00:00Hi, I'm Magnus. Welcome back to my channel. For more tips and tricks, follow me on Instagram.
00:06Today, I want to go over a beginner's guide to the gym. Starting your fitness journey can be
00:11intimidating. Putting yourself in a new, uncomfortable situation is not easy,
00:16especially not walking into the gym for the first time. A lot of people going to the gym
00:21for the first time feel pretty insecure and are thinking, where do I start? What type of
00:28training should I be doing? Can anyone help me with the program? How does this machine work? And
00:33is everyone staring at me right now? Well, most of us have been there at some point. Trust me when I
00:39say that as soon as you take those first steps, you're going to feel so much better and you will
00:45realize that you had nothing to worry about in the first place. The gym is actually a place where
00:51you'll meet a lot of like-minded people that are on a similar journey to yours. Personally, I feel
00:57really connected to the people I meet at the gym or my gym, almost like a brotherhood or a family.
01:04Before you go the first time, you should ask yourself, what's your motivation for going to
01:09the gym? If you're going for the wrong reasons or have unrealistic goals to start off, there's a big
01:15chance that you might get discouraged and eventually quit. Remember, this should be a lifestyle shift
01:22and not a face. It's a marathon and not a sprint. So let's talk about preparation. How should you
01:28prepare? What should you bring to the gym? Should you be taking any supplements? Which gym is right
01:34for you? I would test a couple of gyms before buying a membership. Most gyms allow tours and also free
01:42trials or sessions before you need to make up your mind. What about a workout partner? A lot of people
01:49love going to the gym with a friend or a partner. I'm not against it entirely, but I do think it's
01:55extremely important that you start on your own and hold yourself accountable. If you go with a friend
02:02or accountability partner, the risk is that when they quit, you quit. Before going to the gym, I make
02:09sure that I've eaten something. You don't necessarily need to eat before, but there's an anabolic window of
02:16three hours. You need to make sure to eat some protein in a three-hour window before or after
02:22working out. Personally, I prefer to eat some carbs, some good fats, or one or the other with some
02:28protein about an hour before going to the gym. What I bring to the gym when I go is a water bottle and
02:35every once in a while, I'll bring my headphones that I can connect to my iPad or phone as well.
02:42There's nothing worse than seeing a person at the gym putting on a big pair of headphones, which means
02:48they can't hear anything, what's going on outside of those headphones. And they're blasting music, obviously.
02:55Then they're slamming weights like crazy. Regardless if it's free weights or machines, they can't really
03:01hear the noise they're making, so people start dropping weights and slamming them. But everyone else in the gym
03:07can hear it and it'll make you go deaf. If people start slamming weights around you, it is super
03:13uncomfortable and really bad for hearing. So don't be that person. Make sure to put on something
03:18comfortable. It is really all about functionality, not what you look like. With that said, don't show up in a
03:26pair of jeans. You see that every once in a while. Avoid that. Then you want a good pair of sneakers that supports what
03:31you're doing in a gym. I mean, I shouldn't have a pair of running shoes if I'm trying to do deadlifts
03:38or lifting weights at all. And I shouldn't have a lifting shoe when I'm running on the treadmill. So
03:44try to get a shoe that supports what you're doing. And there's hybrid shoes as well, because a lot of
03:52people are doing a combination of everything. But I do think that's important. Get a shoe that supports
03:58what you're doing in the gym. So let's talk training program. If you are going to invest the time and
04:04money going to the gym to reach your goals, to get healthier and to be more fit, you need to know
04:12that the program that you're on, it's a good program that's going to help you with all of that. To make
04:18sure that you're on a good regimen or program that suits you, I would talk to someone at the gym. Every
04:24gym's got a personal trainer or an instructor who can help you with all of that. There's also a lot
04:30of good information online. Obviously, not everything on the internet is great. But if you type in
04:36magnusmethodapp.com, this guy pops up and I have a ton of programs that you can do. So a typical program
04:43could consist of doing lower body one day, it could be a push and pull day, and then an arm day. So in
04:52three or four days, you work through the whole body, and then it starts over. The whole philosophy
04:58behind this type of training or programming is that you allow yourself to target each and every muscle
05:05much more and harder, and then let them rest a couple of days while targeting other muscles. And
05:13then you come back and work them again. The first couple of weeks, I would not overdo it. I would start
05:20with maybe three sessions a week, and then slowly ramp it up to four or five or six, whatever you
05:26have time with and what you prefer to do. If you keep on coming up with new exercises every time just
05:32to keep it fun, that will hinder your progress, it will set you up for more injuries, and you will
05:39possibly not reach your goals, at least not as fast. So stick to a basic program, learn the foundations,
05:46build a strong foundation, and ramp it up slowly. When it comes to reps in the beginning, I would
05:53rather do more reps, let's say 12 to 15, instead of dropping down and doing heavy weights and doing
06:01six to eight or even 10 reps. I do think it's important to work on that movement pattern and
06:07build a strong foundation, make sure that your ligaments, your tendons are in on it, and that you
06:13build up over time. Resting in between sets is super important to me. For me, it's about the quality
06:20of the sets and how you execute your reps in the beginning. That also takes us to the next thing I want
06:27to talk about. Make sure that you execute these exercises with good form. If you don't, you might work
06:33the wrong body part. You will most likely set yourself up for an injury. Anyway, just make sure that
06:39you learn how to do every exercise with good form. There's a lot of talking about cutting or bulking as
06:46well. Bulking is when you're trying to gain weight, you want to put on maximum amounts of muscle mass, and
06:53you don't really care about your body fat. And then you have cutting when it's all about getting toned and
06:59shredding fat while keeping your muscle mass as high as possible. And in the beginning, I wouldn't even think
07:05about bulking or cutting. You want to get in, you want to build a strong foundation, then you can decide
07:10what you want to do. When it comes to training and programming, you should know that it's mostly
07:16nutrition when it comes to bulking and cutting. Try to keep your training to about 60 minutes or less.
07:23I always say what doesn't happen in the first hour in the gym will not happen the second. Here's some
07:29essential gym equipment that you should know how to use. So leg press is a great fundamental machine
07:37that works your legs. It also allows you to lift a lot of weight without putting you in a compromised
07:44position. Start with sitting down and place your feet on the board. Before starting the exercise, make
07:50sure that you push down your glutes against the two cushions that you have behind you. You want to make
07:56sure that you don't allow your pelvis or your hip to rotate forward as you're lowering the weight.
08:03Make sure that you're pressed with the whole foot, especially the back of the foot. Always keep some
08:08resistance on the way down. Keep that tension in the muscle eccentric when you're lowering the weight
08:13and then you want to be more explosive on the way up. Make sure you don't lock out your knees at the
08:19top. The leg press will work your glutes, your hamstrings, your quads, basically your entire lower body.
08:26Bench press. In the bench press, we're using a barbell and it works the chest. Start with placing
08:32yourself on the bench. Make sure that you put your feet in the ground with good support. Then you want
08:37to tuck in your shoulder blades towards the bench and then you want to lower your shoulders and then
08:43you want to push up as explosive as possible without compromising on form. The lat pulldown works
08:49your latissimus in the back, your big back muscle. So remember there's two movements for this, lowering
08:55your shoulders and then pulling down. On the way up, you do the same thing but opposite. If you go on my
09:00app, I have videos and descriptions for all of the exercises that you can think of. Nutrition is hugely
09:07important and before I continue, don't forget to subscribe so I can continue to share with you guys
09:13all the knowledge and experience that I have gained over 20 years as a trainer and nutritionist. You
09:19can run a marathon and be overweight and you can have a six pack and be in lousy shape. Nutrition is key
09:24if you want to gain some muscle mass or if you want to lose some body fat. Your body fat is mostly
09:29determined by your nutrition. You need to eat enough protein in a day to gain or keep your muscle mass
09:36and you need to eat the right amount of carbs and fat to lose or gain body fat. There are thousands
09:42of diets and strategies out there. If you want to know how I do things with my actors and my artists,
09:48you know where to find me. Check out magnusmethodapp.com. I believe in a balanced diet. I don't really
09:54restrict myself from foods. I just make sure to eat the right amount or proportion of fat, protein,
10:02and carbs with every meal. If you want to gain weight, you need to eat more carbs and fat. If you
10:07want to lose weight, protein more or less stays the same if you're active and you want to keep some
10:12muscle mass on your body. My philosophy is that you should enjoy food and 17 out of 20 meals, I make sure
10:20that I'm on point. Three out of 20 meals, I eat whatever I want. So a few final tips that I want to
10:26give you. Don't start too extreme. Maybe start with three times per week and then ramp it up.
10:32Over the next few weeks. Personally, I do five days a week. Make training a part of your life.
10:37When looking at your physical activities, I want you to think about three different things.
10:42One, what do I like to do? Two, what does my body need? Three, is there something I want
10:49to master or get better at? When looking at those three things, you also know how to program your
10:55training. Maybe running is your number one. Maybe strength training is your number two.
11:00Maybe swimming or golf is your number three. Just make sure to create a program or a weekly program
11:07when all these three are represented. And last but not least, enjoy the process
11:13and don't expect to be motivated all the time. Motivation is overrated. Discipline
11:20and accountability is what matters. Good luck.
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