Getting Back Into It

Getting Back Into It

Let's make it FUN AND EASY
SO.. IT'S BEEN A WHILE and you want to get back and make a fresh start. Whether its your New Year's Resolution, your birthday wish, or a personal goal, the decision to go back is the best decision you've made in a while. But before you hit the gym and start hitting the weights hard, there are other few decisions that you have to made to make sure that you stay on the right track.

First and foremost is obtaining the information required to get back on track. Using the internet is a great way to inform yourself on anything that has to deal with health and fitness. With fitness, living healthy, and eating healthy at the forefront of society, any information that you require will not be that hard to find.

There are may things you should research before hitting the gym. Looking at your present condition is very important when it comes to going back to the gym. If you have any medical conditions, we suggest that you contact a medical professional before moving forward. The second thing to look is a nutrition and supplement schedule. By eating healthy and supplementing your diet with vitamins, minerals, and other supplements, you can move back on the road to a healthy lifestyle faster. Finally there is the workout schedule and learning the proper techniques for all the exercises.

Knowing the information that you get from books or the Internet is sometimes not enough. Having all that knowledge is not going to help loose the weight that you've built up in that midsection over the weeks, months, or even years. You have to take action and APPLY that knowledge to get some production, and see the changes that you've always dreamed of. This article will go through all the important aspects that you need to consider to make your comeback a successful one.

The first thing to look at is the gym environment. Is the location convenient If not, try and find one that works for you, i.e., is it close to your home, on your way to work, or perhaps close enough for a lunch time visit. Does it have the things you want? Perhaps a rowing machine, life cycle, treadmill, basketball court, track, etc. These things will make it EASY to push the YES BUTTON?? to go into the gym and keep your motivation going. Having a gym at a close proximity also increases your chances of having a friend in the same neighborhood or workplace go the gym with you as your workout partner.

Let's choose a good time. What will make it easy for you? Are you a morning person?
If you are, that is great because the gyms are not usually busy in the mornings and the workouts can be nice and quick. Working out in the morning, with weights or cardio, will give you that extra boost of energy to get you through the day and plus morning workouts means you don't have to drag yourself into the gym after a long day at work.

Lunchtime is great time to hit the gym as well. Keep in mind it is a good idea to have lunch after your workout or a light snack. Again, like the morning workouts, the lunch workout will give you that much needed wake up call if you've been having a slow day or that stress reliever if you have one of those long days.

Also, I personally love an after work gym visit. It may seem like at the end of the day that you are mentally and perhaps physically burnt out but in actual fact, this is the BEST time to work out. This works well for me because I don't have to hurry my and I don't have to worry if I'm going to be late. It's a time where I can relax and don't have to think about work.

Once at the gym, change into your favorite workout clothes. My suggestion would be nothing too tight or too loose. Wear something that makes you look good and feel good. If you look good and feel good you will be more confident and therefore more comfortable at the gym.

The Atmosphere
While it is great to work out in a nearly empty gym I think it is even better to train in a gym that is somewhat busy. Why? You ask. While it is true that the workouts are fast when there is barely anyone in the gym, one thing I fine is that it is sometimes boring, for myself I like the sound of the weights clanging when it is being lifted or pushed, or the sound of someone letting out a somewhat subdued grunt as he/she struggles to push for one more repetition, the sound of a person pushing a partner to keep the form straight. To me, seeing and hearing these sounds in the background are my motivations. This is what keeps me coming back, giving me that drive to work harder.

When you get into the workout area it may sometimes seem overly busy and you might feel intimidated. Don't be. In actual fact, this is a great advantage to you. WHY? Because this is where you learn to do the proper technique as well as learn different varieties of exercise not to mention hard work, effort and commitment. These people have been in your shoes, they didn't start out muscular they worked hard at it and they were where you are now so don't be intimated or be afraid to ask for pointers. Every person that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting have been nothing but nice to me and everyone else.

Your Attitude
Whatever you want to accomplish in that gym will not happen until you have the right attitude for it. There are two types of people who go to the gym. The first types are those that have two personalities once they get into that weight room. They attack those weights with reckless abandon, with intensity that you can see in their faces that have a somewhat angry look when doing the exercise. And yet after the set or the exercise their demeanor is the nice and easygoing. The second type are those just goes to the gym just so they can say that they went to the gym ? no effort, no motivation, and therefore very little if any results.

If you have a positive attitude that will produce a trickle down effect amongst the people that works out in that place because they will take you more seriously and respect you for what you are trying to accomplish and in their own way assist you in accomplishing it.

By saying hello and meeting another person you will quickly find out who the positive and friendly people are. Those are the people to mentor yourself with. I personally like it when I have had kind of a so so day and I come to the gym and someone comes and says hello to me. This is a very warm feeling and it makes you feel good to be going to the gym.

The Workout
What kind of workout should we do? There are tons of routines out there that you can follow but those routines are set for a 12-week program. What we are trying to accomplish here is to give you the basics and ease you back into the gym after a long layoff so as to prevent injury as well as get a better feel for the equipments, your body and its capabilities and your routine. Getting back and establishing a routine usually takes 1-2 weeks. One basic foundation is having two easy parts per workout where the core principles for a workout are two fold. One, a resistance-training component (that's doing weights), and the second one is a cardio component (treadmill, recumbent bike, fast walking, a jog/run, rowing machine, stepper) whatever opportunities you see before you.

An example of my Get Back Into The Gym Program goes something like this:

Week 1 and 2

Day 1

? Warm-up - 10 minutes ? (treadmill, recumbent bike, fast walking, a jog/run, rowing machine, stepper)

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

? Weights

Chest
Dumbbell Press ? 12,12,10, (this means there are 4 sets, the first
two sets are 12 repetitions, and the last two are 10)
Incline Dumbbell Press ? 10,10
Shoulders
Dumbbell Military Press ? 12,10,10
Front or Side Lateral Raise ? 10,10
Triceps
Pulldowns ? 10,10
Kickbacks ? 10,10

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

Day 2

? Warm-up - 10 minutes

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

? Weights

Legs
Dumbbell or Barbell Squats ? 12, 10, 10
Leg extensions ? 10, 10, 10
Leg Curls ? 10,10,10
Back
Cable Row ? 10, 10
Lat Pulldown ? 10,10
Biceps
Alternating Dumbbell Curls ? 10, 10
Barbell Curls ? 10, 10

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

Day 3

? Warm-up ? 10 minutes

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

? Cardio ? 20-30 minutes

Day 4

? Warm-up - 10 minutes ? (treadmill, recumbent bike, fast walking, a jog/run, rowing machine, stepper)

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

? Weights

Chest
Dumbbell Press ? 12,12,10, (this means there are 4 sets, the first
two sets are 12 repetitions, and the last two are 10)
Incline Dumbbell Press ? 10,10
Shoulders
Dumbbell Military Press ? 12,10,10
Front or Side Lateral Raise ? 10,10
Triceps
Pulldowns ? 10,10
Kickbacks ? 10,10

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

Day 5

? Warm-up - 10 minutes

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

? Weights

Legs
Dumbbell or Barbell Squats ? 12, 10, 10
Leg extensions ? 10, 10, 10
Leg Curls ? 10,10,10
Back
Cable Row ? 10, 10
Lat Pulldown ? 10,10
Biceps
Alternating Dumbbell Curls ? 10, 10
Barbell Curls ? 10, 10

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

Day 6

? Warm?up ? 10 minutes

? Stretch ? 10 minutes

? Cardio ? 20-30 minutes

Day 7

? Rest

NOTE: This routine is design specifically to get you back into the swing of things it is important to start out with light weights and concentrate more on the form or the exercise rather than the amount of poundage you are lifting.

Your Nutrition: You are what you eat ? and I?m sure you know by now what and which food is good for you and which is bad, the decision is yours to finally change your eating habits. Six small meals a day will increase you metabolism and decrease your cravings. These meals can consist of replacement meals small sandwiches with fruits and veggies.

Just like the workout program ? the nutrition part also take about a week to get into a proper routine. And Water? don?t forget about the water ? you would want to keep yourself hydrated to keep your energy at a high level throughout the day.

Your Rest Time: Getting into the habit of getting 8 hours of sleep is one of the most important things you can do. You need your rest to repair those muscles, to keep your mind sharp and alert. Getting enough rest along with your exercise and diet will help get rid of the fat, the stress, and those wrinkles.