Your first week in the gym
Week one isn't about results; it's about the habit and technique. The job is to show up three times, leave uninjured and want to come back. Everything else follows.
How many workouts
Three workouts a week with a day off between them — Monday, Wednesday, Friday or any three days with rest in between. Each one full body, 45–60 minutes. Two is enough too if that's all you can do: what matters is that next week looks the same.
Six workouts in the first week is a common mistake: you get so sore that week two falls apart. Muscle soreness in the first days is normal and fades in a couple of days; it gets milder every week.
Which exercises
Five or six movements that cover the whole body: a squat or leg press, a bench or dumbbell press, a lat pulldown or seated cable row, an overhead press, a Romanian deadlift, a plank. Machines and cables are a good start: the path is set and the weight changes with a pin.
Don't build a program yourself: take a ready one — full body three days or two days. Which one to pick is in the beginner program guide. Technique for every movement, with photos, is in exercises.
What weight to use
Light. Light enough that the last two or three reps of a set take effort but your form doesn't break. On the RPE scale that's 6–7: three or four reps left in reserve. Zourdos and colleagues (2016) built this scale so even beginners can use it: "how many more could I have done".
If you don't know where to start, begin with an empty bar or the lightest stack and work up until you hit that feeling. The weight in week one means nothing: a month from now it'll be different.
Warming up
Five minutes on a treadmill or bike to get warm, then two or three light sets before the first exercise: an empty bar for 10, then half the working weight for 5. Warming up lowers the risk and helps you perform better — that's the average finding of the meta-analysis by Fradkin, Zazryn and Smoliga (2010).
Stretching before the workout isn't required. The warm-up calculator lays out the sets up to your working weight; more in the warm-up guide.
What to log
Every set: the exercise, the weight and the reps. That's it. In two weeks you won't remember what you benched last Tuesday, and without that you can't progress — progressive overload is built on comparing with last time.
In the bot a set is one line, "60 10" — I'll figure out the weight and reps, remember them and suggest a target next time. Voice works too if your hands are busy. How the diary works in Telegram is on the bot page.
What not to worry about
- That everyone's watching. They aren't: everyone's busy with their own set.
- Small weights. Everyone started with an empty bar. In a couple of months your weights will grow faster than they ever will again.
- Asking. How to set up a machine or whether it's free are normal questions. Unsure about your form? Film a set and send it to me — I'll review it.
- Missing a day. Missed one — do it tomorrow. A week away isn't a reason to start over; just come back near your previous weights.
A sample first week
Monday is day 1 of full body three days: squat, bench press, barbell row, overhead press, curls and a plank. Weight: an empty bar or a little more, three sets each. Wednesday is day 2: a light deadlift (or a Romanian deadlift if the deadlift still scares you), incline dumbbell press, lat pulldown, lateral raises, triceps and crunches. Friday is day 3: leg press, dips or push-ups, band-assisted pull-ups, seated cable row, hammer curls and leg raises.
Tuesday, Thursday and the weekend are for rest, walking and sleep. By next Monday the soreness will be milder, and you can add a little weight to every exercise.
Common questions
Do I need a personal trainer? Not necessarily. A ready program, technique photos and a video of your own set cover most questions. If you want someone to look at your form, send a video of a set — I'll review it.
What should I wear and bring? Comfortable clothes, flat-soled shoes (squats are unstable in running shoes), water and a towel. You don't need gloves or a belt in week one.
My muscles are really sore — should I go? If it's muscle soreness and bearable, yes — a light workout will even ease it. If a joint hurts or the pain is sharp, skip it and find the cause, with a doctor if needed. More on what to expect in the beginner gains guide.
Log your first workout from the very first set — in a month you'll compare and see how much you've gained.
Prefer Telegram? Open the bot — same diary.