Starting a Training Program

Joel Younkins

You've made the decision, you're ready to start a training program for yourself. No matter what your goal is, to either put on size, tone, lose some weight, or prepare for your sport, there are 3 Rules that you need to focus on when beginning your program. These are things that you really need to focus on in the first month of your new fitness journey. I will tell anyone this, in the first month, nothing big happens to your body. Your mindset and behavior? Yes, big changes can happen mentality and behaviorally in which this Lifestyle Blog will help you with your training approach so you can experience success and not failure. So below, these 3 Rules will help you get through the first month of your new training program and get you set up for big training results that are soon to take place in the near future!

1.) Make Every Session
It's so critical that in the first month of your new training regimen, that you make every planned workout. This is big for you for mainly two reasons. Number 1, you need to create the habit of not skipping your workouts. You're training your behavior to not skip the gym, without surprise, this is important to any successful program. You are becoming accountable to yourself and goals. Number 2, you're body needs to be exposed to your new training to adapt to it. You're building yourself a foundation now. You need to basically tell your body, "we're doing this whole fitness things." No matter how sore you are, or unmotivated, suck it up and force yourself to show up now, it will only speed up your progress in the future. Our clients who have good attendance in their first month, ALWAYS get results faster than those who are hit or miss. So don't miss if you want results! 

2.) Choose Intensities That Are Doable
A lot of the time, when people embark on their new fitness journey, they come into it super motivated. I love the enthusiasm, but we need to be clear that this gives us no reason to red line our bodies in the first couple weeks of training. I get it, you're ready to take on the world and transform your body, but like I said above, it's not happening this month, so slow down...You see, right now in the process, quality of work and reps are what is really important. Train your body now to be efficient at the movements and learn to perform them with a high skill level first. This way, when training needs to be heavy down the road, you're already good at it. It's like trying to learn how to drive a car at 16 that has a big block and can run a quarter mile in under 10 seconds. For most people, a four cylinder sedan will probably be a better option to learn how to drive first.

3.) Leave A Little In The Tank
This is very true for the first month. And honestly, for 95% of your training no matter who you are. Remember, we are training, not competing...In competition, yes leave nothing in the tank. But in training, your body will adapt much better to your training if you leave a couple reps on the table and have a little more in the gas tank when doing conditioning work. This is especially true for your first month. This is not an excuse to slack off or taking it easy. We just need to stimulate the system with small amounts of stress and our bodies will positively adapt. But if you crush yourself, especially in month one, your body will actually react as if you're injured and it may take too long to recover in which can mess up the follow training days a head. At this point you're actually delaying progress. Remember this the next you're bragging about how sore you are. Train today so that you can train tomorrow...

Conclusion
Getting off of the couch and starting a new training program can be scary and exciting all at the same time. Try your best to control your emotions, it's only the gym that we're talking about, this is not D-Day. If you plan on training for longer than a month (which I hope is your intention) remember to follow these 3 Rules in this Lifestyle Blog. Focus on making it to every planned workout, perform exercises and intensities that are doable, and always leave a little in the tank after each workout. The goal is to leave the gym feeling better than when you walked in. And in time, with an appropriate plan for yourself, you will continue to keep pumping out more and more results and hitting new goals that you never imagined possible when you first started on Day 1! 

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