Mid-20s Beginner - Advice Please!

[monicaduncan]

Hello! I'm a 26-year-old male seeking advice as a total beginner. I'm 5'11", 195 lbs, and a pescatarian. My goal is to tone up, build muscle, and be more active. I don't have too much excess weight, but I carry a little bit of fat in my stomach, thighs and butt.

I've always wanted to be the kind of person who enjoys exercise, but I've never experienced the "rush" or the good feelings people always describe, so it's always just felt hard and painful (lol). I know it's never too late to begin, but I sometimes feel embarrassed that I'm in my mid-20s and don't have a clue what I'm doing when it comes to fitness. I've only worked out a few times with friends, and the couple of times I've gone to the gym with friends, I've felt lost since I'm inexperienced and don't know what to do/how to use the machines. I work a 9-5 desk job which makes it hard to be active, and my ADHD makes maintaining motivation a challenge for activities that require investing a lot of time/effort before seeing any results.

In the past, I've tried a few yoga classes, which I enjoyed, but living in a major city makes classes or personal trainers quite expensive and out of budget. I've also tried a few YouTube tutorials but I've always had a hard time keeping up/feeling motivated, and I don't like playing sports, so exercise/working out has never been enjoyable for me or something that I necessarily want to do. My goal is to tone my body overall, grow/firm my butt, and build a little muscle so that I can feel better, look better and become stronger. Any advice on starting out, staying motivated and getting past the pain would be greatly appreciated!

Overall, I've run into the following pain points and would love some advice/resources:

• Getting Started - has always felt so daunting, especially as someone who isn't active. I feel like I'm missing all of the fundamentals and don't really know where to begin.
• Motivation - I've always hated feeling the discomfort/soreness/sweatiness etc. that comes with exercising and have struggled to be motivated to do a single workout, much less getting into a routine of being active
• Building a Routine/Program - I feel like I have no idea how to come up with a plan and apply it (i.e. how often, what exercises, bulk/cut, how to use machines at the gym, etc.).
• The Gym - Being in my mid-20s, I feel embarrassed not knowing how any of the machines work and the few times I've gone, it feels very daunting and foreign to me. Most of my friends who use the gym live pretty far away so they aren't really an option for a gym buddy.
• Adjustment Period/Delayed Results - I know people say it takes 3 weeks to build a habit, but the few times I've worked out, I've felt so sore afterwards that I can't even think about doing it again. Does this ever go away? Is everyone just sore all the time?

TL;DR: 26M newbie, 5'11", 195 lbs, pescatarian. Struggling with gym intimidation, lack of motivation, and not knowing where to start. Tried yoga and a few YouTube tutorials, but expensive classes and lack of experience make consistency challenging. Goal is to tone overall, firm butt, and build muscle. Seeking advice on getting started, staying motivated, creating a routine, navigating the gym, and managing soreness.

 

[comyn7]

@monicaduncan The r/fitness wiki is a good place to start for general information and a crash course on nutrition.

As far as what to do, that depends on what you enjoy, what will keep you coming back consistently, and what your goals are. You said you want to build muscle, resistance training is the best way to do that. Resistance training doesn’t have to be lifting weights. You can build some muscle and get into the habit of working out at home using bodyweight movements. Read the wiki of r/bodyweight fitness for more info on that.

If you really want to lift, you can hire a personal trainer at a gym for a few sessions to show you around and show you how things work. Once you have your bearings you can pick one of the beginner programs in r/fitness.

With all that said, resistance training in a normal gym isn’t the only way to be active. You can run (couch to 5k program), bike, swim, go for hikes, join a boxing class or another martial arts class aimed at beginners, join a climbing/bouldering gym, etc. You could even join a CrossFit gym and go to their beginner classes.

As far as your motivation goes, I would join one of these class style activities that has a community around it. That way it becomes more of a social activity, and there’s an extra layer of accountability built in due to the friends you’ll make there. In my opinion cost should be one of the lesser factors you consider, depending on your financial situation. After all, a $50-100/month investment in your health now is nothing compared to exorbitant medical bills down the road incurred by decades of a sedentary lifestyle.

 

[dch]

@monicaduncan The soreness you experienced is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), it will stop being a thing when you go regularly to the gym.