How To Workout If You're Clueless At The Gym, According to Cam Lagmay

For a lot of us, when we hear the word "gym", we immediately imagine men pumping iron and intimidating body builders all around. The mere thought of gym equipment or weights is enough to scare a lot of women into thinking the gym is not a place they want to exercise.

READ: Yes, You Can Workout While You're Pregnant. Aubrey Miles Tells Us How!

While there are a lot of other non-gym workout options (yoga, pilates, and indoor cycling studios) out there in the market today, there's no denying that a traditional gym can still do wonders for our physique—if we know what exactly to do when we get there!

 

Photo by Danielle Cerullo on Unsplash

 

It may sound tempting to get a personal trainer, but for some people this luxury is not a possibility, so we've got to make other efforts to get well-versed in gym workouts 101! Thankfully, we've got pros to turn to, like Cam Lagmay, former UP cheerdancer and current Senior Instructor at Ride Revolution to teach us how to go about our workouts in the gym without wasting any of our efforts there!

Cam also does personal training at the moment, lending her knowledge about fitness to clients who want to personalize their workout sessions in the gym. We picked her brain about what to do if we're beginners at the gym, what weights to use, and how we can go about building an effective fitness routine! Read on and get informed:

 

 

Sharing this full body workout that plays around with the basics and targets multiple muscle groups in one sesh ?? #humpdaymotivation?? Warm Up A. Squats 10 x 3 B. Deadlifts 10 x 3 Superset 1 C1. Inclined Dumbbell Press 10 x 3 C2. Bent Over Butterfly 10 x 3 Superset 2 D1. Upright Row 10 x 3 D2. Bent Over Row 10 x 3 . . - You may scale these exercises up or down (weight, reps and rests) to match your personal level of difficulty. - No rests in between sets to keep the heart rate up. ?? the one and only Ida Paras ???? #gritgirlsgang

A post shared by Cam Lagmay (@cam_lagmay) on Nov 20, 2018 at 3:36pm PST

 

Metro.Style: What are three things to remember if you want to have a good workout at the gym?

Cam Lagmay: First off, have a clear action plan before you enter the gym. Know exactly what you're going to do, where you’re going to do it and in what order. This makes your workout efficient and direct to the point. Next, mind your own business! Focus on your reps, your sets, your technique, your form. There is no need to compare yourself to the chick or dude working out next to you, as this will only distract you and take time away from you and your workout. And lastly, listen to your body throughout the session and end with a good stretch/cool down. There is nothing like a ritual to cap off your session to jumpstart your recovery. It is essential to help energize you for the day ahead (and your next workout!)

 

 

MS: Give three misconceptions about working out in the gym.

CL: Women need to go to the gym to look good, that’s it. Wrong! Looking good is the icing on top of gaining strength, endurance, flexibility and all around better performance. Another one is that lifting heavy will make you bulky. Wrong! A training program that is not fit for you and your body type, overtraining, an unbalanced diet and insufficient rest will. Lifting weights builds more muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories and fat your body can burn at a resting state.

Next, women belong in the cardio section. Wrong! Running on the treadmill, elliptical or any other cardio machine may help you lose body fat, but without adding on muscle, it won’t give you a tight, lean physique. You don’t want to be “skinny fat” now, do you?

Lastly, lifting heavy is a requirement. Wrong! Strength training at whatever level you’re comfortable with will always lead to positive results. There is a wide variety of workouts that you can do with a variety of apparatus that you can work with, which are all effective if performed correctly with a program that is best for you and your body.

 

 

My two go to’s ?????? @anytimefitnesseastwood

A post shared by Cam Lagmay (@cam_lagmay) on Oct 10, 2018 at 4:31am PDT

 

MS: What are some of your favorite pre and post workout snacks?

CL: Oatmeal, bananas, egg whites, chicken, broccoli!

 

MS: Give us your best fitness tips!

CL: Plot down your gym days in advance to assure yourself that they are part of your day. It helps if you have a calendar posted up on your wall that visually shows you which days you are meant to be at the gym and which days are meant for rest. Have the mindset that quality workouts are better than quantity—so make sure you give 100% every single time you make that choice to commit!

 

Lead photos via @cam_lagmay; first photo taken by Junessa Rendon