Gym Advice for Beginners: How to Workout and Stay Safe

You may want to get started on a wellness programme, but jumping right in without following any advice for beginners can seriously impede your progress, and potentially put your overall wellbeing at risk. Fitness expert Asha Das comments, ‘Many people have opted to go to the gym for a workout. This is an excellent way to start sweating. You have many exercise machines at your disposal and even a trainer to guide you through a schedule. But, many newcomers fail to follow fitness tips for gym beginners. Gym tips for beginners are imperative in helping you tap into your potential and make the best use of your workouts. These also ensure that you are not doing anything wrong. Simple mistakes can make serious consequences. It can also hinder your body from getting the best results from the exercise programme.’ So how do you start exercising in a safe way and get the most out of your workout?

 

1. Take Safety Precautions: According to Das, ‘The first thing to do before joining a gym is to ensure that you are able to perform these exercises. Answering the Physical Activities Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) or consulting your doctor before joining the gym may help.’

 

2. Have the Right Gear: ‘The first among fitness tips for gym beginners is to have the right gear for exercise,’ says Das. ‘Wear proper training shoes and clothes for a gym workout. The wrong gear will hinder your exercise and can even cause injury.’

 

3. Talk to Your Trainer About Everything: Das points out, ‘Among gym tips for beginners, one of the most important ones is to let your trainer know of your limitations and medical conditions if any. He will then be able to arrange your training to help you without stressing your body.’

 

4. Be Consistent: ‘Be consistent with your exercises,’ Das instructs. ‘Your trips to the gym should be regular, preferably seven times a week. Consistent efforts will help you reap the benefits.’

 

5. Don’t Neglect Warm Up Exercises: ‘Many people tend to run to a machine as soon as they enter the gym and start sweating,’ says Das. ‘But this is harmful for your body. Among fitness tips for gym beginners is one to do some warming up before exercising.’

 

6. Mix Up Your Routines: Das notes, ‘We know many people who seem to be in love with the treadmill. They will stay stuck on the treadmill till they leave the gym. Mixing up your exercise routines is another among fitness tips for gym beginners.’

 

7. Keep Your Body Hydrated: ‘Among gym tips for beginners, another one is to stay hydrated,’ Das suggests. ‘You are driving your body to do a lot of unaccustomed exercises and this will cause the body to lose fluids. Keep sipping some water between exercises.’

 

8. Do Not Slouch: Das advises not slouching ‘while doing any of the exercises. Keep your body straight and look ahead and not at your feet. Relax the shoulders and take deep breaths if you find yourself slouching.’

 

9. Know When it’s Time to Stop: ‘Gym tips for beginners include knowing when to stop,’ Das warns. ‘Listen to your body for chest pains or shortness of breath during exercise. If this happens, you should stop exercising. Increase your workout length over some time.’

 

10. Don’t Forget Your Cool down Sequence: Das points out, ‘Like warm up exercises, cool down exercises are also required before you stop your workout for the day. These exercises are designed to relax and soothe your muscles after a vigorous training session.’

Categories: beginner, beginners, body, das points, exercises, fitness tips, gym beginners, gym tips, hydrate, nbsp, Tips, Warm-Up

Getting Started: 11 Running Tips for Beginners

Fitness can be a minefield, especially when you’re starting out. Before you lace up your first pair of running shoes, you’d think that there’d be nothing more to running wellness than throwing on your trainers and running, but that isn’t the case. There are hundreds of tips and tricks out there to get the most out of your performance, as well as guarding your wellbeing against injuries. However, before you go crazy trying to find them, you need look no further than below this paragraph! Here are the best tips we could find for running beginners:

 

1. Take up the challenge: According to runner and writer Dr. George Sheehan, ‘Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are training, and some of us are not.’ If you decide to take up running, actually get out there and run! Motivating yourself to do the first few runs is hard, but once you catch the bug it will get much easier to make yourself run.

 

2. Get the heart benefits: Aerobics pionner Dr. Kenneth Cooper notes, ‘Running eight to 15 miles per week significantly increases your aerobic capacity, and positively affects many of the coronary risk factors.’

 

3. Work on your minutes, not your miles: ‘The biggest mistake that new runners make is that they tend to think in mile increments – one mile, two miles, three miles,’ says Budd Coates, four-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier/coach. ‘Beginning runners need to think in minutes, not miles.’

 

4. Wear good running shoes: ‘Spend at least $60,’ instructs John Hanc, author of The Essential Runner. ‘A good pair of running shoes should last you 400 to 500 miles and is one of the most critical purchases you will make.’ Ted Corbitt, ultrarunner and 1952 Olympic marathoner, adds, ‘Buy all shoes, both street and running, slightly longer and wider than your bigger foot. Also, avoid pointed shoes. You’ll save yourself needless foot pain.’

 

5. Let your body dictate your diet: Joan Samuelson, 1984 Olympic marathon champion, enthuses, ‘If you feel like eating, eat. Let your body tell you what it wants.’

 

6. Keep it loose: Exercise physiologist Dave Martin, PhD, advises, ‘When running, let your jaw hang loose, don’t bunch up your shoulders close to your ears, and occasionally shake out your hands and arms to stay relaxed.’

 

7. Every little helps: ‘So-called ‘junk miles’ – those slow miles done on easy days or during warm-ups – do count,’ asserts runner and coach Hal Higdon. ‘They burn calories as effectively as fast miles; it just takes longer. Regardless of pace, each mile you run burns about 100 calories.’

 

8. Learn from your mistakes: Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to break four minutes for the mile in 1954, recalls, ‘You find out by trial and error what the optimum level of training is. If I found I was training too hard, I would drop back for a day or so. I didn’t run for five days before the sub-four.’

 

9. Don’t follow ALL the rules: ‘In training, don’t be afraid to be an oddball, eccentric, or extremist,’ Benji Durden, 1980 US Olympic marathoner, comments. ‘Only by daring to go against tradition can new ways of training be learned. The trick is recognising quickly when a new approach is counterproductive.’

 

10. Grab fast, low-fat fuel: ‘Energy bars are good portable food for runners,’ says sports nutritionist Liz Applegate, PhD. ‘Look for bars with four grams of fat or fewer per 230 calories. Fat slows down digestion.’

 

11. Get a goal and go for it: Bob Greene, personal trainer of Oprah Winfrey, explains, ‘I believe in using races as motivators. It’s hard to keep on an exercise programme if you don’t have a significant goal in sight.’

Categories: beginners, miles, nbsp, olympic marathon, olympic marathoner, Running, running shoes, Shoes, training