A Beginners Guide To The Weights Room

written by Breanne Fleat

 

Making the conscious decision to start exercising is often the first step in a much larger journey to improve your health, and also about how you look and feel. A large part of this first step is committing to a gym membership. By gaining access to a fully equipped gym setting you arm yourself with all the tools required to make sustainable changes to your health and physique.

But there can be a small catch.

Stepping into the gym for the first can be an intimidating experience. Determined people in every corner. People sweating and grunting all over the place. It can be a little overwhelming. Particularly if you are not sure where to start, or what you need to do.

But no need to fear.

We have put together a comprehensive list of things you need to know about the gym, and a few helpful tips to get you feeling comfortable within a gym setting immediately!

Cardio and stretching area.

This area is typically carpeted containing foam rollers, rubber bands and big inflatable balls, and a large section containing a number of stationary bikes, treadmills and rowing machines.

The stretching area is a good place to start your gym session. You should commence by some foam rolling and stretching any areas of the body that feel tight, stiff or sore. This releases any stiff muscles, reducing your risk of injury while also preparing your body for the coming exercise.

Once you have completed stretching and rolling any stiff muscles, it is a good idea to spend 5-10 minutes on a cardio machine of your choice. This promotes blood flow to the muscle tissue, further preparing us for exercise.

It is easy to get stuck spending wayyy to much time in the cardio section. I get it. It feels safe. No one can enter your personal space. It’s easy. But that isn’t why you got a gym membership. You got one so you could use ALL the gym equipment. You can run back at home (seriously, all you need to do is head outside and start running). So spend 10 minutes MAX warming up in this space, and then it is time to move on.

Weights area

Once we are feeling warm and prepared to exercise, it is time to move into the weight training area. And let me tell you, this is where the magic happens.

Once you enter the weight training area you might notice that it is somewhat split up into two separate sections. One most likely contains all the free weight equipment (barbells, dumbbells, adjustable benches, and big squat racks), while the other should have all the weight training ‘machines’.

Now, if you are new to the gym, the weight machines are a fantastic place to start. Weight machines are very self-explanatory, and often provide descriptions on how to use them effectively (found on the machine themselves). Additionally, there should be enough machines to train every main muscle group in your entire body, allowing you to create an effective and balanced workout with them alone.

While there are a number of positives associated with machine based weight training, there are a couple of negatives. They typically train muscle groups in isolation. Unfortunately, this is not how they work during day-to-day movement such as walking, running, jumping, or climbing. While this doesn’t mean that you can’t build muscle and lose fat using machines alone, you will not maximise your strength development, and the strength developments that you do make are unlikely to carry over to athletic performance, or your ability to complete day-to-day tasks.

So after one or two sessions familiarising yourself with the machines, it is time to make a gradual shift over to the free weights section. Now, this section can be a little more intimidating. Often this area contains more ‘meat-heads’ than everywhere else combined, and the weights don’t come with specific instructions attached. But, despite all of that, this is where you have the most potential to improve functional strength. This is where introducing large multi joint movements into your program is a good idea.

Starting with squats, deadlifts, split squats, chin ups and bench presses is a fantastic way to integrate free weight exercises into your current routine. An additional benefit is that these exercises build strength in ‘fundamental movement patterns’, which directly improves our ability to complete day-to-day tasks and can increase our athletic potential.

Don’t forget when starting a weights programme it’s seriously important to pay attention to your nutritional needs. Adding extra protein to your diet is vital for muscle recovery. Have a look at Protein Promo for their sports nutrition offers.

 

Tips to get you started

Firstly, don’t be afraid to ask questions. The staff are there to help you, and in this scenario, no question is a stupid question. This becomes particularly important when you move into the free weights area, as you want to make sure you are using the correct technique (so ask them how). Additionally, if you see someone performing an exercise in the gym that you would like to try, simply wait until they have finished their set and ask them. People are often happy to share their knowledge. With this, don’t be afraid to ask the big, strong, intimidating guys – these guys are big and strong for a reason! They normally have some good information they are happy to share!

Secondly, bring both a towel and a water bottle. The first ensures you done leave your sweat all over the equipment (which is gross, by the way), and the second keeps you hydrated throughout the duration of your gym session.

Lastly, have fun. You are there to improve yourself, so enjoy the process. Enjoy learning new exercises and working hard!

---

Breanne Fleat is a protein-baking enthusiast, with a huge obsession with all forms of nut butter. When out of the kitchen, Breanne works full time at Protein Promo managing social media & content.