The first week of the calendar year 2024 has been successfully recorded. For a local gym employee, this can be one of the most stimulating weeks of the season. A young front desk representative will likely watch the stream of excited people eager to achieve their New Year’s fitness goals pour into the sliding glass front doors like a school of salmon traveling inland from the ocean. Rightfully so, signing up for a gym membership when the membership price is 50% off is all the rage. New Year’s discounts and special offers are offered at this time of year to promote health and vitality in the community, while giving people the drive to invest time in a local gym to improve their overall fitness and quality of life. The parking lots in front of the gym are full, the gym floor is packed to the brim like a kettle full of popcorn ready to be served, and the frenetic energy can be quite a sight.
As gym floors are filled with people looking to improve their fitness and health as their New Year’s Resolution, the first few weeks of the new year are full of newbie exercisers. The good news for fitness newbies is that they’ve overcome the most challenging part of developing an effective exercise program: they’ve gotten in the front door. In an environment that can seem intimidating, overwhelming and just not anyone’s cup of tea, stepping into the fitness arena when a person’s fitness foundation isn’t at the forefront of what they need to do in their day-to-day life can be quite a challenge . So, well done to those of you who have been brave enough to take that step and sign up for a gym membership for the start of 2024.
People also read…
One of the biggest problems for fitness newbies when they enter the gym is figuring out where to start. The gym floor is littered with contraptions of various colors, shapes and sizes. In one corner you can have large metal objects, benches, cables and boxes. As beginners looking at this part of the gym, they can get confused if they mistakenly walk into a steel fabrication shop. In the other part of the gym, there are numerous electronically powered devices that people sit on in a stationary position to run, step, slide or cycle. Commonly known as treadmills, ellipticals, stair steppers, and stationary bikes, these pieces of equipment can be confusing to new exercisers. Needless to say, finding a place to start when entering an exercise facility can present a hurdle for new gym goers. Sometimes the deciding factor of where to start can prevent a person from continuing their fitness journey and achieving the fitness goals they originally wanted to achieve.
A few tips we give to our personal training clients who are just starting a new fitness journey is to start with simple exercises that target large areas of muscle. Also, start by choosing just a few exercises to perform during your first few visits to the gym. Completing four to five exercises in one visit to the gym is sufficient. A simple and effective tactic to target the muscles of the entire body is to perform simple resistance training techniques that only require a few repetitions to complete. When deciding which exercises are best for you, aim for no more than five to eight repetitions. Whether it’s on a resistance machine, a cable resistance training system, or using a dumbbell, lower repetition intensity of about 20 to 30% of your maximum perceived effort is a safe and effective way to apply an effective amount of stress-induced exercise stress on the body.
Also, choose exercises that cover three simple themes: lower body movements, upper body pushing movements, and upper body pulling movements. Lower body movements can be done with the leg press machine or by performing a few simple reps of bodyweight squats on a bench. Pushing and pulling techniques for the upper body can be performed on resistance training machines that are equipped with benches, back support and handles that are safe and effective, such as resistance training machines for chest or rowing. Choosing exercises that have a relatively low learning curve creates an achievable exercise setting for performing a beneficial training session.
More importantly, if working out at the gym is new to you, don’t be afraid to connect with one of the on-site personal trainers. Ask them to share some information about a few lower and upper body resistance training movements. They work these gyms and expect the new people to squirm around like a fish outside. Their job is to help recruits and keep them coming back through those doors so that new members can lose some weight, get stronger and feel better after they finish their gym session. It takes effort and mental strength to adapt to a new fitness environment. We can all do it with patience and a willingness to learn.
Sean McCauley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, welcomes questions and comments. Contact him at 707-287-2727, [email protected] or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
