How to Get Started (Part I)

Happy Monday to you all. Hopefully some of you got some sleep and didn't stay up too late watching some silly game...oh wait I do that too, just not that particular one. In any case, I've got a little series of posts I'm putting together seeing as around this time of year tends to be a time that people get inspired to be healthy.

OK, you’ve finally said enough is enough, you’re going to get (back) into fitness…what now? There’s a load of ways to attack this and really there’s no one way to go after it, but if you’re constantly being bombarded by 1000 opinions and so on, you can feel extremely overwhelmed and paralyzed. Well, here’s one more opinion, I promise I will try not to overwhelm you. I actually want to break this down into a few segments, so let’s start with the easy stuff and work our way to the more complicated and fine tuned items.

Part 1: Workout routine

Once again, this is an area that can feel really overwhelming. So many different things you can do, so much (confusing) information out there and you don’t know who’s right, who’s wrong and what’s right for you. The last part I just mentioned is the most important, what is right for you?

Carve out 45 minutes or so for your workout 3 days a week. Yes, I know you’re busy, so are people like Gary Vaynerchuk, yet they still manage to get it done. Find gaps in your schedule that you can squeeze something in. An apartment gym will certainly be fine, but if yours is really THAT bad, you don’t need to spend a wild amount of money on a gym membership. It’s amazing that some people equate the price of a gym membership to have healthy they’ll be or how fast they’ll get fit.

Now, what do you do when you get to the gym? There are some really good, free programs that exist out there, but in case you’re not prepared to do that leg work let’s start from scratch. Most trainers and coaches would give you some really complicated warm-up and that’s not wrong, to a point, but let’s not spend your valuable time doing exercises you have no idea why you’re doing them.

Try this:
Glute Bridge x10
Bird Dogs x10/side
Scap Floor Slides x10
Split Squat x5/side
Repeat a 2nd time through and bang, you’re ready to rule the world.

Well damn now the fun stuff, what’s your workout look like?

If you’ve been following me for longer than a 5 minutes, you likely know my general rule is to do 5 major movement patterns;

Squat/Lunge (getting down and getting back up)
Hinge (bending over to pick stuff up)
Push (name a day you went through without having to push something)
Pull (see above)
Carry (groceries anybody?)

Example Day (perform matching letters in alternating fashion with at least 60 seconds rest between):

A1- Goblet Squat 3x8 (Squat/Lunge)
A2- Standing 1- Arm Cable Row 3x10/ (Pull)

​B1- Dumbbell or Kettlebell RDL 3x10 (Hinge)
B2- [Elevated] Push-Up 3x8 (Push)

C1- Farmer’s Carry 3x15 yards (Carry)
C2- Front Plank 3x15 seconds

​Now obviously you want to do these exercises with good, so you don't get hurt and you likely don't want to do the same exact ones every single day for months on end, if not for anything else other than you’ll get bored. There’s tons of amazing coaches putting good content out there about exercises like these, all else fails, ask someone else that might be in the know. To solve that other issue, here’s a few variations that are easy to do for each movement pattern, that you can interchange with the ones above;
​
Squat/Lunge- Reverse lunge, step ups, split squats, bulgarian split squats
Hinge- Pullthroughs, 1-leg bridge, hip thrusts
Push- DB Bench press, db floor press, landmine press
Pull- inverted rows, chest supported rows, face pulls
Carry- suitcase carry, goblet carry, rack carry

The weights on these are up to you, start conservative and work your way up as you see fit. If something feels like it’s way too difficult, don’t be a hero, lower the weight until you get the hang of it.

Now, if you mix this with a good walk or maybe a group exercise class with a friend, you’re off to a hell of a start.

Finally, if you feel pain, not discomfort, not an owie, not a hit to your ego, pain. DON’T FIGHT THROUGH IT. It is 100% not worth it. Stop the exercise, pick another one or, if it’s bad enough, get it checked out. Don’t worry, the weights will be right where you left them.

Hopefully this was a helpful start to figuring out how the hell to kick start this thing. Ask questions always, whether it’s me, or a coach/trainer you trust, ask them. Tune in Tomorrow for everyone’s favorite part (ok maybe not) FOOD! Until next time Team First XV, go out there and get after it!