One of the best things about fitness is that you can do it at any point in your life. Whether you’re in school, a busy mom, or retired, it’s never a bad time to get active.
Question is, if you were to go to a gym, what should you do? What exercises? How many reps? How often? Should Monday really be chest day like the bros say?
Now, of course, programs are best when individualised for the person's goals, training history, lifestyle, and even preferences.
But here are some pretty solid principles that I wanted to share with you that apply to pretty much anyone who’s looking to get into a gym routine.
Daily Mobility
If you want your joints to be gliding smoothly and feeling great, I’d recommend trying to get in some light movement and stretches daily. This could even be a seated pigeon stretch as you’re sitting in your office chair, swinging your arms around as you walk, or doing a calf stretch as you wait for your morning coffee to finish brewing. I’d recommend dedicating even just a few minutes every day to do some light movements to keep everything limber. Adding in some mobility work before or after a workout is also a great way to get things moving and feeling less stiff.
2-4 Dedicated Strength Training Workouts a Week
2 workouts a week is a great place to start, 3 if you’re a bit more advanced, and 4 if you can manage it both physically and time-wise. Again, 2x/week is great and enough to maintain and see results, so don't think you're not doing enough.
Especially for 2 or 3x a week, I’d recommend full body workouts. Hitting up most muscle groups each workout and focusing on the main movements and muscle groups. If you’re getting up to 4 workouts a week, that’s when I’d consider switching to an upper/lower body split.
This is where a good coach can help you out and design a workout plan best suited for your body and goals, and can help take the guesswork out of it!
You Don’t Need to be Doing 1 Reps Maxes…
It can be a bit confusing when you see some people loading up a bar and doing one squat at what looks like 500lbs, and then you look over and see someone else doing an endless amount of hip thrusts. What’s a good rep range then? Well, that depends. Less reps and heavier weight will focus more on building strength, so if that’s your goal, then maybe you may consider that. Keep in mind, this is also a lot more taxing on the body - the muscles, soft tissue, nervous system are under a lot more stress. It can also pose a higher risk of injury due to the immense stress, especially if you’re still new to exercising, new to the exercise specifically, if your form falters, and if other factors aren’t ideal (i.e. sleep, nutrition, recovery). Not to mention, you can also build strength at higher rep ranges too, so the need to go really really heavy isn’t always needed or warranted. I would save the really heavy 1 rep max lifts for very advanced and experienced lifters, not your average Joan.
... You Also Don’t Always Need to be Doing 15+ Reps for Every Exercise
Now, does that mean you should be hitting 15+ reps every set then? You always hear about people going for the “burn” after all. The answer is no, you don’t need to always be doing high reps. This style of training may build up more muscular endurance, so if your goal is to hike up a mountain, or you’re getting into cross country skiing, then perhaps this style would fit your goals better. But for the average person, this can get kind of boring, and mentally draining.
Do a Variety of Rep Ranges
Ultimately, a mix of rep ranges is a good way to add variety in the program, and bias slightly different adaptations. If you’re brand new to exercising, just coming back from an extended break, or you’re just learning a new exercise, it might be good to start off with higher reps, maybe in the 10-15 range. This will help you get some practice in to learn and get comfortable with the form and how it feels. Once you’re more comfortable with it, feel free to change around and go slightly heavier and in the 8-10 rep range. Or maybe if you were doing 12 reps, try to squeeze in a few more and reach 15.
A general rule, for more complex, and usually tougher, more taxing exercises, you can get away with doing less reps since they’re harder to begin with. An example of this would be doing a set of squats at 8 reps. Whereas for exercises that work smaller muscle groups and smaller joints, it would be a good idea to do higher reps as those muscles can typically handle more volume, and it would be friendlier on the joints too. An example of this would be doing a set of 15 on bicep curls.
All in all, you can play around with rep ranges, and see what your body agrees with most. Regardless of rep range, you need to be putting in work, which brings me to my next point…
Put in Some Work!
After you’ve completed your set, you should be feeling like you really put in some work. You should really only have 1-3 reps left in the tank. If you’re finishing your set and you feel like you could’ve done 10 more reps no problem, then you’re either not using heavy enough weights or choosing an appropriate rep range. Either way, you need to adjust something and make sure you’re pushing it a bit harder.
You don’t need to go to absolute failure every single time. This can lead to extra stress and can pose a risk of tendon, ligament, or muscle irritation over time. Studies show that you can still see pretty much the same results going to absolute failure vs going to just before failure. So just remember as a general rule of thumb: 1-3 reps left in the tank.
Do these terms sound unfamiliar to you or need a refresher? Check out our blog post on Common Gym Terms HERE.
Pick Exercises & Variations That Work for You
You don't need to do a traditional bench press, barbell back squat or straight bar deadlift to get results. In fact, you can get great, and even better results by using a dumbbell bench press, a goblet squat, or trap bar deadlift variation. You might try a straight bar deadlift, but find it’s too irritating on your back, but a trap bar deadlift feels fantastic! Why torture yourself with something you don’t like and that your body is telling you to back off from, when there’s a way to work the same muscles and movement pattern that feels better and agrees with you more? You also don’t even absolutely need to include all the “traditional” exercises like bench, squat and deadlift. Pushups, leg press, lunges, hamstring curls, are all great variations that may work better for you! All in all, Listen to your body and pick exercises and variations that work best for you.
Throw in Some Cardio
Getting that heart rate up is one of the keys to living a healthier life and better longevity. Choose a method you like: going for walks, running on the treadmill, cycling, jump rope, elliptical, pickleball. Don’t think you need to be running a 5k for it to count as cardio, anything that gets the heart rate up for an extended period of time counts!
Like any form of exercise, start off slow and steady and watch you don’t do too much too soon, especially if you’re new to it. Give yourself time to adapt. You don’t need to be absolutely crushed and dealing with shin splints at the end of it!
Here’s a great example I often do for cardio. You may have heard of Zone 2 cardio, which is just when you keep your heart rate in the range of 60-70% of your max heart rate. Basically, it’s a low intensity, basic level of exercise where you’re still able to hold a conversation with someone but it might be a bit breathy. I like to go for a walk, if I’m on the treadmill I’ll crank up the incline a bit, and I just walk. If you’re just starting, even just a few minutes is fine. Then next time go 5-10 minutes. Then once you’re used to that, aim for 15-20 minutes. Keep working your way up from there.
Improving your cardio will help not only with lifting weights in the gym, but you should see improvements in your day to day life too! Perhaps doing chores isn’t as taxing, chasing your kids or grandkids is less difficult, or you’re not taking as many breaks while working in the garden.
Focus More on Recovery Between Sessions
Recovery is an often overlooked part when it comes to training and living an active lifestyle. If you’re not eating well, sleeping enough, or even overdoing it, you’re not going to be able to recover as well and so you’re not going to see as much bang for your buck for all the work you’re putting in your workouts!
Nutrition is key when it comes to recovering from workouts, and for just feeling good in general. Eating a variety of foods, getting your fruits and veggies in, getting a mix of carbs, fats and consuming enough protein (Stay tuned for a post on this topic soon!), are some things to keep in mind to start. Especially getting enough protein in will help with building and preserving muscle that you worked so hard in the gym for!
Sleep is another huge factor in recovery. Your body heals and adapts when it’s resting, so if you’re not getting enough zzz's at night, it could be impairing your gains. When you’re not sleeping enough, you also might not feel as motivated to get moving, or energised when you are moving. Especially if your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, and feel your best, then aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Speaking of recovery, it’s normal to feel sore if you’re just starting out, doing a new exercise, or changing the intensity. What’s not normal is to be killer sore after every. Single. Workout. In fact, it could be a sign you’re doing too much and not letting your body recover enough. Not to mention, if you’re always ridiculously sore, you’re not going to be as motivated to hit the gym, it might stop you from being consistent, you’re not going to push it as hard when you go to workout again, and I’m sure living your day to day life stiff as a board isn’t any fun. Take a look at our recent blog post on how Soreness ≠ Gains HERE!
Try to space out your workouts. If you’re working out 3 times a week in the gym, you don’t want to do them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then be off for the rest of the week. Try to space them out at least 48 hours apart.
Now, if you’re doing 4 times a week, you may have to have 2 workouts back to back. That’s where careful programming comes into play and where you may want to hire a professional to guide you.
The key to looking, feeling and performing great long term is being smart about your training, lifestyle, nutrition, and how you approach your recovery.
Try it out and let me know you feel!
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Final Remarks
Our goal at Delta Kinesiology is to help women reach their health and fitness goals. We specialise in conditions and injuries that women are more likely to experience, and we tailor the sessions using evidence-based principles and methods to help you reach your goals. Whether that be going about your day pain-free, building muscle, improving stamina, or feeling better about yourself, we are here to help.
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