Soon to be starting a gym. In general tips?

T

thrivenotjustsurvive

New member
So. Like title says. I’m starting a gym soon (planet fitness)
Cuz over the winter I’ve definitely gained a lot. I think last year this time I was 160
Wasn’t exactly too healthy about it but I was lowest 127 by the end of summer.
Now I’m at a constant 145.
I’m 5.’8 22 M
I’m looking to lose belly fat.

Improve cardio
Definitely get my legs stronger cuz once it’s warm I wanna skate again. (Been years) and basketball (nothing serious just to shoot around)
Now I can start going to a gym cuz I have a good enough job and it’s close to one.

I just don’t know WHAT to do. Other than run or Bike. I’d love to take advantage of equipment aswell. I’d be going alone 99% so. Minimal spotter required stuff would be great. I’d love to go 2-3 times mon-Fri.

Also just tips on what I should be eating.
I’ll say now my diet is kinda not great. But I’m cutting out the junk as much as I can. Right now my most consistent meal is from a deli. Chicken avacado lettuce fresh mozzarella cheese with a sauce on a wrap. Or a chicken salsa guacwrap. At work I skip breakfast most days. And just eat a whole wrap at lunch but I wanna get that down to half cuz it’s too much at once.
Dinner is usually just what ever is in the house. But now I can buy my self stuff
And would love to incorporate fruits into my diet.
Also. I wanna start meal prepping. But no idea really.
And less beer on the weekends. Cuz lots of truly empty calories. But we still like to party lol.

And one more question I have is. How would I focus on kinda making my arms equal. It’s not noticeable by look. But. Like my job is physical. But just the way it all works. My right arm is doing most the heavy lifting. So I dont wanna leave the left out ya know.

Thanks for ANY and all tips!
 
@thrivenotjustsurvive Definitely take advantage of what Planet Fitness has to offer!

They have tons of resistance training machines which are great for building muscle, and they don't require spotters.

Check out the fitness wiki for a program you can follow. I recommend push, pull, legs (PPL) because it organizes muscle groups in a simple and convenient way.

145 pounds at 5'8" is a healthy weight. I wouldn't do a total 180 on your current diet, but instead you can start slowly introducing more variety and healthy food options.

For making your arms equal, I would make sure you include isolateral arm exercises. These are exercises where one arm acts alone (dumbbell curl as opposed to a barbell curl).
 
@lewis1994 Yeah. I definitely don’t plan on a whole changing up on the diet.

Just like. Healthier versions of what I’m already having and hopefully actually cooking more. Not just microwaving frozen stuff. But replacing the snacks with cut up fruit or grapes.

I haven’t visited inside this one specifically but I was in one along time ago with a friend. And saw many varieties of stuff. And I can only assume most are at least similar in stuff.

And I figured the weight its self wasn’t necessarily like real bad. But what that weight is made up of isn’t great. And looks wise, Where it’s located haha.
Thanks a lot tho. I’ll look into that PPL hopefully getting started next week or one after! Depending on how scheduling works.

Would you say if I went 3 times a week Tues,Wed,Thurs. would be good to start.
I know it’s a long break in between but sat sun I’m too far. Fri usually have a plan already. Mondays are very iffy so I don’t wanna make that a commitment.
 
@thrivenotjustsurvive Having healthier versions of what you're already eating is a great way to improve your nutrition. I would just make sure you include enough protein sources to help with muscle growth and recovery.

Also, two people can look very different at the same height and weight if they have different amounts of muscle mass and body fat. Adding resistance training will help you increase muscle mass and change your physique.

For training, three times a week is an awesome start! Feel free to DM if you have any questions as you start training.
 
@thrivenotjustsurvive Get the Cronometer app to track your food. It's awesome and their support team is great. They even watch the subreddit reply sometimes.

Get a cheap kitchen scale to keep track of the food. It's very useful and much better than using volume measurements.

You can get a protein powder. Protein satiates you more than carbs so you end up eating less volume and thus less calories. I use Isoflex whey protein isolate(chocolate and peanut butter) and I like it a lot. It's a good price per gram of protein, tastes good, and mixes very well. I mix it with unsalted sunflower seeds(blended in the ninja first before anything else), a little peanut butter(sometimes, if I want fats), hemp hearts, psyllium husk, collagen powder(use sparingly because this thickens it up a lot), a bit of frozen banana or apple, and a 50/50 mix of almond milk and water with ice(~1.25 cups total). Then blend it in the Ninja. Pro tip: put the peanut butter between 2 layers of dry ingredients so it doesn't stick to the sides of the container and mixes well.

Look up overnight oats recipes to use with the powder. It's easy to make a batch for days in a few minutes. This is the recipe that I use:

35g unsalted sunflower seeds. I put these in the Ninja alone and blend them into dust first.

100g rolled oats(must use rolled oats)

90g protein powder

30g hemp hearts(for protein and fats)

15g psyllium husk(for fiber)

5g collagen powder(for more protein that has a different amino acid profile than the powder. This thickens it a lot so don't use too much)

10g peanut butter(optional)

1 cup almond milk

1 cup water

Mix really well and let it sit overnight. This will last in the fridge for days. Before I eat any, I put it on my scale and tare it. Sometimes I take a pic of the weight. Then weigh it after eating and put the difference into Cronometer. It's an easy, quick meal. Great for breakfast before the gym.

I use these containers and they're amazing. Get the mixed pack. The overnight oats recipe above fills the large container to pretty much full.

Get this and this for cooking meats. Those are what I use.

I also make a tri tip or a spatchcocked chicken every week or so and take slices from it every day for protein. Sometimes I slice up cheese and a soft boiled egg for a sandwich. I use Ezekiel low sodium bread and I love it(keep it in the fridge). I cook both meats covered in the oven at 200(either on the electric smoker or in a cast iron dutch oven in the oven). Take the tri tip to 125 and reverse sear in a cast iron(very important step). I take the chicken to 148. Read this and use the chart for a chicken temperature guide. It will improve your chicken game a lot. Look up the proper way to slice the tri tip. You can also cut them in half and freeze half for the following week if it's too much to eat before it goes bad.

Experiment with other cuts of meat when they go on sale

A vacuum sealer is a great investment. You can buy meat in bulk or buy a lot when it's on sale. I season, spice and/or marinade all the meat at once when I buy it and then vacuum seal it in weekly portions. Leave it all in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours to allow the seasoning and marinades to get into the meat. Then freeze everything except what I'm using immediately(just use ziplocs for these ones. No need to vacuum seal them). This way when I need some meat I can thaw it out and it's ready to cook without having to do the seasoning after it's thawed and waiting 12 hours. Saves a lot of time and hassle.
 
Oh also flexibility would be a good thing to get better at. I kinda wanna learn how to learn a hand stand aswell just cuz I thought it would be cool. (Definitely gotta get in shape first) but also figure the actual learning of that is not what this sub is for.
 
@thrivenotjustsurvive I would recommend not to make drastic changes in your life. Make gradual changes and keep it sustainable.

Best results come from consistency and habit forming things.

Start small and do it consistently. A plan of action can be like this-
  1. Do cardio and functional daily first for a week. Develop consistency and comfort with the gym environment.
  2. Try to have a gym partner who is regular.
  3. Develop good warm up and joint mobility habit.
  4. Add all muscle strength training in a few days next week - keep it simple - bicep curls, chest press, triceps, squats, lat pull down. Keep low weights. Gym is about injury minimisation first then gains. (Keep in mind one injury will make you sit at home for a month to 6 months).
  5. Never ego lift. Increase reps first and then weights. Science says they give same results for muscle gains.
  6. Always do till near failure.
  7. Then develop two muscle routines - chest triceps, back biceps, legs shoulder. Have abs and cardio in between. You will get standard exercises online easily.
  8. No need to over complicate. Once habit is developed. Do it even if you have 20 mins in a day.
  9. Just make it your routine and nothing special.
 
@apebblethrown
Keep low weights. Gym is about injury minimisation first then gains. (Keep in mind one injury will make you sit at home for a month to 6 months).
Click to expand...

Please don't fearmonger. An injury that make you sit at home for half a year? What is it, exactly? Pelvic fracture? Injuries are inot that common in lifting in general, and when they do occur, they are usually minor and let you keep training. So you don't need to "keep low weights". You can start low, but staying low kinda defeats the purpose.
 
@prays2 Thanks for the feedback. Apologies if it came out like that. What I mean is to start slow, sustainably and in a manner which gets in good initial routine without any injury. Form is the most important thing. Please note this is for a beginner.

PS - An injury which has made a dear friend sit at home and cost thousands is ACL tear and lower back issues. But he started as soon as it got corrected because not doing strength training is also an opportunity cost in a manner.

It is not fear mongering. It is having right information at hand and taking calculated risks. Definitely workout, gradually increase weights and do it the right way. That’s what I meant.
 
@apebblethrown Good ideas. Thank you.

Yes I will definitely start slow at account for genuinely not really knowing what I’m doing. Before I even try like lifting or such. I’ll be sure to look into proper form and at least ask someone to take a look.

Sadly. A regular partner isn’t an option. As I’d be going right after work. And most work guys do AM gym (not in my playbook of possibility and I work far from friends. But maybe I’ll make a friend by chance there. Not that I’m too out going to talk to ppl haha.

Don’t worry. I get what you meant about the injury thing. But I also see his point in how one may interpret it in that way.

Ego lifting is not what I’m going for. Tbh I don’t even plan on telling ppl I’m going let alone flex how much I am doing. (Not like I’m gonna lie. Just not really gonna be the one to bring it out out of convo) plus. Trying to be/seem the best in any givin room is definitely not who I am. But still good advice and I’ll always keep that in mind.

But thank you so much. Great advice I’ll keep all this in mind when I’m getting started and as I continue on!
 
@thrivenotjustsurvive The wiki has all the info you need. Below is a link to the programs but it also has advice on how to build muscle in the menu

To improve fitness you'll want to work on your conditioning, below the wiki link are 3 links about conditioning that should help, the person who wrote them absolutely knows what he's talking about

https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/

https://www.reddit.com/r/tacticalbarbell/s/7RTe5l9qct

https://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2022/03/conditioning-is-answer.html?m=1

http://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2021/11/conditioning-is-magic.html?m=1
 
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