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Writer's pictureJohn Pierson

A beginner's guide on how to get started with exercise at the gym from a Personal Trainer in London.

Where to start with exercise?

Are you a beginner at the gym? Wondering where to start with exercise? Faced with the daunting proposition of what to do in the gym as a beginner. This blog post is for beginners to guide their exercise and gym efforts to get started, with a particular focus on working professionals in London. Understanding how best to incorporate exercise into your life can be a real task.


Personal training In the City of London, Bank and Monument.

With a decade of personal training experience in the City of London, I have spent most of my professional time working with clients who work long hours in demanding and stressful roles. This beginner's guide to getting started with exercise at the gym is for people who want to establish a checklist for new routines and improve their lifestyles.



Personal trainer in London doing an Overhead squat
Overhead Squat

Knowing what to do at the gym can be difficult and an alien environment for so many of us: Knowing what exercises to do, knowing how to do those exercises, and if you are low on confidence in the gym, how to build that so you feel like you belong in the environment. At The Workout Network in London, we try to help you prioritise how your body performs exercises and understand what exercises are good for you as a beginner in the gym as an individual. Part of that process is going through the steps below.



Where you are now

Understanding your current level as a beginner in cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, flexibility, and nutrition and identifying the behaviours that need adjustment to achieve the desired improvements is an empowering activity. Overhauling behaviour is rarely the best approach; it's about making incremental improvements, like swapping a regular Coca-Cola for a Diet Coke.


Working with clients in London, I often see these types of scenarios.

1. You have spent 20 years + in the city working hard, creating a life for yourself and your family, time spent stressed, prioritising others, and now the opportunity has either presented itself or thrust itself upon you where you need to make some improvements to your health, fitness, sleep stress.

2. You must learn what you are doing and if you are doing it right.

3. BUPA have said – enough is enough. Sometimes, the daunting but not unfamiliar story that we hear at The Workout Network, particularly with London city professionals, is that they have had their medical and have been recommended to start an intervention of healthier living.


Where you would like to be

Goals take all sorts of forms. One of the wonderful parts of being a personal trainer in London is the variety of people you meet and the different aspirations that you work to achieve. I have worked with individuals like Jose Pizarro to cycle 400km in Rajasthan. I have worked with clients working to maintain as much function and muscularity as they combat Parkinson's.


Understanding where you want to be begins with formulating a why. Finding a why can bind you to your goal, which, as the textbooks teach, needs to be SMART: specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and time-bound.

Exercise choice

The optimal based on the ACSM definitions is:


1. Adults should engage in moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise for at least 150 minutes per week

2. Adults should perform resistance training exercises for major muscle groups at least two days per week.

3. Flexibility exercises should be performed at least two or three days per week to improve the range of motion.

Does it need to be optimal? No, it needs to be a movement in the right direction. As I mentioned earlier, the Bigger the initial step, the likelier the drop is. Taking those first manageable steps to help forge substantial change can be a great way to build a stronger identity, including healthier habits.


Convenience

One of the most valuable factors to consider when undertaking a new exercise routine is minimising entry barriers. Is the Studio or gym near your house or work? Are your shoes near the door?


Enjoyment

As discussed earlier, enjoying what you're doing is vital as it impacts the fulfilment you get from the activity. While we can examine all the optimisations, we can also interpret them to fit your desires. For example, 150 minutes of cardio is the weekly guideline. How you fulfil this quota should be up to you. That could be 45 minutes of gardening, 45 minutes of salsa, and cycling. Find what excites you and gets you out of bed in the morning.


Commitment

Forming a habit can be very difficult, and finding a way to incorporate part of it into one's identity and self can be even more challenging.


I have had great success utilising this and changing the language around activities. I no longer “Go running” instead of “I am a runner.” I'm trying to stop drinking.” Instead, I do not Drink.”


Why a personal trainer can help

A personal trainer can help you with all of the above. At the Workout Network, we have a collection of trainers who help you prioritise your training and create an environment that will help you get closer to where you want to be. With the ability to give customised feedback on how you move, our coaches can create plans focusing on how best to achieve your goals. They give you the accountability to turn up when you have your sessions and keep your motivation high. Ultimately, you build relationships with individuals who develop your enjoyment and confidence in the gym.

The Workout Network, PT studio in City of London. Hire A PT today.

The Workout Network is a Small private studio in the City of London near Bank and Monument tube stations. Our small personal training environment allows you to train privately without waiting for equipment. We also prioritise the trainers in this process. Something that is so often overlooked.

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