I just bought a gym membership hoping to gain muscle or atleast get toned. I’ve been skinny all my life, I’m 24 years old 5’8" 145lbs, I am determined to gain muscle mass!
The only problem is that I enter the gym I have no idea what I’m doing. What should I do when I get into the gym first? What is a good beginners routine for gaining muscle? Also, what should I be eating after or before and how long after and before the workout? Thank you all in advance!!!
Cardio equipment is great to exercise the most important muscle, your heart. Always warm up with 5 to 10 minutes of cardio prior to weight training. Get yourself familiar with the weight equipment and their purpose. Your body is made up of sever muscle groups you can do circuit training which is weight training using all muscle groups: legs, arms, chest, back. Or you can focus on a particular group in a single work out. Upper body or lower body. Here are some examples:
Day 1: back and shoulders
Day 2: legs
Day 3: arms and chest
Day 4: rest (important to rebuild your muscle… help it grow)
Day 5: Circuit (is good for keeping the heart rate up)
Day 6: rest
Day 7: legs
Dont forget you cardio, you can do this as often as you choose but dont cut your self short, about 30-45 minutes a day is good.
Keeping good form is very important to prevent injury and to get the most out of you workout. I would ask your gym staff or a trainer for a consult.
Diet is also very important for make sure you are getting significant protein and complex carbs for energy (before a work out) after a work out get in a protine shake or othere good source of protein. Avoid refined sugars, and processed foods… you will be working out for nothing if you can not keep a good clean diet. Hope this helps some.