Gym fitness scene

For the vast majority of people who enter the gym for the first time, the core principles of action are never "how long to practice for enough time" and "how much weight to use." Instead, they should first understand the functional boundaries of different areas, match their own training demands, and avoid unnecessary pitfalls, so that they can be more efficient than 80% of those who follow the trend of exercisers.

The first thing that hits you when you open the door is always the smell of disinfectant mixed with L-sparkling water and evaporated sweat. When the little girl at the front desk asks you to scan the code, what you catch from the corner of your eye is either a latissimus dorsi master doing shoulder presses with 20kg dumbbells in front of the mirror, or a newbie dangling in the equipment area with his mobile phone in hand, his eyes wandering and not knowing which equipment to touch - the latter is most likely your first time here.

Many people go straight to the treadmill as soon as they enter the house and run for forty minutes. They break out in a sweat and feel that they have made a lot of money today. However, if you want to gain muscle, running like this will actually lose the little muscle mass you have managed to save. Of course, there are different opinions. Many fitness bloggers say that ordinary people don’t have much muscle mass, and they don’t have to worry about losing muscle during aerobic exercise. As long as you can keep moving, even walking for half an hour every day is better than lying down. There is nothing wrong with this. The core thing is to see what you want.

Standing in the equipment area for ten minutes, there is a high probability that someone wearing a coaching uniform will come over and talk to you, saying that you have round shoulders and a weak core, and that you should buy a few classes to adjust. Don’t panic at this time, both options are feasible: If you have enough budget, but are afraid of getting injured by practicing blindly, find a coach with complete certificates and good training and buy 3-5 classes to learn the compound movement patterns of squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. It is definitely worth the price; if you don’t want to spend this money, Nowadays, there are a lot of free tutorials from national team coaches on the Internet. You can learn it by looking at the mirror in slow motion, or you can find a partner who has practiced for more than a year to watch the movements for you. The biggest fear is that you just buy dozens of lessons without being able to show your face. In the end, the coach quits, he is too lazy to go, and the money is wasted.

Speaking of injuries caused by wrong movements, I just met a young girl born in 2000 last week. I read on Xiaohongshu that Smith rack squats with legs and buttocks are not thick, so the next day I came over and directly added 20kg of squats, and my knees were buckled into twists. She squatted for three sets and cried on the spot. The big brother who was doing deadlifts next to her couldn't stand it anymore and went over to adjust her position and teach her to find the feeling of the hip hinge first. She squatted for ten sets on the empty bar before she could find the right feeling of exertion. Otherwise, she would not have time to cry even if she injured her meniscus. Here is some common sense that novices need to know: the so-called 1RM is the maximum weight that you can lift only once with all your strength. It is best for novices to start from 40%-50% of 1RM to find the feeling when practicing compound movements. Don't try to show off.

I have been practicing for almost four years, and I have seen a lot of weird things. In fact, the unspoken rules in the gym are not that complicated. The core is not to delay others: if the rest between sets exceeds one minute, don’t sit on the equipment and use TikTok. Go to the rest area next to you and use it as you like; use up the barbell plates in the free weight area. Don't throw it around, return it to its original position, otherwise it will really explode if someone comes after you and look for the 2.5kg piece for ten minutes; don't bang it on the floor when deadlifting, especially in a gym with an empty space under the floor. The boss's heart will tremble when he hears the sound. If you really can't hold it, it's okay to throw it away. Just don't smash it on purpose.

To put it bluntly, the gym is just a public space filled with exercise tools. No one will watch whether you are doing well or not, and there is no need to follow other people's plans. If you want to make your shoulders look good in a sling at right angles, push your shoulders more and practice your midriff; if you’ve been under a lot of pressure recently, no one will care about you when you hit the sandbag for half an hour and you get sweaty; even if you just want to take a shower, as long as you apply for the card, no one will say you are wrong. Don't be bound by the bullshit on the Internet that "if you don't develop abdominal muscles, it's not fitness." If you are comfortable practicing and can persist, you are better than anything else.