How to choose the load at the first workouts to love the sport

What is important to achieve in the first workouts

The global mistake of beginners is to give all your best at the very first lesson like the last time. Run while you have enough strength, try every simulator in the gym, and even put more weight.

It doesn't matter if you train for health or for the sake of a beautiful figure, in the first workout you will not achieve what you want. It will not work to do this in the second or fifth lesson, especially when it comes to losing weight and building muscle.

To become stronger and more resilient, to improve your physical condition and add a few years to your life, you need to exercise regularly. That is, always. The rest of my life. So you have nowhere to rush.

If you run 5 or even 10 km from scratch, you will only get pain in your feet and knees, and not at all a slender waist. And after strength of eight exercises, five approaches each, instead of relief, you will earn such delayed muscle pain that you will hardly move for another week.

So put your dreams aside for now and set realistic goals for your first weeks of training:

• overcome psychological blocks and start moving;
• get used to doing it regularly, without gaps;
• Finish a workout feeling good.

Below we will give examples of how to get started with power and cardio workoutto complete all three and enjoy physical activity.

How to choose the load in the first workouts

Most often, people start their immersion in the world of sports and fitness with push-ups and squats at home, jogging down the street or visiting the gym. Therefore, we will analyze exactly these types of activity.

Strength training at home

Home exercise with your body weight is a great choice for any beginner. If only because you will not spy on others and try to do the same.

At first, you will be able to load the muscles well without any burden, but here it is also important not to overdo it with the load.

Do two sets of the following exercises:

1. Pushups. If it doesn't work out, do them from a low support or from your knees.
2. Squats. Perform smoothly, do not flop down and make sure that your back remains straight and your heels do not come off the floor.
3. Incline (Australian) pull-ups. At home, you can put a stick on two chairs or buy training loops - the cheapest cost up to 1,500 rubles.
4. Glute bridge. Lying on the floor with bent legs, raise your pelvis and lower it back.
5. Crunches on the press. Take your hands behind your head, spread your elbows to the sides, lift your shoulder blades and shoulders off the floor and return them back.

Do as many reps as you can. But at the same time, it is important to stop in time: if the form deteriorates - for example, the lower back begins to sag in push-ups - finish the exercise.

By the end of the class, you should feel like you want to go for a walk right now, and not crawl to the couch and lie down for the rest of the evening.

If the next day almost nothing hurts and you want to work out again, congratulations, you have found the ideal load.

Now you can gradually increase the volume of your workout. For example, add one repetition every week until you get to 15-20 times, and then either increase the difficulty of the movement or do more sets.

Strength training in the gym

It is better to start strength training with basic exercises that involve many joints and muscle groups. They will teach you how to move correctly and provide a good stimulus for the development of strength and muscle volume.

Walk for 5-10 minutes on the treadmill first, and then do 1-2 sets of the following exercises:

• Bench press with bar.
• Back Squat.
• Cravings for the chest on a block simulator.
• Deadlift with a neck.
• Twisting or exercise "bike".

Pick up the weight so that you can finish 8-12 repetitions without any problems. For barbell exercises, you can try a 10-15kg bar or start with a bodybar. This is a rubber coated fitness stick that can weigh 2 to 8 kg. The weight is indicated on its end.

Learn the basic exercise techniques and ask your gym instructor to see how you do them. It is important to correct gross mistakes from the beginning so that you don't get used to misbehaving.

If everything went well this time, in the next lesson you can increase the number of approaches to three, and then gradually add weight and try new exercises for the main muscle groups.

Jogging

If you are sedentary or significantly overweight (body mass index> 25), start by walking. Even 15 minutes of vigorous movement (at a speed of about 6 km / h) will be enough to load an organism weaned from activity well. Increase your workout time as you get used to.

If you already move a lot in your daily life, you can immediately try alternating walking and running at a conversational pace - when you can keep the conversation going without stopping.

Try the following plan for your first workouts.

• 1st week: 3 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking - 6 series. Total - 30 minutes.
• 2nd week: 4 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking - 5 series. Total - 30 minutes.
• 3rd week: 5 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking - 4-5 series. Total - 28–35 minutes.
• 4th week: 5 minutes of running, 1 minute of walking - 5 series. Total - 30 minutes.
• 5th week: 30 minutes of running without walking.
• 6th week: 35 minutes of running.
• 7th week: 40 minutes of running.
• 8th week: 45 minutes of running.

Try to focus on this plan, but feel free to adjust it with an eye to your preparation and well-being. If you are very tired or something is ill, go back to the previous week and repeat it again so that the body adapts to the load.

What else to consider when planning your workouts

There are a few more tips to help you not only start training, but also not to abandon them:

1. Consider the rest of your life.Lack of sleep, poor nutrition and psychological stress can slow down your ability to adapt. So during stressful periods of life, do not increase the volume of training. Otherwise, you can burn out and abandon classes.
2. Use the rule "at least". Until exercise is a habit, it can be difficult to force yourself to exercise. If a workout is scheduled today, but you don't feel like doing it, promise yourself to do at least one approach of each exercise, run for only 10 minutes or do a circle around the house for bike. Chances are, in the process, you will tune in to more. And if not, then it's not scary. Minimum load is better than nothing.
3. Enjoy. Think about how to make your classes more interesting and enjoyable. For example, while running, you can listen to music or podcasts, and go to the gym with a friend to communicate between sets. For many, comfort during exercise is also important, so buy comfortable (and beautiful) sportswear and good running shoes, take water and a towel with you.

Iya Zorina