BAJAN SUN MAGAZINE
OCT 2014
Workout Tips For
The Beginner
G
etting off the
couch
and
into the gym can be
an
intimidating
process, especially
when
everyone
seems to know a lot
more than you do.
To be successful in
your fitness goals, it's important to start on the right
track. Far too many beginners get started on the
wrong foot, develop bad habits, and then struggle to
achieve their goals of building muscle and burning
fat.
I don't want you to struggle with more challenges
than you already have to—many are avoidable! If
you can make your first steps positive ones, you'll
make excellent progress right away and avoid
feeling lost at the start of your fitness journey.
Take the first step with these 10 must-read beginner
training tips. Apply them to your burgeoning health
and fitness regimen for early success!
1 Make Fitness a Habit
Going to the gym once is definitely a great start, but
you won't see positive changes in your mind and
body unless you make hitting the gym a habit. I
know it might sound like an impossible task,
especially if you feel you have a full day already, but
working out 3-4 times each week for at least three
weeks is absolutely essential to your budding
success.
Building lifelong habits takes time, but once you've
built those habits into your daily schedule you'll
notice that missing them is irritating.
"Experts say it takes 21 days to create (or break) a
habit," says Barbara Bolotte, BPI athlete. "This
means it won't be until after 21 days of consistent
work at the gym that it'll bother you to miss a
workout."
When skipping the gym is more of an annoyance
than a relief, you know you're on the way to success.
Give yourself time to make the habit stick. One
week is not enough. Be consistent in your plan and
you'll move forward very quickly toward your goals.
2 Control Your Lifts
Beginners often learn by watching. That's not
necessarily a bad thing, but if you copy somebody
doing a lift improperly, it means you're not doing it
right, either. Most often, bad form comes from
trying to lift too much weight too soon. When that
happens, most people turn to momentum rather than
muscle contraction to move the weight.
"Your efforts need to be focused and controlled,"
says Orlando Blennman owner of Sundown Gym.
"The key is to isolate muscle groups and
strategically work them through various exercises,
angles, and techniques." The better you can actually
contract each muscle group correctly during a lift,
the more your muscles will grow.
More weight can wait. In the grand scheme of
things, how much you can biceps curl matters very
little. What's important is learning how to squeeze
your muscles to move the weight rather than using
your hips to thrust the weight up.
For a step-by-step guide on how to perform each lift
correctly, ask Orlando to show you the movement.
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