NEW YEARS RESOLUTION SARE made by the billions each year with only a comparatively few million actually being carried through, mostly because it’s impossible to know how and where to start, interest is lost, or the ask is simply too big. Remember the big one of the past? “I’m going to quit smoking.” Not.
One resolution that comes up year after year is, “I’m going to start working out and get in shape.” Most people can relate to this one. How many times have you paid for a gym membership only to come home from the gym disillusioned, confused, and exhausted and then quit two weeks into the promise you made to yourself? You’re not alone; it happens to almost everyone.
If you’re truly serious about the “getting into shape” resolution, I can help you. It’s not that you made a resolution that you aren’t able to keep; it’s that you made a mistake at your starting point. It takes years of learning and knowledge to walk into a gym knowing what needs to be done to “get into shape.” You have to know what you want to accomplish and what it takes to get to your destination.
Your first step is to choose between machines for exercise and weights to get strong and in shape. My best advice is to choose weights to become strong because strength is something you carry with you every day. Machines are in the aerobic category and give you the false impression of strength while taking balance out of the equation. They’re adequate for exercise but not much more.
Don’t be confused when you walk into a gym. If your goal is to get strong and in shape, you have to ignore the machines and target your attention on the barbell rack. That’s where your strength will be built. You need to go into a gym with a focused destination and a focused plan.
Take a workout logbook into the gym with your preplanned workout, including the lifts you will do today, the number of sets for each lift, and the number of repetitions per set. Once your first lift is complete, take a short rest and set up for your next lift. Your workout logbook is your friend; it takes all the guesswork and confusion out of your workout. Stay focused.
You can choose from any number of workout plans, and if you are a novice weight lifter, it can be difficult to determine what will work for you. Be careful choosing your workout plan. Some are written by professional lifters with years of lifting under their belt. These plans aren’t for you! My suggestion is to choose the tried, tested, and proven four lifts designed to promote balanced strength—deadlift, squat, overhead press, and bench press. This lift foursome is all you will need for many months and beyond as a novice lifter.
The following is a detailed lifting plan with these four lifts:
WEEK 1
Monday Wednesday Friday
Squat Overhead Press Squat
Bench Press Deadlift Bench Press
WEEK 2
Monday Wednesday Friday
Squat Bench Press Squat
Overhead Press Deadlift Overhead Press
As you can see, you’re alternating the Bench Press and Overhead Press every other week, which gives you three of both lifts every two weeks. This will help you maintain proportional strength in these two muscle groups. Alternate week one and week two in your workout logbook.
If you feel you want to spend more time in the gym, simply add an ancillary exercise to your workout. Choose any of the following: barbell row, chin-up/pull-up, bicep curl, triceps extension, or dips. As you become stronger in your lifts, be certain to do warmup sets before your work sets.
As an adult, you might believe you don’t need directions and you know where you’re going. Not so when lifting a weighted barbell. Without knowledge of the dangers of lifting a weighted barbell, serious injury is right around the corner. These injuries can include torn muscles, torn tendons, back injuries caused by improper lifting technique, or even strangulation and asphyxiation as a loaded barbell drops onto your neck or chest.
I would advise you to begin your plan a month early. Spend a month or more with a qualified barbell weight training coach learning your lifting techniques, dangers, safety tips, weight and strength progression, keeping an updated lifting logbook, etc. This will be time and money well spent and make your lifting journey trouble-free. With the proper training, you will become one of those persons in the gym from whom others seek advice.
For those of you who don’t know me, I am a barbell weight training coach with many years of experience lifting weights as well as my own personal exercise experiences, well over 30 years in all. I offer weekly and monthly, one-on-one barbell weight training for both men and women. If you feel that I can help make your New Year’s resolution a reality this year, feel free to call me. I have only one workout station, and I work one-on-one with new students, so my one-hour time slots can fill up quickly. Call at your convenience to reserve your preferred workout time and learning experience. See my adjoining advertisement for more information.
I am also amenable to discussing weight training as it pertains to prediabetes, diabetes, and chronic back pain due to the inevitable muscle loss of aging.
I am located in Oregon, Ohio and can be reached by email at gh68bb@gmail.com or by telephone at 419277-6581.
Wishing you good lifting.
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