I am not sure if I mentioned this before or not but I have been going to a local gym for 3 weeks now and I have been doing pretty good with it! I have been trying to keep up with making those protein bars (check a previous post for the details on the bars) and have been trying to research how to maximize my efforts at the gym when I do go. I am trying to commit at LEAST 3 days a week. My goal is to look like Chris Hemsworth (you are welcome) in a year. Not sure if I can get THAT big but hey... shoot for the stars and land on the moon. I'm ok with that.
Anyway... getting to the important part. I went to the free session with a personal trainer (a promotion offered at my gym) and he taught me some good stuff that I will now relate to YOU!
First of all: Working out / getting in shape is all about making your body strong. That is obvious but think about it when you are doing your work out. Don't bother with all of the awkward lifts and weird positions. Ask yourself, is this a motion/position that I (or anyone) would actually do naturally?
For example: push-ups... duh.. getting up
bench press: pushing someone or something away.
bicep curl: ummm... picking just about anything up.
the list goes on.
These things are just weighted versions of natural movements you already do! Keep that in mind when you do them and your form will improve (usually)
Women vs men exercises: MYTH!!! men and women have similar ranges of motion right? We all have 2 arms and 2 legs (besides rare exceptions... sorry to those exceptions :/ ). Every exercise a man does can and should be done by a woman as well. Women who say "oh I can't lift weights because I don't want to get big"... they are wrong! You get big from eating.You can pump all the iron you want but if you don't intake the fuel, the muscles won't get large. Nothing, NOTHING is sexier than an athletic build on a woman (or man from the ladies perspective). That does not mean stick figure or anything. It means fit.
Ok now the fundamentals:
Upper Body
The upper body only has 6 ranges of motion which are naturally grouped for exercises.
up-down. push-pull, hand up - hand down. Even these over-lap in exercises.
It is that simple. Some examples of workouts for each are:
Up: Bar press, dumb bell press
Down: cable down, pull ups (also counts in hand up depending on grip)
Push: bench press, incline bench press
Pull: any of the rowing moves.
hand up: bicep curls, pull ups
hand down: cable downs, dips
Lower Body
The lower body also has a few degrees of motion but we'll just type out the major leg exercises.
-squats
-deadlift
-lunge
-step up
-box jumps
-kettlebell swing
Then there are 3 abdominal modes:
-six pack (anything where you move down the center of your body engages the 6 pack. i.e. standard crunches)
-twist (russian twist, too many to list... twisting motions)
-balance (plank/board. crunches on those large plastic spheres)
Creating your weekly workout
To create your weekly workout schedule, first decide on the number of days you are going to work out that week. If it is a low amount (2-3), do an upper day and a lower day (and another day between those 2 based on your personal fitness goals... or just cardio). For the dedicated (5+ days) more specific movement groups can have their own days.
Example weeks:
3-day week: Monday: upper (pick 1-3 exercises from each range of motion)
Wed: lower (pick 1-3 exercises from each range of motion)
Friday: interval cardio
My 5-day week: Monday: Biceps and triceps (up/down)
Tues: back/chest (push/pull)
Wed: shoulders (I dedicate a day to shoulders because mine are a weakness for me)
Thurs: Legs (lower body workout like the 3-day week)
Fri: free day. can go for whatever feels the best or needs work. Or just do interval cardio.
Keeping a routine will help you stay focused and not waste time at the gym. It is hard enough to be there in the first place so do not make it harder by not knowing what you are going to do when you get there!
There are a LOT of other exercises that were not mentioned here that I recommend looking up. There are plenty of websites and YouTube videos detailing how to do the exercises.
By way of numbers: I have gained 2-3 lbs but have lost some waist size! (aka gained good weight. muscle weights more than fat).
*Disclaimer- hyperlinks were found using a quick Google search for reference to the reader. I do not own these images*
