Troy Hurst holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Carroll University. He is a physical therapist specializing in both athletic and vestibular rehabilitation with an emphasis on performance running.
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.
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:
Form, pacing, and sequencing should be the top priorities when starting.
Here are some of the factors that make up a good workout plan.
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
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:
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.
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.
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).
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.
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:
Exercising in 2 hours?
You have time to digest the food, so you could consume:
Exercising in 1 hour or less?
Choose something light and easy to digest, like:
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.
Light Cardio
Mentally prepare yourself to avoid feeling intimidated. Here is how:
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.
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.
Take a couple of minutes to visualize yourself completing all the challenges. Intentional visualization can boost your motivation (5).
It depends on your goal. Here is how you can decide.
Weights are better for building muscle. They alter the power output of your muscles, build endurance, and maintain or build muscle mass (6).
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.
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).
Consider your workout plan’s type, frequency, intensity, and length.
For example, you could do:
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.
| Exercise | Duration | Target area |
|---|---|---|
| Pushups | 3 sets of 6 steps | Pectoral muscles, triceps, shoulders |
| Planks | 3 sets of 25 seconds | Shoulders, core, upper body |
| Goblet squats | 3 sets of 6 reps | Glutes, quads |
| Romanian deadlifts | 3 sets of 6 reps | Posterior chain muscles, hamstrings, calves, glutes, lower back |
| Inverted rows | 3 sets of 6 reps | Upper back muscles, biceps |
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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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.
Toe touch:
Bicycle crunch:
Reverse crunch:
Toe tap:
Leg lowers:
Glute bridge:
Russian twist:
Plank leg lift:
Windshield wiper:
Bird dog:
Looking for a 6 day gym workout schedule? Check out this Workout Split For Building Muscle And Strength.
These tips can help you stay inspired:
Track your progress:
The BetterMe app has various fitness features, such as progress tracking and step counting.
Find a partner:
Set small goals:
Make a playlist:
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. 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. 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. 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.Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run and lift on the same day?
What to eat before the gym?
Is cardio killing my gains?
Does running burn belly fat?
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.
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