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Gym basics and etiquette

Nobody is watching you as closely as you think. Put things back, share, and you’re a good gym member.

What to bring

• Clothes you can squat in and flat, stable shoes. Running shoes with thick soft soles make squats wobbly.
• Water and a small towel.
• Your program on your phone, or the printed log.

More detail, including shoes and protecting your knees: What to wear and bring.

The rules that matter

• Put weights back where they came from, every time.
• Wipe down benches and handles after you use them.
• Share. If someone is resting on a machine you need, ask “How many sets do you have left?” or “Can I work in?” Both are normal.
• Don’t hover right in front of someone mid-set, or stand between them and the mirror.
• Phones: fine for your program and a timer. Don’t sit on a machine scrolling between sets when it’s busy.

If you don’t know how something works

Ask staff. That’s part of their job. Or pick the dumbbell or bodyweight version of the exercise; every exercise page lists them.

Warm-up

Warm up by doing the exercise itself, lighter. It rehearses the movement and gets you ready for heavier sets.

A warm-up that takes 5–10 minutes

1. 3–5 minutes of easy movement: brisk walk, bike, rowing machine. You should be warm, not tired.
2. Warm-up sets of your first exercise: 2–3 sets with lighter weight before your working sets, e.g. empty bar × 8, then about half your working weight × 5, then about 75% × 3.
3. For the next exercises, one lighter set is usually enough.

What you can skip

Long stretching routines before lifting aren’t needed for the beginner program. Warm-up sets do the job.

Warm-up sets don’t count toward the sets in your program.

Sets, reps and rest

“3 × 8–12” means 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. Rest the stated time between sets.

The words

• Rep (repetition): one full movement, e.g. one squat down and up.
• Set: a group of reps done without stopping.
• Rest: the break between sets. Start the timer when you finish a set.
• Range (8–12): you aim to land anywhere in it with good form. When you can do the top of the range on every set, the weight goes up.

How much for beginners

For novices, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends training each major muscle group 2–3 days a week with full-body sessions, using 1–3 sets per exercise [1]. For general health, adults should do muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days a week, alongside cardio [2].

Rest of 1–2 minutes suits most beginner work; heavy lower-body sets can use 2–3 minutes [1].

How hard should a set feel?

The last two reps should be hard but clean. If your form breaks down, the set is over, even if you haven’t reached the number.

Do reps matter for muscle?

Across studies, muscle growth was similar with heavy and light loads when sets were taken close to failure; heavier loads gave bigger strength gains [3]. So the range you choose depends more on your goal than on a magic number. See Goals.

Progressive overload

If the work never gets harder, your body has no reason to change. Add a little, regularly.

Progressive overload means gradually increasing the demand on your muscles: more weight, more reps, or a harder version of an exercise. It is a basic principle of every effective resistance training program [1].

How the beginner program does it

It uses a simple rule called double progression:

1. Pick a weight you can lift for the bottom of the rep range.
2. Each session, try to add a rep or two.
3. When every set reaches the top of the range, increase the weight.
4. The reps drop back down. Build them up again.

Example with a 5–8 range: 95 lb × 5, 5, 5 → weeks later 95 × 8, 8, 8 → next session 105 × 6, 5, 5.

How much to add

The program page tells you for each exercise: usually 10 lb (5 kg) for lower-body barbell lifts and 5 lb (2.5 kg) for upper-body ones. Dumbbells jump in bigger steps, so you’ll spend longer building reps before each jump. Bands and bodyweight move to a harder version.

Write it down

You can’t add to what you don’t remember. Use the printable log or another way to track.

Picking a starting weight

Too light costs you a week. Too heavy costs you form, confidence, and sometimes an injury.

First session: find your weights

1. Do a warm-up set with the empty bar, a light dumbbell or bodyweight.
2. Add a little weight and do a set at the bottom of the rep range.
3. If it felt easy and your form was clean, add a little more for the next set.
4. Stop at the weight where the set is hard but you could have done 2–3 more reps. That’s your starting weight.

Useful numbers

• A standard barbell weighs 45 lb (20 kg) on its own. Some gyms have lighter 33 lb (15 kg) or technique bars.
• For bands, start with a band you can use for the whole range with control.
• For bodyweight exercises, use the easier version on the exercise page (e.g. push-ups with hands on a bench) if you can’t reach the bottom of the range.

The first two weeks

Keep adding weight while every set stays clean. Beginners usually go up quickly. That’s normal, not a sign you started too light.

Soreness vs. pain

Dull muscle ache a day or two later is normal. Sharp, joint or nerve pain is not.

Normal: muscle soreness

After new or harder exercise, muscles often ache for a few days. This delayed-onset muscle soreness usually peaks 24–72 hours after the workout [1]. It feels stiff and tender, is spread across the muscle, and eases once you warm up. It gets milder as your body gets used to training.

You can train while mildly sore. If you’re very sore, do the workout lighter or rest an extra day.

Stop and get it checked

• Sharp, stabbing or pinching pain during a rep
• Pain in a joint rather than a muscle
• Pain that gets worse with each rep or set
• Numbness, tingling or pain shooting down an arm or leg
• Swelling, a popping sound with pain, or pain that doesn’t improve after a week

See a doctor or physical therapist for any of these. Every exercise page has a Stop if box with specifics.