8 Things to Know When You Begin Lifting…
Fitness has been apart of my life ever since I was 10 years old, I’m 21 now, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.
I often think back and wonder if I knew what I know now back then how much further along I’d be. Needless to say hindsight is 20/20 and making all the mistakes I made helped me, so that I can help others not make the same mistakes I made.
Lifting is a journey of self exploration at its core. You have to experiment in order to find what works for you, but take these 8 tips as a list of caution signs to keep on a steady path along your journey.
Keep track of your training and track my nutrition. For many years I would go into my workouts and train off feel and what felt right for the day. I would keep a mental note of how much weight I used from week to week, but I never kept a consistient log book. I tracked my calories here and there, but I would always find myself getting out of it. I now track every workout I do, so I can have a point of reference to see the long term trend as to if I’m getting better or not. As far as tracking my nutrition I now track my macros daily, but this is only because I have specific goals I want to reach and they require me to be on top of every variable I have control of. Once you track long enough you can move away from a super rigid approach and just live life because you’ve developed the necessary skills to do so.
Don’t compare yourself to others because we’re all at a different point in our journey. It’s easy especially with social media to let other peoples success lead us to thinking we aren’t cut out for this or that we’re progressing at subpar standards, but in reality we’re all different and progress at different rates. Stay in your lane and strive for improvement from where you started.
You don’t need to do 30 sets for a body part two times a week to see progress. Less is often times more and more isn’t always better. For example, if you do 8 sets of quads a week and really give all of those 8 sets your all I bet you’ll get more growth than the guy who does 20 sets, but most of those sets are subpar and are only making you tired vs actually making you better. Build your volume up as needed over time to further drive adaptation.
Cardio is good for you! 20 - 30 mins 2 - 3 times a week year round will do wonders for your health. Simple reasoning behind this one, no one wants to get gassed walking up steps especially when you’re supposed to be in shape from lifting weights all the time right?
Stay on top of your recovery! 7 - 9 hours of sleep a night, managing outside stressors, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, this stuff isn’t sexy but it works wonders for your long term training success.
Build your foundation with the core lifts first. Squat, bench, deadlift, pull ups, barbell rows, chin ups, push ups, leg press, hack squat, and lunges. These are the foundational lifts for a reason make sure you build your training plan around these before you go adding in a crossbody incline hammer strength press because you saw your favorite IFBB pro doing them.
Take full advantage of your newbie gains and pack on as much muscle and strength as possible. Don’t get caught up in the hype of having a six pack. Your first couple years of lifting need to be spent in a small surplus, so you can take advantage of all of your newbie gains. You’ve got to have muscle mass on your frame in order to look jacked when you cut down. If you don’t have the muscle you’re just going to look sick and hungry…trust me I’ve been there.
Master the form and then add weight. Form is everything! If you’re not actively using the muscles you’re trying to work when performing an exercise then you’re just wasting your time. Drop your ego, learn how to do the exercise correctly, and let the programming do the work. If you’re doing sufficient volume and checking the recovery boxes we discussed earlier you will get stronger.
Bonus Tip
Get a coach or someone you look up to to guide you along the way as soon as possible. This will save you a lot of time and jump start your progress.
I’m currently accepting online and in person clients for the Month of July. If you’re serious about taking your training and nutrition to the next level Send me an email and let’s schedule a consultation to answer your questions and see if we’d be a good fit to work together.
I hope you’re doing well and crushing your goals in life!
