or not that stretching prevents injuries. There are plenty of other benefits to your health if you are doing it. It releases the tensions in your joints and ligaments. It increases the flow of blood to the muscles you stretched and with that, it supplies the oxygen and nutrients needed for feeding and faster recovery of the muscle groups.

By stretching, you are keeping your muscles healthy and fully functional and allows them to perform at their best. Stretching increases your flexibility and mobility thus reduces the pain by improving your posture and giving you more energy. Now, you will be free to enjoy your sports activities so do it.

Take away: Do the stretching exercises after the first workout on the ground and use a mat. Do the stretching movements slowly and stop before reaching the moment of pain. Hold in that position for 10-15 seconds and then try slowly to reach more without bending over. Repeat every stretching exercise twice for about 25-30 seconds total and slowly release.

I hope you enjoy your first workout, as well as this article. Do share our fitness tips for beginners if you did.