What to Do At the Gym – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Working Out

You’ve packed your gym bag, put on your new Adidas shoes, and are ready to hit the gym. But the moment you stumble in, you suddenly feel like a fish out of water and ask yourself:

“What the heck am I supposed to do here?!?”

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. It’s nerve-racking to walk into a room where grunting men and super fit women are lifting weights and doing cardio like it’s nothing. It can even feel like all eyes are on you, much like when a new kid walks into school.

But in almost all cases, it’s all in our heads. No one is actually paying attention to us, especially not the hottie on the stairmaster. They’re too busy concentrating on their own workout. So take a deep breath and remember that everyone was once in your shoes (or sneakers).

Remember, the gym is more than a place with a few machines and some free weights – it’s your ticket to a healthier, happier life.

In this beginner’s guide to the gym, we’ll cover the following:

What type of gym is best for you
What to wear during your gym workouts
How to get started at the gym – warming up
Beginner gym workout tips
Beginner workout examples
What to do after a workout
How to establish a healthy gym routine that you’ll stick too
The do’s and don’ts of gym etiquette
Should you hire a personal trainer?

Choosing the Right Gym for You

Surely, all gyms are the same, right? Just a bunch of people working out, sweating, and sometimes smelling bad.

Not quite.

Not all gyms are created equal. Some emphasize the hardcore lifting atmosphere, while others focus on providing a luxury experience. The right gym for you is the one that fits your fitness goals and needs.

Consider the following when looking for a gym:

Location: You’ll be more likely to go to the gym if it’s close to your home or work. A decent-sized, nearby car park also saves time on having to walk far after a long day at work.

Opening Hours: There are many 24 hour gyms like Anytime Fitness, but it’s not necessary to have a gym that’s open all day and night. Most people perform their gym workouts before or after work, so a gym that’s open early in the morning and in the evening is usually sufficient.

Services and Classes: If you’re looking for more than just a place to lift weights, check what the gym offers. Some will have dedicated rooms to different activities like yoga or dance classes, while others may have a pool or sauna.

Cost: We already mentioned luxury gyms, which can be quite expensive. But many budget gyms offer great value for your money. Ask yourself your goals and how much you’re willing to spend to achieve them.

What to Wear and Bring with You to the Gym?

You’ll often see all kinds of attire at the gym, from fully clothed to just a sports bra and shorts. There’s also the common belief that the better shape you’re in, the fewer clothes you can get away with wearing.

Please don’t listen to that!

What you wear in the gym should be comfortable and practical, whether you look like an adonis or not. Exercising can be pretty strenuous, whether lifting weights or punching a boxing bag. So you want to wear something that won’t restrict your movement or get in the way.

For women, a good sports bra and leggings or even a t-shirt and shorts are usually sufficient. Men can either go for shorts and a tank top or a t-shirt. Just ensure that whatever you’re wearing is breathable and won’t make you too hot.

As for what to bring with you, consider getting the following:

A towel: You’ll sweat, and you don’t want to be the person leaving a pool of sweat on the bench press. If your gym provides a towel (luxurious gyms tend to do this), then use it.

A water bottle: It’s essential to stay hydrated, especially when working out. Bring a water bottle so you can sip on your drink throughout your workout.

Gym shoes: Your shoe choice can sometimes depend on your workout. If you’re planning on doing squats, for example, squat shoes are a good choice as they provide extra support for your feet and ankles.

Gym gloves: Gloves are not essential, but if skin calluses bother you, consider wearing them.

Weightlifting belt (Optional) – Like squat shoes, a weightlifting belt provides extra support for your back and spine. If you’re new to lifting, don’t worry about getting a belt just yet as you’ll want to strengthen your core muscles first.

How to Get Started at the Gym?

You’ve summoned the courage and have finally arrived at the gym. Congratulations! That should never be underestimated.

But now that you’re at the gym, what should you do?

The first thing you want to do is smell the gym air and soak it all in. Seriously. Remember that this is where you spend a good chunk of your time, so you want to get comfortable fast.

Getting comfortable aside, first find a spot to put your things. There should be a locker room or a place where you can put your jacket and bag. Once you store your stuff, it’s time to get down to business.

Warmups are, unfortunately, an overlooked part of many people’s workout routines. I’m also guilty of skipping the warmup and getting straight into lifting weights.

But trust us, they’re essential. Warming up helps increase your heart rate and prepares your muscles for action. It also helps to prevent injury, which is crucial for long-term progress you’ll be proud of. A good warmup should last around 10 minutes.

Warming up

You can do a mix of light cardio and dynamic stretching. For example, a light jog on the treadmill followed by some leg swings. Or you can do something simpler, like jumping jacks followed by arm circles.

Here are a few exercises to get your heart pumping:

• High knees
• Butt kickers
• Arm circles
• Side shuffle
• Jumping jacks
• Bodyweight squats
• Lunges
• Leg swings

Stretches you can do:

• Neck rolls
• Shoulder shrugs
• Arm swings
• Torso twists
• Hip circles
• Knee hugs
• Quad stretches
• Hamstring stretches
• Calf stretches

Of course, you don’t have to do all of these. For example, if you’re exclusively training legs, focus on lower body stretches combined with doing light cardio on the bike machine.

The bottom line is this – you don’t want to go into your training sessions (especially if you’re performing heavy compound lifting movements) cold. You’re more likely to pull a muscle or hurt yourself.

Beginner Gym Workout Advice

Now it’s time to get into the main event: your actual gym workout and routine.

When I first worked out, I’d pick any machine or free weight in sight and start going to town. I had no idea what I was doing, and while I did see results, it wasn’t the most efficient way to go about strength training.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with picking a machine and going for it. But like most things, you want some structure and a plan if you want to see the best results asap.

If you don’t have a plan, here are some tips to get you started:

Choose a primary goal – Whether it’s gaining muscle, losing fat, improving your sport or cardiovascular health, you want to have a focus. Your training regime will, after all, revolve around this goal.

Consider bodyweight exercises – It’s tempting to dive right into free weights or weight machines, but performing full body workouts with just bodyweight exercises is fantastic. This lets you slowly transition into movements with more resistance while perfecting your form.

Select the right exercises: If you’re exclusively looking to lose a few pounds of body fat, opting for cardio machines will be more effective than bicep curls. Likewise, if you want to improve your tennis game, choose weight training exercises that closely mimic your sport’s movement patterns.

Create a split: This is where you decide which days you’ll train which body parts. For example, a push/pull/legs split hits all the major muscle groups in your body (chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs) in a three-day cycle.

Prioritise compound movements: These are exercises that work for multiple muscle groups simultaneously, giving you the most bang for your buck. Of course, you should also add isolation movements, but prioritise the big lifts first.

Some examples of compound movements are:

• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench press
• Overhead press
• Pull-ups
• Rows

Isolation movements are exercises that focus on a single muscle group. These are great for targeting specific areas and bringing up weaker body parts.

Some examples of isolation movements are:

• Tricep extensions
• Bicep curls
• Lateral raises
• Leg extensions
• Leg curls
• Calf raises

Pick a set and rep range – This is where you decide how many sets and reps you’ll do for each exercise. A common approach is to do 3-5 sets of 5-12 reps.

A 5×5 (five sets of five reps) full body workout is excellent if you’re just starting out. This will help perfect your form and acclimatise your body to the movement pattern before you start adding weight.

As you become more comfortable with the movement and want to add weight, you can increase the reps while keeping the same weight. Alternatively, you can increase the weight while keeping the reps the same.

Don’t forget to rest – If you want to build muscle mass, give your body adequate rest between sets to perform at your best. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to rest for 3-5 minutes between sets, depending on the movement’s intensity.

Take it Easy! – Since your body is unaccustomed to this activity level, you might be tempted to go all out from the get-go. But it’s important to ease into things, lift lighter weights and build up gradually.

Furthermore, you’ll want to stop worrying about how much weight you can lift. We all have different starting points, so there’s no use in worrying about it. If you can lift just the bar, it’s certainly better than nothing.

Start with two days a week and work your way up. As your body becomes more accustomed to the training, you can start adding a day (or more) to your routine.

Beginner Workouts to Do at The Gym

The workouts below are just examples, so you can add or remove exercises as you see fit. But as a beginner, you always want to keep things simple and focus on the basics. If these workouts are too intense for you, feel free to dial it back a bit.

Full Body Workout for Hypertrophy
Bench press or dumbbell chest press – 3×10 (not including warm up sets)

3-5 minutes rest between sets

Bent over row or dumbbell row – 3×10 (not including warm up sets)

3-5 minutes rest between sets

Leg press or squats – 3×10 (not including warm up sets)

3-5 minutes rest between sets

Dumbbell curl or barbell curls – 3×10 (not including warm up sets)

1-3 minutes rest between sets

Tricep extension – 3×10 (not including warm up sets)

1-3 minutes rest between sets

Crunches – 3×20

1-2 minutes rest between sets

Bodyweight Exercise Workout for Hypertrophy

Push-ups – 3×20

1-3 minutes rest between sets

Pull-ups – 3×5-10

1-3 minutes rest between sets

Dips – 3×10

1-4 minutes rest between sets

Lunges – 3×10

1-3 minutes rest between sets

Bodyweight squats – 3×20

1-3 minutes rest between sets

Plank – 3×60 seconds

1-2 minutes rest between sets

Side plank – 3×60 seconds each side

1-2 minutes rest between sets

Hyperextensions – 3×10

1-2 minutes rest between sets

Cardio Workout Example

Treadmill – 15-20 minutes

Elliptical machine – 15-20 minutes

Stationary bike – 15-20 minutes

What to do After Your Workout?

You’ve burned x amount of calories, lifted some heavy iron, and now you can binge on whatever you want, right? Not so fast.

Your body is a well-oiled machine that needs the proper nutrients to function optimally. There simply aren’t any shortcuts to your body, hence the phrase ‘you are what you eat.’

What to Eat
Ideally, you should eat meals throughout the day containing all the macronutrients – protein, carbs, and fat. This will help your body recover, build muscle, and refuel for the next gym workout. For your post-workout meal, simply getting in a protein source, i.e. Chicken, fish, or a protein shake is ideal.

If your primary goal is fat loss, you’ll want to be in a calorie deficit. This means you’ll need to eat fewer calories than you’re burning over 24 hours. On the flip side, if your goal is to build muscle, you’ll need to be in a calorie surplus – a 10% to 20% increase above your maintenance calorie intake is adequate.

How Much to Drink
It’s also important to stay hydrated throughout the day. According to the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, men should consume 3.7 litres of fluid daily, and women should drink 2.7 litres. And if you’re attending the gym frequently, you might want to increase your intake even more.

How to Stick to a Training Routine

While you can have the most structured routine, the best gym and personal trainer, and a perfect diet, you’re not going to make any progress if you don’t stick with it.

Believe it or not, progress is one of the biggest motivators to keep going to the gym. When you start seeing visual changes across your whole body, it gives you a sense of accomplishment and encourages you to keep going.

Ofcourse, you won’t see changes immediately as anything worth having takes time and patience. You might not see results for weeks, but trust the process and you’ll reap the rewards.

Don’t Rely too Heavily on Motivation to Get You to The Gym
We always see motivational videos on social media or read articles on how to get ourselves pumped up for a workout. But the thing is, motivation is fickle – it comes and goes.

Going to the gym should be a habit, not something you do only when feeling it. To help yourself out, set a specific day and time for your workout, and just do it. You’ll find throughout time that you won’t even think about it; you’ll just go.

Set a Realistic Goal
There’s nothing wrong with aiming for the moon. As the saying goes, if you shoot for the moon, you’ll land somewhere among the stars. But what’s more critical is starting small and then gradually building up.

For example, if you want to lose 20 pounds, don’t focus on that number. Instead, focus on losing 1 to 2 pounds a week. Similarly, if you want to run a marathon, don’t try to run the total distance on your first day. Start with a manageable goal, like running 3 miles, and then go from there.

You’ll quickly find that once you’ve swept through your initial goals, suddenly, the big goals don’t seem so unattainable anymore. Infact, they’ll become stepping stones onto bigger and better things!

Record Your Workouts
Monitoring your progress is excellent. First, you see how far you’ve come, and it keeps you on the narrow road to next week’s or month’s goal. Second, recording your workouts also prevents you from slacking off or deluding yourself about how much you’ve actually done.

Now we’re not saying you need to have a notebook and jot down everything you did during your workout. All you really need is a simple way of tracking it, like an app on your phone.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Gym Etiquette

Just like any other social setting, there are specific unwritten gym rules (or etiquette) that you should follow. These are primarily for the benefit of everyone, so we urge you to follow them. Let’s go through some of the most important ones.

Do:
Wipe down your equipment: If you have an alcohol-based sanitizer, bring that with you. Nobody wants to use a bench press that’s still dripping with your sweat.

Return your weights: People want to know where things are, and it’ll be hard to find equipment lying around across the gym.

Be considerate of others: If someone is using a chest-press machine, wait until they are finished before using it yourself. You can ask how many sets they have left, but don’t be pushy about it.

Don’t:
Be too loud: Now, this is a controversial one. Grunting loudly or letting the weights drop on the floor can sometimes be unavoidable. But if you’re doing it on purpose, please don’t. It’s just inconsiderate.

Hog the equipment: If you’re using weight training equipment, or a cardio machine, be mindful of the time. If someone is waiting to use the equipment, don’t take any more time than you need.

Leave your belongings lying around: Nobody wants to trip over your bag on the gym floor, and it’s just a common courtesy to keep your things close to you.

Don’t be a know-it-all: Naturally, once you have gained a few pounds of muscle or lost some weight, you’ll want to share your wisdom with others. But please don’t be the guy who’s always giving unsolicited advice.

Should you Hire the Services of a Personal Trainer?

The term ‘beginner’ is somewhat relative. Some first-time gym goers have years of experience playing sports, while others have been complete couch potatoes their entire lives Furthermore, if you’ve done your fair share of research, you might not need a personal trainer.

On the other hand, if you’re starting from scratch, a personal trainer can be a great asset. They will design a program based on your goals and help you acclimate to the gym environment.

Personal trainers, maybe most importantly, teach you how to execute the exercises with proper form. You may be tempted to wing it entirely on your own, but doing lousy form on any activity can lead to injuries.

Lastly, a personal trainer will also help keep you motivated and accountable. It’s easy to doze off or not complete a set when working out alone. But it makes a big difference when someone is there to encourage and push you.

Why Joining the Gym as a Beginner is the Best Time

Joining a gym for the first time is scary – you’re delving into the unknown and setting yourself up for new challenges. But it’s actually one of the best times of any gym-goer’s fitness journey.

You’re starting with a clean slate, which means you get to learn new things, try different workout routines and find what works. It’s also when you’ll make the most muscle gains since your body is adapting to the new stimulus. When your muscles start bulging out of your clothes and your jeans start getting tighter, you’ll know it was all worth it.

So don’t be scared, just pack your bag and go. And we’ll see you at the gym!

Find The best Gym in 3 Easy Steps
1. Enter Your Requirements

Complete the Quick Search from above, or the Advance Search form if you want to be more specific with your search.

2. View Prices and Compare

Once you submitted the form, you can view all of the gyms in Location along with their prices, special offers, features and reviews. Find the most suitable gym for your fitness needs.

3. Book and Schedule a Tour

Your gym of choice will be in touch with you to explain the best deal for you. You can also schedule a tour with the gym to ensure that it is perfect for you.

Some of our Partners
snap-fitness