Author: Maggie Geil, Lift With Mags
NASM CPT, Bodybuilding & Resistance Training Specialist
5 Minute Read
We all start somewhere with fitness. For me, I started because my brother weightlifted after school and he was my ride home. So, it was either hop on the elliptical or sit in the car. He did all typical lifting with his friends, and they sort of acted like animals. Why would I EVER pick up a dumbbell if that's what it looked like? Fast forward to now, I'm disappointed if I can't add weight to the barbell!! I've become.... an aNImAL!!!! (Not so much)
At first, I had the typical fears; what if I become too bulky? I don't want to look like a man! And honestly, I wish someone would have just taken me by the shoulders and shook some sense into me (like a shake weight or something), because I wasted YEARS of my life doing endless cardio chasing the body I wanted!! But it wasn't until I educated myself on weightlifting and let go of my fears that I finally live in the skin I desired.
So, in an effort to shake some sense into a novice me, I want to let you in on what I wish I knew before starting with fitness.
1) YOU CAN'T OUT-TRAIN A BAD DIET
I know what you're thinking... DUH! I know, I know.. But when you're just getting started with fitness and you're on the cardio machine and it says you've burned 500 calories or whatever, what's the first thought that comes into your head (other than 'I've only burned 500 cAlORieS?!')? 'oh cool, now I have 500 extra calories I can eat today! I'm gonna treat myself, I've earned these calories!'
NOOOOO! First of all, you don't need to "earn" your calories. Your body needs calories to exist, you need food to function, you need to eat things. Second of all, cardio is supposed to be supplemental to your goals, not the primary form (unless you're training for an extra long endurance sport!)
Think of it this way... when you're done with your cardio workout and the machine says that you burned X amount of calories and you go home and eat something worth X amount of calories, you're back where you started.
So to make an attainable and sustainable change, try to supplement your cardio with a strength training routine during the week to build some lean muscle and strength. Because, the more muscle we have on our body, the more our Resting Basal Metabolic Rate (yes your body burns calories just existing) is elevated, therefore burning more calories throughout the day.
By making this small change, you won't feel as though you're stuck on an endless cycle of loss and reward. Plus you'll be taking a step in the right direction, which leads to the weight room, which leads to confidence, which leads to the body you might be searching to find.
2) THE STAIRMASTER WON'T GROW YOUR BUTT
Huh? Wait, why?
Simply because of the fact that it is primarily a cardio machine. Overall, doing bodyweight exercises at a low intensity doesn't contribute much to muscle gain. And, yes, your butt is mostly muscle and fat. So what happens when we do lots of cardio without doing supplemental strength training? We lose overall weight (including loss of some muscle mass).
Think of it like this, the weight we lift and the reps we do have a corresponding relationship. The heavier we lift, the less reps we can do. The lighter we lift, the more reps we HAVE to do to achieve similar results. So, taking that logic to the Stairmaster where we're lifting only our bodyweight up the steps, you would have to do an extreme amount of work to achieve the glute growth you could be getting by squatting with a dumbbell or a barbell.
And I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after just 20 minutes on the Stairmaster! So to have to do hours and hours at a high intensity to get a nice butt? No thanks, I'll stick with my squats!
3) YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET BIG ARMS IF YOU DON'T WANT THEM
The beauty about weightlifting and bodybuilding, is that you can build different muscles to be defined differently. Now, don't read that the wrong way! I am NOT saying you can lose fat in particular parts of your body (that's called Spot Reduction and it's a myth)! What I AM saying, is that if you want your legs to be bigger than your arms, or your chest to be bigger than your legs, you can do that! (ever seen someone who has a huge chest and tiny legs? that's what I'm talking about here.)
Now, I advise you not to only do legs or to only do arms, because eventually you're going to need strength in all muscles of your body if you want to keep progressing and getting bigger. But just know that if you don't want a particular muscle group to be bigger than another, you don't have to isolate that muscle group and work it the same amount as the other muscles.
Here's a general week guideline for growing muscle. If you're just starting out, this is a good way to get started:
Monday: 2-4 exercises that target your desired muscle group (legs, chest, arms, etc) with 10-15 minutes of cardio at the end of your workout
Tuesday: Work a different muscle group (if you did legs on Monday, do chest today), with 10-15 minutes of cardio at the end of your workout
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: repeat Monday
Friday: repeat Tuesday
Saturday & Sunday: Rest
This is NOT a personalized routine, at all! But, if you're searching for specific goals and want something more personalized, talk to the trainer at your gym or contact me through my website below!
4) IT'S OKAY TO FAIL & WALK AROUND AIMLESSLY IN THE GYM
You need to get used to where everything is at in your gym, so just walk around and look at things! That's not something we should be scrutinizing in the gym, we should be encouraging it! Look at how people are doing the exercises, how they're adjusting the machine, what the movement looks like. The minute we start discouraging people to stop observing is the minute we're saying that beginners are lesser than our ego.
I was TERRIFIED to walk into the weight room and not know what I was doing, simply because of that fear. People walk around like they know what they're doing, and judge you for not finding your machine quickly. So lets stop doing that, mmkay guys?
Bring a gym buddy with you if you're worried about doing it alone, book a Gym Buddy Appointment with myself below, or take a class at your gym and meet some friends! Fitness finds ways to bring people together.
5) JUST TRY SOME STUFF
This is the part where I say, JUST START. Just pick up a dumbbell and try a shoulder press, or a lunge, or a row. Google is free! Find some exercises that look interesting, or pick some machines that look cool at the gym and see how it feels!
If you don't like the results you're getting, that's okay! Change it up. You don't have to stick with something that makes you feel bad just because everyone else does it. Fitness is not a one size fits all kind of activity, there are endless combinations out there! We just need to find the one that fits you and your goals.
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