Trainer Approved Fitness Tips for Beginners at the Gym

We’re all beginners at some point. If you’re brand new to working out, or you’re coming back from a hiatus, diving right in can feel intimidating. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone who’s “been there and done that” could help you sort through the noise and pinpoint the stuff you should really be worrying about, and the stuff you can ignore? I compiled these fitness tips for beginners from my memory of my own questions and confusion at the very beginning, and also the questions my clients often have at the very start.

Think of this as your Fully Fit Starter Pack.

8 Trainer Approved Fitness Tips for Beginners at the Gym

Less is Sometimes More

When I first started working out with the intention to build my body into a shape I loved, I had it set in my mind that the longer I spent at the gym, the more advantageous the workout. I’d spend 45 minutes lifting and then another hour on the treadmill or elliptical, ticking up the calorie counter with every step. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t really doing myself any favors with this mindset.

If your goal is to build a healthier, leaner, stronger body keep this axiom in mind: less is more.

When it comes to cardio, the most efficient way to better body composition isn’t endless hours at a steady run, row or pedal. In fact, long bouts of slow and steady cardio can actually be detrimental to your goals. Try interval training instead. More specifically, try hiit: high intensity interval training. HIIT is faster and more effective when it comes to fat loss and preserving muscle than other forms of cardio training.

As for strength training, keep in mind that intensity matters the most when it comes to building muscle. Shorter sessions allow you to give more – mentally and physically – to each rep. Think about it as more bang for your buck. Instead of spending 60 minutes lifting lighter weights that don’t really challenge your body to grow or adapt, consider spending 30-45 minutes lifting heavier weights. These shorter sessions that are more challenging spark faster growth without completely wearing you out, leaving you too spent for another lifting session tomorrow.

>> 3 Circuit Training Workouts for Any Fitness Level

>> HIIT: Burn More Calories in Less Time

>> Sprint Intervals for Faster Results

Consistency is Key

Consistency is arguably the mot important factor when it comes to accomplishing your fitness goals. Here’s what consistency brings to the table:

• Healthy habits. To achieve your goals, you need to make the right choices day in and day out. Consistency is exactly that – the organized and frequent repetition of the healthy actions and choices it takes to improve your health and fitness.

• Organization. If there’s one unhealthy habit that I’d love to drop off the side of the earth, it’s program hopping. You know…the tendency to jump from one program to the next without following through with any one plan to completion? This yo-yo approach to working out (or dieting), is detrimental to your progress, your hormones and your metabolism. Stay consistent with your plan of action and you’ll reap benefits across the physiological board.
  
• Improved recovery. When you first start working out, or start working out again after a hiatus, you’re going to feel sore. That’s because you’re body isn’t used to the challenge and needs more time to recover. Have you ever done a big workout, maybe tested out some new exercises or weights, and been so for days after? That’s what I’m talking about. Consistently working out and challenging your body teaches it to recover more efficiently. The result? You’re back in the gym sooner, stronger and feeling like a pro.
  

Prioritize Lifting Weights

Weight lifting can seem intimidating. Certainly there’s more to choosing the right exercises, equipment, reps, sets, etc. than there is to choosing the elliptical that’s ideally placed in front of the right TV. And if you’re hyper-aware of your fellow lifters, or fitness influencers who are lifting big weights and doing complicated exercises, you’re probably thinking “there’s no way I can get there”.

Let me tell you that you can get there. Everyone started exactly where you are starting today. At the beginning. Decline pushups? They started as knee supported or incline pushups. Barbell squats? Those started as body weight bench squats.

The point is: they started.

Lifting weights is the best way to reach any general health, strength, or body composition goals. In fact, even if your goal is to eventually run a marathon, lifting weights can help! Lifting weights builds muscle, strength and power. It improves bone density, functional movement and even metabolism. It’s a game changer.

A couple of tips for getting started with weight lifting and strength training:

• Start with body weight. Before you pick up a single weight, master your movements with no weight at all. Form will always come first (no matter how strong, experienced or confident you are).
• Prep your muscles before your workout. Prep is a fancy-ish word for warm up. Going into a strength training workout cold increases your risk of injury plus…if you want to engage the right muscles at the right time in the right way, you have to let them know they’re about to work.
• Understand how reps and weight influence each other. If your program calls for a set of 8-12 bicep curls…don’t just grab the smallest weight and breeze past that 12th rep! Choose a weight that leaves you feeling challenged, but not overwhelmed, within the rep range. If you can do 12+ reps, the weight is too light. If you can’t do 8 reps with the weight you choose, it’s too heavy. Adjust, adjust, adjust.

Invest in Expert Help

We bring in dog trainers to teach our puppies to sit and stay. We hire accountants to deal with our taxes. Experts paint, roof and remodel our homes. Whyyyyy does it feel frivolous to hire an expert to help us build our best, healthiest and happiest selves?

A personal trainer or fitness coach can give you all of the cues, sort through all of the programming noise and hold you accountable. No guess work involved. Think about personal trainers as a personal, unending well of fitness tips for beginners!

Most gyms offer a free PT session when you sign up. If you don’t belong to a gym, your gym doesn’t offer that perk or you don’t connect to any of the trainers at your current gym, consider finding an online trainer (like myself!). And approach the session with questions and a purpose!

Master the Basics First

I admit it, when I post workouts on social media I can definitely fall into the “look at this crazy movement” hole. It’s a fun way to get creative and add variety. But again, I’ve been doing this fitness thing for a long time! When you’re just getting started – master the basics and ignore the rest.

Push. Pull. Knee hinge. Hip hinge. Core engagement.

These are the foundational, human movement patterns and mind muscle connections. Every muscle group and/or exercise involves at least one. In fact, every movement that you do in everyday life involves a push, pull, knee or hip hinge and core engagement!

And here’s the thing – you can go on literally forever – getting stronger, fitter, faster, and more power – with these foundational movements mastered.

• Push – push ups, bench press, dips, shoulder press
• Pull – rows, pull downs, pull ups, chin ups
• Knee hinge – squats, lunges
• Hip hinge – deadlifts, hip thrusts, kettlebell swings
• Core engagement – planks, farmers walks, figure 8s, and all of the above exercises tbh!

Find Ways to Measure Progress that Don’t Involve the Scale

The scale does not, can not, and will never be able to give you a full picture on your health and fitness. Ever (reining in the inner rant).

Here’s a list of what the scale measures:

• the cumulative weight of all of the things inside of your body (and outside if you have clothes on), including lean muscle mass, fat mass, your brain, your organs, blood, bone…

Here’s a list of what the scale does not measure:

• how your clothes fit
• your body composition changes (body fat vs lean muscle)
• how you feel about yourself
• your energy levels
• sleep quality
• how powerful you feel
• endurance and stamina
• your overall health
• your value

Don’t wait to find other ways to measure your progress. No matter how much weight you need to/have to lose, find alternative (read: healthier), ways to measure your progress. Because I’ll tell you right now, weight loss is not linear. Your weight will go down, it will stall, it might even go up. But even if the latter happens, it doesn’t mean you aren’t making progress.

>> 10 Things No One Tells You About Weight Loss

Instead of relying on the scale to give you all of your feedback, try my favorite progress trackers:

Take progress photos. Front, back and side. You don’t have to share them. But I promise that you will appreciate having the Before photos when you start to recognize your After.

Tape measurements. Measure waist, hips, chest, bicep, thigh. This is a great way to understand the difference between weight loss and body composition changes. You’ll probably notice that these measurements coincide with changes in the way your clothes fit.

Body fat measurements. Again, this is all about body composition. This proves the true difference between weight loss and fat loss – and what the scale can and cannot tell you.

Set Goals and Stick to Them

Maybe you’ve heard this 10,000 times before? So this is 10,001.

Setting realistic fitness goals is an essential step in your fitness journey. Meaningful goals help you push through the tough workouts and the difficult moments. They help you hold yourself accountable and recognize your progress. Ultimately, solid, articulated goals help you align your every day choices with your longer term health and fitness related objectives.

First, dig deep into your goal. If you want to lose weight, ask yourself why. It’s not about the number on the scale. It’s about something bigger – confidence, longevity, quality of life.

Second, break that big goal down into smaller parts. You can’t lose 50 pounds by next month. But you could lose 5. You can’t lose 5 pounds by tomorrow, but you could take the steps you need to start taking consistently to lose 1.

Third, decide what those steps are. What actions can you take to move closer to your goals? Plans and dreams are great, but they won’t get you actual results unless you act on them.

And finally (and this is one of my favorite fitness tips for beginners, weekend warriors and fitness vets alike)…

Keep Track of Your Workouts!

Starting on Day 1, track your workouts! Even if you feel like there’s not much worth tracking, write it down. What exercises do you do? How many sets? And reps? How much weight did you lift? How hard was it?

This is one of my favorite fitness tips for beginners because I feel like it’s a tip that everyone could benefit from – and nailing it from the start makes that easier in the future. Know your starting point. Understand that progress (read: results) comes from steady, consistent progressing and challenge. Aim to make small improvements regularly.

Every time you come back to the gym, try to “beat” your last workout. Do one more rep. Add a bit of weight. Try a harder version of that lunge, or squat, or step up. If you can consistently achieve just a little bit more, think about how quickly that progress adds up.

Take these fitness tips for beginners and seasoned athletes alike, and turn them into real life results. These trainer approved tips will keep you one step ahead of the game and help you see progress faster.