Don’t trust everything you read. Except Here. Trust It All.
Welcome to my Blog. Here you can learn everything you want to know about getting stronger, losing weight and managing your diet, in an empathetic and scientific way.
The Best Barbell Exercises and Workout For Beginners
The Barbell.
It can feel bloody intimidating if you are new to the Gym.
In many Gyms you will see scary looking men lifting scary looking weights, and that alone is enough to put someone off ever grabbing a Barbell for their own fitness journey.
You may well have seen stupid people doing stupid things with them on the Internet and it has put you off for life.
Or you may have seen this fella in your village and you thought…well
And that is a grave shame.
The Barbell can be one of the most empowering tools in the Gym.
There is something more magical about getting a Barbell off the floor or above your head compared to a Dumbbell or an Exercise Machine.
There is an aura about it, a feeling in the body that creates an equilibrium between strength and difficulty and you can feel your whole body just feel strong, empowered and confident when you achieve it.
And if you never explore that feeling in your fitness journey, then you are leaving one of the most important aspects of your workout behind.
This article will take you through a whole workout using a Barbell to help you learn how to use one safely, effectively and with confidence - but if you would like a lot more workouts from me, as well as becoming my friend - where I may send you things that make you smile, things that help you on your fitness journey and things that might be a little inappropriate - then please just send me a friend request via the form below:
Thank you for becoming my friend!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Anatomy of a Barbell
The value of using a Barbell
Different types of Barbells
The Best Barbell Exercises and Workout for Beginners
The Anatomy of a Barbell
When something is misunderstood in my life…I often find one of the most important things I can do is learn as much about it as is possible.
For knowledge is power - and the only way to empower yourself over something that gives you fear is to learn what to do with it.
Since moving to Australia I have adopted this policy on all things that might kill me - basically every animal in the country - however, I am yet to actually have to test my knowledge out when face to face with a snake - so let’s hope my theory holds up all the same.
The anatomy of a Barbell may seem a little “extra”. But when I learnt this I found it truly interesting - and it actually inspired me to go and work with a Barbell - something that up until that point I had actually tried to avoid.
Yup. Even as a Personal Trainer for the first year of my career I avoided using Barbells for myself and for my clients - simply because I didn’t know how they worked or saw the use of using one.
Even us Personal Trainers are working progress’s just like everybody else.
A conventional Barbell does not weigh 4lbs.
A conventional Barbell is also known as an Olympic Bar or “Olly Bar” if you are one of the cool kids - and they weigh 20kgs or 44lbs. They are 28mm in diameter and are usually around 7ft 2in in length.
Here is a breakdown of what it looks like:
Sleeves: These are where you put the plates on and load the bar.
Bearings and Bushings: These are designed to let the bar Spin which makes movements like the Clean and Press a lot easier to execute. If you have ever used a Barbell that isn’t an Olympic Bar you will notice it doesn’t rotate in your hands in the same way.
Collar: These stop the plates from moving in towards your hands.
Shaft: The main length of the bar that you grip.
Knurling: A rough hashed part of the Bar which is designed to help you grip the bar with your hands.
Knurling Marks: Two little smooth intersections in the knurling which help you judge whether your hands are evenly placed on the bar. They ar usually 36in apart.
Fastener: Holds the sleeves in place.
Endcap: A little bit of plastic which help hold the sleeves in place - also a good place to look to see what weight the bar is - as they can sometimes vary and it’s usually printed on this part of the bar.
There are two other elements to using a Barbell that I should mention:
Plates: The weight you add to a Bar. Can either be “bumper” plates or standard plates - for most Barbell work bumper plates are most common.
Cuffs: These keep the plates from sliding off the Barbell. They come in two forms “spring cuffs” or “clip cuffs”
Spring cuffs were one of the other reasons I didn’t use Barbells in front of clients because I struggled so much to put them on the bar and take them off the bar and I didn’t want my clients thinking I was too weak to do it (body dysmorphia alert!)
…until I learnt there is a technique behind it and it has nothing to do with strength at all.
And now - let me share that technique with you:
And thats all there is to what makes a Barbell a Barbell.
Pretty straightforward right? Now you know exactly what your equipment is made up of let me show you why they are such crucial pieces of the puzzle to your fitness journey…
STRAIGHTFORWARD FAT LOSS
My Facebook Group for anyone who needs a little extra support with their journey…
The Value Of Using A Barbell
There are studies galore that compare the use of a Dumbbell to a Barbell for building more strength - from what I can see the balance of the evidence would suggest that a Barbell can lead to you being able to lift heavier - but a Dumbbell is far greater at targeting a single muscle in more movement patterns.
Most people can lift about 20% more with a Barbell compared to a Dumbbell - as a Dumbbell stresses more stabilising muscles and thus takes away from your power in your lifts.
As this study [1] in the Journal of Trainology, which compared the velocity of a Barbell Bench Press to a Dumbbell Bench Press and concluded:
“Peak power output was significantly higher for Barbell than dumbbells at 50% and 70% loads.”
and
“Peak power output was reached at 70% of body mass with barbell and 50% with dumbbells”
There is also this study [2] published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine compared a Barbell Bench Press and a Dumbbell Chest Flye for muscular activation in the chest.
The results were overwhelmingly in favour of the Barbell compared to the Dumbbell.
The study concluded:
“If the primary aim of the training is maximal mechanical stress (i.e., loading) and muscle activity of the prime movers, the authors recommend the use of barbell bench press and not dumbbell flyes”
To be clear I am not saying that Dumbbells are useless - and all well thought out Training Programs will provide a balance between all three modes of weight lifting - Barbell, Dumbbells and Machines - but what I am saying is that if you want to get strong and confident and feel empowered and lift heavier weights to expedite your progress in the Gym then you do need to start using Barbells in your training.
And they will help you gain muscle and strength faster than anything else.
This happens because:
As I said previously you can lift 20% more with a Barbell. You can Push, Pull and Squat more weight with a Barbell than you will ever manage to with a Dumbell. With my Online Clients I seldom get them to do a Goblet Squat heavier than 20kgs - because at that point it’s just too uncomfortable to hold - and when they move onto a Barbell Squat they can usually hit 30kgs really comfortably.
With Barbells you have the ability to use both hands for stability and the weight is evenly distributed over your body - thus meaning you can put more effort into the actual movement you are executing rather than losing energy trying to remain balanced.
You can incrementally increase a Barbell far easier than with Dumbbells. Most Dumbbells jump up in 5kgs increments across the body whereas with a Barbell you can increase in 2.5kg increments - this is important because to get stronger you need a Progressive Overload.
You can also get into position to lift a Barbell far easier than you can with Dumbbells. With a Barbell you can start with it racked in a position that will be the start of your movement - whereas with Dumbbells you have to nudge, flick, lift and knee them into position.
All of this aside, making your workouts both effective and fun is important for you ability to adhere to your training program - a huge part of that is variety - and by engaging with a Barbell you will make your workouts just that little bit less boring.
Moreover, when I lift a heavy barbell I get a greater sense of “HELL YEAH” than I ever have with a Dumbell.
I don’t know why.
But I do.
And that keeps me training.
Different Types of Barbells
There are many many different types of Barbells - which can confuse things a little bit.
They all have their uses and their drawbacks - but it’s probably a good idea to talk you through them just so you know what is what.
The Olympic Bar
Or the Olly Bar - if you’re a cool kid - I keep cracking that joke hoping that one day I will be a cool kid.
I went into this Barbell in the Anatomy of a Barbell section - a fair bit.
It typically weighs 20kgs and is best used for explosive movements like a Clean and Press, a Deadlift and or a Snatch. They are equally as effective for Bench Pressing, Rowing, Overhead Pressing or Squatting.
The Fixed Barbell
These are usually found on the Barbell Rack- and normally go up by 2.5kgs. They are a great alternative if you can’t lift an Olympic Bar to begin with because 20kgs is too heavy for you.
These are “fixed” as you cannot change the weight on the Bar without getting a whole new bar. Which makes them a less desirable option if you are building a home gym set-up. They are however awesome for beginners and for movements like Walking Lunges, as they are far less cumbersome than an Olympic Bar and are much smaller in length - so if you are moving and working out - then you are less likely to knock someone out.
Oftentimes Gyms will have these Barbells from 10kgs all the way up to 35kgs.
You can use them for any Barbell movement you wish to - just bear in mind they won’t fit on the racks for Bench Pressing or squatting as they aren’t long enough.
The Trap or Hex Barbell
Personally, I hate the Hex Bar. For one very specific reason: Every time I get one out I hurt myself. If the Olympic Bar is cumbersome - then the Hex Bar is like trying to get a double-decker bus through the quiet village of Castle Combe.
That being said - they are awesome pieces of equipment for beginners and anyone who wants to Deadlift but has lumbar spine worries or issues.
The Hex Bar distributes the weight of the Deadlift evenly around the body, putting less stress on your format loading which in turn creates less stress on your lower back as this study [3] concludes:
“the hexagonal barbell may be the better choice for barbell selection because of its ability to evenly distribute the load among all joints and reduce the moment at the lumbar spine.”
The Hex Bar also requires far less technical skill to be able to execute without you losing much effect on the body in terms of gaining muscle and developing strength.
Added to that this study [4] looked into a Hex Bar Deadlift vs a Barbell Deadlift and found some really interesting results.
It found that powerlifters could produce a great one rep max compared to the standard Barbell Deadlift and the Hex Bar caused greater peak force, peak power and peak velocity.
So a cumbersome choice, but a very effective one all round.
EZ Barbell
Anyone who has used one of these effectively will tell you - they aren’t easy at all.
Also known as a “Curl” Bar the bar is wavy which makes exercises like Bicep Curls and Tricep Extensions a lot more comfortable on your wrists and elbows.
I personally don’t do a lot of Bicep and Tricep Work but whenever I do with a Barbell I will always look for the EZ Bar as opposed to a straight or fixed bar as my elbows specifically prefer being slightly internally rotated when working the Biceps.
They are also useful as you can load any weights you wish onto them - just remember to clip the plates in place!
There are other variants of Barbells you can get - like Log Bars and Cambered bars, but they are seldom found in Gyms and unless you are getting very specific about certain aspects of your training you won’t need them.
The Best Barbell Exercises and Workout for Beginners
Now I will take you through a workout using only your Barbell.
It is a Full Body Workout which will hit every major muscle group in your body.
The workout is written thus:
A1,
B1,
C1, C2, C3
D1, D2, D3.
If exercises have the same letter in front of them eg: C1, C2 then you need to do them as a Superset - with no rest in between - and then rest once you have done each round.
For all other exercises please rest for up to 2mins between them.
In terms of the weights you should be lifting, you want to be working to a feeling of exertion to a level of around 8/10.
You should probably warm yourself up first…
Here is your Warm-Up. This was originally designed as a monthly challenge for my clients on the Strong & Confident Program - but teaching you to warm up is terribly important to me - and I, therefore, thought it would be a good idea to share it with you publicly too.
Warm Up Routine:
A1: Deadlift or Hex Bar Deadlift - 4 Sets, 8 Reps
Rest for up to 2mins between sets
I love a Deadlift. I think being empowered right at the start of your workout is terribly important - and it is a fundamental exercise to do for human movement.
If you prefer you can also do a Sumo Deadlift (video below).
This exercise works nearly every sinew in your body, and when you safely get the bar from the floor to your hips, it is incredibly gratifying.
B1: Overhead Press - 3 Sets, 10 Reps
Rest for up to 2mins between sets
I love working my shoulders. When you get that very heavy Barbell above your head, and you get yourself into a full lockout at the top - there are few greater feelings in the Gym.
Other than hometime.
Added to that, if you get this right, it works the Full Body as well, make sure you squeeze the Glutes the whole time to protect the lower back and use the upper back and chest to help you move that Barbell up and down…
C1: Barbell Bent Over Row - 3 Sets, 10 Reps
The Barbell Bent Over Row is a very challenging exercise for your hip hinge movement and your Core strength. It is great to build upper and lower back strength, and I use it very often in my programming for clients.
C2: Front Squat - 3 Sets, 10 Reps
I do love a Front Squat. The way in which it challenges your Core is fantastic as well as working your Legs and Glutes in a challenging way.
C3: Barbell Bench Press - 3 Sets, 10 Reps
Rest for up to 60secs before you go back to C1.
Again, a fantastic compound movement that will help you get strong through the upper body and in your chest. Make sure your feet are nice and stable on the floor, and you line your hands up using the Knurling Rings on the bar.
D1: EZ Bar Bicep Curl - 3 Sets, 12 Reps
The EZ Bar Bicep Curl is a great exercise for working those guns. Just like Dwight does…
It is also a fantastic exercise to protect your elbow from injuries such as Tennis Elbow and some shoulder injuries in relation to your rotator cuff.
I used to seldom program them for clients due to the fact that the Biceps Brachii are a very small muscle and therefore if your goal was Fat Loss I saw it as not being the most time-efficient exercise for your goals - especially when you consider the Bicep gets worked on in many other movements as well. However, I was wrong. Aside from Injury Protection the Bicep Curl should be in your workout programming somewhere at least - so that it can help you with all the other lifts you have to do as well. Remember even if your goal is. to lose weight, you should always focus on being as strong as possible as well.
D2: Barbell Romanian Deadlift - 3 Sets, 12 Reps
The RDL is a crucial exercise for your posterior chain and therefore your posture. This exercise will help you run, lift, stand and walk. The posterior chain goes from your hamstrings all the way up to your upper back - so I am sure you can see the benefit to the exercise.
Added to that if you want to work and develop the Glutes then this exercise has to be in your regime.
D3: EZ Bar Skull Crusher or Lying French Press
Rest for 30secs before you go back to D1.
I have no idea why this is called the French Press and I could take a guess - but I don’t really want to fall into stereotypes about French people - as it is a gorgeous country with lovely people.
But I’m thinking of something to do with baguettes…
This is a great exercise to work your Triceps and again requires great elbow control - just like the Bicep Curl. Having strong Triceps will very much help you with your Push-Ups, Bench Pressing and other pushing movements.
I Hope You Found This Useful…
And that’s it.
That is everything you need to know as a Beginner about a Barbell.
As I said before, I get it. I used to avoid using Barbells because I didn’t understand them - and I was a Personal Trainer at the time. But my goodness are they now a really important aspect of my training and what I ask of my clients on The Strong & Confident Program.
Please don’t be scared. You can adapt everything to suit your ability, and the benefits are worth it tenfold.
And as always if you have any questions you only have to ask me.
To be able to do that don’t forget to send me a Friend Request by filling out the form below:
Or you can join my Facebook Group where we talk all things Fitness and is for anyone who needs a little extra support with their journey…
I hope you found this article useful and that you enjoy the workout.
I cannot wait to see you again soon…
Coach Adam
References:
Jared D. Littlefield, Kellie K. Schramm, Jerry L. Mayhew, Comparison of lift velocity and power output between barbell and dumbbell bench presses, Journal of Trainology, 2021, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 5-9, Released on J-STAGE May 26, 2021, Online ISSN 2186-5264, https://doi.org/10.17338/trainology.10.1_5,
Solstad TE, Andersen V, Shaw M, Hoel EM, Vonheim A, Saeterbakken AH. A Comparison of Muscle Activation between Barbell Bench Press and Dumbbell Flyes in Resistance-Trained Males. J Sports Sci Med. 2020 Nov 19;19(4):645-651. PMID: 33239937; PMCID: PMC7675616.
Camara, Kevin D.; Coburn, Jared W.; Dunnick, Dustin D.; Brown, Lee E.; Galpin, Andrew J.; Costa, Pablo B. An Examination of Muscle Activation and Power Characteristics While Performing the Deadlift Exercise With Straight and Hexagonal Barbells, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: May 2016 - Volume 30 - Issue 5 - p 1183-1188
doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001352
Swinton PA, Stewart A, Agouris I, Keogh JW, Lloyd R. A biomechanical analysis of straight and hexagonal barbell deadlifts using submaximal loads. J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Jul;25(7):2000-9. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e73f87. PMID: 21659894.
The Ultimate Guide: What To Eat When Working Out
I went back and forth on the image I was going to use for this article.
I had the classic “woman in the Gym drinking a protein shake” and then I went completley to the other side and considered a lovely image of someone eating Pizza.
But the issue with both of these images is they promote one extreme and then the other.
They don’t promote balanace - and I am all about balance!
The reason balance is so critical - is that the fulcrum can always move as you change and grow through your fitness journey - and that is a beautiful thing.
This is a tough article to write because the reasons that someone is working out is always very different:
Mental Health
To Lose Weight
To Build Muscle
To be part of a community
To enjoy yourself
To develop a skill
To train for a challenege
Therefore what I am going to do is stick to principles that will work across the board for you.
There are principles that can fit into the scope of any of these outcomes the only difference is the energy balance equation.
To build muscle you need to be in a caloric surplus of about 110% of your TDEE.
For more information on that head here: How To Gain Weight
To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit which is a window between your BMR and your Goal Bodyweight in LBS multiplied by 12.
For more information on that head here: What is a Calorie Deficit Diet Plan?
For your mental health having balanced nutrition is also critical. Having a varied colourful healthful diet with balance and flexibility is important. But then again that’s important for life.
As the study Food and Mood [1] in the British Medical Journal states:
“This message supports the idea that creating environments and developing measures that promote healthy, nutritious diets, while decreasing the consumption of highly processed and refined “junk” foods may provide benefits even beyond the well-known effects on physical health, including improved psychological wellbeing.”
In this article, I am going to take you through all three Macronutrients and how much of them you should eat and why. In each section, I will point to you about your workouts and managing nutrition around that, but in truth, the differences aren’t that huge.
In actual fact, “what to eat when working out” isn’t really that different to what you should be doing with your nutrition towards your goals anyway. There are some timing and optimal things you can do around your diet and training, but this is about 10% of the work you actually need to do to achieve your goals. I will take you through supplementation too - but this is really a plan for anyone who is now wanting to engage in and live an active lifestyle.
I love educating and informing people just like you in this way all about fitness. In fact, I love it so much, it would be awesome if you wanted to become my friend. You got this far…so it would be remiss of me to not extend an invitation out.
Now if you do decide to become my buddy, I do have a warning for you…I will send you things:
Helpful things (Blog Posts, Workout Manuals, Calorie Calculators)
Insightful things (New Research, thoughts of the day, stuff about my life)
Educational things (much of the above fits into this category)
and
Some inappropriate things (I better not list them here as Google might get suspicious)
But that’s what being friends is all about right? And I fully expect you to do the same back to me…
Therefore if you would like to send me a friend request then just fill out this form:
Table of Contents: The Ultimate Guide: What To Eat When Working Out
What Protein to eat when working out?
- How much Protein do you need? | Protein and Workouts | High Protein Meals
What Carbohydrates to eat when working out?
- How many Carbohydrates do you need? | Carbs and Workouts | Are Carbs Good? Bad? Or just Misunderstood?
What Fats to eat when working out?
- A Final Word on Fats…
What Supplements to have when working out?
How To Structure Your Diet
What Protein to eat when working out?
Here is the good news - you DO NOT NEED TO BE DOING WHAT THIS MAN IS DOING.
I don’t even know why he would do that himself? Maybe he thinks he is Gaston from Beauty and the Beast?
Who knows?
Protein.
Is it important? Yes.
Why is it important? It is the main building block of your body.
Other key features of Protein are:
It keeps you fuller for longer
It takes longer to digest - hence increasing your Thermic Effect of Food (basically increases metabolism)
It builds muscles, tendons, organs and skin.
How Much Protein do you need?
This is a debate that rages and rages.
And honestly, we could get very technical. But I am going to assume you are at least semi-interested in being active and fitness, like most of my clients, and therefore because of the complexity on this topic, over the years I have had to simplify my view on Protein significantly.
One key feature with protein, which I have noticed working with hundreds of people throughout my career, is that they think they are eating more than they actually are.
And eating “enough” is really bloody hard for most people.
Science states lots of different things on this topic.
I have always maintained you need: 0.8-1.1g of protein a day per KG of total body weight.
When I weighed 82.8kg I had 71kg of Lean Body Mass - which meant I “needed” 91.8g of protein as I was calculating it on my LBM in KGs.
But there is great variance in the best suggestion here. Some sources say 2g/kg of bodyweight. Others say 1g per pound of bodyweight.
This means I either need to eat:
91.8g of protein a day, 165g of protein a day or 182g of protein a day.
Now others will ask you to base it on your Lean Body Mass or Fat-Free Mass.
These figures are given as: 1.1g per LB of Lean Body Mass
This changes the numbers again…meaning I would need to eat:
171g of protein a day.
It is confusing. But don’t worry. I do have a very simple solution to the question of how much protein you need to eat a day.
It’s important to remember that everybody is different and not everyone has the luxury of knowing their Lean Body Mass either - and you don’t need to have that information to get this right.
When I weighed 82.8kgs, I don’t think I ever hit numbers like 170g of protein a day - and I still managed to build muscle, get to my goals and achieve what I wanted to achieve.
Like with most things in fitness - you must always balance what is optimal with what is possible.
I did try to actively increase my protein, but not to the detriment or worry of anything else. Added to that I’m a Vegetarian, so I was already aiming a little lower. I’m under no illusions, I know I’m not the bulkiest, most muscly person - I’m not ever going to be a bodybuilder and nor do I want to be - I work out for many reasons that are not aesthetics - but this photo shows that by trying to increase protein consistently - you can still make really good progress.
This is also the most “Daniel Craig” I think I will ever look…
PHOWAAAARRRRRRRR
So here is my simple solution to protein:
Work towards 100g a day and if you are a Vegetarian 80g a day will suffice
There is little negative effect to having more protein in your diet. If you can get more in then great, but you don’t necessarily have to.
In terms of weight loss, and weight gain. This study [2] found that:
“Thermogenesis at 2.5 hours post-meal averaged about twofold higher on the high protein diet versus the high carbohydrate diet, and differences were significant after the breakfast and the dinner meals (p < 0.05)”
and concluded:
“These data indicate an added energy-cost associated with high-protein, low-fat diets and may help explain the efficacy of such diets for weight loss”
Therefore not only is protein awesome for building your body, it’s also awesome at helping you maintain and work on weight loss too.
100g a day is also the system I implement with most of my clients - and it seems to be a good figure for them to aim for regardless of their composition.
It’s pretty incredible.
And working towards 100g means you don’t have to be there every day - again it’s that word: balance.
Protein and Workouts…
Speak to most “personal trainers” and they will tell you to eat post-workout a combination of “protein and carbs”. This is to maximise something called muscle protein synthesis. This is known as the “Anabolic Window”.
Which to you and I basically means refill your muscles with protein so they grow.
There is a modicum of truth to this.
But…and it is a big but…
Don’t sweat it.
The advantages to maximising muscle protein syntheses in comparison to just hitting your protein target each day is insignificant.
The most important thing you can do is just hit your numbers over a day as this study [3] concludes:
“With respect to hypertrophy, total protein intake was the strongest predictor of Exercise Strength magnitude. These results refute the commonly held belief that the timing of protein intake in and around a training session is critical to muscular adaptations and indicate that consuming adequate protein in combination with resistance exercise is the key factor for maximizing muscle protein accretion.”
I think this is also where I pitch my coaching services which involve “resistance exercise” and is called The Strong and Confident Program
All of this being said…I personally do consume a protein shake after each and every workout - for the simple reason that it's a good moment to get some protein in, quell my hunger and rehydrate me.
My workout is almost a reminder to keep working on this part of my nutrition, and I enjoy having it post-workout - usually when I am swimming.
One thing with nutrition is that habit can be your best friend and your worst enemy. In this instance, I use it to my advantage - and it could be a strategy for you as well to get a nice helping of ~20g protein in throughout your day.
Some High Protein Meals:
Now I am a Vegetarian, so what I am sharing with you here are not necessarily the foods I eat - but they are from the Recipe Books that I give to my clients - because not all my clients are Vegetarian (in fact I think none of them is).
What Carbohydrates to eat when working out?
The more I write these Blogs the more I begin to realise that Schitt’s Creek literally knows everything about life.
Now please repeat these two sentences after me:
Carbohydrates do not make you fat….
No one gained weight from eating too many fruits and vegetables…
In fact, Carbohydrates and protein have the exact same calories per gram in them - 4kcal per gram.
Therefore the very oversimplified premise that carbs make you fat is just a downright lie, and I would be very wary of anyone who says that to you - simply because it so much more complex than that.
How many Carbohydrates Do You Need?
The biggest issue with carbohydrates is that we can eat an awful lot of them in one go. It’s not uncommon to eat three servings of rice at dinner, or have four portions of oven chips without realising.
Do you know how many oven chips one serving actually is?
Please sit down for this…the results are that shocking.
And within that portion is 154 calories. Now, quite rightly, I do not know a single human being on the planet that will only eat 7 chips with their dinner.
Chips are yummy. They should be enjoyed properly (with ketchup), and I fully expect a person to not have one portion of them. But you can begin to see, how one portion can become three portions when you serve dinner.
Many people who say to me “I’ve gone low carb and feel great” upon further examination have actually just bought their Carb intake into line with the amounts outlined below.
They aren’t “Low-Carb” they are simply eating an accurate amount for their individual body - as opposed to overeating them.
The amount you need is dependent on your goals - like with all food - it all has to be viewed within the context of calories.
To Lose Weight: 0.5g - 2g per pound of body weight per day
To Gain Weight: 1g - 3g per pound of body weight per day
If we take 82kg me again…this means I should have been eating around: 330g of Carbohydrates a day as I was trying to lose weight at that time. This is 1323kcal/day from Carbohydrates.
There is no one size fits all, because guess what…we are all different.
But a good rule to go by, which the CDC suggest is that you should aim for about 50% of your daily calories to come from Carbohydrates. Other sources say between 45% and 65% of your daily calories should come from Carbohydrates.
So ~50% of your Calories seems like a good place to start to me.
This doesn’t mean if you eat more than 50% you are failing. Like with most things “calories” working in flexible windows is always a good idea.
There is also a study [5] that backs this up. Published in the Lancet in 2018 it was a Meta-Analysis of 420,000 people in 20 countries and found the following:
“a percentage of 50–55% energy from carbohydrate was associated with the lowest risk of mortality.”
And interestingly went on to conclude:
“Our findings suggest a negative long-term association between life expectancy and both low carbohydrate and high carbohydrate diets when food sources are not taken into account. These data also provide further evidence that animal-based low carbohydrate diets should be discouraged. Alternatively, when restricting carbohydrate intake, replacement of carbohydrates with predominantly plant-based fats and proteins could be considered as a long-term approach to promote healthy ageing”
Carbs and Workouts
Carbohydrates are essential for your ability to work out.
Your muscles use the glucose from Carbohydrates to move - and as you move, the tank of energy you have gets depleted.
As this study states:
“During short, heavy exercise it may be the only energy source for the working muscle and may be derived exclusively from the glycogen stores within the muscle fibres themselves”
This is why, very often, when you workout and haven’t fuelled your workout correctly, you can just run out of energy, experience unusual fatigue or feel shaky - it is not because you have done something wrong - its simply because your body is running on empty of Carbohydrate.
This is also why, when looking into what you “should” eat after a workout many people will say a combination of Protein and Carbs.
As the study: International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: nutrient timing [4] states:
“Post-exercise (within 30 minutes) consumption of CHO at high dosages (8 - 10 g CHO/kg/day) have been shown to stimulate muscle glycogen re-synthesis, while adding PRO (0.2 g - 0.5 g PRO/kg/day) to CHO at a ratio of 3 - 4:1 (CHO: PRO) may further enhance glycogen re-synthesis.”
So you need carbohydrates post-exercise - with some protein too. You need to restock your energy in your muscles - otherwise, you will grind to a halt.
Remember what I said about protein muscle synthesis? Well, that’s true of glycogen (Carbohydrate) too.
This is one reason that when you are in a Calorie Deficit and training properly, but not eating enough, your Metabolism can drop so much. You stop moving as much throughout that day because your muscles aren’t filled with the ability to move your body.
This can slow your metabolism down by up to 15% [5].
The frequency of your training will dictate how much attention you need to pay to all of this. The more you train, the more you might need to make sure that you are being sensitive to these needs, the less you train, the less sensitive you need to be.
If you workout most days - then give this a little more attention. If you workout 1-2/week then it is far less important.
This is all in relation to an ideal world - and having worked with many people - an ideal world is far from how you actually live. Now that you know the why’s and wherefore’s how would this look practically?
For example, the only time you have to get to the gym is at around 6 am - your stomach doesn’t do too well eating very early - but you want to get the most out of your workout knowing that you need that glucose in your muscles, because the last thing you ate was at 6 pm the night before…
What on earth do you do?
With most of my clients, I will simply ask them to eat some fruit.
It’s that simple. A banana, an apple, some grapes. Whatever takes their fancy - but some fruit should be more than enough for a 30-60min session - even if you are on an empty stomach.
If they have a little more time and don’t need to worry about driving and eating, then I might suggest some Greek Yoghurt with the fruit.
Are Carbs Good? Bad? Or just Misunderstood?
Carbs…are classy. They are a treasure trove of healthful nutrients - but sadly they have been let down by fad diets and society at large.
All Fruits (with the exception of an Avocado) and all Vegetables are Carbohydrates - and if you are willing to sit there and tell me that these are damaging to your health, then I am afraid that you are on the wrong Blog.
I do think that the demonisation of Carbs in our Society is wildly correlated with how much more sedentary we are as well. Simply put, the more muscle you have on your body, the more carbohydrates you can eat - because you have more room for it to be stored in your muscles to be used up as energy, as opposed to it having to be stored as fat in the body.
READ MY BLOG POST WHICH IS HELPING HUNDREDS OF OFFICE WORKERS GET MORE HEALTHY
As a Vegetarian, I know this to be true. My Diet had to go from a bigger protein base to a bigger Carbohydrate base, but my physique didn’t change that much for two reasons:
I had an awful lot of muscle on my body (72kg of muscle on an 82kg body)
I remained active
No food is good or bad. They can contain more calories or fewer calories. They can affect your body in a different way depending on who you are - but this does not denote their moral value.
And by attaching moral values to food - you are attaching judgement to the foods you eat - that will erode your relationship with food over time. I understand it’s almost common to describe a doughnut as bad, and an apple as good. But neither is true - and the more you learn to frame it as just food, which has an energy value contained within it - the better everything will become for you.
Why do we misunderstand Carbs?
There is no denying it.
If you want to lose just Scale Weight quickly - reduce your Carb intake. This will without a doubt bring the scale down, as every time we eat 1g of Carbs we retain 3g of Water.
As this study [6] from 2015 confirms:
“Our findings agree with the long held notion that each gram of glycogen is stored in human muscle with at least 3 g of water. Higher ratios are possible (e.g., during REHFULL) likely due to water storage not bound to glycogen.”
When you go “low-carb” the scale weight you see drop is just water leaving your muscles - its not body fat dropping. This also goes a long way to explaining why the scale goes up after you have had a night out on Italian Food!
The other great misunderstanding about Carbs is whether you are actually overeating eating them or not. Oftentimes its not the Carbohydrate content in a food that makes it scrummy and delicious - its the combination between Carbs and Fats.
These are the greatest flavoured crisps that have ever come into existence.
And when you look at them - you probably think - its a big old bag of Carbs.
But when you break it down to its nutritional caloric values - its actually predominately a bag of dietary fat.
This bag per serve has:
123kcals, 6.5g of Fat which is 58.5kcal and 14.3g of carbohydrate which is 57.2kcal.
Let’s look at a “more sugary” piece of food = the greatest donut of all time:
The Krispy Kreme Original Glazed.
190kcals, 11g of Fat which is 99kcals, 22g of carbohydrates which is 88kcals.
The reason these foods are so damn tasty isn’t because they have Carbs in them. Instead, it is the potent combination of Carbohydrate AND Dietary Fat.
All of these years you have been slamming yourself for eating Carbs…when the truth is…you have been eating more Dietary Fat than you actually realised - which, if you are considering going “low-carb” to lose weight - think again - you actually need to cut down
Now, why might this be an issue…
What Fats to eat when working out?
Fats have 9kcal per gram within them. This means calorically they are worth more than double Carbohydrates and Protein.
Now, this is a real friend when trying to gain weight or maintain your weight - but when trying to lose weight, this can be a big reason that success eludes you.
Similar to Carbohydrate this is why it is very important to manage your portion sizes well.
Fats are very good for you - despite their Caloric density - we do need them in our diet for a whole multitude of reasons.
The World Health Organization states that total fat intake needs to be around 20-35% of total caloric intake [7] - and other Health Bodies say similar.
Dietary Fat allows our body to absorb the essential ADEK Vitamins into our system - they are Fat-Soluble Vitamins - whereas all other Vitamins are Water Soluble.
Now Fats can get very confusing because there are so many sub-categories of them…but I am going to try and make it as simple as possible for you.
Fats that are to be limited:
Saturated Fat - often found in things like Butter, Cakes, Sausages, Bacon and Cheese - can have a negative outcome on health if eaten to excess. Think Animal Fats, whole Fat Diary and Coconut and Palm Oil.
Trans Fat - this is nearly the only category of food I will allow people to discuss in a negative manner. These are foods with hydrogenated oil in them. Usually your fried foods, fast foods, margarine, pastries and processed snacks.
All other Fats are to be enjoyed moderately within your goals.
Poly Unsaturated Fats: Fish, because they contain two types of Fatty Acid - Omega 3 and Omega 6 which are great for heart and brain health. Tofu also contains these fats as well as, soybeans and pumpkin seeds.
Mono Unsaturated Fats: Nuts, Olive Oil and Avocado.
In terms of strictly speaking for your workouts, I would say prioritise Poly Unsaturated Fats as the Omega 3s and 6s are very good for your joint health.
As these studies [8, 9] show when it looked at the role of Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) and the effect on Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) prevention it found that:
“Growing evidence demonstrates a role of PUFAs in chronic inflammation of RA and this is well established in many types of animal models of inflammatory arthritis” [8]
“The results suggest that omega-3 PUFAs are an attractive adjunctive treatment for joint pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and dysmenorrhea” [9]
A final word on Fats…
Olive Oil could be regarded as the “Healthiest Fat” on the planet.
It is probably the most powerfully healthy food we have available to us. The supreme benefits of Olive Oil are thus:
Rich in Mono Saturated Fat
Large Amounts of Antioxidants [10]
Reduces Inflammation due to its Oelic Acid content [11]
Helps prevent strokes [12]
Reduces Heart Disease by reducing Cholesterol [13] and Blood Pressure [14]
Helps you Maintain Bodyweight when calories are controlled the same [15]
Helps with Insulin Sensitivity [16]
Can reduce Cancer risk [17]
Now I am not expecting you, nor do I want you, drinking Olive Oil like it is water. Try to make sure you get Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The best way in which to ingest Olive Oil is in its uncooked form, so maybe drizzle it on your salads and vegetables.
Although the benefits are impressive, you need to make sure that you aren’t having more than what meets the recommended intake of between 20-35% of your total caloric intake for the day.
What Supplements To Have When Working Out?
Supplements not to have…
Supplements are a very intriguing world that is highly unregulated. Supplement companies sell you the quick fix and the shortcut to your results…and 95% of them are just rubbish - and are just designed to take your money and exploit your insecurities.
Remember if it is a shortcut to success, it wouldn’t be a shortcut - it would simple be known as the way to do things.
To create a supplement you do not need any approval from a governing body - which is a little terrifying. There was a fantastic documentary on this called “Bigger, Stronger, Faster*” where they looked into the world of steroid use and dietary supplements. This is how easy it is to make a supplement:
Terrifying right?
Supplements you don’t need are:
BCAAs
Pre-Workouts
Ketones
Apple Cider Vinegar
Laxatives
Diuretics
Fat Burning Pills
Detoxes
Cleanses
Slimming Teas
Any MLM Products
And a quick note on Branch Chain Amino Acids or BCAAs as they are getting more and more popular as a supplement.
This systematic review of 12 studies found that:
“BCAA supplementation seems not to improve performance and gain of strength and muscle mass.”
Therefore it would appear that so long as you are getting a well-balanced diet - as outlined in the rest of this article - you are not “losing gains on the Gym floor” by not drinking BCAAs.
What about Multivitamins?
In terms of Multivitamins and Vitamin Supplementation, I am not an expert - and many people enjoy having these in their nutrition. On occasion when I lived in the UK I did take Vitamin D3, and in the Winter here in Australia I do have a multivitamin during winter. But with regards to this - you do you - it’s not my remit and I’m not here to judge what you are supplementing yourself with in terms of vitamins.
Many people need many different things for many different reasons.
And that is going to have little or no effect on your ability to workout.
Supplements that are useful…
Whey or Vegan Protein Powder: Getting in your 100g+ of Protein can be quite hard sometimes and this is where Whey Protein or any other kind of Protein Powder can come in handy. It’s a simple, quick hit of protein that will help you get those numbers up as you need. As I alluded to earlier I have my Protein Shake after each workout or run - because I often need something to eat, and I really enjoy having it at that time. There is no magic effect of having it immediately after - it’s just a good moment to make sure that you are getting your protein in each day.
Creatine Monohydrate: The benefits of Creatine Monohydrate are slowly being more and more realised by science. It is widely considered the best supplement out there to help build muscle and strength and is one of the most researched and studied supplements of all time. It is also naturally found in the body already,
It’s also incredibly affordable and lasts a long time because you only need 3g of it a day.
I just put it in my protein shake - and you don’t even know it is there.
The benefits of Creatine Monohydrate almost can’t be overstated. It helps with muscle development of sedentary people, elderly people [18] and elite athletes. It also helps with brain function and potentially could help slow down the onset of Parkinsons’ Disease [19] and a whole host of other brain conditions.
Creatine is also very useful if you are like me, a vegetarian.
If you are going to buy some Creatine Monohydrate make sure that you read the label, and follow the dosage requirements.
Caffeine: This will boost your performance in the Gym [20] and is equally pretty safe to use. I always enjoy a coffee before I work out. You must be careful though, especially if you are working out in the evenings. Caffeine stays in your system for a long time, and it will inhibit your ability to get deep REM sleep - whether you have worked out or not. Therefore the benefit of what you gained from your workout from having caffeine will be negated the next day due to inadequate sleep.
You can find out more about it right here: Why Does Sleep Affect Your Weight Loss?
What’s Next?
I really hope you found this article useful, and you feel a lot more comfortable about your diet and nutrition when ity comes to your workouts.
I also have some other articles you might find useful to help you navigate your nturitona lot more on your Fitness Journey:
Added to all of that, if you would like a Free Calorie and Macro Calculator then just put your email in here:
You are also more than welcome to join my Free Facebook Group:
Thank you so much for being here - it means an awful lot to me.
Have a great day…
Coach Adam
References:
Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing BMJ2020;369doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2382(Published 29 June 2020)Cite this as:BMJ2020;369:m2382
Johnston CS, Day CS, Swan PD. Postprandial thermogenesis is increased 100% on a high-protein, low-fat diet versus a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet in healthy, young women. J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Feb;21(1):55-61. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2002.10719194. PMID: 11838888.
Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA, Krieger JW. The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013 Dec 3;10(1):53. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-10-53. PMID: 24299050; PMCID: PMC3879660.
Levine JA. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Dec;16(4):679-702. doi: 10.1053/beem.2002.0227. PMID: 12468415.
Seidelmann SB, Claggett B, Cheng S, Henglin M, Shah A, Steffen LM, Folsom AR, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Solomon SD. Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health. 2018 Sep;3(9):e419-e428. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30135-X. Epub 2018 Aug 17. PMID: 30122560; PMCID: PMC6339822.
Fernández-Elías VE, Ortega JF, Nelson RK, Mora-Rodriguez R. Relationship between muscle water and glycogen recovery after prolonged exercise in the heat in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2015 Sep;115(9):1919-26. doi: 10.1007/s00421-015-3175-z. Epub 2015 Apr 25. PMID: 25911631.
Liu AG, Ford NA, Hu FB, Zelman KM, Mozaffarian D, Kris-Etherton PM. A healthy approach to dietary fats: understanding the science and taking action to reduce consumer confusion. Nutr J. 2017 Aug 30;16(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s12937-017-0271-4. PMID: 28854932; PMCID: PMC5577766.
Navarini L, Afeltra A, Gallo Afflitto G, Margiotta DPE. Polyunsaturated fatty acids: any role in rheumatoid arthritis? Lipids Health Dis. 2017 Oct 10;16(1):197. doi: 10.1186/s12944-017-0586-3. PMID: 29017507; PMCID: PMC5634864.
Goldberg RJ, Katz J. A meta-analysis of the analgesic effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for inflammatory joint pain. Pain. 2007 May;129(1-2):210-23. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2007.01.020. Epub 2007 Mar 1. PMID: 17335973.
Tuck KL, Hayball PJ. Major phenolic compounds in olive oil: metabolism and health effects. J Nutr Biochem. 2002 Nov;13(11):636-644. doi: 10.1016/s0955-2863(02)00229-2. PMID: 12550060.
Yoneyama S, Miura K, Sasaki S, Yoshita K, Morikawa Y, Ishizaki M, Kido T, Naruse Y, Nakagawa H. Dietary intake of fatty acids and serum C-reactive protein in Japanese. J Epidemiol. 2007 May;17(3):86-92. doi: 10.2188/jea.17.86. PMID: 17545695; PMCID: PMC7058455.
Martínez-González MA, Dominguez LJ, Delgado-Rodríguez M. Olive oil consumption and risk of CHD and/or stroke: a meta-analysis of case-control, cohort and intervention studies. Br J Nutr. 2014 Jul 28;112(2):248-59. doi: 10.1017/S0007114514000713. Epub 2014 Apr 28. PMID: 24775425.
Patrick L, Uzick M. Cardiovascular disease: C-reactive protein and the inflammatory disease paradigm: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, alpha-tocopherol, red yeast rice, and olive oil polyphenols. A review of the literature. Altern Med Rev. 2001 Jun;6(3):248-71. PMID: 11410071.
Psaltopoulou T, Naska A, Orfanos P, Trichopoulos D, Mountokalakis T, Trichopoulou A. Olive oil, the Mediterranean diet, and arterial blood pressure: the Greek European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Oct;80(4):1012-8. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/80.4.1012. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 May;81(5):1181. PMID: 15447913.
Bes-Rastrollo M, Sánchez-Villegas A, de la Fuente C, de Irala J, Martinez JA, Martínez-González MA. Olive oil consumption and weight change: the SUN prospective cohort study. Lipids. 2006 Mar;41(3):249-56. doi: 10.1007/s11745-006-5094-6. PMID: 16711599
Kastorini CM, Panagiotakos DB. Dietary patterns and prevention of type 2 diabetes: from research to clinical practice; a systematic review. Curr Diabetes Rev. 2009 Nov;5(4):221-7. doi: 10.2174/157339909789804341. PMID: 19531025.
Trichopoulou A, Lagiou P, Kuper H, Trichopoulos D. Cancer and Mediterranean dietary traditions. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2000 Sep;9(9):869-73. PMID: 11008902.
Brose A, Parise G, Tarnopolsky MA. Creatine supplementation enhances isometric strength and body composition improvements following strength exercise training in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2003 Jan;58(1):11-9. doi: 10.1093/gerona/58.1.b11. PMID: 12560406.
Matthews RT, Ferrante RJ, Klivenyi P, Yang L, Klein AM, Mueller G, Kaddurah-Daouk R, Beal MF. Creatine and cyclocreatine attenuate MPTP neurotoxicity. Exp Neurol. 1999 May;157(1):142-9. doi: 10.1006/exnr.1999.7049. PMID: 10222117.
Hodgson AB, Randell RK, Jeukendrup AE. The metabolic and performance effects of caffeine compared to coffee during endurance exercise. PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e59561. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059561. Epub 2013 Apr 3. PMID: 23573201; PMCID: PMC3616086.
How Do You Get Motivated To Exercise When You Are Depressed?
I asked my TikTok (@thegymstarter) community what they wanted to see on my Blog.
One of the suggestions came from someone who I refer to as:
“My sister from another mister”
I basically grew up with her. We would spend hours together as children playing around, playing dress-up, writing songs, using her video camera to create episodes of Eastenders and make music videos. It was an incredibly fun time, full of honest innocence.
In fact, I don’t think I have one unhappy memory of being looked after by this persons family.
We went to the same school, we went to the same church, and she and her family are as good as my family. We carpooled to school for years and years. Her Mum was a huge inspiration to me with fitness, her Dad with photography.
She had an older sister too. Who is equally a wonderful person.
When we were teenagers we would spend many Friday and Saturday nights out clubbing in Romford together, me trying to make sure they were always ok - I’d drive them both home nearly every week - just to make sure they were safe. I felt loved by them, and we were without doubt as close as close can be.
But with time, we drifted apart. As we grew older and found our voices, found our lives.
And then one day she popped up on my TikTok Feed. And I started seeing videos about much more complex issues around Mental Health and especially Depression. Which made me feel very concerned that someone I loved so much, someone I spent a long time protecting, ratifying whether her Boyfriends passed “The Adam Test” (which was a brutal test that I devised to see whether I thought the bloke was good enough for my sister from another mister), it was hard to see that she had suffered drastically, and it moved me greatly.
She asked me to write this article.
Her exact question was: “Workouts when you’re depressed/neurodivergent”.
To which I had to learn what Neuro Divergent meant, which I now have a grasp on. This also ties in with Mens Health Month, and although I have never been able to grow a Moustache, I think this post is very relevant and I truly hope it helps you.
Firstly, I want to say that you are not alone, you are very very welcome here and if right now you are suffering, and that is what bought you to this article, you are in a safe place. If you need to talk about anything, then please email me on adam@thegymstarter.com - or you can DM me on Instagram - @the_gym_starter
Added to that, we can become friends.
And as your friend, I’ll email you things. Sometimes they will be educational, sometimes they will be inappropriate, sometimes I might just want to know how you are; either way…it would be delightful to connect with you more.
Just send me a friend request by filling out the form below…
Oh, and I will also send you some free fitness goodies to help start our new friendship off on the best foot possible.
Now that we are besties….
I also want to share this with you: I have never had clinical depression, I have never had a diagnosed Mental Health issue, and I am not a Psychologist or Therapist of any kind. That being said, I have definitely had low moods and some very dark moments in my life.
However, the reason I became a Personal Trainer was to help someone who had some Mental Health issues, and I have spent a decade of my life working with people who are clinically depressed and helping them navigate their movement and nutrition as well. I have looked into this topic so many times, and every day I work hard to learn more about it, so that I can help those who are suffering more and more.
This article is a summary of everything I have learnt with working with people who are on medications, are actively suffering and have still managed to work with me - its my blueprint for my Sister from another Mister so that when she gets into a dark place again - she has the framework to help her negotiate everything she wants on what I know best - Movement and Nutrition.
I always say make sure you follow me for empathetic fitness advice with a great smile.
And the only reason I have such a great smile is because of people like you. I see yours, and reflect it back. I hope by seeing mine, you too can see I’m a reflection of you and your smile keeps me inspired every day, even if you can’t see it all of the time.
My greatest memories as a personal trainer are not that of people hitting PBs - its those quiet talks, those moments where I was the only person left for someone to talk to about their issue and how in those moments my clients didn’t have a Personal Trainer - they had a friend.
You’ve got a friend in me. Always and forever. You are not alone. And I will try and help you as much as I can right now.
Table of Contents for: How Do You Get Motivated To Exercise When You Are Depressed? :
Step 1: You are not alone
Step 2: Take away expectation
Step 3: Start small and build from there
Step 4: Acknowledge the wins
Step 5: Have a plan
A note on Neuro-Divergence
Step One: You Are Not Alone
Let us start with some stats [1].
“How common is depression?
More than 264 million people suffer from depression worldwide. (World Health Organization, 2020)
Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world. (World Health Organization, 2020)
Neuropsychiatric disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. with major depressive disorder being the most common. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2013)
Depression statistics in America
17.3 million adults (7.1% of the adult population) have had at least one major depressive episode. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017)
Of those with major depressive episodes, 63.8% of adults and 70.77% of adolescents had severe impairment. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017)
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to have depression. (Centers for Disease Control, 2017)
Major depressive episodes were most prevalent among adults (11.3%) and adolescents (16.9%) reporting two or more races. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017)
Depression statistics by age
Adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old had the highest rate of major depressive episodes (14.4%) followed by young adults 18 to 25 years old (13.8%). (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 2018)
Older adults aged 50 and older had the lowest rate of major depressive episodes (4.5%). (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 2018)
11.5 million adults had a major depressive episode with severe impairment in the past year as of 2018. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 2018)
Severe depression among college students rose from 9.4% to 21.1% from 2013 to 2018. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019)
The rate of moderate to severe depression rose from 23.2% to 41.1% from 2007 to 2018. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019)”
I know this doesn’t help you feel like you are not alone if you are in an episode of poor Mental Health. But widening out the context of everything we do in life gives us something that is very important: Perspective.
And when it comes to Movement and Motivation perspective is one of the single most effective things you can have to make you feel like you aren’t failing.
We live in a very false world. We live in a world where highlights are everything and only promoting the best of life is what matters - what is valued.
But look at the stats. That isn’t life.
Life is a complex tapestry of emotions and humanity. And tapestries are beautiful. You are woven into the fabric of society, which is what makes our society great. You don’t darken the doorway with your presence, you light it up - you light it up by the sheer fact you are here - living and breathing.
Do you know what the chances are of your existence?
This is mind-blowing. The answer is 1 in 10 to the power of 265,000,000. That’s a 10 with 256 million zeros after it.
The best analogy I found was this: It is the probability of 2 million people coming together, to each roll a dice with a trillion sides on it, and they all get the same number.
The chances of your existence are basically zero. This means you are a miracle. This means we are all miracles together and that’s what makes the world awesome.
Even if we don’t feel like a miracle all of the time - we are. It doesn't change the facts. What does change is our interpretation of the facts.
And what happens when two miracles get together? Magic. Magic is what happens. When you talk to someone, when you process your feelings through discussion and perspective you create magic.
Step 2: Take Away Expectation
In a paper called: “On the Maintenance of Expectations in Major Depression – Investigating a Neglected Phenomenon” [2] which was published in 2017, they propose:
“For major depressive disorder (MDD), there is evidence that people suffering from MDD hold situation-specific dysfunctional expectations which may be elicited by depressive core beliefs (Kube et al., 2016)”
They go on to conclude that;
“The maintenance of expectations despite experiences that are contrary to expectations is believed to be a core feature of MDD”
Huh.
Now that is interesting.
Expecting something, that lived experience doesn’t equate is a “core feature of MDD”.
I see this every day in Fitness. I see the perpetual cycle of people feeling like failures because their lived perception of what fitness is, is so wildly misguided compared to lived reality.
It’s also something I have come to learn over time as a Personal Trainer - and making sure that the first thing I do with new clients on the Strong & Confident Program is quite simply to manage those expectations immediately.
Because I don’t want my clients lived experiences to make them feel like a failure.
I do not mean to trivialise your struggle, by simply stating that your learned expectations are the issue you are facing, and it is as simple as letting go of those expectations. Because those expectations can be very deeply rooted in who you are as a person. Added to that a huge part of your mental health does come down to Chemistry - which has nothing to do with expectation.
But I know I can influence these thoughts through the window of what this article is about: Fitness and Motivation.
What Expectations Should You Remove from your Fitness Journey?
Expectation 1: Thinking it will be the same process as your friends experience
Here comes the quote….
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
I understand that knowing this is one thing - being able to execute a whole other - and if you ar in the midst of an Mental Health Episode then its even harder.
Aside from making love, fitness is one of the most personal experiences you will probably have. Not only your physical ability and skill, your genetics, but also your emotional resonance with what fitness is in your life.
The number one joy out of fitness is the fact that you get to explore it, the fact that is your personal journey and the fact that you are the only person you should be doing it for.
So as easy as it is for me to say don’t compare yourself to others, the only way in which you can do that is to focus on the self - focus on your productivity, focus on what you are able to do, focus on what you can achieve and focus on what wins you are picking up along the way.
And I’m not talking about Squatting 100kgs.
I’m simply talking about the real world wins each day. The real world wins that can so often elude you at periods of time in your life when you feel this way.
Then you begin to build a foundation. A foundation of strength, a foundation of habit, a foundation of persistence - and it is from that foundation, from the feedback loop of what you are achieving, no matter what it is compared to others, that you can then build other behaviours that you want to see yourself doing.
This foundation is your insulation from these episodes of poorer mental health being more severe the next time they come around.
Expectation 2: Endorphins “being the answer”
Exercise has the ability to make you feel better about yourself.
But it doesn't necessarily mean that it is the only answer.
Exercise improves your sense of well-being, and releases these things known as endorphins, which help alleviate pain in the Brian similar to Morphine.
But you shouldn't put all of your eggs in one basket - despite what Resse Witherspoon thinks.
When I hear something like:
“Exercise makes you happy and releases endorphins and therefore helps with depression”
Although Scientifically I know it to be true, if I was going through a bout of low mood, | would then expect the high of exercise to be so good - because it’s all anyone seems to bang on about all the damn day long.
And that’s not really what happens.
Of course, I believe in the power of movement to help all people - I am an award-winning Online Coach and Personal Trainer.
But I know that what happens after a workout is certainly not as big a high as the marketing would make you believe. It’s subtle, but a very real sense of accomplishment. It’s a little tick in your day that makes you say to yourself - good job - what’s next?
And the more you repeat the cycle, the more good jobs you get done. The more ticks you put in your wins column, the more you build that strong foundation that insulates you from your future self.
Expectation 3: Your definition of a Workout
What is a workout?
Well, I chose to show you, Mike - because who doesn't love Monsters Inc - it is the greatest Disney Pixar film there is.
But also - when searching “workout” on Giphy I saw far too many toxic images of what a workout is - and I didn’t want to perpetuate that stigma.
When you look at the origin of where the word comes from, you have to break it into two sections:
Section 1: Work - As a noun, it is thus [3]:
“Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result”
“A task or tasks to be undertaken”
When I first read this definition I was worried about the words “purpose or result”. As in, it would take you towards thinking about “losing 5kgs” or behaviours that perpetuate negative body image and procrastination towards yourself.
But in truth, a purpose or result can simply be - to move, to walk, to enjoy. A result can be a process-driven result, nay, it should be a process-driven result.
Not a goal-based result.
Section 2: Out - As an adverb, it is thus [4]:
“Moving or appearing to move away from a particular place, especially one that is enclosed or hidden”
Therefore, if you look at a workout as a physical effort to move you away from a place that is enclosed or hidden you can quantify a workout as anything that achieves that.
As in, it doesn’t have to be lifting heavy weights and slaying yourself in a gym packed with mirrors that make you feel even worse about yourself.
It can simply be the physical act of moving from Point A to Point B.
A common dialogue in the conversation about depression is that those who are suffering find it hard enough to even shower, let alone do much else. Well moving from Point A (your bed) to Point B (your shower) can be viewed as a workout.
And when you can reframe it thus, you can begin to build momentum.
You can begin to build those strong foundations I keep discussing with regards to putting ticks in your win column.
Added to this the term workout has only been around 100 years or so. It is also thought that the “out” part of the word comes from the meaning of “outside” [5].
Hence going for a walk…is a workout; It produces a physical effort towards a goal.
That goal being, to go outside.
What I am trying to do here is lower the barrier of entry for you. Help you reframe the mammoth task right now of finding the motivation to exercise. Making the leap from a low mood to a Gym is huge.
Making the leap from a low mood to getting outside for a walk, might be less huge.
And actually going outside has been shown many times over to have huge benefits on mood [6].
Step 3: Start Small And Build From There
Nothing builds confidence more than showing up for yourself regularly and always ticking off the things you want to do.
Talk to anyone who has accomplished anything large in their life, and they will all tell you the same thing:
“It’s the daily habits inside and out that create big effort”
Whether you’re an athlete training for the Olympics, a Dancer stretching, a musician doing their Arpeggio’s or, take it from me, an actor showing up to over 1000 auditions just to get a job.
Make no mistake, insulating yourself, building these big foundations that will support you in the future, these strategies and assurances in your life to help you deal with low mood when it comes around again is a big effort
And therefore, to achieve that you must build slowly and surely.
Breaking a big effort into bite-size chunks is the best way to go - because the bigger the task the more likely you are to procrastinate around it.
I remember when I had to put my Visa Application together for Australia - it turned out to be a 75-page document outlining every fact and figure to prove that I was in a genuine and ongoing relationship to the exclusivity of all others with my fiancee.
And you would think that sounds quite straightforward - but actually proving the fact to someone who has never seen you, spoke to you or knows anything about you other than seeing the 75-page document, to also prove enough evidence so that you aren’t being fraudulent is a very very scary task.
And boy did I put it off.
Not because I didn’t believe it possible - but because of how daunting the whole thing was - and the more I thought trying to get it done quickly the more I delayed taking action.
I had to just focus on it one request at a time.
Put a system and a framework in place - and go from there.
Much like when I ran the London Marathon.
Look at how young I look - even still at 20 miles in.
When I ran that marathon, I had to reverse engineer my journey. I had to look at the final goal - which for me was completing a Marathon - and then figure with about a years notice how to work towards it.
It started with running 5kms, then 10kms, then 15kms, then 20kms…until Race Day.
It wasn’t a linear journey either. Some days when I had to run 15kms I could only do 10km or 5km, I had to appreciate how much energy my body had, and respond in the moment to it, understanding that within the framework of my rather large and overwhelming training plan, I had to appreciate the flexibility I needed within it.
I remember two very distinct occasions within this journey as well.
One was when I was sitting in the bath, battered and beaten physically and emotionally because I tried to run at a pace for a four-hour marathon over a 20km distance, and I just couldn’t do it. I had nothing in me that was strong enough to keep that up - and I was feeling really rubbish about everything. I got on the phone to one of my very good friends and wonderful running coach, James, and ,made me realise that the only person putting me under this pressure to run that goal was me - and the sooner I disassociated with that as a goal, the more enjoyable my training would be.
I never looked back.
And the second time, was in the build-up to the race - I was quite worried about a month away from that I would hurt myself running, and I knew I had put in enough work - maybe not the most, and I certainly could have done a lot more, but I suffered a rough injury in training when I was also refereeing, and I just went into protection mode - and didn’t run in the build-up to the marathon.
I was overwhelmed with the thoughts of how big the task ahead was - so I withdrew.
Even having done the work.
This is perfectly normal - the pre-game nerves, the stage fright, the anxiety this can cause. A rebound of emotions is normal - which is why it is so important to have the feedback of little behaviours that have led you to this moment to support you.
So that, when you get stopped in your tracks with these feelings, you also can look back and say “I have a body of evidence contrary to what my brain is telling me right now” - and no one can take that work away from me.
STEP 4: Acknowledge The Wins
Each week on the Strong and Confident Program I send out a Weekly Report form to my clients.
And it serves two purposes.
To give them a moment to reflect on what has passed, and set themselves up for the week commencing - again focussing them onto the process rather than the goal.
To get them to physically write down and celebrate the wins they have built up over the week.
And when they put something on there that they haven’t mentioned to me before, I get very wound up. Because when the big wins come I expect a text message.
Just like this one from my friend who is three weeks into her journey with me:
Then when they have a moment of self-doubt, provided they have filled in the form each week, we have a body of evidence to show them that they are able to achieve.
I can show them that they have built the foundations.
I can prove to them, that they themselves wrote words contrary to what their thoughts are at the moment, and that this moment will pass, as it always does with time, and they will soon be able to get back to nailing their journey.
Wins are so easily looked over, whereas what are perceived failures are so easily focussed on and so easily fixated on.
This is why, writing down your wins, talking to a Coach about your wins, taking a moment to track your stats, and ticking off your consistency is all really really important.
What you see more of, the brain focuses on more and more. You get a feedback loop akin to what you are being exposed to.
And this feedback loop can be used both positively and negatively.
If all you see are size 10 models with perfect skin due to photoshop on Instagram, it's going to make you think that is normal life, and therefore create an unrealistic expectation of yourself - hence creating a negative feedback loop.
Therefore you need to take every opportunity to make note of your wins. Make note of your achievements and celebrate them.
No matter how small they seem in comparison to anything else.
Your wins are personal to you - it's irrelevant what others are achieving - they are your wins and it’s your journey - that is all that matters.
You can do this in a number of ways but for someone who has a low mood, I think the best way to record your wins would be through journaling.
Journalling has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression.
In this study [7] they took 40 people who were diagnosed with current MDD and asked them to expressively write about their deepest thoughts and feelings for 20mins a day, and four weeks later they showed decreases in depression scores measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and Patient Health Questionnaire.
This study called: “The effect of expressive writing on the error-related negativity among individuals with chronic worry” found results very similar buy using expressive writing to help reduce worry and stress in those who engaged with it.
Writing your feelings down, helps you process them. Writing your wins down helps you acknowledge them.
And once those two things are happening, then the foundations again grow stronger.
STEP 5: Have A Plan
Nothing builds confidence more than showing up for yourself and not letting yourself down.
One way to ensure that is a much more foolproof system is by having a plan to execute, a format to stick to.
By knowing what you are going to do, it will make the execution of what you are going to do a lot easier.
Again, it lowers the barrier of entry to the task - and the lower you can get that barrier, the easier the execution will be.
The plan doesn’t have to be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be for the rest of your life or even the year.
In fact, I would argue the smaller the plan the better.
It can be a plan just for that day.
It can be a plan just for your movement session.
It can be as simple as you need it to be, to avoid overwhelm and procrastination around it.
Write down a few exercises you want to investigate in your movement. Write down how long you want to stay at the Gym for, and make sure you plan yourself accordingly for it.
The objective here is to make sure that it is so easy, its nearly impossible for you to back down.
One plan I like to use with clients is the two-minute rule. Especially when they are struggling. I got the two-minute rule from James Clears amazing book “Atomic Habits”.
Over to James [9]:
“The Two-Minute Rule states “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”
You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version:
“Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.”
“Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my yoga mat.”
“Study for class” becomes “Open my notes.”
“Fold the laundry” becomes “Fold one pair of socks.”
“Run three miles” becomes “Tie my running shoes.”
The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. Anyone can meditate for one minute, read one page, or put one item of clothing away. And, as we have just discussed, this is a powerful strategy because once you’ve started doing the right thing, it is much easier to continue doing it. A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a “gateway habit” that naturally leads you down a more productive path.”
Back to me;
Once you have broken your habit down to a two-minute action, you can build from there. If you have mindfully done a “two-minute rule” you are a lot more likely to execute away from that point. And if you don’t, you still did the action for two minutes.
If you want a plan for the Gym I have two free offerings for you.
Offering 1: 10-minute Workouts:
I have an 8-week system, which I will send to you for free that is a series of 10min workouts. I originally wrote this for very busy mums who just didn’t have the time to workout at a Gym, and needed a no weights home system to just rack up the habit - it was really effective when I launched it.
It’s called The Beginners Bodyweight Workout Guide.
If you would like this free offering then please click here.
Offering 2: The Confident and Strong 4-Week Workout Manual
This is an In-Gym or At-Home solution for a month. Workouts are a little longer than 10 minutes, but to complete the program you just need 4 weeks. Every workout is written for you, and you can interchange the Gym solution or the Home solution depending on your circumstances. It is a complete workout manual that is designed to lower that barrier of entry and show you that movement can be effective in any situation.
Added to that after each workout it has a section where you are asked to give gratitude for the workout, and you can use that as your Journal as well.
If you would like The Confident and Strong Program 4-Week Workout Manual for free then click here
A Note on Neuro-Divergence
I didn’t know what this was until I got the question on TikTok from my sister from another mister.
But the term neurodivergent “refers to the concept that certain developmental disorders are normal variations in the brain. And people who have these features also have certain strengths.
Besides ADHD, neurodiversity commonly refers to people with:
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia
Other learning disabilities” [10]
As I am not a specialist in any aspect of these developmental disorders I can’t comment medically on how best to balance these with fitness and movement.
But I can give you my best opinion on it.
The way I see this is that people who are Neurodivergent have a special natural advantage that they can exploit.
Think of your divergence as a superpower.
And feel free to forget the standards that you hear about fitness because they may very often be antithetical to your divergence.
The fitness industry is still very behind in terms of adapting and making the space a suitable place to exist for people with disabilities. Heck, we are still a long way behind in making it an open space for people who have higher weight bodies.
But we are getting better.
Therefore it comes as no surprise to me, the accessibility to information for those who are Neurodivergent isn’t exactly there.
For example, traits of someone with ADHD are:
being unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings
constantly fidgeting
being unable to concentrate on tasks
excessive physical movement
excessive talking
being unable to wait their turn
acting without thinking
interrupting conversations
little or no sense of danger [11]
Some of these can be leaned into in terms of your movement. If your ADHD presents as constantly fidgeting, then maybe design a workout where you perform Tri-Sets (3 exercises back to back before rest periods) or perform larger circuits than normal to minimise rest periods.
If you find it hard to concentrate, then it might be wise to just aim to go to the Gym for 20 minutes more frequently, rather than try to be there for an hour and you exceed your capacity.
If your ADHD presents as little or no sense of danger, maybe consider going with a friend, and just ask them to keep an eye on you, as you don’t want to injure yourself, or get some sessions with a Personal Trainer so you can safely test your maximums and then know to work within those.
A common trait of people who are Dyslexic is that they can perceive visual information better than those without the condition. Therefore the Gym could be a marvellous place for them to explore their body through space and before each exercise as opposed to focusing on trying to track numbers and read books on working out, it might be a good idea to work towards making your lifts look better visually. Prepare yourself by looking at “optimal form” videos and show progress to yourself by working towards replicating that.
My point is that there are no set rules.
Fitness has guidelines, but the most important guideline is that you work in a manner that you find inspiring for yourself. The more you work against yourself, the harder fitness is full stop. So learn to manipulate fitness to your needs and how you need it to operate in your life.
Use your superpower to your advantage.
Rip up the rule book.
In the same we amend certain movement patterns to peoples ability so that they can get the most out of what they are doing, you also have the power to amend fitness to suit you.
Make your movement something that works for you, in your life, in your way.
That's all any of us ever do - and is the ultimate goal no matter who you are.
Did You Find This Useful?
Firstly I want to say a huge thank you for reading my article. If you are currently in a low mood or depression and are looking to use exercise as a way of helping you manage it, then I can tell you from my experience of working with people in this manner, physical movement is a phenomenal way of processing your emotions physically - in the same way Journalling is a great way of processing your emotions mentally.
I hope this has helped you feel like the bar can be lowered, so that you can see yourself being able to move and using it as a tool to manage your Mental Health in the future.
And of course, if you need to talk to anyone about your mental health then please see your Doctor or call one of the many many many fantastic charities in your country that can help you.
Across this website, I have other Articles all about managing your mental health through movement:
I would also love to invite you to grab some free fitness goodies from me, including a free month of coaching on The Strong and Confident Program
You also have a unique opportunity to grab some fitness goodies from me as a thank you for reading this article…to find out how…read more below:
Thank you so much for reading my article - I really hope you found it helpful.
You are also invited to get a bundle of Fat Loss Goodies from me including:
✅ Get yourself a free month of workouts (Home and Gym-based options)
✅ Get yourself a free copy of my e-book ”27 Ways To Faster Fast Loss”
✅ Get yourself a free customized Calorie Calculator
Straight to your Inbox
All you have to do is put your email address in below:
References:
SingleCare Team | Updated on Jan. 21, Team, S.C. & Team, S.C., 2021. Statistics about depression in the U.S. The Checkup. Available at: https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/depression-statistics/ [Accessed November 21, 2021].
Kube T, Rief W, Glombiewski JA. On the Maintenance of Expectations in Major Depression - Investigating a Neglected Phenomenon. Front Psychol. 2017;8:9. Published 2017 Jan 18. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00009
OED Definition of “Work”
OED Definition of “Out”
Anon, Workout word origin. Etymologeek. Available at: https://etymologeek.com/eng/workout [Accessed November 22, 2021].
Anon, 16/10/2016 green is good for you. Available at: http://www.unature.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Green-is-good-for-you.pdf [Accessed November 12, 2021].
Krpan, K.M. et al., 2013. An everyday activity as a treatment for depression: The benefits of expressive writing for people diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032713004448 [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Schroder, H.S., Moran, T.P. & Moser, J.S., 2017. The effect of expressive writing on the error‐related negativity among individuals with chronic worry. Wiley Online Library. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/psyp.12990 [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Anon, 2020. How to stop procrastinating by using the "2-Minute Rule". James Clear. Available at: https://jamesclear.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Wiginton, K., What is neurodiversity? WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/features/what-is-neurodiversity [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Anon, NHS choices. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/ [Accessed November 24, 2021].
4 Gym Workouts For Beginners Both Female and Male
The Gym. That place. With the lights on and lots of people who “know” what they are doing.
And you just don’t?
Well right now, as you are very much at the beginning of this article, you might not know what to do, and that’s ok.
But by the end of this article. You will feel confident, knowledgeable, and empowered to feel comfortable on the Gym floor and start your journey like the legend you are.
Read this article….and:
Continuing on our theme of creating legends - there is a ton of free help in this article - but I also send a lot of help to my friends. And I love getting new friends - I hope you do too.
And lets face it, if you are on my website, reading my article, as far as I am concerned you are already a dear friend to me.
If you would like me to send you some more help, like workouts, calorie calculators and lots of other things - some appropriate, some that are inappropriate (but that’s what being friends is all about right?) then please send me a friend request by filling out the form below.
And once you are finished with this article, you will have a message from me. in your Inbox confirming our new found friendship.
You have made a stellar choice
Table of Contents for “4 Gym Workouts for Beginners Both Female and Male”:
4 Gym Workouts for Beginners Both Female and Male
Myth Busting Your Fears Of The Gym — Overcoming Gym Anxiety
Gym Anxiety is caused by four main factors: Feeling uncertain, comparing to others, feeling judged, and feeling like you don’t belong.
The good news is that if you have ever spoken to a Psychologist or Psychotherapist they will all tell you one thing about feelings: They are temporary and can be worked upon to be improved. I’m not saying there is always a quick fix for your feelings, but knowing that you can work upon them to overcome fears and anxiety is a wholly positive thing. Therefore let's look at the causes of Gym Anxiety and then we can input a couple of strategies to help you
Fear #1: I Don’t Know What To Do In The Gym (feeling uncertain): Once upon a time in the world, that feeling was true of every human on the planet. Gyms didn’t exist and so no one knew what to do. How humanity got educated on the subject is that they explored. They picked stuff up, they moved their arms and legs in different ways to slowly establish what is now known as “The Human Movement System”
In the Gym, when it comes to exercise you must remember this:
“There is no right or wrong, just exploration”
— Adam Berry, The Gym Starter
If you still feel a little uncertain remember that hardly anyone in the Gym really knows what they are doing, but they do one thing really well.
They do what they enjoy and just keep repeating that.
And if you keep that at the heart of what you do, you will be just fine.
Another thing you can do is go into the Gym with an Online Coach in your pocket…that way you know you already have your number one cheerleader behind you, you have a plan all laid out, one that you have spoken about, read and learned and now you are prepared. And preparation protects you from failure. This is why in The Fitness Collective all my clients can print all their manuals off, or access them really easily on their smartphone so they know they have the power of the group behind them as they workout.
You can learn more about The Fitness Collective right here: https://www.thegymstarter.com/the-fitness-collective-sign-up
Fear #2: I can’t do what everyone else is doing so what's the point? (comparison):
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
— Theodore Roosevelt
It’s best if you stop comparing yourself to others as soon as possible, although that is easily said, not so easily done. But something that has helped my clients is the following phrase:
“Stop comparing your Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 14”
— Jordan Syatt
The gym is full of people. And rightly so, you have as much right to be there as anyone else does. But you have never walked a day in their shoes. You have no idea how long they have been going to the gym, what they do for work or the journey they are on. So stop thinking they are better than you, and you will never be able to catch them up…you aren’t supposed to catch them up. You’re supposed to be working on you, and that will take as long as it takes…and that's okay.
Fear #3: Everyone is Judging Me (judgment): This is a perfectly reasonable feeling to have and the truth is we have all felt like that. What is important to remember here is that everyone in the Gym is self-obsessed. They aren’t looking at you, they are looking at themselves.
Think of it like this: how much are you thinking about yourself when you go to a Gym?
Lots right? Well so is everyone else. Everyone else is thinking about themselves 1000x more than they are you.
Fear #4: Feeling Like You Don’t Belong: Every new environment is scary. Every new country you go to takes time to adapt to, every new house you move into feels a bit weird to begin with, every new job you start feels awkward at first.
But you don’t stop at the first sign of difficulty with those things, do you? You keep exposing yourself to it. You know that exposure leads to a feeling of comfort because the more you spend time somewhere the more normal it feels. This might take longer at the Gym than at a new office because you are only there for 1–3 hours a week. So if it has been a month or two, and you still feel like you are getting used to it, that is perfectly normal. You’re doing just fine.
4 Gym Workouts for Beginners Both Female and Male
How To Make The Gym Stick And To Remain Consistent In What You Are Doing
Here are some tips and advice on making the Gym Habit stick:
Have A Schedule — you must make sure you know when you are going to work out and have it in your diary. One of the biggest reasons clients work with me one on one is because they knew they had a session booked, and they weren’t prepared to let me down. You need to stop letting yourself down, put your workouts in your diary, and plan your day around them.
Have A Plan Of Action — The most successful Gym goers are working out on a plan. So make sure you have one ready. Get one off of the internet, to begin with, or join The Fitness Collective and get plans galore for your workouts. Knowing what you are doing is going to make you feel more confident in the Gym when you get there.
Keep A Packed Bag In Your Car — I know it sounds daft. But I have had clients have to cancel on me because they have forgotten their Gym kit. I’m sure you have a busy family life, and I’m sure you have a crazy schedule. So take another barrier away and always be prepared.
Join A Gym That Is Not Out Of Your Way — This might sound daft. But believe me, the difference between having a gym that is on your way to work compared to in the other direction of your house is huge. My Gym attendance skyrockets when I have a Gym that fits into my commute compared to when I don’t.
Don’t Rely On Motivation — I’ve spoken about this before so I’ll just leave my YouTube Video on the subject right here for you:
6. Make What You Do Fun — If you enjoy what you do you are more likely to do it and stick to it. At the heart of everything, enjoyment leads to adherence and adherence leads to consistency.
4 Gym Workouts for Beginners Both Female and Male
Four Beginners Workouts For Both Females and Males
There is no reason…no reason at all to split workouts up into female and male unless the female is pregnant and then there needs to be some other considerations. But in terms of Skeletal Muscle, and especially in terms of beginning a workout routine, we don’t need to change the workouts you will be doing based on your sex. But all of the main movement patterns that you will need to work on apply to both sexes.
But aren’t men stronger? When I write programmes for people that I don’t know I ask them to judge their workout using the RPE Scale. Which is a Scale between 1–10 and looks like this:
This scale is subjective. What one person might find as an RPE of 8, another might find as an RPE of 6.
Remember, there is no right or wrong, just exploration.
If you need more information on The RPE Scale then read this article I have written all about Home Workout and how to create your own one! https://www.thegymstarter.com/blog/2020/8/20/how-to-plan-and-design-a-home-workout-the-ultimate-guide
How Many Days A Week Will You Workout For?
This is completely personal to you. The main factor in deciding this is as a beginner is to do whatever feels the best for you. Do whatever you are enjoying the most, and that is all you should expect from yourself.
I will make all four workouts for you Full Body so that you can get the most from the time you are spending at the Gym, especially if its all still new to you.
I would expect these workouts to take between 30–45mins. If they take longer…don't worry about it. That is perfectly fine. There is no right or wrong…just exploration. I’d also love to say at this point that there might be exercises in these workouts that you find hard, difficult, or just too hard.
That’s ok.
If you need to substitute things in that work for your body then you can.
That’s ok.
If you don’t know what some exercises are, then research them.
That’s ok.
There are target reps on each exercise…but if you can’t do 12 reps of the weights you have chosen.
That’s ok.
Let your RPE dictate what weights you will do as much as possible, and you will learn to balance the two against each other.
If you still feel lost in the jungle of the Gym Floor, most Gyms and Trainers are willing to give you an introduction. Call beforehand, book yourself in with a professional and just ask the trainer to talk you through your plan. They will be more than willing to do that.
There is nothing wrong with asking for help. At the end of the day that is the sole job of Gym Staff: to make sure you are safe, to make sure you want to continue coming to the Gym, and to help you as much as possible.
It also shouldn’t cost you. Gym Staff have a duty to help you figure out exercises safely and machines safely in order to make sure you don’t hurt yourself in their venue. If they do ask for money…then drop me a message on Instagram (www.instagram.com/thegymstarter) and we can arrange a call to chat through everything and what to do in the Gym for you.
The Workouts
KEY: DB = Dumbbell, KB = KettleBell, BB = Barbell, BW =Bodyweight, Band = Resistance Band
KEY: Super Set = Both exercises with no rest in between, Circuit = All exercises with rest as stated, Tri Set = All exercises with no rest in between
Workout 1 — FULL BODY STRENGTH WORKOUT
The Full Body Strength Workout requires some Dumbells, some Barbells, and some Machines. It takes you through all three main movement patterns of Legs, Push and Pull and has a great little circuit at the end for you to do. With this workout, you are looking to be quite tired at the end of each set, and make sure you take your rest because the rest will allow you to put more into the next set you are about to do. Grab a weight that you find challenging, that you think will make it tough whilst keeping form and adjust from there. It also uses three different arrangements of your Sets; the traditional 3x12, Super Sets, and a Circuit.
Workout 2 — FULL BODY MACHINE STRENGTH WORKOUT
The Full Body Machine Strength Workout is there for you if you don’t quite have the confidence to pick up some Dumbells and Barbells yet. Just like the Free Weight workout, it will take you through all movements of Push, Pull, Legs, and again, take your rest so you can put in as much effort as possible over a set. Again, set the weights to levels you will find challenging without losing form.
Workout 3 — FULL BODY BANDS, BALLS AND BELLS WORKOUT
The Full Body Bands, Balls and Bells workout uses Resistance Bands, Medicine Slam Balls, and Kettlebells. This is all free-standing work and you will need to have a certain element of confidence when it comes to the Squat and Catches. However, to make that easier you can bounce the ball into the wall or just do a Squat and Press (Squat Thruster) with the ball. Again, this workout follows Push, Pull, Legs and includes two circuit arrangements. You need a good playlist for this workout so join me on Spotify here: The Fitness Collective on Spotify
Workout 4 — FULL BODY HIIT WORKOUT
The Full Body Beginners HIIT Workout should take 20–30mins to complete. Unlike the other workouts, as this will require higher loads and slightly quicker tempo you should maybe get slightly lighter weights. But again, exploration is key until you get the balance you are looking for.
If you are unsure about any of the exercises in any of these workouts, then please head to my YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/thegymstarter) where a lot of them are explained. Or if I haven’t covered them someone on YouTube will have.
4 Gym Workouts for Beginners Both Female and Male
Do’s and Dont’s For The Gym
I do not want to scare you into not going to the gym by giving you a whole bunch of rules that you need to remember as well.
So this is a list about how you will get the most out of what it is you are doing.
The Gym is your space to explore, but it is a shared space…so just remember its nice to be nice. These aren’t rules about whether you should train topless or not…yes…I have been in Gyms where this happens. Just be nice and courteous and you will do just fine.
But in truth, there is nothing you can do that will cause the building to burn down…except start a fire.
Dos:
Learn to enjoy yourself: This is your top priority, at the Gym. If you can master this everything else will come very easily for you.
Leave your ego behind: A Gym is a place where you are reminded of your humanity. It’s a fantastic equalizer between humans because everyone is there for one thing…improvement. You are in an environment of self-development…not narcissism. Behave accordingly.
Lift Lighter, rather than heavier: I always encourage people to pick up a weight they can move with confidence, rather than one that is just too big and bulky they can’t even get it off the rack. Erring on the side of caution will give you cause in those moments to improve your form, do more reps and give you a great sense of accomplishment.
Track your numbers: Seeing small changes bit by bit is very hard. That is why tracking your numbers at the Gym is really important. Your Sets, your Reps, your weight lifted, and your RPE. Over three to six months when you look back…you will be amazed at how far you have actually come…even though it might not feel like it.
Take a “Work In Process Photo” when you start: Every client I have ever trained has said the same thing when their weight loss journey has been a success: “I wish I took a photo 9 months ago”. I understand it can be well out of your comfort zone, but you will be so gutted if you don’t do it, and you throw yourself into working out fully.
For more information on what a “Work In Process Photo” is and how to take one then read this article that is changing the Fitness Industry’s views on Before and After Pics: https://www.thegymstarter.com/blog/2020/7/1/how-do-you-track-weight-loss-with-progress-photos
Be open to the idea of a challenge: It is meant to be hard. It is meant to be a challenge and it is meant to work you over. Remember it is called a workout for a very good reason.
“If your workout feels breezy, it’s too easy” — Adam Berry, The Gym Starter
Trust your instinct and listen to yourself — is Cardio good for weight loss? Well…do you enjoy doing Cardio? If you do…then do that. If a Lunge hurts your knees, then find an alternative that doesn’t…like a Sumo Squat. You are not a slave to your workout. It is very important that you find freedom within the structure. That means if you fancy going a bit off-piste then DO IT! It will help you develop independence and autonomy…and that is really important for your confidence.
Dont’s:
Think it will only take 3 months — give yourself the time you deserve. If you are getting into this with the idea that all your problems will be over in just three months…please rethink your timeline
Restrict yourself with short term goals — although I understand the sentiment of “losing weight for your wedding” or “getting beach ready for Marbella 2021” personally, I don’t think it's very helpful. It can lead you into very narrow paths of focusing just on your aesthetic health, and that can be a very up and down path to tread throughout your process.
Be disheartened if your workout sucked — we all have a rough workout, where we feel low on energy, low on mood and we are just going through the motions. This is one reason I want you to make sure the weights you are lifting is challenging you…it needs to be the sole focus of what you are doing at that moment in time. This is how working out keeps you in the present…and not thinking about next week's shopping list. If your workout does suck, just chalk it off, give yourself a pat on the back for getting something done and try to understand what happened to make it a bit more rubbish:
Maybe you had a tough day at work, maybe you had a bad night's sleep last night, maybe you hadn’t eaten something close enough to your workout so you felt a bit low on energy.
Let your environment stop you from achieving — not all Gyms are created equal. They all have different equipment and different machines. But Google is a wonderful thing, and if there is an exercise you cannot do because the equipment isn’t there just type in “[Exercise name] alternative exercise” there will always be another way to solve the puzzle.
Use the mantra “No pain no gain” — if you are in pain, STOP what you are doing. You’re an adult. I am sure you know the difference between a muscle working, and pain in your body. If you are in pain, or something hurts, listen to yourself and find alternatives away from the pain.
4 Gym Workouts for Beginners Both Female and Male
Conclusion
At the start of this article, I asked you to let me help you become a legend.
If you follow this format, your fears and anxiety about going to the gym, not knowing what to do in the Gym should be under control.
The key message to remember is that the Gym is there for you to explore yourself in.
There is no right or wrong.
Just be yourself, focus on doing the work, and allow yourself the time to change.
Give it two months…and I am sure you will be walking into the Gym like this:
And sending me an email saying…
“Adam…I cannot believe what I was scared of in the first place. Thank you so much”
And you will have made my day. Nay my week.
Good luck, Happy lifting and I can’t wait to see your progress.
If you want some more guidance and coaching from just £20/month then you can join The Fitness Collective right now.
-Coach Adam
Did You Find This Useful?
I have plenty more articles about Working Out on this website.
Here is a selection I think would make great further reading for you:
Thank you so much for reading my work.
Speak to you again soon
Coach Adam
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
I know this article is coming a little late into the “Lockdown” Home Workout Game…but cut me some slack. I did still have a business to run and build, and The Fitness Collective is now allowing me to sit down and write really helpful content for you. Like this.
The Home Workout. It’s a funny beast.
From where I am sat, it is something you know you could do. But it just isn’t that easy to actually execute.
And it doesn’t matter how many times you intend to do one, finding the right energy for it just seems elusive.
And I’ll let you in on a little secret…
During Lockdown I was really struggling to do Home Workouts too.
But keep that between you and me, please.
I’ve been writing Home Workouts for The Fitness Collective for many years now. From 10min Bodyweight Workouts to full-blown Programmes, and with great results I might add. Putting this format of a workout alongside their nutritional adherence to a Calorie Deficit here are some results:
From doing a minimum of 70mins a week I have had one client lose 26lbs. Another client has lost 14lbs by following this programme which I have laid out here. And using this format on the Gym Floor lost another client of mine 24lbs.
I know it works, and I have been using formats very similar to this for years as a one on one Coach as well as an Online Coach. This isn’t a program I learned in a book or even a method that I found out on some secret trainer coaching call.
This is a format I have been intuitively using with all of my clients for the last 5 years.
It keeps training fun, it keeps training optimal and it allows clients to feel progress but not feel overworked. It’s not a quick fix or a fast solution. It’s sustainable, achievable and the results stick over a long period of time.
There are a lot of issues out there with the way that many trainers structure and write a Home Workout for you, so my plan right now is to give you a plug and play formula, one that will challenge you every time you workout and will never get boring or too easy for you.
One that you can change at any moment if you wish, one where you can switch up exercises when you get bored of them or feel like you need a different challenge, however
This is way more advanced than a 20min Booty Workout on YouTube.
But because it's advanced, it doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be able to do it. It means this Article is going to take you through:
Table of Conetents for: How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
So if you’re ready…
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
GETTING INTO THE RIGHT MINDSET FOR A HOME WORKOUT
Knowing that you are going to the gym to do a workout is quite straightforward, and although you will have good days and bad days with that, you still seem to have the right energy for it when you are there.
But at Home that energy doesn’t exist.
And this is perfectly normal. Many, many, many people struggle to workout from home.
This relates to something called Environmental Productivity.
When everyone around you is working on the same thing you sense that energy and it keeps you accountable for what you want to do too. It helps keep you motivated. It's like going to study at a Library, despite having a perfectly good set up at home. The energy about the place matches your driven desire for your action.
So how can you create a Gym Environment at Home to help you get motivated to do the workouts?
Try Cranking Up The Music
Gyms have specific music on for specific reasons. The ideal Beats Per Minute for a Strength Training Workout is 130–140 for each song. Here Spotify has done the hard work for you and it groups Music by BPM: This Playlist is one example of that.
If you want a Playlist full of inspirational music for the Gym which we use in The Fitness Collective then all you have to do is click here: The Fitness Collective Spotify Playlist
Use Stock Footage Of Other People Working Out
You can head to YouTube and just get rolling footage of other people working out. Put it on your TV and away you go…it will be like you are working out next to other people who are doing the same thing as you.
One Example of that footage is right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfWaGAgU4ms
Give Yourself A Journey To Your Gym
Lay out everything you need for the Gym. Your Weights, your Mat, your Towel, your Water Bottle, put the stock footage on your TV, and start your music playing.
Then leave your house dressed and ready to workout.
Walk around the block knowing that when you re-enter it is not your Home. It’s your gym. Just make the walk 5 minutes and treat it as your workout.
That way when you enter your home, you will see it as a different space, and it will feel more like a fresh space for you.
Peter Hall, the very famous RSC Director said:
“The first act of creativity is sweeping the floor”
That is what you need to do. Clear the decks and set it up as your Home Workout space. Then clear your mind and your physical state by leaving the space and returning with a different intention.
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
Are Home Workouts Effective to Lose Weight and/or Build Muscle?
Let’s look at this a little more objectively.
Are you able to get to a Gym? If so…then go to the gym to workout. You can increase the loads and perform much more optimal exercises for your body.
I highly doubt you have a Barbell at home…
Are you unable to go to a Gym? This could be for many reasons. Maybe you are scared of the Gym or it makes you feel uncomfortable. Maybe you have young children and can’t find the time. Maybe you can’t afford a Gym. All valid reasons and understandable reasons for your desire to workout at home, and this is why working out at home can be effective for you.
If you do get intimidated by a Gym environment then please read this article which has helped hundreds of people overcome their fear: https://www.thegymstarter.com/blog/how-to-stop-worrying-about-going-to-the-gym
If you fall into the “Unable To Go To The Gym” demographic then yes…home workouts can be effective for you. But they aren’t going to help you lose weight or build muscle unless you are a beginner and experience those “newbie” gains.
In order to Lose Weight, you must be in a Caloric Deficit
In order to Gain Weight and therefore Build Muscle, you must be in a Caloric Surplus.
So in truth, we need to be asking better questions of your Home Workouts (your Gym workouts too).
Your calories will always determine your ability to lose or gain weight. Your workouts will decide how you feel about yourself when doing either of these goals.
We need to be asking questions like:
Will this workout improve my ability to move? Will this workout help me improve how I feel about myself? Will this workout increase my mood? Will this workout boost my confidence? Will this workout give me a sense of accomplishment?
And the answer to every single one of those is Yes. A Home Workout will do that, provided you continue to follow some key principles laid out in the rest of this article.
Using these questions is how I have managed to focus the minds of my clients which has allowed them to get such great results when they just workout at home. Clients who have worked for just 10mins a day, do it every day. Therefore over a week, they are getting in at least 70mins of exercise a week. This plan is based on doing more than that in terms of time, but less frequently in terms of days.
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
What Exercises Should You Do In A Home Workout?
Exactly the same exercises you would do in the Gym.
Thanks, Ron.
Let me clarify.
When I build a workout for anybody I will focus it around three movement patterns groups:
Push / Pull / Squat or Legs
And your Home Workouts should be no different at all. The issue we have here is that access to your ability to Push and Pull will be hindered by the equipment you have available to you.
To accommodate for this, you can allow a bigger bias to your Leg Exercises, which will keep the workouts very challenging for you.
Exercise Selection will always be based around the Muscle Groups of Push/Pull/Squat or Legs and then you will choose exercises starting with the Compound Movements.
These are:
Primary: Squat, Deadlift, Pull Up, Bench Press, Overhead Press
Secondary: Incline Row, Barbell Row, Push Up
As you are working out at home, personally I believe you should be doing three Full Body Workouts a week. These should be between 40–60mins in duration. You can do more, you can do less. It is entirely up to you. What is most important for your training is that you put it into a format that you enjoy, and will, therefore, keep adherent too.
Consistency is and always will be the most important part of ANY training program.
The majority of your workouts at home will be Compound Work (Multiple Muscle Focus). However, you can sneak a few Isolated (Single Muscle Focus) Movements in there too if you so wish.
The following lists will have crossovers for your Muscles and may engage many other muscle groups as well…but that’s ok. Also, the following list is where I would start…that doesn’t mean that other exercises aren’t justified.
The numbers next to each exercise is a difficulty rating based on a beginner working out, 1=Easy, 5=Hard. The difficulty is always subjective and just because an exercise is rated as 5 doesn’t mean you need to avoid it. What you are willing to put into your plan is completely up to you and I would recommend you challenge yourself as much as possible, whilst feeling safe and having a sense of accomplishment from what you are doing.
We can also limit or increase the intensity of an exercise and that will be very important for you to manage as you write and develop through your program (more on this in the section “What Sets and Reps Should You Do In A Home Workout”)
An exercise with FB written next to them means you can use them as a Full Body Compound as well
Bodyweight Push Movements (Compound)
Push Up (4), Incline Push Up (1–3), Wall Push Up (1), Bear Crawl (3), Spider Climbers FB (5), Push Up Plank (3), Mountain Runners (2), Pike Push Up (4), Hindu Push Up (5), Long Plank (4), Full Plank (3), Cobra Stretch (1), Stop Press Push Up (3), Walkout FB (2), Burpee FB (5)
Bodyweight Pull Movements (Compound)
Bodyweight Deadlift FB (1), Good Mornings (1), Towel Row (3), Bird Dog (2), Supermans (1), Prone Back Extension (1), Renegade Row (3)
Bodyweight Pull Movements (Isolation)
I’s, Y’s and T’s (2), Prone T (2), Wall Angel (3), Cobra Wings (2).
Bodyweight Leg Movements (Compound)
Squat (2), Forward Lunge (4), Squat Jump (4), Split Squat (3), Sumo Squat (2), Bulgarian Split Squat (5), Split Squat Jumps (5), Squat Pulse (3), Split Squat Pulse (4), Sumo Squat Pulse (4), Reverse Lunge (2), Side Lunge (3), Walking Lunge (3)
Bodyweight Leg Movements (Isolation)
Single-Leg Glute Bridge (3), Glute Bridge (1), Frog Pump (3), Clamshells (1)
If you have one set of Dumbells or one Single Kettlebell at Home you can add in any of these exercises:
Please note these exercises are not rated for difficulty as it will depend on the weight you have at Home
Push Movements (Compound)
Floor Chest Press, Overhead Press, Floor Chest Flyes, Arnold Press, Seated Overhead Press, Floor Pullover, Squat and Press FB.
Push Movements (Isolation)
Lateral Raise, DB or Bodyweight Arm Circles, Front Raises.
Pull Movements (Compound)
Deadlift FB, Bent Over Row, Renegade Row, Seated Low Row, Single Arm Row, KB or DB Swing FB, KB Halo, KB Single Arm Deadlift FB, KB Single Leg Deadlift.
Push Movements (Isolation)
Reverse Flyes, Upright Row.
Leg Movements (Compound)
Goblet Squat, Squat and Press FB. You can also add weight to any of the Leg Movements detailed above.
Leg Movements (Isolation)
Romanian Deadlift. You can also add weight to any of the Leg Movements detailed above.
Own Preference Training
This refers to anything additional you want to work on. This could be an Ab Circuit, some additional Arm Work, some Mobility Focus, anything you want to work on that is additional to your Goals. For example, in The Fitness Collective, we run Exercise Challenges, and you could insert that here.
Putting These Exercises Into A Structured Workout
A good dynamic warm-up is important for working out if you went for a brisk walk beforehand that’s a great start, and then from there just go into some Squat Swings, Arm Swings and any form of light movement that gets the heart rate elevated and your limbs moving.
Then you are going to use this structure (please note RPE is explained in the next section):
Full Body or Leg Compound (RPE = 9)
Leg Compound (RPE = 9)
Push Compound (RPE = 9)
Pull Compound (RPE = 8)
Leg Compound (RPE = 8)
Push Compound or Isolation (RPE = 8)
Pull Compound or Isolation (RPE = 8)
Leg Isolation (RPE = 7)
Leg Isolation (RPE = 7)
Own Preference Training (RPE =7)
What About Rest Periods? Your rest period between each exercise will be determined by your RPE. Therefore if you found an exercise was an RPE of 9 you would need longer to rest as opposed to if it was just a 7. You can dictate your rest, as long as within each set you reach your desired RPE.
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
What Sets and Reps Should You Do In A Home Workout?
This is where so many Home Workouts fail you.
The typical Home Workout will tell you to do one of these many things:
The HIIT Format
30secs of said exercise, 10 seconds rest, or 40secs of said exercise, 20secs rest, etc, etc.
The Strength Format
3 Sets of 12 Reps, 5 Sets of 5 Reps, etc, etc.
The Failure Format
Do every exercise to exhaustion
It is impossible for myself as your trainer, or for anyone else to know truly how many Sets and Reps you need to do to gain what you need to gain from a Home Workout. We have formats in the Gym Environment of what Rep Range you need to work for, for certain outcomes. However at home, as you more than likely won't have enough weight to challenge yourself to the desired outcome across a Set you will need to judge everything based on your RPE, not Reps.
Therefore you need to learn to develop how many sets and reps you are capable of doing whilst sticking to the desired RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) across the set.
What is RPE?
RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. It’s a scale of 1–10 of how exhausted you feel once you have finished a set of exercises.
1 = you can do it all-day
10 = you need a 10-minute rest once you are finished
What RPE Should You Work For?
Across the whole workout, you want to walk away feeling like you worked at an RPE of 7–8.
One of the principles behind making workouts successful and effective is that of a Progressive Overload. This is the concept that every workout you try and do a little bit better than you did before. This could be: More Reps, More Sets, Longer Time Exercising, Better Form or Lifting More Weight.
When you judge a workout on your RPE your Progressive Overload is taken care of by itself as you adapt. Month One your 5kg Goblet Squat could be an RPE of 8 which is your target exertion level.
Then in Month Three, the exact same exercise, for the same amount of Reps might only make you feel like you worked at an RPE of 6.
When this happens you need to add in Progressive Overload. You can now improve your form, do more Reps, add in an extra set or add more weight to make sure you keep your Exercise at your target RPE of 8.
How To Structure Your Sets
You can structure your Sets however you want and in whatever format you desire.
You can stick to a traditional Strength Training Format which would be typically 3 Sets and as many Reps as you need to hit your RPE.
You can group the exercises into Circuits. The time for each exercise will be determined again by your RPE. If you find an exercise easier then do it for longer, or rest for a shorter time period. If you find the exercise harder then do it for less time, and rest for more time.
You can Super Set the exercises which is when you do two exercises back to back and give yourself no rest between each set.
To begin with, whilst you are figuring out how hard you are working over a Set to get your RPE then aim to work towards the traditional 3 Sets of 12 Reps format.
Or if you want to do a more HIIT Style of training use the 40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest structure.
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
An Example Training Programme Based On This Structure
Here is a Training Programme you can take straight into your Training based on the structure I have outlined in this article.
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
What Equipment Do You Need For A Home Workout?
Luckily, you don’t need a Golden Retriever to do your Reverse Crunches.
This Article has laid down a plan that should allow you to build some amazing workouts for yourself without any equipment at all.
I’m called The Gym Starter and part of that means I want to make Exercise as accessible as possible for you, hence giving you a plan that requires no investment other than your own body.
That being said, most people know someone or can get their hands on some equipment, and if that’s something you want to find out more then here is what I would personally recommend:
Dumbbells: They don’t have to be flashy but do need to be heavy and if you can get some they will certainly make your Home Workouts more interesting. I would recommend anything two 5kgs Dumbells or above.
5kg Dumbbells are heavy for many beginners especially when they are dong Isolation Exercises. But as you know by now, at Home we want to work as many Compound Movements into your workouts as possible, and 10kgs+ in those movement patterns is going to make them a lot more effective for your body.
Kettlebells: The exact same rules apply here as with Dumbells. A Kettlebell is a wonderful tool for your Home Workouts, but if you can only afford one KB, try getting a 10–12kg+ Kettlebell. This will make exercises like your Deadlift and Goblet Squat a lot more effective for you.
TRX/Suspension Trainer: If you can get a Suspension Trainer it will add another dimension to your workouts, especially your Back Exercises. They are super safe to use, hook over your door, and super fun too. An official TRX is quite expensive, but there are plenty of affordable Suspension Trainers on the Market, and I do recommend them to clients.
Yoga Mat: You will be doing a lot of floor work and making that feel more comfortable is important. If you are going to add in a lot of Ab Work in your Own Preference Training then maybe consider getting quite a thick Yoga Mat to just help with that.
Resistance Bands/Mini Bands: I do love a Resistance Bands as they are really cheap and can very much add a useful dimension to your workouts.
If you can add those three items to your arsenal of Workout Equipment then you will do very well. But you shouldn’t be spending 100s of Dollars on this stuff.
I always say to clients, lets see how you get on being consistent with just your Bodyweight first, then we can look at investing in some equipment. The last thing I want is for you to spend $200 on all of this stuff, and it just collects dust, making you feel like you aren’t achieving what you want, and therefore making you feel rubbish about yourself every time you come across it.
How To Plan And Design A Home Workout — The Ultimate Guide
Conclusion
Now it’s your turn. Go and be creative. Go and create your workouts and explore what your body can do.
You now have a format that you can adapt completely for your own individual circumstances and you can create a fantastic training programme for yourself at home.
Track your progress, write down your RPEs on every workout and when you get bored of a workout change either the exercises or the workout structure.
Here is a Blank Template you can download and use for your Home Workouts:
And that’s it.
Have fun.
And make sure you let me know how your progress goes.
Did You Find This Useful?
I have plenty more articles about working out throughout this website.
Here is a selection I think would make great further reading for you:
Wait! There’s More…
You are also invited to get a bundle of Weight Loss Goodies from me including:
Get yourself a free month of workouts (Home and Gym-based options)
Get yourself a free copy of my e-book ”27 Ways To Faster Fast Loss”
Get yourself a free customized Calorie Calculator
Straight to your Inbox
All you have to do is put your email address in below:
