12-06-2017, 05:14 PM
Note: By all means, this guide is not for advanced people.
This is meant for those who are just starting out, I have seen so many people ask, "well how do I start?"
This guide will teach you the steps to getting started on your fitness journey.
Index
To start off, it's important you understand the basics of what you are going to do in the gym.
There are 3 main things that people tend to go for in the gym, as follows:
- Losing weight
- Gaining muscle (cutting)
- Gaining muscle (bulking)
To know what it is you need to do in the gym, you need to understand that your weight is all going to reflect how you look. For instance, if you are sitting in the "obese" category, you may want to consider losing weight before gaining muscle to get the natural look. If you are in the "overweight" category, it may be beneficial for you to consider to do "cutting", which will be explained below.
How do you know what your current weight reflection is? Use the following link to enter your height/weight: http://www.calculator.net/overweight-calculator.html
If you still aren't sure on what your goal is that you should do, don't be alarmed. Read the next step.
What should I chose?
In this section, we will go over the 3 types of goals we discussed above to figure out what steps you should take.
Losing weight
Now, if your current height / weight, for example, is 5'7 - 260 pounds, this would make you 100 pounds overweight. So, if you go into the gym at this weight and start lifting weights... you will not see much improvement with the shape of your body. Granted, you will put on muscle, but it may be more beneficial for you to do strictly cardio before hitting the weights. If your in this for the long haul, this is the most crucial step to take. You might not like the fact that you have to get up every and do cardio, but you need to do what's important for your overall health.
So now what you might be asking is, so when can I start lifting then?! The answer to that is... when you feel somewhat comfortable in your skin. It's a good idea to start to transition into weight lifting once you're about 10-30 pounds overweight. This is completely up to you but it's just my personal recommendation, it's also what I did myself.
So how do I lose weight?! That will be explained in the next category.
Gaining muscle (cutting)
The term "cutting" generally means you are trying to gain as much muscle whilst dropping body fat. It's generally used to cut down in calories (/w additional cardio), while also doing heavy lifting.
During cutting, you will be in a calorific deficit (under your daily calorie intake), and each meal will be centered around protein. You want to pack in as much protein in a day as you can, while being under your daily calorie limit.
The cutting phase is not the most favorite amongst most lifters in the gym, but it definitely gets your body looking lean. It also lowers the number on the scale as well, which may be beneficial for you. If this is the route you chose to go, be ready to work and keep up with your gym sessions as this type of exercising needs to be kept up with, or else you will not see many results.
Gaining muscle (bulking)
Now, moving onto "bulking". In a basic description, bulking is eating over your daily calorie limit while lifting to gain muscle. Typically, when bulking, you would gain muscle a lot faster then you would when cutting. However, when bulking, you WILL put on weight. Which is why you might see people bulking during the winter, and start cutting right before summer, to get that lean beach looking body.
So, if you're a skinny guy, this might be the workout you want to do, but if you're overweight, it may be more beneficial for you to do cutting.
How do I start?
How to lose weight
Onto the magical question, how do you lose weight? Well... the answer is very simple. You need to be in a calorific deficit. This means, you need to eat less than your daily limit of calories. The average male daily calorie limit is around 2500.
You can calculate your exact calorie needs here: https://www.freedieting.com/tools/calori...ulator.htm
A huge recommendation I'm going to give, is that if you guys are interested in losing weight, download the app called MyFitnessPal: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
What this app does for you calculate all the nutrients in the food you eat including calories, also tells you the amount of calories you need / need to avoid to lose weight. Personally for myself, using this app helped me lose 100 pounds.
In addition to going under calorie limits, you need to follow up with good exercise and clean eating. This means no more fast food, no more soda, no more sweets, no chips, no fried foods, etc. Another HUGE part of dropping pounds will be drinking TONS of water. You will lose a lot of weight in the beginning by solely drinking a ton of water.
It may sound complicated, but it's fairly simple. Once you download the MyFitnessPal app, you can actually view all the nutrients of each item you eat, by simply scanning the barcode, or even looking up the item manually. For instance, if you lookup "McDonalds" in the app, it will give you a list of everything from McDonalds, and you can then find how much Fat / Sodium / Sugar / Protein is in everything that you eat.
So in conclusion, to lose weight, you need to eat less calories, eat clean, exercise daily, and drink tons of weight. Losing weight is VERY simple overtime and will become natural.
How to gain muscle by cutting
So how do you start cutting and getting that lean look? Well, similar to weight loss, we need to again be in a calorific deficit, except we need to center all of our meals around protein.
To calculate exactly how much protein you need, you should follow this link: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calpro.htm
This will tell you how much protein you need to eat in one day in order to gain proper muscle.
Once you figure out how much protein you need in a day, you need to follow that up with some gym work. A gym routine is completely up to you, but I'm going to explain what muscle groups work together in order to succeed.
My personal routine:
Monday- Back and Biceps (these muscle groups work together)
Tuesday - Chest and Triceps (these muscle groups work together)
Wednesday - Legs, abs, and shoulders
Rest of the week - Repeat above, Sunday off day
In conclusion, you need to eat in a calorific deficit, eat meals centered around protein, and keep up with the gym sessions.
How to gain muscle by bulking
Now, onto bulking. There are actually 2 types of bulking, a clean bulk and a dirty bulk. For the sake of good health, I'm only going to touch on clean bulking, as I do not really support a dirty bulk. Dirty bulking is basically eating whatever you want while lifting heavy. I'd rather eat clean for better health.
So, similar to cutting, you will need to also eat your daily protein limit, however you will need to eat over on your daily calorie limit.
To calculate exactly how much protein you need, you should follow this link: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calpro.htm
This will tell you how much protein you need to eat in one day in order to gain proper muscle.
Once you figure out how much protein you need in a day, you need to follow that up with some gym work. A gym routine is completely up to you, but I'm going to explain what muscle groups work together in order to succeed.
My personal routine:
Monday- Back and Biceps (these muscle groups work together)
Tuesday - Chest and Triceps (these muscle groups work together)
Wednesday - Legs, abs, and shoulders
Rest of the week - Repeat above, Sunday off day
In conclusion, in order to bulk, you need to be eating over your daily calorie limit, along with your daily protein limit, followed up by gym sessions.
What are good foods to eat?
Some good, high protein foods to eat are as listed below:
What supplements should I take?
If you are losing weight, I wouldn't recommend using any supplements.
If you are cutting, some crucial supplements are protein powder / BCAA's.
If you are bulking, some good supplements are protein powder / creatine.
No supplements are technically NEEDED, but if you are going to take any supplements, a crucial one I will always recommend is protein powder.
How do I stay motivated?
Another question I see very commonly is, "how do I stay motivated?"
Well, I can tell you that you've already figured out step 1, you're reading a guide right now on living a healthier lifestyle, which shows you have the interest.
- One way you can stay motivated is to make the gym apart of your daily routine. Which means, when you wake up in the morning and you're telling yourself the things you need to do for the day, make sure to include the gym in your daily to-do list.
- Another way, is finding a gym buddy. Go to the gym with someone to make it more enjoyable, but don't rely on them to go everytime, if they aren't committed, make sure you stay committed yourself!
- Track your progress. A good way to stay motivated is making sure you're getting the results! If you enjoy the results you're seeing, your going to want to keep going. So track everything! You won't regret it.
This is meant for those who are just starting out, I have seen so many people ask, "well how do I start?"
This guide will teach you the steps to getting started on your fitness journey.
Index
- Determining your goals
- Choosing what steps to take
- How to get started
- Good foods to eat
- Supplements to take
- How to stay motivated
To start off, it's important you understand the basics of what you are going to do in the gym.
There are 3 main things that people tend to go for in the gym, as follows:
- Losing weight
- Gaining muscle (cutting)
- Gaining muscle (bulking)
To know what it is you need to do in the gym, you need to understand that your weight is all going to reflect how you look. For instance, if you are sitting in the "obese" category, you may want to consider losing weight before gaining muscle to get the natural look. If you are in the "overweight" category, it may be beneficial for you to consider to do "cutting", which will be explained below.
How do you know what your current weight reflection is? Use the following link to enter your height/weight: http://www.calculator.net/overweight-calculator.html
If you still aren't sure on what your goal is that you should do, don't be alarmed. Read the next step.
What should I chose?
In this section, we will go over the 3 types of goals we discussed above to figure out what steps you should take.
Losing weight
Now, if your current height / weight, for example, is 5'7 - 260 pounds, this would make you 100 pounds overweight. So, if you go into the gym at this weight and start lifting weights... you will not see much improvement with the shape of your body. Granted, you will put on muscle, but it may be more beneficial for you to do strictly cardio before hitting the weights. If your in this for the long haul, this is the most crucial step to take. You might not like the fact that you have to get up every and do cardio, but you need to do what's important for your overall health.
So now what you might be asking is, so when can I start lifting then?! The answer to that is... when you feel somewhat comfortable in your skin. It's a good idea to start to transition into weight lifting once you're about 10-30 pounds overweight. This is completely up to you but it's just my personal recommendation, it's also what I did myself.
So how do I lose weight?! That will be explained in the next category.
Gaining muscle (cutting)
The term "cutting" generally means you are trying to gain as much muscle whilst dropping body fat. It's generally used to cut down in calories (/w additional cardio), while also doing heavy lifting.
During cutting, you will be in a calorific deficit (under your daily calorie intake), and each meal will be centered around protein. You want to pack in as much protein in a day as you can, while being under your daily calorie limit.
The cutting phase is not the most favorite amongst most lifters in the gym, but it definitely gets your body looking lean. It also lowers the number on the scale as well, which may be beneficial for you. If this is the route you chose to go, be ready to work and keep up with your gym sessions as this type of exercising needs to be kept up with, or else you will not see many results.
Gaining muscle (bulking)
Now, moving onto "bulking". In a basic description, bulking is eating over your daily calorie limit while lifting to gain muscle. Typically, when bulking, you would gain muscle a lot faster then you would when cutting. However, when bulking, you WILL put on weight. Which is why you might see people bulking during the winter, and start cutting right before summer, to get that lean beach looking body.
So, if you're a skinny guy, this might be the workout you want to do, but if you're overweight, it may be more beneficial for you to do cutting.
How do I start?
How to lose weight
Onto the magical question, how do you lose weight? Well... the answer is very simple. You need to be in a calorific deficit. This means, you need to eat less than your daily limit of calories. The average male daily calorie limit is around 2500.
You can calculate your exact calorie needs here: https://www.freedieting.com/tools/calori...ulator.htm
A huge recommendation I'm going to give, is that if you guys are interested in losing weight, download the app called MyFitnessPal: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
What this app does for you calculate all the nutrients in the food you eat including calories, also tells you the amount of calories you need / need to avoid to lose weight. Personally for myself, using this app helped me lose 100 pounds.
In addition to going under calorie limits, you need to follow up with good exercise and clean eating. This means no more fast food, no more soda, no more sweets, no chips, no fried foods, etc. Another HUGE part of dropping pounds will be drinking TONS of water. You will lose a lot of weight in the beginning by solely drinking a ton of water.
It may sound complicated, but it's fairly simple. Once you download the MyFitnessPal app, you can actually view all the nutrients of each item you eat, by simply scanning the barcode, or even looking up the item manually. For instance, if you lookup "McDonalds" in the app, it will give you a list of everything from McDonalds, and you can then find how much Fat / Sodium / Sugar / Protein is in everything that you eat.
So in conclusion, to lose weight, you need to eat less calories, eat clean, exercise daily, and drink tons of weight. Losing weight is VERY simple overtime and will become natural.
How to gain muscle by cutting
So how do you start cutting and getting that lean look? Well, similar to weight loss, we need to again be in a calorific deficit, except we need to center all of our meals around protein.
To calculate exactly how much protein you need, you should follow this link: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calpro.htm
This will tell you how much protein you need to eat in one day in order to gain proper muscle.
Once you figure out how much protein you need in a day, you need to follow that up with some gym work. A gym routine is completely up to you, but I'm going to explain what muscle groups work together in order to succeed.
My personal routine:
Monday- Back and Biceps (these muscle groups work together)
Tuesday - Chest and Triceps (these muscle groups work together)
Wednesday - Legs, abs, and shoulders
Rest of the week - Repeat above, Sunday off day
In conclusion, you need to eat in a calorific deficit, eat meals centered around protein, and keep up with the gym sessions.
How to gain muscle by bulking
Now, onto bulking. There are actually 2 types of bulking, a clean bulk and a dirty bulk. For the sake of good health, I'm only going to touch on clean bulking, as I do not really support a dirty bulk. Dirty bulking is basically eating whatever you want while lifting heavy. I'd rather eat clean for better health.
So, similar to cutting, you will need to also eat your daily protein limit, however you will need to eat over on your daily calorie limit.
To calculate exactly how much protein you need, you should follow this link: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calpro.htm
This will tell you how much protein you need to eat in one day in order to gain proper muscle.
Once you figure out how much protein you need in a day, you need to follow that up with some gym work. A gym routine is completely up to you, but I'm going to explain what muscle groups work together in order to succeed.
My personal routine:
Monday- Back and Biceps (these muscle groups work together)
Tuesday - Chest and Triceps (these muscle groups work together)
Wednesday - Legs, abs, and shoulders
Rest of the week - Repeat above, Sunday off day
In conclusion, in order to bulk, you need to be eating over your daily calorie limit, along with your daily protein limit, followed up by gym sessions.
What are good foods to eat?
Some good, high protein foods to eat are as listed below:
- Eggs
- Almonds
- Chicken breasts
- Oats
- Greek yogurt
- Lean beef/ground turkey
- Turkey breast
- Fish
What supplements should I take?
If you are losing weight, I wouldn't recommend using any supplements.
If you are cutting, some crucial supplements are protein powder / BCAA's.
If you are bulking, some good supplements are protein powder / creatine.
No supplements are technically NEEDED, but if you are going to take any supplements, a crucial one I will always recommend is protein powder.
How do I stay motivated?
Another question I see very commonly is, "how do I stay motivated?"
Well, I can tell you that you've already figured out step 1, you're reading a guide right now on living a healthier lifestyle, which shows you have the interest.
- One way you can stay motivated is to make the gym apart of your daily routine. Which means, when you wake up in the morning and you're telling yourself the things you need to do for the day, make sure to include the gym in your daily to-do list.
- Another way, is finding a gym buddy. Go to the gym with someone to make it more enjoyable, but don't rely on them to go everytime, if they aren't committed, make sure you stay committed yourself!
- Track your progress. A good way to stay motivated is making sure you're getting the results! If you enjoy the results you're seeing, your going to want to keep going. So track everything! You won't regret it.