Beginning a weight lifting program can be intimidating, scaring and when I first started, it made me very nervous.

I remember the first time I ever went to a gym.  I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew I wanted to get in shape. I didn’t know any workouts, I had never head of a bench press before and assumed I was supposed to get under the bench and push it…

I am not trying to make too much of a dick of myself, just explaining that if you are beginning, or getting back into a weight lifting program then there are some things you should know and understand before storming the gym every day.

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Here are a couple of pieces of advice if you are just starting out:

  1. Your gains are not made in the gym. Your body repairs the muscle that you break down in the gym when you sleep at night. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you spend more time at the gym you will get bigger, stronger, faster and more ripped, because you won’t. Get a good amount of sleep each night, for me I find anything less than 7 hours I get tired during the day, but different ages and types of people will require different lengths of sleep.
  2. When you first start at the gym, you should be working your entire body for at least the first couple of months. This would mean doing a workout like this:
  • Bench press: 8 sets of 2
  • Back squats: 8 sets of 2
  • Calf raise: 8 sets of 2
  • Incline crunches: 8 sets of 2
  • Shoulder barbell press: 8 sets of 2
  • Bent over rows: 8 sets of 2
  • Straight leg deadlift: 8 sets of 2
  • Optional: Bicep, tricep and forearm workout

I would also recommend that after every workout you should take a protein shake to help your muscles get access to good sources of protein as soon as they need it. When you hit the gym hard you break your muscles down and protein is what will fix them back up and make them stronger, ready for next time.

This is what I normally take:

  • Cup of milk
  • 2-3 egg whites
  • Peanut butter
  • Cream
  • Yoghurt

This is a good hit of protein, and although it has some fat in it, it doesn’t really matter because your body will use it, not store it.

Before you go into the gym, check out videos or look at some pictures of how to do the workouts I told you about above, and then at the gym ask an employee (or somebody who looks like they know their stuff) to make sure you are doing them right. Form is everything, and yes there is a easy way to o some lifts of weights, but it will never get you proper gains and your progress will plateau big time.

Until next time, bend that bar and hit the site to check out the free course download on how to shed body fat like crazy!

Johnny