Guide to start lifting [For TRP beginners]

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This post is intended for those who are just discovering TRP (if such a thing still exists since the reddit quarantine) and are scared of applying the most important and fundamental principle : "LIFT". If you're already lifting, skip this one.

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Summary

Don't be :

• scared of being judged,
• ashamed of being weak.

Be:

• scared of injury,
• ashamed of lack of discipline.

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Body

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Main obstacle: "what will guys at the gym think of me ??"

When I first discovered TRP, I remember being scared shitless that the main advice was "LIFT". I thought I was gonna look like an idiot: I had no idea how to use the machines, I was weak as fuck. Guys on TRP would repeat that people at the gym didn't give a fuck about beginners, but I couldn't believe it. I was judging myself: why wouldn't the others?

But here's why others won't judge : because it doesn't make a shred of sense to compare what is not comparable. You can’t compare apples to oranges, and a few sessions at the gym are sufficient to realize that we are all a different fruit. Is that guy lifting less? Is he lifting more? : Maybe he's training for endurance, maybe he's training for strength. Maybe he's a beginner, maybe he's been doing this all his life. Maybe he lifts because he wants to improve his performance in another sport, maybe he lifts because lifting is his passion. The gym is not a special place reserved for jacked dudes who will laugh at you for not being jacked. The gym is an open space, where different people do their own different things.

So what is your thing ?

Your thing is that you're a patient but disciplined beginner. You're not any kind of beginner: you're the disciplined type. Because there is only one thing all jacked dudes have in common : regularity. Each has his own strength program, but all have regularity. Every single jacked dude has started out not jacked. A stick-armed beginner who comes 4 times a week will eventually be respected. Trust me, that's what happened to me. I remember after two months of swiss-like regularity on my part, the jacked dudes at my gym started chatting and being friendly with me, and it seemed like a normal thing, since I was a regular.

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A few tips to start lifting safely :

• I would suggest starting out with just bodyweight exercices (push-ups, pull-ups, squats, dips) because it is a familiar mass and so the chances of injury are really slim. Also you can do that anywhere, at the park or at home, so you don't have to instantly tackle the fear of the gym. Once you have reinforced your body (1-2 months of serious training), you'll want to enter a gym anyway.
• When you try out weights and machines for the first time, the key is to not give in to the fear of looking weak. Use small weights. Otherwise you'll injure yourself and trust me -because I know what I'm talking about- you don't fucking want that. Even if that girl over there is lifting that many kgs, don't try to compete. Focus on your body and your sensations. Instead, be proud of your weakness. Think of the tortoise and the hare: slow, but steady. Trust that eventually, dedication will triumph. Start by lifting just the bar. Nobody will judge you, because they can see your small arms: they know that if they had your small arms, they wouldn’t be lifting much more than you.
• If you feel weird pain or discomfort: stop immediately. Seriously. You don't want to get injured, ever, and especially if you're beginning : it might break your motivation forever. Take a breath, and try doing the movement again slowly. If it still hurts, stop that exercice. Back home, check on the internet the proper form and the risks of said exercice, and try again next session.
• For programs, tips, anything, internet is your friend. Personally I started with bodyweighted push-ups, dips and squats; then simple machines; then free weights with the Stronglifts 5x5 program. After that I was fluent enough to make my own programs.

Slowly, you’ll get used to the physics of the weights, and then you can start to progressively load up.

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Lessons learned

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• Gym dudes will judge you, but not on what you think: they will judge your dedication.
• Injury and irregularity, not other's judgment, are your enemy.
• Start with bodyweight, at the park for example. The idea is to keep it familiar.
• Go slow, but go regularly.