What to Expect when you start training.

Our first article of 2022 focuses upon what you should expect to happen when you begin training. This is especially useful if you're a beginner to training powerlifting, or just training in general. 

As is often the case, this article is brought to you by James Kennedy. James has been the main writer for my website for a few months now but as of January of this year he is now also Assistant Coach. So, you may see him working for me in an online capacity, and helping me out at competitions when I'm over run with clients. 

New Year, New You. Exercising more, losing weight, and learning a new skill or hobby are some of the most common New Year’s resolutions people commit to at the start of the year. Consequently, January is the month with the most new gym membership sales - around 11% of all new memberships start in January. Sadly, half of new gym members quit within 6 months. Why? 

The reasons people give for quitting the gyms are usually similar. People feel as though they aren’t making progress and aren’t seeing the results they deserve, are worried about getting injured or have gotten injured or don’t enjoy going to the gym because they feel judged, uncomfortable or anxious. This article explores how to get started at the gym, what to expect and how to set yourself up for long term success!
Making the decision to join the gym and start training is exciting and scary. The best thing you can do on day one is to find a good coach who can help simplify the process for you (some good ones (Danny Lee Link, Lauren May Drake link). 
For me, getting a coach was the best decision I’ve ever made. I’d been training seriously for around 2 years, and by chance rather than design, had made some solid progress and wanted to give powerlifting a go. I found a powerlifting coach and joined a powerlifting gym. I made more progress in the following 6 months than I had made since I had started training. The coach, the group training environment and the entire culture of the gym made training fun and helped me achieve new personal bests.

Whilst it may seem expensive to get a coach, for me it was effectively outsourcing of a lot of my anxiety. Even after 2 years of training and compulsively reading everything I could find about lifting weights, I would second guess every exercise in a plan I wrote, changing plans and targets every few months because I was convinced I was doing something wrong. Once I started paying for a coach, I don't have to think about what exercises, what reps or what weights to use. My coach did that for me. It was only after getting a coach I realised how much mental energy I was wasting by trying to coach myself. 
Once you have found a coach a lot of the concerns about joining a gym are handled. You’ll make better progress, be taught how to perform the lifts properly and know exactly what you need to do every time you go to the gym.

Having a coach will also help create a positive feedback loop. The most important part of your first day at the gym is that you enjoy it and you want to come back for a second workout. Working out is inherently rewarding - working out releases endorphins, dopamine and serotonin - which are hormones which are associated with happiness. Exercise is hard but it does feel good. When you go to the gym for the first time, don’t go mad and try to do every exercise and lift every weight in the gym. Have a plan, stick to weights you can safely perform and you’ll feel great when you leave the gym on day 1 and eager to come back for day 2!!

What if you feel judged?
When you’re working out in a new gym, it’s common to feel as if you are being judged. In reality, you probably aren’t. Every single person who is in the gym was once a noob too - even the super jacked powerlifter with the beard, 150kg bench, and punisher tattoos (he’s called Dennis and is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet).  They all had to walk into a gym for the first time and start at the beginning - the same place you are. Most of the time, people at the gym want to get in, get the work done and get out of there. They don’t care what you’re doing and if they are looking at you it’s more likely that they’re thinking ‘way to go’ - the gym is one of the most supportive places I’ve ever been, and generally, the stronger someone is the more supportive they tend to be.
Gym Etiquette
Whilst gyms are a supportive and friendly place, there is a definite list of rules and etiquette that you should follow to make sure your safe, considerate and not annoying the hell out of other gym members. 
    1. No curling in the squat rack!!!
Whilst this may seem like a bit of a gym-bro joke - it’s important to not use equipment incorrectly, and the squat rack is not the place for curls. 
    2. Share the equipment
This rule may be more relevant post-pandemic, but don’t hog equipment and stop other people from doing their workout. Let them work in and help with unloading and reloading the bar. It helps make the gym a friendlier, more pleasant place to train for everyone. 
    3. Tidy up your weights
Once you’re done using the equipment, clean it up. Strip the bar, put the plates back away and put any dumbbells you have been using away. This is important for several reasons. Firstly, if you don’t tidy your kit away other people won’t know that you’re done using it. Secondly, it’s just rude to expect other people to tidy up after you. 
    4. Don’t be that guy
Don’t be a creep. Don’t go over to a woman you don’t know mid-workout and disturb her,  especially if she’s wearing headphones. Don’t mansplain and don’t try to disturb her mid-workout, especially if she’s wearing headphones. People are at the gym to workout - don’t make it awkward or uncomfortable for anyone else to do that. 

No stupid questions

1. What are sets and reps? 
A rep is performing an exercise once, for example a push-up. A set is a collection of repetitions. For example, a workout plan might call for 3 sets of 10 repetitions (usually written as 3x10). This means you do ten reps of the exercise, three times. If you are ever confused about what you’re meant to do - ask your coach! There are no stupid questions!
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2. How long should I rest for?
Rest periods are debated. Some people argue for very long periods - over  3 minutes, whilst others argue for closer to 45 seconds . To some extent, this varies based on what your aims are, but for most people, most of the time around 90s is ideal. 

3. What weight should I start with?
A weight which is light enough for you to perform the exercise correctly, without injuring yourself. The exact number will vary depending on your previous exercise history and size. Using a coach will help take the guess work out of this process - but start light! Learn the technique, get used to training and add weight slowly as you get stronger. 
Hopefully, you’ll find this article helpful and it will help you commit to training and develop it into a habit that will change your life!

James even has an email you can get in touch with him via - jlk@dannyleeonline.co.uk

So, if you want to talk to him about Online Coaching, or even about stuff he's written, give him a message.