I haven’t been a beginner in the gym in a long time. I’ve been training for the better part of 12 years, and I feel very comfortable in almost any gym environment, which sometimes gives me a weird perspective on how other people might be feeling.
Just because I don’t get uncomfortable in a gym doesn’t mean that I’m comfortable all the time everywhere else.
Put me in the middle of a sale at Nordstrom, and I’ll suddenly start squirming uncontrollably before I walk outside for a breather.
Likewise, babysitting children, forget it. I have no idea what kids are supposed to be doing at any given time. “Oh your mom lets you play 4 hours of Grand Theft Auto before bed? Sounds good to me! Say, do you happen to like White Russians?”
I’m a list guy. Tell me to do something, and there’s about a 25% chance it gets done. If you put that request on a list for me though, that number increases to a strong 80%. (Hey, I’m not perfect).
Lists are easy ways of accomplishing large feats, by breaking them down into small manageable chunks. That’s why the best recipes and instructions are written in an easy to understand detailed list format.
So what do list making and babysitting children have to do with fitness? The common denominator is that no matter what kind of task you are going to accomplish, it’s much easier to have a plan.
This applies tenfold to scenarios where you might not be the most comfortable with your surroundings. It’s much more pleasant to be able to pull out the master plan and instead of seeing “WORKOUT YOU FUCKING IDIOT” you see “Reverse Lunge. 3 Sets of 10 Repetitions per leg.
Beyond the level of comfort that you get with having a plan when you walk in the gym is the accountability to yourself and to the plan writer. So much better if that person has written a plan that is custom built for you and your body.
Additionally, it always bugs me when I see an obvious beginner who is looking to lose a few pounds doing a bodybuilding 6 day split that their coach ripped off from a Men’s Health Magazine.
Having a plan is great, but having a plan that is easy to understand, fits your goals, and adds a level of accountability is great-er.
If recipes were written the same way that many coaches write program for their trainees they would look something like this:
Uncle Touchie’s Chocolate Cake
–A bunch of flour
–Several Eggs
–Misc spices and/or baking soda
–Mix ingredients well and heat until cake-like. Make sure to add frosting (For recipe, please submit additional 9.99 frosting fee.)
–Serve at birthday party
A bad recipe only yields bad results. Make sure that you have a good plan before you start, and your journey will be much easier and much more productive.
If you’re interested in losing fat and keeping all your lean muscle mass, try this workout next time you go into the gym unarmed.
Warmup:
15 bodyweight squats
50 medium band pull aparts
15 Shoulder Taps per side – from a pushup position, touch your left hand to your R shoulder, repeat.
Workout:
Superset:
Reverse Lunge with Dumbbells (DB)
with
Single Arm DB Row
Do both for 3 sets of 12/10/8 reps. Add 5lbs per set as the reps get lower.
Rest 45 sec at the end of every set.
Tri Set:
Goblet Squat x15
DB Thruster (squat to press) x10
Bodyweight Squat Jumps x 5
Repeat x 3 sets
Rest 60 sec at the end of every set.
Then:
100 Jumping Jacks.
At the end, do 1 burpee for every 15 seconds it took to complete all 100.
Finisher:
30 Seconds of Kettlebell Swings
5 Pushups
Repeat x 5 rounds. No rest between rounds.
Give this fat loss workout a try next time you’re in the gym and need a plan. For a full custom training and nutrition plan, send me an email at n8trainingsystems@gmail.com.
It’s important to me to know where each person I train is coming from, so in your email in 2 sentences or less, please describe what standard gym workout would look like for you today.
