I’d argue that a larger hurdle for the beginner to the gym is not confusion as to what to do, but that a lack of enjoyment causes the actual discipline involved of getting to the gym to be a struggle.
Bypassing that is as simple as making it so that no matter what you’re training either immediately upon waking or immediately after work.
Simple.
One or the other.
And always daily builds habit faster than it does when you have off days/rest days.
…..
I understand. It can be disheartening to be in a gym and be weak.
For whatever reason the ego causes one to compare themselves to others, and many never get good as their struggles at the start seem hopeless in comparison to someone at an advanced level.
Dudes no warm up benching your deadlift, pressing your front squat – that shit lol…
Biting the ground during pushups, meditating preworkout on things far rougher than you have it, and no option to train anywhere else…these set a good foundation.
…..
You gotta get a beginner doing productive stuff, but you might have to trick them to get to the gym with fun stuff (done additionally to the more quantifiable productive basics – I have a serious internal argument going about how life would be different had I started with kettlebells vs pushups, then barbell).
Throw around a medicine ball for a time, tends to be fun for most, and it’s building work capacity.
Make it a game, try to throw from as far as possible or as quickly as possible – make it into a competition, maybe you’re trying to go the entire time without dropping it, or maybe you’re trying to get your training partner to drop it.
The concept of “I’m in this with you” can get many to do more than they’d otherwise.
Set an interval timer, then you’re both dropping to the floor for pushups or burpees or whatever at the same intervals, but maybe the reps are scaled.
(isn’t this what group fitness class instructors are doing…with a zillion burpees, bw squats, lunges, pushups…a personal trainer could have the side effect of their client’s sessions be an awesome base of their own daily gpp)
One training partner took a selfie, texted his girl “look how sweaty this made me”, and thanked me for getting him to do the burpees.
He just matched my reps, the interval timer on my phone dictating when we did a few, when we rested.
(a few random people have joined me on burpees like that – my mentality being “you want in, sure, the more the merrier – let’s get it”)
Another training partner – I was proud of him for this one, took me talking him through it towards the end, but he completed it.
We’d been doing pullups, he asked me “if we were to do pushups – how many would you consider a lot”.
“Me personally? Essentially infinity. All of them. Us doing a workout together? 400 total, 20×20 – I’ll complete it, you’ll complete it.”
He expressed doubt, but I knew he’d get through it digging deep and with me alongside him the entire time, talking him through the end if necessary.
…..
There’s definite value to a training partner or a trainer being in the thing with you.
“Hey we’re in the suck together.”
(though that frame of mind makes it like the gym hobby is some actually difficult thing…it’s not tough…we in the first world exercise as a hobby)
Still, gotta get the crowd into it.
So :
•be alongside them
•positive external talk
•do fun stuff
The training partner(s) or client(s) is the only one in your world while you’re training with them.
Nothing else exists.
They are the only external in your universe at that moment.
-J