Beginner Weight Training
By Franco Ruggiero, a student at Bergen Community College.
I remember that feeling as a beginner starting in weight training, walking through my gym's doors and being completely overwhelmed. It's not easy walking into a gym for the first time, especially if you've never even heard of most of the exercises in there. It's even tougher knowing that you're 140 pounds and the guy on the bench next to you has an extremely muscular physique and weighs well over 200 pounds. You continue to look around and you see these huge, muscular guys performing exercises using 90-130 pound dumbbells. It may just feel so intimidating that you want to turn around and walk right back out the door.
Not returning to the gym is definitely the wrong thing to do.
You should pick your head up, turn back around and go lift weights. Your attitude should be that I am here to make a positive change in my appearance and I am going to give my best effort each time, no matter how little weight I may be using. You should think: if I am using correct form and doing the proper amount of reps, it is for me. You are the only person who matters and you should focus on what is going to give you the best workout and ultimately best results. The amount of weight the guy who looks like he can start as a middle linebacker in the NFL on the bench next you is lifting should not matter.
Setting Small Weightlifting Goals
You should set small weightlifting goals for yourself. For example, "I want to be able to bench 100 pounds for 10 reps in one month although right now I can only lift 90 pounds for 10 reps."
On each type of exercise try to go up in weight 5-10 pounds per month. The same goes with your diet, I'm guessing if you're 145 pounds you need to bulk up which means eating more, so you consume more calories. You want to eat good, clean, nutritious food and try to increase your calories by 500 per day. That's 3500 a week, which is a pound a week give or take and approximately 4 pounds per month.
Everyone Starts Small
If you think those huge muscle-heads in the gym are laughing at you, think again. Everyone had to start somewhere. Nobody was born with a body like Jay Cutler or Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was once a time when they were in your shoes, in terms of being one of the “smaller guys” in their gym.
Encouragement
Ironically, there is a pretty good chance those guys you worry are laughing at you might encourage you to keep up going to the gym and giving 110 percent each time you lift. Bigger guys may give you a compliment such as, “Wow, you're starting to move some weight.” The bottom line is that nobody is out to make you feel like less of a man because you are beginning to lift with very light weights. Actually, its very respectable. At least you have the determination to want to improve your physique and ultimately your confidence as well. And you keep coming back.
Don't be ashamed or embarrassed. That is totally unnecessary. Just believe in yourself and what you are trying to do. Everything will fall right into place if you set small goals and challenges for yourself to conquer.
You are at the gym for yourself and nothing else matters. Don't let anyone or anything intimidate you. You need a chance to improve yourself and obtain the self confidence that will eventually lead to quite possibly a better life.
Comment from: Chris W.
I wanted to thank you for your article "New Weightlifters Sometimes Feel Embarrassed". It really hit home with me. I put off joining a gym for years and finally got the courage to do it. Even when I got over the hump of joining I still felt really out of place when I saw some of the giants there. Your advice is so true, I'm working on just focusing on what *I* need to do. I was 140 LBS when I started and a month and a half later I'm up five pounds and have dropped my body fat into the single digits. I feel great and should have done this a long time ago!
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