Your First Workout
Now that you have learned how to get started, it’s time to tackle your first workout. To begin,
it’s important to have an exercise schedule for the whole week to know exactly
what muscle group you want to target that specific day of the week. On Mondays,
I like to start off with the biggest muscle components in the body, which would
be legs. If you do not workout your legs, you will have what I call “Chicken Legs Syndrome”, which means you will have very small legs and a bigger upper
body. There are plenty of ways to target the 3 main muscle groups in your
legs; the quadriceps (thighs), hamstrings (the back of the thigh) and your
calves.
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Me showing off |
Firstly, I highly
suggest to start with compound exercises and finish off with individualized
exercises. Compound exercises are the ones that use multiple muscle groups at
one time, whereas individualized exercises only use one muscle group at a time.
To begin, you should always do a quick warm up by running on a treadmill or an elliptical to get your heart rate up and to avoid injuries. Then go to the
nearest squat rack to begin the first exercise. Squats are a very complex
exercise to do, therefore, I suggest to have a spotter (a person who supports you
while you’re doing an exercise) with you. You should always start at a low
weight and progress to your heaviest. Four sets is ideal and to finish off, you rep out at the last set, which means you do as many as you can at a light
weight to finish the exercise. You do the following for the next exercises
coming up.
Lunges target all the muscle groups in the legs including your
glutes (butt), so for all the ladies that want a bigger behind, that workout is for
you. Then you should use the knee extension machine for your quadriceps, the knee
flexion machine for your hamstrings, and calf raises, well, for your calves…
After you finish make sure to stretch very well, hold it for at least 20 to 30
seconds!
After you’re done, I
am confident that you will most likely be walking with a limp for the next
couple of days, especially if it’s your first workout. So remember to follow
the following exercises to have an awesome leg workout! Stay tuned for more of
Maroun’s health and fit advice.
“Pain is weakness
leaving the body”