The gym is an intimidating place for many beginners. There is so much conflicting information out there on programming, dieting, rest, etc. that it can be hard to figure out what is true and what isn’t. This is the first part in a series on how to start lifting and the basics that I wish I had known when I first started.
Disclaimer: This article was not written by a medical professional, certified strength coach, or certified personal trainer. Do not begin an exercise program without consulting your doctor, and always make sure to lift with a partner who knows what they are doing to minimize potential for injury.
There are just three things that are necessary for muscle growth to occur. First, lifting light weight and stopping when you feel any burn is not going to be enough to make your muscles want to grow. Your body will only grow if you train with intensity. This doesn’t mean train to the point of a heart attack, just do as many times as you can with the weight you’re using. Once your body can lift the same weight for the same amount of reps (a single motion with a weight) you can either increase the weight or the number of reps to continue giving your body a reason to grow as it becomes stronger. This is called progressive overload. Secondly, your body can’t grow if it doesn’t have the necessary materials to build muscle. It needs two primary things, protein and calories. Third, muscles will only grow when they are given time to rest and recover, so taking time off a few times a week is important.
It’s possible to go incredibly in-depth in optimizing these three categories but especially as a beginner this is not necessary for growth. When it comes to optimizing the workout, a program is necessary. There are hundreds of programs out there and later in this series there will be a model program but the best program is one created specifically for you. When creating your program there are a few requirements. Each muscle should be trained 2-3 times a week and there should be 2-3 rest days or days off per week. Additionally each muscle group should be trained with just 10-20 sets per week. A set is a group of reps done with the same weight before resting. Finally, heavily compound movements such as bench press which uses the chest, triceps, and shoulders should come first while isolation movements like lateral raises and tricep push downs which only work one muscle each should come last.
When it comes to optimizing nutrition, for muscle growth or weight loss, only two things matter, caloric intake and protein intake. Protein is incredibly important for muscle growth but very simple to optimize. Look to consume 0.8-1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight. For example if you are 200 lbs, 160-200 grams of protein a day would be best. 200 grams of protein is about 600 grams of chicken breast, which is a lot, but varying protein sources, learning to cook, and using protein supplements can help. Now for the slightly more complicated topic, caloric intake. If your goal is to gain mass, eat more calories than your body uses, and if your goal is to lose mass, eat less calories than your body uses. There are plenty of calorie calculators to find out how many your body uses, with Mayo Clinic’s being accurate and safe, but at the basic level this is how to specify caloric intake. Beyond any fad diet that is based on pseudoscience, a caloric surplus or deficit is the only way to gain or lose weight with a scientific backing. Do not try to push beyond what is healthy however. Extreme weight loss or weight gain can be incredibly unhealthy both mentally and physically and limit progress in the gym. Recovery is important but very easy to optimize as well. To keep it simple, sleep 8-9 hours a night and don’t lift every day, take rest days, days where you don’t lift, between every two to three training days at most. Between sets try to rest for two to three minutes. Recovery and nutrition are less flashy on social media than a super specific workout routine but they are important and should be optimized before trying to make the perfect program.
Safety is very important at the gym. I have been injured a few times at the gym for making dumb mistakes and if I had heard these few tips I would have prevented injuries that hurt my progress. Unless you are specifically told not to, keep your lower back straight on every exercise. Back injuries can push progress back by months, and are incredibly common, especially on leg days. When squatting, always set the spotter arms up so that you can bail if you are going down. If you are bailing a squat, let the weight fall backward instead of forward over your head. When benching to failure, always have a spotter to prevent any crushing injuries. If you do not have a spotter, do not put collars on the bar so that the weight can be dumped. It may be loud to drop plates, but its better than a severe injury. The most important however is to use proper technique and not ego lift. If you are using proper technique and performing the entire range of motion safety won’t be an issue, but this can only be done if you keep the weight at a reasonable level.
This was just a rough overview of the most basic requirements for muscle and strength gains yet in future parts these topics will be expanded on. There is a lot of information out there in the fitness world, some correct and a lot incorrect, but by using these basic fundamentals anyone can make progress in the gym.
