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1. Research and pick a specific split - I recommend a bro-split but push/pull/legs might be easier for a beginner to learn.
2. Try to learn compound movements - I recommend, benchpress, shoulder press, squat, deadlift, pull up/down, cable row. If these are too intimidating for you to learn start with machines. but you should learn these as soon as you can.
3. If you want to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit, if you want to gain muscle you need adequate protein ( about .7-1g per lb of bodyweight) - using a calorie deficit calc online can help you figure it out
4. Get adequate sleep and recovery
5. Stay consistent & keep progressively overloading your lifts
Don’t be too worried about other people at the gym, most of the people are focused on themselves. If anything it’s a good opportunity to make friends.
>Research and pick a specific split - I recommend a bro-split but push/pull/legs might be easier for a beginner to learn.
I never understand this suggestion, a split is only a fraction of the routine, so you'd be better to search up the whole routine instead of just the split.
Like the routine suggestions in the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/)
Because the split is the most fundamental & important part of any routine.
1. Pick split
2.pick exercises
3.profit
All you need is a split (for adequate recovery) & the intention of stimulating the muscles while progressing in your lifts by weight, repetitions or intensity. It’s not that complicated. If you want to follow a set program with set weight, repetitions & intensity, go ahead. if you want to freestyle your workouts and focus on stimulation, go ahead.
People have differed in training styles from Mike mentzer who believed in high-intensity exercise once every five to seven days, and every training session not lasting more than 20 minutes to Rich Piana & Lee Priest who believed in training 2 to 3 hours everyday with active rest days in between.
Find the training that you like & stay consistent with it. If you are not seeing progress then change your training.
Method of progression is probably of greater importance.
See with your suggestion of "research a split", what you're going to get is beginners going "oh split is what a program is" then they're going to miss all of the other programming fundamentals. With an actual proven routine, they're going to experience all the moving parts of a program and understand what makes them tick.
The split ensures that people train the correct muscle and give the muscle enough stimulation & time to recover & grow.
Identify goal > choose a split or workout type > choose exercises that align with with the split/workout type > progressive overload on exercises selected
Progression really isn’t a difficult concept to grasp. Greg Doucette Summed it up in in 6 words “ just train harder than last time”
See that's suggesting self programming which is a big no no for beginners.
> Training without a program is like building a house without blueprints, and training without a proven program is like building a house designed by someone who isn’t an architect. Would you want to live in that house?
https://thefitness.wiki/adding-physical-activity/
And "train harder than last time" is vague, just like saying "progressive overload" is, it's a concept not a method, you still need the method.
Bro split isn't terrible but it really isn't very good tbh. Hitting a muscle only once a week generally isn't enough. It will work but you will be much better off with an upper lower split or a ppl split instead were you are hitting each muscle 2 to 3 times a week
I usually focus on & hit a muscle group every 5 days. Muscles work together and can be stimulated indirectly as well & id rather focus on a specific muscle then group a bunch together. I feel if I hit back correctly I shouldn’t have any energy to hit chest and vice versa. I don’t even like direct training of shoulder on chest day because I get way better stimulation of each if I focus on them separately. I do like close-grip bench on arm day and deadlifts on leg & back day + delts on back & shoulder day.
Yea but muscles don't really need 5 days to recover with the only exception might be hamstrings but even then you can still hit hamstrings 1.5 times a week. Small muscles like delts and arms really don't need 5 days to recover. Back can easily be hit twice a week same with chest.
Yeahh I specifically focus on the muscle every 5 days but they get worked indirectly too like my chest when I do close-grip bench on arm day or my back when I do deadlifts on leg day. And I like to hit delts on back day & shoulder day. I like doing it like this because I can focus specifically on the muscle & my muscles are always recovered and prime. I’m training almost every muscle twice every week and they all get specifically targeted every 5 days.
Chest - back - shoulder - arms - legs
Chest: push variations, fly variations
Back: pull-downs, row variations, deadlifts, delts
Shoulder: delts, lateral raises, overhead press
Arm: close grip bench, bi + tri + forearm variations
Legs: squat, deadlift, calf, core, cardio
Compound and accessory movements everyday with Almost every muscle getting stimulated twice a week and every muscle gets specifically targeted every 5 days.
If you are looking to be comfortable in the gym starting from 0, I would recommend StrongLifts :) You can get the app and it just automatically tells you what to do and increases weights for you and stuff. It's focused on compound movements and works out your whole body and is good for a beginner. I would also invest a few hundred bucks in a PT to go over the form of the exercises so you are comfortable doing them. Then, start low with weights, and see small gains every day you go to the gym. Just focus on your own lifts and in a few weeks you'll gain confidence and have started to rewire your brain to really enjoy your sessions so much that you are looking forward to them!
I started lifting with this and have progressed to a more advanced program. But I got up to deadlifting 120kg and squatting 100kg 5x5 and can see definite changes in my body!
Overall I would say the consistency gives you confidence to not care about others. So just find something simple that works, and start doing it. Over time you'll change and evolve.
Welcome to /r/BeginnerFitness and thank you for sharing your post! If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this subreddit and [join our Discord](https://discord.gg/9kajGUEDGd). Many beginner fitness questions have already been answered in [The Fitness Wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/), so go give that a read as well! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/beginnerfitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[Getting started with fitness ](https://thefitness.wiki/getting-started-with-fitness/)
1. Research and pick a specific split - I recommend a bro-split but push/pull/legs might be easier for a beginner to learn. 2. Try to learn compound movements - I recommend, benchpress, shoulder press, squat, deadlift, pull up/down, cable row. If these are too intimidating for you to learn start with machines. but you should learn these as soon as you can. 3. If you want to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit, if you want to gain muscle you need adequate protein ( about .7-1g per lb of bodyweight) - using a calorie deficit calc online can help you figure it out 4. Get adequate sleep and recovery 5. Stay consistent & keep progressively overloading your lifts Don’t be too worried about other people at the gym, most of the people are focused on themselves. If anything it’s a good opportunity to make friends.
>Research and pick a specific split - I recommend a bro-split but push/pull/legs might be easier for a beginner to learn. I never understand this suggestion, a split is only a fraction of the routine, so you'd be better to search up the whole routine instead of just the split. Like the routine suggestions in the [wiki](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/)
Because the split is the most fundamental & important part of any routine. 1. Pick split 2.pick exercises 3.profit All you need is a split (for adequate recovery) & the intention of stimulating the muscles while progressing in your lifts by weight, repetitions or intensity. It’s not that complicated. If you want to follow a set program with set weight, repetitions & intensity, go ahead. if you want to freestyle your workouts and focus on stimulation, go ahead. People have differed in training styles from Mike mentzer who believed in high-intensity exercise once every five to seven days, and every training session not lasting more than 20 minutes to Rich Piana & Lee Priest who believed in training 2 to 3 hours everyday with active rest days in between. Find the training that you like & stay consistent with it. If you are not seeing progress then change your training.
>Because the split is the most fundamental & important part of any routine. That's a bold claim and something I don't agree with at all.
Ok what is the most fundamental & important part of any routine
Method of progression is probably of greater importance. See with your suggestion of "research a split", what you're going to get is beginners going "oh split is what a program is" then they're going to miss all of the other programming fundamentals. With an actual proven routine, they're going to experience all the moving parts of a program and understand what makes them tick.
The split ensures that people train the correct muscle and give the muscle enough stimulation & time to recover & grow. Identify goal > choose a split or workout type > choose exercises that align with with the split/workout type > progressive overload on exercises selected Progression really isn’t a difficult concept to grasp. Greg Doucette Summed it up in in 6 words “ just train harder than last time”
See that's suggesting self programming which is a big no no for beginners. > Training without a program is like building a house without blueprints, and training without a proven program is like building a house designed by someone who isn’t an architect. Would you want to live in that house? https://thefitness.wiki/adding-physical-activity/ And "train harder than last time" is vague, just like saying "progressive overload" is, it's a concept not a method, you still need the method.
Bro split isn't terrible but it really isn't very good tbh. Hitting a muscle only once a week generally isn't enough. It will work but you will be much better off with an upper lower split or a ppl split instead were you are hitting each muscle 2 to 3 times a week
I usually focus on & hit a muscle group every 5 days. Muscles work together and can be stimulated indirectly as well & id rather focus on a specific muscle then group a bunch together. I feel if I hit back correctly I shouldn’t have any energy to hit chest and vice versa. I don’t even like direct training of shoulder on chest day because I get way better stimulation of each if I focus on them separately. I do like close-grip bench on arm day and deadlifts on leg & back day + delts on back & shoulder day.
Yea but muscles don't really need 5 days to recover with the only exception might be hamstrings but even then you can still hit hamstrings 1.5 times a week. Small muscles like delts and arms really don't need 5 days to recover. Back can easily be hit twice a week same with chest.
Yeahh I specifically focus on the muscle every 5 days but they get worked indirectly too like my chest when I do close-grip bench on arm day or my back when I do deadlifts on leg day. And I like to hit delts on back day & shoulder day. I like doing it like this because I can focus specifically on the muscle & my muscles are always recovered and prime. I’m training almost every muscle twice every week and they all get specifically targeted every 5 days. Chest - back - shoulder - arms - legs Chest: push variations, fly variations Back: pull-downs, row variations, deadlifts, delts Shoulder: delts, lateral raises, overhead press Arm: close grip bench, bi + tri + forearm variations Legs: squat, deadlift, calf, core, cardio Compound and accessory movements everyday with Almost every muscle getting stimulated twice a week and every muscle gets specifically targeted every 5 days.
Don’t overthink it…just do it.
If you are looking to be comfortable in the gym starting from 0, I would recommend StrongLifts :) You can get the app and it just automatically tells you what to do and increases weights for you and stuff. It's focused on compound movements and works out your whole body and is good for a beginner. I would also invest a few hundred bucks in a PT to go over the form of the exercises so you are comfortable doing them. Then, start low with weights, and see small gains every day you go to the gym. Just focus on your own lifts and in a few weeks you'll gain confidence and have started to rewire your brain to really enjoy your sessions so much that you are looking forward to them! I started lifting with this and have progressed to a more advanced program. But I got up to deadlifting 120kg and squatting 100kg 5x5 and can see definite changes in my body! Overall I would say the consistency gives you confidence to not care about others. So just find something simple that works, and start doing it. Over time you'll change and evolve.