hey!! To anyone too scared to go into the weights room, here’s some tips that helped me get started and feel more comfortable:
1. write a workout plan before getting there and do a good warm up
2. when you’re there, figure out first where everything is, walk around or just look around so you’re not constantly trying to find where X piece of equipment is
3. get one of the workers to explain different equipment if you’re not sure! Also get them to double check your form if you’re new! (FORM IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT PLEASE I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH)
4. start with only the bar weight (generally 20kg) and practice to get correct form before going heavy. Also there might be an assisted weight rack which will make sure you don’t topple with the weight on you and potentially injure yourself
5. ALWAYS put something to hold your weights in place, you can ask someone that works at your gym if you don’t know what they look like or how to put them on
6. EQUAL WEIGHTS ON EACH SIDE! please! and thank you!
7. look at yourself, no one else, i developed tunnel vision at the gym because otherwise i psyched myself out being the only girl in the weights room.
8. unrack the weights when you’re done, not unracking is a dick move to beginners.
9. wipe down your sweaty area when done, seriously, you also might wanna wipe down before you start sometimes, yeah, it can be gross…
10. never sacrifice good form for one more rep or a higher weight, good form rules always.
11. here’s some basic form tips:
deadlifts:
1. shoulders back and shoulder-blades pinched
2. back in a straight line, NEVER hunched, ESPECIALLY when you’re lifting off and putting the weight back down
3. feet under hips and toes facing slightly outwards or straight ahead and always bend your knees tracking over your toes
4. clench your butt at the top of the lift and engage your abs the entire time, to engage your abs, image sucking in your belly to your spine, you should be able to still breathe through the movement but if you don’t have experience actively engaging your abs and aren’t sure how to do it, my best friend (@/georgia ;)) takes a deep breath in before starting and clenches her abs through the movement
squats:
1. AGAIN shoulders back and clench your shoulder-blades, if you’re new and the bar weight hurts where it rests on your back, there should be a black cylindrical pad that you can put around the bar to soften the impact
2. i have a slight arch (inwards, never hunched over) in my back when doing this to make sure my centre of gravity during the movement is ALWAYS straight centre between my feet
3. AGAIN!! knees ALWAYS bending over toes, you can do three types of squats that change with the distance between your feet, narrow squats, normal squats and sumo squats, you can look them up to experiment
4. CLenCH thy buttock! at the top of the movement, so when you stand up, that butt is CLENCHED & as always, engage your abs
5. look up, not down, make sure the weight isn’t leaning to one side and you are even on the way up as well
6. bend down to the full movement so that your hamstrings are parallel with the floor, do not bend lower than this
7. push through the centre of your foot, a lot of people advice to drive through your heels but i prefer centre of your foot, your toes should never leave the ground and neither should your heels
izzy806
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