Ask HN: Day-by-day plan for starting gym | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Day-by-day plan for starting gym

I have never stepped inside a gym and would like some help (day-by-day plan/curated lists) for first timers.

Bonus points if it includes nutrition/dietary guidelines too.

I used this workout for a while. https://stronglifts.com/5x5/

Simple, fast, and basically any gym will have the necessary equipment.

If you don’t know the exercises, the videos are good. But getting someone to teach you how to properly squat, deadlift, and press is worth the trainer time. Or basically any friend who has spent anytime in a gym should know those exercises.

I cannot recommend this enough. The app is so simple and the workouts are around one hour (with heavy lifts).

I highly recommend Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strength[0] to learn the mechanics of the lifts. StrongLifts is a sorta rip off of Starting Strength.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Train...

Careful with that: https://i.imgur.com/2WOj0eN.png

I learned a lot by joining a good CrossFit gym. I can now do my own thing, but that would have been daunting previously. The absolute worst thing about CrossFit is quality control. Not knowing anything to start makes it hard to find one. Ask them when you go in about mobilization/stretching/warm-ups and cool downs and how they are managed in the program (ideally baked in). Ask about how they handle skill progression and scaling exercises based on ability (they should talk about safety and form and not pushing to do the workout "as prescribed"). Ask how they can help when things become stiff or sore (they should want you to bring up this stuff and be able to give you suggested stretches and tips). Ask if they have a anything guiding their workout programming (they should have cycles they go through focusing on different skills or muscle groups). Ask if they do nutrition guidance. You might have to go to a few places before finding a place that has answers for all of these. The advantages are pushing harder than you will on your own, trying things you wouldn't have know to try, suffering with a small group of people and building a sense of community, and getting stronger and fitter.

Edit, oh, and ask about class size to instructor ratio. Smaller is better. I think the sweet spot is sub 10 to one instructor. It allows them to really notice how you are doing and give one on one improvement help.

I think the single most important part of starting out at the gym is to keep it as simple and friction-less as possible. The most important thing is to go consistently for a couple of months. Most failures happen when a person skips one day, than decides to call the week, and snowballing from there to not going.

If you've never been to the gym, a lot of the equipment may be intimidating, so skip it for now. For the first couple of weeks just get on the treadmill/elliptical/whatever for 30 minutes. As you build a routine, you'll be able to branch out from there.

If you're completely clueless, I would join a gym with a range of machines. Machines are great, because they are low skill, you don't have to talk with anyone or feel embarrassed if you're not doing an exercise correctly.

Level 0:

Write down some goals you want to accomplish. For me, I want to do 15 pull ups without a rest. But it could be run a mile in under 8 minutes. Write down when and how often you will be going to the gym. Hold yourself to this.

Put this list in a place you will see it often.

Level 1:

At the machine, sit down, look at the picture, do the the motion (at a light weight) 10 times. Move onto the next machine. If you have questions about how to use a machine, ask the staff.

Here, you are forming the habit of going to the gym. Don't worry about pushing yourself. Just focus on going to the gym 3 times per week. as u/jhauris said, keep things as friction-less as possible.

Level 2:

After a couple weeks of level 1, start doing multiple sets at each machine. Do the motion 10 times, rest for 1-2 minutes, do it again. repeat 3x. Stay in the gym exercising for at least 60 minutes.

Level 3:

After 2+ months of this, you can add cardio before your workout. If you have a bad back, try the bike machines or stepping machines. Many gyms offer classes which can be fun and motivating as well.

Level 4:

You will start noticing your weights are not improving as fast as they used to. Up to this point, you have been doing a full body workout each time you're at the gym. You should try to shift into using the free weights with a focus on different muscle groups per day. Monday: Legs; Wed: Back and biceps; Friday: Chest, shoulders, and triceps

I've done this a few times, but the depressing thing with fitness is that you can recede. I was able to run 5km or do 20 push ups a while back, but now I struggle to do 3km. The depressing part is realizing that it has to be a maintained lifestyle thing.

Running has some morale benefits, like scenery and fresh air. Sports has social benefits. Machines not so much.

Non-gym option, follow these instructions: http://www.startbodyweight.com/2014/01/basic-routine-infogra...

Skip the parts that require a pull-up bar the first week or two, of course, because you don't have one yet.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com