Your first week at the gym: what to do and what to expect

Your first week isn't about results. It's about learning a handful of moves, finding where things are, and leaving feeling like you could come back tomorrow. Three short sessions is plenty.

The plan

Do this workout three times, with a day off between each. Two to three sets of 10 to 12 on each, with a weight that feels like you could do three or four more reps.

1. Leg press or goblet squat
2. Chest press machine or dumbbell bench press
3. Lat pulldown
4. Seated row or one-arm dumbbell row
5. Plank: 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds

• Leg pressQuads, Glutes
• Goblet squatQuads, Glutes
• Dumbbell bench pressChest
• Lat pulldownLats
• One-arm dumbbell rowLats, Upper back
• PlankAbs

How heavy

Lighter than you think. Start with a weight you could lift for 20 reps, do a set of 10, and go up a step if it was easy. You'll be sore for a day or two after the first session either way; that fades fast. See how much weight should I lift and should you train when sore.

Gym etiquette

• Put weights back where you found them.
• Wipe down benches and handles after you use them.
• Ask "how many sets have you got left?" if you want a machine. Most people are happy to share.
• Nobody is watching as closely as you think. Everyone started somewhere.

After week one

Keep the same moves and add a rep or a little weight each session. After a month, move to a proper plan like the beginner gym workout plan. Warm up with a light set of each exercise first: see how to warm up for lifting.