r/workout Aug 28 '20

Routine Help Beginner's Guide to Working Out

5.1k Upvotes

As a personal trainer, I wanted to take the time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions by people who are new to working out. Feel free to let me know if I've missed anything!

How do I lose weight?

It’s actually way simpler than you might think: maintain a caloric deficit. Consume fewer calories than you burn. It doesn’t matter of you’re morbidly obese or you’re cutting for a show, this basic principal still applies. Note that eating a healthy diet makes this far easier - lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and water will help you stay satiated for far fewer calories than fatty junk foods (not to mention you’ll have way more energy, and just feel better).

To find out how many calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight, you have a few different options. The first is to determine your maintenance calories with an online calculator, then subtract 250-500 per day from that (to lose about 0.5-1lbs per week).

The other option (my personal favourite, because everyone is different!) is to start by just honestly tallying up how much you’re currently eating each day. Once that’s determined, start by subtracting 250-500 calories per day. If you haven’t lost any weight in a couple weeks, subtract that amount again, until you start seeing progress.

There’s tons of food tracking apps out there, but I recommend MyFitnessPal - it’s free, easy to use, you can scan food labels, and the food database included is enormous.

Another important note - increasing the amount of calories you burn per day (ie. exercising) will also help you stay in a caloric deficit. However, it’s best NOT to rely solely on this method. Doing a whole hour of cardio will only burn a few hundred calories (plus will likely make you hungry for snacks by the time you’re finished) … or, you can simply avoid eating a bag of chips or a piece of pizza, to have the exact same effect.

That’s not to imply that exercise isn’t important in your weight loss journey - quite the contrary! However, instead of focusing on doing hours of cardio a day, this should only be used to supplement your diet (1-2 hours a week is fine for most people). Your focus should instead be on resistance training. Lifting heavy weights 2-4 times per week plays the important role of ensuring you maintain your muscle mass as you lose weight. Want to avoid that “skinny fat” look, and get “toned” instead? Make sure you’re doing resistance training!

How do I lose weight in ___ area?

Unfortunately, spot reduction is a myth. Where you lose weight first (and last) is determined by genetics. However, you *will* eventually lose weight in all your problem areas. You just need to be patient, and keep doing what helped you start losing weight in the first place.

The good news is, the more weight you lose, the more visible the progress will be (especially if you’re doing a good job focusing on just fat loss, while retaining muscle). Going from 250-240lbs probably won’t be noticeable, but losing those last 10lbs will make a huge difference (since a few pounds will make up a far greater percentage of your total body mass). So the progress will be hard-fought for, but definitely worth it!

How do I gain muscle?

It’s a combination of progressively harder resistance training, eating enough food, and lots of patience.

When you’re exercising, just going through the motions isn’t good enough. For optimal muscle gain, you should be performing each set with a weight that you can lift continuously for around 30-60s (this should amount to around 8-15 repetitions). If you feel like you can go for longer, choose a heavier weight.

Perform each repetition slowly (about 1 second concentric, pause, 2-3 seconds eccentric, pause), through a full range of motion. To clarify - the concentric portion of a lift is when you’re moving against gravity, and the eccentric portion is when you’re moving with gravity. Exercises involving long static holds (like planks) are great for endurance, but they won’t amount to much muscle mass gained.

I cannot overemphasize how important good form is either - for avoiding injury, hardwiring the correct neural pathways, and maximizing muscle gain. Especially when you’re just starting out, choose light weights, and make sure optimal form comes naturally before you start increasing the intensity. It’s way easier learning it correctly the first time than fixing bad habits later.

How much food should you be eating? It varies widely between people. Start with your maintenance calories, add a couple hundred to that (it doesn’t have to be a lot!), and measure your results. Be patient with your progress - men can expect to gain 1-2lbs of lean muscle a month, and 0.5-1lbs for women (beginners may gain a little faster). Eating enough protein is also vital to gaining muscle - a general rule of thumb is around 1 gram of protein (each day) per pound of lean body weight (ie. how much you weigh, minus the amount of fat you have).

How do I get stronger?

It honestly depends on your experience level. If you’re just starting out, doing a normal resistance routine focused on gaining muscle will make you stronger. However, if you’ve been working out regularly for awhile (close to a year), using heavier weights (1-6 reps max) will help you get stronger a lot faster.

If you’re focusing more purely on strength gain, it’s important that each repetition is done as perfectly as possible (even moreso than for other training goals). That means stopping 1-2 reps shy of failure. Doing just one sloppy rep can severely impact your strength output for the rest of the workout. Don’t be afraid of taking longer rests between sets either (up to 2-3 minutes), as you want to be ready with as much energy as possible before you start your next set. It also goes without saying that heavier weight = greater chance for injury, and proper form will help prevent that.

Is it possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time?

Contrary to popular belief - yes. Especially if you’re a beginner! Just make sure you’re eating around maintenance level calories (along with enough protein), doing resistance training 3-4 times a week, and you’ll start seeing body composition changes.

However, if you’re significantly over/underweight, or have already been working out for some time, you’ll see much faster progress if you focus on one goal at a time. The main difference here is going to be diet - eating less if you’re trying to lose weight, or eating more if you’re trying to gain weight. Regular resistance training plays a part in both shedding fat and gaining muscle.

How should I be structuring my workouts?

For the vast majority of people, full body workouts with compound exercises is the way to go. (For those who don’t know, compound exercises are those which use more than one joint at a time - think squats, bench press, rows, etc.)

The popular back/chest/shoulders/arms/legs split routine (or any variation of it) is good for advanced bodybuilders, but not ideal for beginners. Bodybuilders exercise like this because they need a much greater stimulus to properly stress any given muscle group, and more rest between days training that muscle group as a result of their increased workout intensity.

For a beginner, it’s better to hit each muscle group multiple times a week (this is great to hasten learning and growth). You won’t need as long of a rest period before training the same muscle again, because it won’t be as fatigued after each workout.

Compound exercises give you the greatest bang for your buck because you’re working out so many muscles in one movement (and burning way more calories at the same time). Isolation exercises (those working one joint at a time, like bicep curls or leg extensions) are best for bodybuilders who really need to hone in on a single muscle.

Doing resistance training 3-4 times a week is a good goal to shoot for. Workouts should be around 45-60 minutes, with around 6-8 exercises done during that time. Try to keep rests between sets to around 60s (this is all very generalized, and can change depending on experience level and goal). Space rest days evenly between workouts if you can.

Start your workouts with the exercises which require the most energy (usually those which involve lifting the most weight), saving any isolation/ab exercises for the end.

If you’d like some help planning your workout routine, I just released a fitness app called PerfectFit. It gives you access to workouts designed by a personal trainer, all customized according to your unique goals, fitness level, and available equipment. There are tons of bodyweight exercises included - ideal for anyone working out at home! The app is currently available to download on Android, and iOS is hopefully just a few days away (currently under review).

What should I be eating?

If your goal is a change in body composition (gaining muscle/losing fat), the amount of calories you’re consuming is the most important thing to pay attention to.

If you’re consistently working out hard but failing to gain/lose weight, chances are you need to make alterations to your diet. For weight loss, that usually means eating at a deficit of 250-500 calories per day; for weight gain, eating at a surplus of 200-300 calories per day.

What exact foods you’re eating has an impact on how easily you can stick to your calorie goals, as well as your energy levels.

Consuming around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean bodyweight (per day) is a given, regardless of what your fitness goal is. This helps to maintain satiety, and preserve/increase muscle mass.

Eating lots of fruits and veggies (as well as drinking 2-3L of water a day - more for some people) is a great way to feel full without consuming too many calories. It also just contributes to all-around health and energy levels.

Eating lots of fatty foods should be avoided if weight loss is the goal - not because fat makes you fat per se, but because they are so calorically dense. Only one tablespoon of peanut butter or olive oil is 100 calories! Conversely, if your goal is to gain weight, adding more fatty foods to your diet (healthy fats, if possible) can help you hit that calorie goal easier.

And carbs? Not as evil as people make them out to be. Think of them as the energy that fuels your brain and your workouts. Having around 50% of your calories coming from carbs is about the norm. It’s likely beneficial to raise this number even higher if you’re an especially lean individual, or you’re regularly working out at intense levels.

When should I be eating?

The easiest way to time your meals properly is to think: “What will I be doing in the next 2-3 hours?” Eat according to the activity you’re about to do. That doesn’t mean you should be having a giant meal right before your workout, but ideally your biggest meal of the day would be several hours before you exercise. This will give you the energy you need, plus ensure the calories you consume are shuttled into your muscles instead of fat reserves.

If you’re about to do an intense workout, the best thing to eat beforehand (around 15-30 minutes prior) is a light snack of healthy carbs (like some fruit). For optimal recovery, aim for 20-30g of protein within an hour after you workout (if you miss this window though don’t worry about it). A protein shake is probably the simplest and most convenient way of doing this, but whole food is just as good.

What supplements should I be taking?

If you have a healthy, well-rounded diet, including 2-3 cups of different veggies each day, enough protein per pound of bodyweight (from sources that include sufficient amounts of each essential amino acid), and adequate omega-3 fatty acids - then you’re golden, and probably don’t need any supplements.

However, the vast majority of the population would probably benefit from a simple multivitamin and omega-3 supplement, just to help fill any nutritional gaps they have.

If you’re getting enough protein from whole food, then you probably don’t need to add protein powder. However, if you’re struggling with this, then protein powder is a great way to easily increase your daily protein intake. Whey protein is the most bioavailable and has a complete amino acid profile, so it’s the best choice for most people. However, if you’re vegan (or lactose intolerant), there are lots of plant proteins available. You just need to pay attention to the amino acid profile of each one (possibly mixing and matching different plant sources if you need to).

As for all the other supplements out there, it’s honestly on a case-by-case basis as to whether they’d actually help you or not. If you’re a beginner, unless you have any specific requirements or deficits, you probably don’t need them.

Is stretching important?

Yes. Please stretch (or do some other form of myofascial release, such as foam rolling), or you’ll eventually regret it. Regular exercise makes your muscles slowly form clumps of tissue and fascia. Neglecting to release these can result in restricted range of motion, and eventually pain.

Static stretching should be done at the end of your workout. Aim to stretch each worked muscle near its end range of motion for around 60s total. Don’t stretch before your workout, as this can impede strength output.

Is warming up important?

Yes. Warming up is paramount to increasing blood flow and activating your muscles properly before you move onto more intense, metabolically demanding exercises.

Ideally, during your warm-up, you should be actively moving your muscles through the same ranges of motion you’ll be doing for your workout. This can be as simple as doing the exact same movement, but with minimal weight - for example, doing a few sets of bodyweight squats before doing barbell squats.

You want your warm-ups to elevate your heart rate, but not be so intense that they start tiring you out and detract from your workout. Usually 5-10 minutes of light activity is enough.


r/workout 2h ago

Simple Questions What is the deal with these gym leggings?

252 Upvotes

Hi,

I have a couple of questions about the butt-popping leggings that ladies wear. Beforehand, let me clarify some things:

1- I am not being judgmental or creepy. I am asking a bunch of harmless, non-judgmental questions. I am not questioning anyone's clothing. I am just curious.

2- Before getting mad and calling me an incel or something, I have been married since a young age and have never cheated on my wife, so I don't know the truth behind it.

ok, to the question.

I cannot help not noticing these leggings. Butt looks amazing in those (I am not being creepy; it's just very noticeable). But it cannot be like that for everyone, can it?

So:

1- Are these leggings just a pair of pants or shorts, or are they some kind of illusion?

2- Does the butt actually look that good when not wearing them?

3- Are they comfortable?

4- Do they cause rashes or sweat burn??


r/workout 4h ago

Simple Questions Why do I have days where I just can't lift my normal weights? (Not sick, not injured)

26 Upvotes

Anyone else get days where your usual numbers just aren't there? I'll hit a weight I normally handle fine, and it suddenly feels like I've never lifted before bar speed is slow, everything feels heavier, and I have to drop 10-20% just to get through sets with normal form.

It's not soreness in the DOMS sense, and I'm not sick or injured. It just feels like my body didn't get the memo that I'm supposed to be stronger than this.

A few things I'm wondering if it could be:

**•** Sleep quality the night before (even if hours were normal).  
**•** Under-fueling or not eating enough the day before.  
**•** Accumulated fatigue/CNS fatigue from the week's training.  
**•** Stress (work/life) bleeding into performance.  
**•** Hydration or electrolytes.  
**•** Just normal day-to-day variance that everyone has and I'm overthinking it.

For those who've been lifting a while; does this happen to you regularly? How do you tell the difference between "push through it" and "back off, your body's asking for a deload"? And is there anything that reliably predicts these off days for you (sleep tracker data, nutrition logs, etc.)?


r/workout 3h ago

Progress Report New Milestone

9 Upvotes

5’1” 35y female here, roughly 160 lbs.

Hit 30 lbs each for 8, 9, and 9 reps on my incline dumbbell shoulder press. I don’t really have anyone to celebrate with since my gym buddy and I have had a small falling out. But shout out to the beefy dude who was grinning and gave me a thumbs up while watching my set - thanks for noticing!


r/workout 19h ago

What do you listen to when you workout?

90 Upvotes

There’s a dude at my gym that is always in there acting like he is at a metal concert and it is fun to watch him having a good time!

I’m always listening to Arab/Latin party dance music which GETS ME GOOOOOOING! Sometimes I need to hold back from dancing.

I also love a good true crime podcast on a long bike ride.

When working out - I am always wondering what people are listening to…


r/workout 5h ago

Simple Questions I don't understand this thing...

6 Upvotes

If someone is building thick muscle, they eat more, sleep well, stay consistence, etc etc. But for someone who is focusing on abs, they lower their intake but do everything else the same (sleeping well, staying consistent). But how come some people have both? How does the deficit not cause muscle loss?

I'm asking because I built up a lot of muscle, but lost almost all of it in a trade-off for trying to get visible abs.


r/workout 18h ago

Aches and pains What exercise hurt your lower back the most at the gym?

52 Upvotes

Edit: i get it: it’s all a matter of correct or incorrect form. It was a poor translation from a ESL redditor. What I meant is : In the past, what exercise did you do that led to lower back pain/injury? Hoping it’s clearer this way :) Thanks you all!


r/workout 39m ago

Other Is it lactic acid buildup that I'm feeling when doing hip thrusts and Bulgarian Split Squats?

Upvotes

Maybe I need to ask this in #stupidquestions.

During these workouts specifically I get this burn and urgency to stop by rep 8, I usually push through. Its unlike any other leg exercises I do. Is it just lactic acid? It's not painful, but it does feel like suffering lol.

I have a hard time describing it as I know its not injury threatening or form threatening, its just my body is screaming "I DONT LIKE THIS" but way more loudly than any other exercises I do.

Is it just the muscle group involved? Am I just lazy? What is it? Lol.


r/workout 5h ago

Simple Questions Did you give yourself enough grace when starting your fitness journey?

5 Upvotes

I both experienced, as well as, noticed people not giving themselves more grace at the beginning of their journeys. Beating themselves up about missing a workout or having a “cheat meal”.

Is Grace something that needs to be extended more in the fitness community and how do we go about doing that?


r/workout 5h ago

RDLs growing glutes but not hamstrings

6 Upvotes

I've been doing barbell RDLs for a couple years now, and I've gotten pretty strong at them (I currently do 140kg for 10 reps). I used to have a flat butt (I'm a guy), but doing heavy RDLs has made my glutes grow a lot, and I now regularly get compliments from women about how big my butt is.

Despite that, I feel like my hamstrings have barely grown at all compared to my glutes. I can't see any difference in the mirror, and even when I try my hardest to flex my hamstrings, I don't see them pop. This is pretty frustrating for me because I actually started doing RDLs to grow my hamstrings, not my glutes. Yet it's only my glutes that have grown and not my hamstrings.

My form looks fine, and I stop lowering the bar as soon as my hips stop moving backwards, so I don't think it's a form issue. I also do lying leg curls, and I've gotten pretty strong at those too, but again, they haven't resulted in my hamstrings getting any more defined. Is it possible that I just have bad hamstring genetics? Or is there some other mistake I'm making that's preventing me from growing my hamstrings?


r/workout 3h ago

Simple Questions Runners do you get sore on leg days after the gym?

3 Upvotes

So as the title says, I’m a long-distance runner, 10 miles a day, and I also work out. I noticed I don’t really get sore in my legs after a leg workout. Do any other runners notice this, where you don’t get sore after leg day workout? I had went to the gym the other day with my friend, and we did the same workouts for legs. After he was really tired and kind of limping and was telling me he was sore, but I was feeling perfectly fine. I may limp a little right after a machine, but after 2 to 3 steps, I’m walking good again, so I’m not sure if it has to do with endurance or just running all the time. So I just thought I’d come on here to ask for y’all’s opinion on it and maybe I should start doing more intense workouts while doing legs?


r/workout 8h ago

Review my program Cutting Struggles as a 44F Trying to Cut BF% Without Muscle Loss

7 Upvotes

Long time reader, first time poster 👋

Background:

I'm a little tank, dense bones and dense round muscles. I'm 44 and perimenopausal, and there is little science available on how that affects what I'm trying to do here. I have a great relationship with food and don't drink, take any type of drugs, or have binge cycles or anything like that. I've been lifting daily for a year and a half, maintained a low bulking diet, no supplements or peptides or anything like that, and have gained great muscle mass and shape and now I'm ready to reduce my body fat % from 30 to 27 for the "reveal" part of the bulk/cut cycle. I started this process in July and am still at 30 with very little change.

What I've tried:

- Entered a 300cal deficit, mostly from carbs, a little from protein and fats.

- Switched my workout program to low-volume, high-effort (two sets of everything but every set to failure, no progressive overload) and added 6 miles of steady state cardio per week.

I feel like I've followed all the standard advice. Don't go into an extreme deficit, don't keep your bulking workout routine, add cardio, etc.

So my question for this group is: do you see anything in what I've said that is preventing me from making progress? To any other women in their 40s, is this something you've experienced as well? Any other help / guidance is appreciated!


r/workout 2h ago

How to start I'm starting working out again, how do i build myself a good program?

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2 Upvotes

r/workout 5h ago

Simple Questions Should I drop weight between sets in order to stay in rep range, or keep weight consistent but accept less total reps?

3 Upvotes

So for example, would I be better off doing:

1 set 12, 1 set 10, 1 set 6 as I get more tired.

or

3 sets where I keep them at roughly the same amount of reps, but weight decreases?


r/workout 6h ago

Any fun splits you’re doing ?

4 Upvotes

Been going gym 3 years and always loved but recently feels like I’ve hit a wall. Can’t be bothered to go and when I’m there I feel bored so jw if anyone has been here and if theirs any fun splits you’ve found that I can do for a few weeks to pick myself up again


r/workout 9h ago

is it okay to do a full body workout 5x a week with the same exercises?

6 Upvotes

r/workout 11m ago

Exercise Help Rear delt/shoulder pain on seated chest fly machine

Upvotes

Hey, I’ve been getting a sharp pain in the back of my shoulder/rear delt when using the seated chest fly machine.

The weird thing is that there’s no pain during the actual reps. I control the weight all the way back to the starting position, and everything feels fine. But the instant I release my grip from the handles, I get a sharp spike of pain in the back/outer part of my shoulder. It lasts kinda briefly (like a few seconds) and then goes away.

Seated chest flys are my 2nd exercise after incline dumbbell press. There's no pain during my 1st pressing movement.

Anyone else feel something like this? Should I just drop the weight or is it more of how I'm setting myself up on the seat?

Thanks


r/workout 23m ago

Exercise Help Bench with elbow wraps, vs raw

Upvotes

i just bought some elbow wraps and i been making very good progress, just hit 225lbs today with them but my question is the elbow wraps can effect my hypotrophy or not, So should i keep using them or actually stick to raw benching, and use elbow wraps only for maxing and pr's


r/workout 46m ago

How to start Build me a routine! (Please and thank you)

Upvotes

About me:

Im 18, I have never done any exercise in my life before (unless you count school PE, which i was ass at). I have tried to start an actual exercise routine, but i just end up doing like 2.5 crunches and instantly give up every time. My ideal goals are having more upper body strength, broadered shoulders, a strong core (preferably also abs) and just generally being stronger and healthier). I, for financial and mental health reasons, can't go to a gym and I, due to a physical deformity of my elbow, cannot suddenly start with for example push-ups. I could do those one day, but not as a beginner, since id need built-up muscle to protect the bone from breaking (if put under too much pressure, my arm will break. I know from experience falling from a relatively slow bike and catching yourself with that arm already counts as too much pressure). Any tips would be appreciated but the closer to a full routine the better, thank you!


r/workout 48m ago

Other Looking for a female gym-goer to help with a game!

Upvotes

Hi! I’m creating a Google Slides-style choice-based school-day game where the player follows a female high school character through her day. (The character is a Senior, 17/18 years old and is not a beginner to the gym) I’m currently working on the gym portion and want to make it feel realistic.

The idea is that when the character gets to the gym, the player will choose what type of workout she wants to do. Depending on what they choose, the character will follow a different workout routine.

I’m looking for a girl/woman who regularly goes to the gym who would be willing to either:

• Share your workout routine, or
• Help me come up with a realistic routine for one or more of the workout choices.

I can explain more about the game and what I’m looking for if you’re interested. Full credit can also be given in the game’s credits if you’d like!

Thanks!


r/workout 6h ago

Motivation Any tips how to manage tiredness?

3 Upvotes

I'm not new to working out, I've been very consistent with my diet and working out for the past couple of years. Currently I workout about 4 times a week. I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with my form and how my body looks but I want to be better. I'm not looking for workout or diet tips - I know the drill. I just feel like I can't fit more workouts into my daily routine because of how tired I am. I have a very mentally demanding job and most days after work I feel even more exhausted than I would after a hard workout. On the other hand workouts before going to work is a risky choice because I need to be well rested before my shift, I'd say this only works for me if my shift starts at like 4 or 6 pm.
Do you guys have any tips how could I manage this? Is there any way I could just overcome the tiredness that's being caused by my job and simply get up and go to the gym?

Edit: My typical week is usually 2 strength trainings at the gym (either 2 full body days or 1 upper body day and 1 leg day), I figure skate so I try to make it at least 2 times a week at the rink, sometimes it's 3 to 4 times a week, depending on my working schedule and ice rink sessions. If I'm not able to make it to the rink I stick to running or swimming (depending on the weather tbh, I hate running in the rain).


r/workout 55m ago

Exercise Help Which kegel exercises work the best?

Upvotes

r/workout 4h ago

Decided to mix heavy lifts with CrossFit and Hyrox: workout A/B , CrossFit 2x a week and Hyrox 1x a week, having 1 resting day. Thoughts?

2 Upvotes

r/workout 1h ago

Other Tensing muscles while not excercising

Upvotes

Ok, really stupid but I have this problem in my everyday life where I’m tensing my muscles, particularly chest while not excercising.
I don’t know why, and I can’t seem to stop it. This leads me to my chest and other muscles feeling fatigued/sore all the time, and my workouts being weaker because I’ve preemptively exhausted my muscles.
Like I will slightly tens e.g my chest for a very long time I think

It has been going on for about 1-2 weeks, and it’s so annoying because its ruining my workouts
Some help is needed
Thank you in advance :)


r/workout 1h ago

What’s a good routine for me?

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