Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Lifting

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hey everyone. Welcome back to The Lifted Podcast. My name is Peyton. Happy Monday or whatever day you're listening to this. Hope you guys are having a great start of the week. The day that I'm posting this, Is January 2nd, so the New Year's has just passed. So hope you guys had a great new year. Happy 2023.

Let's make this a great year. And remember, you do not have to wait until a new year to start any sort of goals or anything like that. Just thought I would throw that out there. You can set monthly goals, weekly goals if you fall off track. That doesn't mean you have to wait until another year or a fresh month.

No, you can start whenever. You decide to change. If it's the middle of a day, middle of a Tuesday, it does not matter. All it takes is one decision and you can change up your routine, your life, everything. So yes, happy New Year. Let's make it a great year because I do understand the whole mindset. Like me [00:01:00] personally, a fresh start.

I love New Year's. I love the mindset behind it on. Kind of just like a fresh breath of air, like a new year, new opportunities. Looking forward to what's to come. So for example, me, I, um, let's, let's hop right into my lift of the week, I guess because I dyed my hair black. Um, for those of you guys who don't know, I have been blonde for the past year and.

Before that I had like lightish brown hair and then my natural hair's pretty dark brown, but I did sun in, so I had this weird like orangey tint for a while, and then I just went full blonde. So now it's jet black and I am loving it. It makes me feel so good. It's a whole new feeling, a whole new vibe. And not to be dramatic makes me feel like a whole new person.

You know, obviously I know that that doesn't mean I'm a whole new person, but, um, the whole mindset just around changing things here and there, change can be such a good thing. So definitely my lift of the week is, uh, [00:02:00] nice little hair dye. Feel like a, a new person here. So, uh, So I know that a lot of people's New Year's resolution is always going to be and always has been, to get in shape, lose weight, get into the gym, focus on your health, blah, blah, blah, you know, the usual.

And that is, it's a, it's a great goal. Getting into the gym is a life changing thing. It's gonna help you physically, it's gonna help you mentally. It's just overall a life changing. Thing to do. So if you are looking to get into this gym this year, I thought that I would make an episode of just some things that I wish I knew when I started lifting, just to shave off some time from your day-to-day gym routine.

Because a lot of times if you don't really know what you're doing, it can take like a good year to really learn. What's going on in the gym and what works for you, and it's still gonna take some time to figure out what you like, what works for your body. But here's some things that are pretty general that work for everyone that I wish I knew and definitely would've shaved [00:03:00] off some time and some major growth gains that were lost because I wasn't doing them.

before we hop into the episode, make sure you give this a rating and review because that is how these podcasting platforms share this podcast to more people so it can grow, which is what I want, what we want, we want more people in this little community, so it would mean the app. Suit world to me, so make sure you leave it rating interview.

And without further ado, let's hop into some things that I wish I knew before I got into the gym. We're gonna start from the very beginning. So you decide you want a gym membership, but you are scared because of gym intimidation. This is probably the biggest thing that I've learned this year, and honestly, most of it is just because of what I realize is going on through my head.

So first of all, , I understand that you think that everybody's looking at you and I I don't agree with the people that are like, nobody's looking at you. They're only looking at [00:04:00] themselves because that's, I mean, it's not true. Let's just face the facts. I look at people in the gym, but what I have come to realize is that most of the time, , I'm admiring people that I see in the gym, so I promise you they're probably not judging you unless you're doing something wrong.

And if you are doing something wrong and they give you some tips or whatever, try not to think too much into it. It's not embarrassing. The gym is such a supportive community and it is so nice. The online gym world can be a little toxic, but. Most of the time, especially if you find a nice gym, they're not judging you inside the gym.

It is one of the most supportive and loving communities, honestly, just because everyone's just there trying to better themselves, and the way that the gym pushes you mentally is just 10 outta 10. So most of the time those people do work on being a good person outside of the gym as well. So, Normally, some of the best people you're ever gonna meet are gonna be those quote, quote muscle heads that you're so scared of.

Those are normally the biggest teddy bears. Like I, I work at a [00:05:00] gym and the big scary dudes, those are the nicest people in the gym. They're so friendly, so funny, so warm, and they look so scary. You think that they could just beat you up, which they could, but they won't. The only people that I've had a problem with is old people, but at that point like it, what are you gonna do?

They're. You can't change them in their ways, they're gonna look at you and if you know you have something different about you, they're probably gonna judge you. But at the end of the day, that doesn. , it really doesn't matter. And I just, people are gonna judge you no matter what you do, no matter where you are, uh, whether it's a good judgment or a bad judgment.

So just, it's a big thing to just get over that fear of judgment because you're always judging people. So everyone is always judging you too. Again, whether that be good judgment or bad judgment, you're gonna be judged. So just the world we live in and the way that our minds work, you see someone, you're gonna think something of them immediately.

That's just a fear that you have to get over. So if you needed a little push, this is the [00:06:00] push. Just get over it. All right, so now you're in the gym and you're looking on how to start your routine. So, all right, so there's a difference between warming up and stretching. So both of them are very important, but you're not gonna wanna stretch.

after. I mean, you're, you're not gonna wanna stretch before, like, you're not gonna do static stretching while you're warming up because warmups should be dynamic stretching. So for example, like walking lunges for leg day, that's what I do. And. Using like resistance bands to warm up your upper body and using lighter weights to just kind of warm it up, get the muscles moving, and then afterwards for your cool down, that's where you're gonna wanna do your holding stretches.

Kind of like more yoga, like stretching. So where you're gonna do your flamingos and toe touches and split like type of stretches. So the next thing that I wish [00:07:00] I knew was, How basic it really all is. Like you do not need to do all these crazy workouts and crazy things just to see growth. You don't have to shock your muscles.

Progressive overload is very important. You just add more weight, more reps, you know, you have to keep challenging your body to make it grow. But this whole like shocking the muscle thing. There's so many like TikTok memes around it, like you're doing pushups and then all of a sudden you just like jump up and start doing.

Calf raises or something because you're like, shocking the muscle. That's don't, that's not real. Just progressive overload. Stick to the basics, stick to a routine, and just continue to evolve that routine. So the compounds are so important. I was, I started off in the gym pretty well with this, actually. I was sticking to compounds for the most part, just because it's all I knew was like squat, bench, and like, Lap pull downs for Mac Day, so, [00:08:00] The compounds are so important.

So if you want to build a routine around, like push pull legs for example, that's the split that I started off with. Um, you don't have to start with that split just as you don't have to lift six times a week to see results. It's however you can be consistent, like obviously six times a week. Good. Yeah, of course.

But you need rest and you also need a schedule that you can work around because. At the end of the day, that's what's most important is what you can remain consistent with. So don't listen to the media trying to push all of these, like you have to do this split for you to get results. You have to do this routine.

Like this is the way, there is not one way to fitness. You can do whatever you are able to be consistent with. Is what matters. That is the main thing. Consistency is gonna be the most important when it comes to seeing results in the fitness and honestly in anything that you, so for legs, you're wanting to do squatting movements and hip hinge [00:09:00] movements.

Squatting movements are more quad dominant movements and hip hinge movements are gonna be more of those gluten hamstring movements. And then when it comes to a push day, Benching in some way. Whether you're doing a chest press or you're doing dumbbell benching or barbell benching, those are gonna be, that's your compound that works everything in that muscle group.

And then when it comes to pull rose for your back and your biceps, those are. Incredible. So it's just stick to the basics and then add your routine around those compound movements. You don't wanna just load up on a ton of compounds because accessory movements can be fun and at the end of the day, you wanna enjoy your workout.

So like for me, I normally do one to two compound movements per workout, and then after that I do accessory movements. So for example, my uh, glute focus. Day I do deadlifts and I do hip thrusts. Both of those are gonna be, um, hip hinge [00:10:00] movements and deadlifts are just great compounds overall. I know that there's a lot of controversy.

They're not the best if you're looking to build one specific muscle group, but they're a great calorie burner and they're a great just like athletic movement because it works so much of your. . So then from there I will do like glute extensions or back extensions, but like the glute focused ones, I will do kickbacks.

Sometimes I will do rd l's. Lunging movements are absolutely phenomenal for, um, your legs. So, Split squats as much as we all dislike them. Walking lunges with weights, reverse lunges, they are so good. Stick to the basics. You do not need to do all of these crazy things. It's just if you look up leg workouts, if you look up upper body workouts, those basic movements, those are probably gonna be your best bet to see.

And. Once you're doing those movements, how do you do [00:11:00] them? I spent so much time in the beginning, ego lifting, and honestly, like I'm still a little guilty of it, especially when it comes to those main compounds instead of slow controlled movements. So that is where you are going to feel it the most. That is where you're going to see the most growth.

I thought for so long that my quad genetics were just absolutely horrible and Grant. I don't have the best quad genetics. I am a glute dominant gal, which I'm not gonna sit here and complain about as a female. But you know, I would like some quads as well. I've been training for a year and a half, and I, uh, still don't really have too big of quads, but I thought for so long that I just couldn't grow them.

But I was doing my leg extensions, like without thinking. Like you have to really think about the mind muscle connection, leg extensions work. So good, go so slow, hold it at the top and then go down slow. Like you do not have to just fling your body around when you're doing [00:12:00] movements because at the, the, you can't.

Use momentum and see the maximum amount of growth. Like will you see growth? Of course you're still moving your body and you're still lifting and moving weight, but the muscle contraction of just really focusing on those slow controlled movements are gonna make you see so much more growth. And at the end of the day, it's so much better for you, for your joints.

Especially like when it comes to ego lifting on bench. Like I, I have strained my. While benching before, because I was just ego lifting, throwing weights on and like bouncing it, which I mean, if you're power lifting, I guess just trying to get a max. But if you're looking to build muscle, slow controlled movements all the way every day, the next thing is that the food that you consume is gonna affect your lifts way more than you might think.

So for example, if you don't eat well the day before. So [00:13:00] like whether you're not eating enough, if you're cutting, or if you are just eating not enough protein, that is going to weaken your lifts the next day. And if you do eat really, really well, say you eat a little bit in a surplus and you are. on point with your protein.

You ate like a pound to a pound and a half per body weight. You are just hitting your macros. Your lifts are gonna go up so much easier. The weight is gonna feel lighter because. Food is fuel for so many things. Food is not the enemy. You do not want to eat as little as possible and then go to the gym and burn as much as possible.

Your body needs that fuel to build muscle protein is so important. The more protein you eat, obviously within a reasonable amount. You don't want to just go absolutely crazy on protein, but within a reasonable amount there is so many benefits, like that is what builds your muscle. and just what you eat.

Even like coming down to like right before your workout, what you ate for breakfast [00:14:00] that morning will affect your workout. A lot of people like fasted workouts, so in that case, like what you ate for dinner the night before is gonna affect your workout. And then if you are used to fasted workouts and you eat something before that could strengthen your workout or honestly, like depending on what you eat, it could worsen your workout.

So, Is so important when it comes to lifting. The next thing is something that I struggled with for a long time and I still struggle with a little bit because, you know, I'm human, but your genetics play a huge, huge role in your physique. Regardless of if you train the same way as a fitness model, chances are you're not gonna look like them because their genetics are different.

Like me, I. I fight so many bad lifting genetics on a day-to-day basis, but it's something that honestly, I'm starting to just enjoy the challenge because like, yes, do I wish I had better genetics? Of course I do, but I got what I got, so I'm gonna work with what I have. [00:15:00] Like, I, I have good shoulders, so I, I love training shoulders and I work with that.

I have, I carry fat on my back, so that's something. I have to get really lean to have that shredded back look that a lot of people have. I have a wider ribcage, so I'm not gonna have that hourglass. Like genetics are so huge. Like you can do the exact same workout and eat the same diet as someone and you're probably gonna look different.

Like, yeah. I'm not trying to discredit people saying like, oh, you shouldn't even try because you're not gonna look like them. Like, no, like still put in the work. Be healthy to look the best way that you can. Try to compare yourself to the best version of yourself or try to find people online that they're physique that is similar to yours.

Obviously there's still gonna be a few differences, but like for me, I follow when it comes to people that I try to like go and follow their workouts and try to follow them on social [00:16:00] media. I am following people who have a wider build and just broad shoulders and. because I know that I'm never gonna get that super duper tiny waist and I have hip dips, so I'm just never gonna have that perfect little hourglass and like, that's okay.

Like it's not normal to have a lot of people have 'em, and a lot of people don't. So you don't have to compare yourself to these. Fitness models that are part of like 2% of the world that look like that. Just try to look and feel the best way that you possibly can. And then same comes with strength. I have watched people come into the gym way after me and then months later they're lifting way more than me.

I, right. So the next thing is that doing too much in your workout can actually slow down your progress. Um, so when it comes to your lifts sticking to. Four to six exercises is [00:17:00] perfect. Like you do not need to do 12 different leg day exercises, because that, honestly, that's gonna slow down your progress.

If you really just focus on doing good and training hard on those four to six exercises, you're gonna see so much more progress and results in growth than you would if you're doing. 12 different exercises because if you can do 12 different exercises, then you're probably not training hard enough with the beginning ones or any of them, and for that matter.

So stick to the basics. Like I said, four to six. You do not need to be there for four hours training aimlessly every single exercise you can think of for the muscle group, because that's not gonna give you as good. , that's not gonna give you as good growth as you would if you're just really focusing mind muscle connections, slow controlled, heavy movements.

Pushing yourself till failure, training till [00:18:00] failure, complete failure. That's another thing I wish I knew. I would start to like burn and I'd be like, oh, can't do anymore. No failure. Go until you literally cannot go until you fail. And that is where growth comes in. The thing that I have learned is that those little heart rate monitors in your Apple Watch and your Fitbit are not that accurate when it comes to how much you're burning.

I used to live by it and I still wear my, I have a Fitbit. I still wear it for all my workouts and when I go on walks, but I use it more as a heart rate monitor than I do anything else because I remember I used to swear by it like, oh, I have to burn. 500 calories in this workout where it wasn't an effective workout.

And like, that's just so not the case because most of the time these watches are not that accurate. So you're probably burning less, honestly. Same with like, if you're on the treadmill, for me, I'm on the treadmill and I walk a mile and it's like, you burn 200 calories. And I'm like, [00:19:00] no, I didn't. Like, that's ridiculous.

So, um, so much of your metabolic rate. Gonna be completely up to how much muscle you have, how much you do on a day-to-day basis, regardless of the gym. So, How much it's called. Neat. Another thing that I have learned is that you do not have to be like deathly sore after every single workout in the beginning.

Will you be super sore if you're pushing yourself? Absolutely. Do I still get sore all the time? Yes. My legs are sore as we're speaking, but you don't always have to be extremely sore to think that you had an effective workout because your body eventually it adapts a little bit. Until you like change it up completely or you do something differently.

Like for me, my shoulders, I can tell when I did something different because it'll be more sore [00:20:00] the next day, but if I stick to the same routine, it's a little bit less sore. And same with stretching out afterwards. Like I've been doing a cool down after my leg day where I really just, I roll out and I stretch out and it really affects how sore I am.

Like my quads are not nearly as sore as they normally are. so much of like your day-to-day movement. Like if you're, if you just stay still the rest of the day after you workout, you're probably gonna be a little bit more sore. But if you keep your body moving, it just adapts and like it get you, it get gets used to those muscles.

It doesn't mean that you didn't have an effective workout. Like honestly, some of my upper body days, I can feel my muscles burning, but I leave the gym. Sweating and it, and the last thing that I have learned that I wish I knew when I started lifting is that it takes so much time to see growth. You are not gonna go into the gym and look the way that you wanna look after six months of lifting.

Like it's just probably not gonna be like that unless you have [00:21:00] absolutely crazy genetics. But for me, I still don't look the way that I necessarily wanna look. Do I love the way I look? Am I confident in who I am? Absolutely. But there's so much growth and room for improvement with my lifts and my physique that I wanna just make changes on, and that is perfectly okay.

Like honestly, I hope that I'm never fully content with the way that I look and. Lift because I always wanna improve and there's always gonna be things that I wanna work on. And you start to just fall in love with the journey rather than just, oh, I wanna go to the gym to be skinny because. That's so, it's not nearly as rewarding as the actual process of getting there, of losing and dropping that fat and gaining muscle.

Like it is so rewarding and it becomes so fun. Like I love, I genuinely love going to the gym every single day. It is the highlight of my day. I love lifting. I love just the atmosphere. I love being a part of the gym community, and I would not [00:22:00] trade it for the world. So, , definitely. That's another thing. I had no idea that I was going to.

Just absolutely fall in love with it because so many people, like when they start, they're like, oh, I have to go to the gym. I have to do this. Like I need to just, I need to lose weight. And then you get into it and then you just fall in love with the process and just being better and you start to just love the way that it feels for your muscles to be burning.

That feeling is so. Good, but so bad at the same time. I had no idea when I hopped into the gym that first time that it was going to completely just change my life and change me as a person completely mentally and physically. There is so much more to the gym than just. The gym. If you take it seriously, it can become such a big part of your life.

And if you, if you don't want it to be such a big part of your life, like that's also okay if you just don't really enjoy it and it's not what you're so passionate about, that's cool too. Like if you are [00:23:00] there for an hour every morning and you just stay consistent with it, you'll see results. Like it doesn't have to be your entire life.

I know that if you're a part of like gym talk and, um, like Instagram reels, it's all gym. It can seem really intimidating because of all of these influencers, who it is their whole life. And especially like when it comes to body building, like a lot of influencers are into body building, so you might see what they're doing and be like, oh, I can't do that.

I don't have the time for that. I have a life outside of that. That's. Perfectly fine. Like you do not have to change every single little thing in your life. It's just little changes that you can be consistent with. It is so personal for every person, like you do not have to do what this influencer's doing or that influencer's doing.

You don't have to meal prep and eat chicken and broccoli every single meal. Six weeks and then lean out and do the [00:24:00] StairMaster for hours every single day. Like you just don't like, if you just wanna be healthy and you just want to be confident, anything in the gym can help with that really. So that's another big thing is that.

If you are seeing these influencers, it can be so intimidating because you see what they're doing and you're like, that's hardcore. That's not for me. I'm just, I'm just not a gym person. But that's not true. You can be a gym person. You just might not be a bodybuilder. I'm still learning at the gym.

constantly learning new things that work and don't work, and methods and exercises and all sorts of things. So this isn't some foolproof guide that you're gonna just be an expert in the gym and you're gonna be a bodybuilder by the end of this podcast episode because you know everything. Now, I still don't know everything, so I'm learning and I'm loving the process.

Every bit of the way. So these are just some things that I wish I knew when I first started that would've helped me to get to where I am now a little bit [00:25:00] sooner. So hopefully this helps someone out there. If you like it, again, give this podcast a rating interview. It would mean so much to me and share this.

And just anything that can help it grow. And if you know someone who wants to get into the gym and you wanna give them a share to this podcast, that'll help 'em out. Follow my socials. I'm posting constantly. New gym things. My workouts, I do vlogs on there. I plan. when this is going up, I'm in the process of starting a YouTube channel, so I will keep you guys updated on that.

Super excited because I can talk more and film more than a 62nd TikTok on there, so, so excited to see where all of this goes in the new year. I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you guys next week. Thank you so much for listening. Happy New Year.