First Day Workout Plan: Simple Tips To Get You Started At The Gym

Many newcomers feel self-conscious, insecure, and intimidated when going to the gym. The first day is always the hardest, and that’s perfectly normal. However, with a first day workout plan, you can boost your confidence and prepare to build a consistent habit. 

This guide can help you set a workout schedule tailored to your needs. It can also help you form positive habits that give your body and mind time to adjust to the new surroundings. Over time, the workouts can feel more comfortable and less discouraging.

Let’s begin.

What Is A Good First Day Workout Plan?

A good first day workout plan adds structural balance to loosen the muscles and boost blood flow. It prepares the joints so you can get a good sense of your body mechanics and create a personalized fitness routine.

The plan should target multiple muscle groups, whether you want to:

• Lose weight
• Gain muscle
• Build strength
• Improve your posture

Form, pacing, and sequencing should be the top priorities when starting. 

Here are some of the factors that make up a good workout plan. 

Personalization

Train for what you want to achieve.

You can do moderate cardio and full-body exercises if you are training to lose weight. 

Start with a 10-minute dynamic warm-up. A stationary bike and brisk walking can get the blood flowing (1, 2).

Push-ups, lunges, bodyweight squats, and planks can target multiple muscle groups. 

To improve endurance and burn more calories, aim for high repetitions or time and short rest periods.

To build muscle, endurance, and strength, start with manageable weights, increasing the load over time. 

Most workout sessions should focus on compound exercises that simultaneously work out multiple muscle groups.

If you add isolation exercises, do them at the end of your workout.

Read more: 30-Day Beginner Calisthenics Program: 4 Customizable Calisthenics Plans For All Fitness Levels

Progressive Overload

A good training program involves progressive overload. You begin with light exercises and increase the difficulty as your body adjusts to the routine. This challenge-building promotes muscle growth, endurance, and strength (3). 

First, you master your form to avoid injury and maximize performance with compound exercises such as pull-ups, lunges, squats, rows, or bench presses. 

Start with light weights and gradually increase the resistance as you get stronger and master the form. The weights should challenge you to do at least 3 sets of 6-10 reps with excellent form. 

You should be able to do more reps before you increase the weights. 

Then, add small weight increments to reduce muscle strain. 

For example, you can increase the weights by:

• 5-10 pounds for the lower body.
• 2.5-5 pounds when working with the upper body
• Add more or less weight depending on how your body reacts. 

The goal is to track your workouts and monitor your progress. The BetterMe app can help with that. It can help you reassess your form, performance, and nutrition. It has a lot of routines for any experience level to streamline the process for you. Our previous article covers everything you need to know about how to custom your own workout plan.

BetterMe: Health Coaching app helps you achieve your body goals with ease and efficiency by helping to choose proper meal plans and effective workouts. Start using our app and you will see good results in a short time.

Fatigue Management

The type of exercise you do can affect how soon you recover.

If your first day workout plan for weight loss is too easy, you may recover so quickly that your body doesn’t adapt to new challenges. If the plan is too hard, it can leave you tired, sore, or injured. This imbalance is a widespread mistake among beginners.

To manage fatigue, give yourself enough recovery time to rebuild and repair your muscles. Choose exercises your body can handle and improve your nutrition.

How To Start A Gym As A Beginner?

Starting with a simple workout plan that teaches basic movements is best. This plan should help your muscles build a strong foundation, enhance blood flow, and develop an adequate range of motion. 

Everyone’s goals and skills differ, so you should create a first day workout plan for beginners with specific needs. If you or someone you plan to train has a health condition, consult a doctor for personalized recommendations before beginning any new form of exercise.

Beginners can benefit from a well-rounded plan that builds strength, stability, and cardiovascular fitness. It should take a balanced approach, often with full-body strength training, cardio, core exercises, and rest (or light activity).

How Should A Beginner Prepare For Working Out?

You need a plan to prepare for workouts. Achieving your health and fitness goals can be challenging. Still, you can drastically increase your chances of success by controlling your diet, doing proper warm-ups, getting mentally ready, and using positive self-talk. 

You should strategically plan a first day gym workout male or female-focused to decrease anxiety and make you feel more prepared.

1. Diet: Find The Right Fuel For Your Body

Proper nutrition can improve athletic performance, boost immunity, support muscles, aid the digestive tract, and strengthen bones. Consume a combination of complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat.

Here is how to do it right:

Exercising in 2-3+ hours? 

Eat a hearty meal for sustained energy, such as:

• Lean protein, brown rice, roasted veggies
• Egg omelet, avocado toast, with some fruits.

Exercising in 2 hours?

You have time to digest the food, so you could consume:

• A protein smoothie
• Oatmeal with fruit and nuts
• Nut butter on whole-grain toast.

Exercising in 1 hour or less?

Choose something light and easy to digest, like:

• Protein bar
• A banana or other fruit
• Greek yogurt with berries

2. Warm Up To Prevent Strains And Injuries

Many beginners jump straight into weight lifting or intense cardio. But, this can overexert the musculoskeletal system and cause pain and inflammation. 

Warming up before exercise raises body temperature, prepares the muscles for action, improves flexibility, and reduces the risk of injury (4). 

Here is a simple but effective routine for you to try.

Dynamic Stretches

• Walking Lunges: Stand tall with your hands on your hips. Step forward with one leg and lower your torso until the back knee touches the ground. Keep the forward leg shin vertical. Repeat for about 15 steps on each leg.
• High Knees: Run in place and bring the knees as high as possible. Swing your arms by your sides and keep your torso upright. Do this for 30 seconds.
• Hip Circles: Place your hands on your hips and make circular motions with the hips. Repeat on each side for 30 seconds.

Light Cardio

• Jumping Jacks: Perform 3 sets of 10 jumping jacks to get the blood flowing.
• Squat to Jab: Squat down, then stand up and do a cross-body punch with each arm. Aim for 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps.
• Lateral shuffle: Hinge slightly forward with your upper body. Bend your knees and move side to side with your legs. Aim for 3-4 rounds in each direction. 

3. Get Your Head In The Game

Mentally prepare yourself to avoid feeling intimidated. Here is how:

• Determine your outcome 

Think about what you want to accomplish. For example, the training program of a powerlifting competitor should be very different from the program of someone looking to improve their flexibility and balance for daily tasks. Setting clear goals makes organizing a first day workout plan for men and women easier.

• Give yourself some credit

Use phrases like “I can do this,” “I’m strong enough to finish,” or “I’m doing well.” These affirmations can positively affect your performance. 

• Picture your success

Take a couple of minutes to visualize yourself completing all the challenges. Intentional visualization can boost your motivation (5). 

Should I Do Cardio Or Weights First?

It depends on your goal. Here is how you can decide. 

• If you want to build muscle or strength: Do weights first. 

Weights are better for building muscle. They alter the power output of your muscles, build endurance, and maintain or build muscle mass (6).

• If you want to lose weight faster: Do cardio first (but do strength training too!).

Cardio activities performed at moderate to high intensity generally burn more calories over a given duration than strength training. So, when weight loss is your primary goal, you should prioritize high-intensity cardio. 

This focus will ensure you maintain the proper intensity throughout the cardio training session. However, strength training is a massive benefit for those looking to lose weight because it helps increase muscle mass, leading to increased daily metabolism.

• If you want to diversify your workouts: Do both.

You can alternate between exercises. For example, you can alternate strength training with cardio-based activity sessions. Alternatively, you can perform a hybrid style of training that results in strength and cardiovascular benefits, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). 

How To Create The First Day Workout Plan?

Consider your workout plan’s type, frequency, intensity, and length. 

For example, you could do:

• Walking
• Running
• Aerobics
• Weightlifting
• Interval training

Then, consider the difficulty level of the exercise. 

Focus on light to moderate workouts that do not overexert the muscles. Slowly increase the intensity and challenge yourself to build strength, flexibility, and endurance. 

Your first week of workouts should be short. You add a couple more minutes every week and target various muscle groups.

You can also increase the frequency of your workouts. 

For example, if you start with 3 cardio exercises and 1 strength training session, you can add more strength training sessions as you gain experience.

First day workout plan example

How Long Should Your 1st Workout Be?

As a beginner, your muscles need time to adapt. Your very first workout may be as short as 10 minutes and should generally last under an hour (depending on rest time between sets). However, you should be less concerned about time and more about what you do with it. Focus on your form and quality exercises.

Unfortunately, many beginners do too much to get faster results, only to become sore, frustrated, and in pain for days. For example, a 10-15-minute HIIT workout can produce high-quality volume.

So, how long should you workout to build muscle? 

Initially, weight lifting often takes 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week, to stimulate muscle growth. As the weeks pass and you get stronger and more experienced, you slowly and steadily add volume and intensity to your workouts.

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What Is A Good Starting Workout Schedule?

A standard beginner program usually includes strength training twice weekly (such as bodyweight exercises or lifting weights) and 2-3 days of cardio (such as jogging, walking, or biking). If you can’t exercise for 5 days, combine strength and cardio in 1 session.

Most people can do moderate workouts, and various exercises fall into this category. The goal is to be consistent, make gradual progress, and overcome most plateaus with simple tweaks to your training plan.

Here is an example of a beginner workout at home without equipment. 

Start with 20 reps of each exercise and a one-minute rest between rounds. If you want to challenge yourself, complete each round twice before moving on to the next. You can also combine it with some cardio.

Round 1

Toe touch: 

• Lay on your back
• Lift your legs toward the ceiling
• Extend your arms forward to touch your toes

Bicycle crunch: 

• Lay on your back
• Bring one knee toward your opposite elbow
• Straighten your other leg
• Lift your shoulders off the floor and draw in your core muscles
• Repeat with your other leg and alternate sides

Reverse crunch: 

• Lay on your back with your hands by your sides
• Bend your knees and bring them toward your chest
• Lift your hips off the floor, keeping your knees bent and head straight
• Then lower your hips to the floor and return to the starting position

Round 2

Toe tap: 

• Lie on your back and place your hands under your bottom
• Raise your legs to the tabletop position
• Return one foot to the floor and repeat
• Switch legs mid-air, so one foot is up, and the other is on the ground.

Leg lowers: 

• Lie on your back and raise both legs
• Push into a wall behind you to engage the core as you lower one leg
• Alternate sides

Glute bridge:

• Lie on your back and place your hands on the mat
• Engage your glutes and core and lift your hips
• Lower your hips back down before you lift them back up

Russian twist: 

• Start halfway between sitting erect and lying supine
• Lift the feet and bend the knees
• Interlock the fingers and rotate your torso by twisting to each side 

Round 3

Plank leg lift:

• Bring the body into a plank position
• Raise one leg off the ground. 
• Hold for a couple of seconds and repeat on the other side.  

Windshield wiper:

• Lie on your back
• Bend your knees
• Keep your feet on the floor
• Roll the knees toward one side and back to the middle, then roll to the other side. 

Bird dog:

• Begin on all fours
• Lift one arm and the opposite leg
• Point the toes away from your body
• Keep the leg and arm straight
• Return the leg and arm to the ground, alternate sides, and repeat. 

Looking for a 6 day gym workout schedule? Check out this Workout Split For Building Muscle And Strength. 

Other Tips To Make Your First Day Workout Plan Effective

These tips can help you stay inspired:

Track your progress: 

• Log your progress to see how far you’ve come
• Use a journal or take notes on the BetterMe app.

The BetterMe app has various fitness features, such as progress tracking and step counting.

Find a partner: 

• Everything is more enjoyable when you have someone to share it with
• An accountability partner can help you stay on track
• Find a gym buddy with similar goals

Set small goals:

• Start with beginner exercises and reward yourself for all your wins, even small achievements. 
• Focus on consistent progress to boost motivation for success.

Make a playlist:

• Choose your favorite songs to listen to while you exercise
• Music can help you stay motivated, distract you from discomfort, and help you set the pace.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I run and lift on the same day?

It is better to keep these exercises separate or split the sessions apart. Weightlifting demands a lot of energy from your muscles and nervous system. You need that energy to get the most out of lifting sessions.

• What to eat before the gym?

You can eat some complex carbs, protein, and healthy fat. A protein shake, smoothie, or energy bar can help if you are not feeling too hungry.

• Is cardio killing my gains?

Cardio can impact muscle growth depending on how you incorporate it into your training routine. 

Moderate to high-intensity cardio burns calories quickly, boosting weight loss. However, excessive cardio can make it challenging to achieve muscular hypertrophy because one must maintain a calorie surplus.

Intense cardio can also cause significant muscle fatigue, which may hinder your ability to perform strength training at an adequate intensity and volume to stimulate growth and affect your ability to recover from those sessions.

In general, to find a balance of cardio and strength training, one won’t ruin the other. In fact, improved cardiovascular endurance can enhance your strength training, while improved strength can enhance your cardio. As with many things in the health and fitness world, finding the right balance is key.

• Does running burn belly fat?

While running is a very efficient calorie-burning exercise and can help achieve the caloric deficit needed for fat loss, it’s important to note that spot reduction (losing fat from a specific area) is not possible. Instead, running may help reduce overall body fat, eventually leading to a decrease in belly fat.

Combining running with a healthy diet and strength training can enhance your results. Consistency is key, so stick with your running routine and maintain a balanced lifestyle for the best results.

The Bottom Line

Conquering your first day at the gym can feel intimidating, but this is the start of a new journey. Remember that progress requires consistency, effort, and dedication. Be empathetic towards yourself and keep a positive mindset to follow through.

Everyone has had their first day, so there is nothing to be ashamed of. You become a part of that group, not an outsider, when you walk in. Now that you have a proper workout plan, you can use the right techniques and exercises to overcome any fitness challenge.