If you are starting out in your local gym, you might be feeling a bit intimidated. The array of machines can be overwhelming not forgetting the presence of the muscular men. In case this describes you, then you are not alone since a lot of women can identify. However, you ought to be willing to take a step forward so that you can begin to achieve your fitness goals. Let’s discuss the key points for designing a machine workout to get you started.
Keep it simple
You need to keep your workout simple. Your aim at this time should be to get your muscles used to lifting weights and preparing yourself for the advanced programs to follow. If it is your first time to engage in weightlifting, your body will respond well even to the basic exercises. Since progress will happen rapidly, you will have to track the changes for motivation purposes.
Focus on form
The goal at this stage isn’t to lift weights so much. You should be concerned with your personal bests. So for now, you need to get comfortable to ensure that you are performing the exercises correctly. Even though the machine guides you through the proper form, you have to be careful about some things.
Ensure you lay on a flat bench while doing machine exercises such as chest press, leg press, and shoulder press. Furthermore, do not hyper-extend your elbows or knees while doing the shoulder press, leg extension, triceps press-down, horizontal row or horizontal chest press.
Don’t push beyond your comfort zone
It’s good to work hard but not to an extent of losing your comfort zone. Leaving the gym exhausted because of working so hard can make you develop some negative feelings towards training. Rather than feeling exhausted, you need to leave the gym feeling excited and energized about your next session. Save those extreme workouts for the day your training base will be solid.
Remember to rest
Rest enough so that you can recover. This is a very critical part that determines your success in any training program; even thou some beginners may overlook it. Consider leaving a day between your extensive machine weightlifting sessions. In case you are starting out and are aware of having a slower recovery system, be sure to rest for two days. You need to recuperate fully before your next sessions so that you can feel great every time you get to the gym.
