Fit With Mari
My Guide to the Gym
@ marillewellyn
Table of Contents
A Note From Me
3
Take Pictures!
4
Guide Overview
5-6
Gym Fear
7
Your Goals
8
Gym Vocab
9
How to Choose Weights
10
Machine vs. Free Weights
11
Rest Days
12
Cardio
13
Cardio for Fat Loss
14-15
How to Approach Each Exercise
16
Warming Up
17
Resistance Bands
18
2
A Note From Me
Hello! Welcome to day 1 of your fitness journey.
Whether you’re new to the gym or just starting up
again, I am so happy to help you feel confident in your
workouts. In this guide you will find staple workouts
that I have used since day 1 of my fitness journey.
These are the workouts that have helped me lose fat
and sculpt my body! Keep in mind, there is no magic
workout. You will need to push yourself in order to
see results! You have come this far, I know
you can do it.
Please make sure to read all the information I have
provided as it is crucial to your success.
I can’t wait to see what you accomplish,
Mari xo
For any questions or concerns please reach out to:
fitwithmarihelp@gmail.com
Disclaimer: While reading this guide, please remember that I do not have
a personal trainer certification. I am not liable for any injuries you may
obtain from these exercises. These are simply the workouts that I followed
to reach my goals, and I hope to help you do the same. Selling or sharing
this guide is illegal.
Take Pictures!
Taking photos during your
journey will act as great
motivation. While you may not
feel like taking a photo of
yourself on day 1, you will be
so thankful you did in the long
run. Often times you’ll see
more results in the mirror than
on the scale.
Share your progress with me! I
would love to see your
transformations! Email me
your photos at:
fitwithmarihelp@gmail.com
Tag me in your Instagram
photos with the hashtag
#fitwithmari
#FitWithMari
4
Guide Overview
Many people believe that you need to go 0 to 100 with your fitness
journey. Not only do I find this physically and mentally unhealthy, but
also nearly impossible to sustain! I have created this guide to be
Simple, Sustainable, and Effective! This is the plan I followed to begin
my fitness journey, and still implement today.
You will notice there are two 9-week workout plans. The 2 plans are
interchangeable by week! This means that at the beginning of the
week, you can decide which one you want to follow! You may start
with the 3 day a week, and advance up to the 4 day a week! I
personally go to the gym 5 days a week, but I follow a 4 day a week
‘split.’ This means that I start the 4 day cycle again on the 5th day.
Depending on your schedule, you can select the plan that best suits
your week. I even included a full body workout for those extra busy
weeks when you can only make it to the gym once!
The guide is designed to gradually get more advanced. The first few
weeks you will notice only a couple exercises, this is intentional. To
start, I want you to practice and push yourself on those couple
exercises. Trust the program, this will ensure that you are mastering all
movements before advancing. If you push yourself it will be more
than enough to see results.
As the guide goes on, workouts will become a little longer and will
also contain more advanced exercises. You will learn and hopefully
master a number of exercises by the end of this guide. This means
you will easily be able to write your own plans moving forward!
5
Where to start: If you are a beginner, I suggest that you start on week
1. If you have gym experience I suggest you start on week 3, but you
may be able to find a better starting place for yourself by reading
over the plans and finding a comfortable starting point.
Please keep in mind, this guide is not a set of RULES! You can switch
things up according to your goals and your schedule. If you are only
able to do a couple of exercises one day, don’t sweat it! (No pun
intended.) The gym is more about consistency than following a rigid
plan everyday. As long as you are getting in there every week and
doing the best you can you will see results. Use this guide in whatever
way suits YOU best. You can pick and choose exercises or follow the
plan day by day.
“Let’s get sta
rted!”
6
Gym Fear
Gymtimidation is real. When I first walked into the gym the first thing I wanted to
do was RUN AWAY. I know how terrifying the gym can be. I had this in mind while
creating this guide.
The guide is designed to help you master movements, before advancing to new
exercises. Trust me, having a plan is going to make the gym a lot less nerve
racking! You will walk in feeling confident and focused on your goals! If you are
unable to do an exercise, I have provided alternative options in the glossary.
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7
Your Goals
While working out you should ALWAYS keep your goals in mind! Weight lifting
can be used for weight loss, muscle gain or both! Here is how you can switch up
your workout to suit your goals:
Fat loss: If you are looking to burn fat I would suggest taking a 30 second break
between your sets. This will keep your heart rate up and will keep those calories
burnin! Don’t be afraid to huff, puff and break a sweat!
Muscle gain: If you are looking to gain muscle I suggest taking a rest time of
about 1 minute (or until you feel ready) between sets.
Weight loss & muscle gain: If you are looking to lose weight and gain muscle
(which is very possible for beginners) try to rest for about 30 seconds-1 minute.
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8
Gym Vocab
(Dumbbell or DB)
(Barbell or BB)
Rep: A rep (repetition) is one complete motion of an exercise.
Set: The entire group of consecutive repetitions (12 reps may be 1 set).
Drop Set (DS): Sometimes we will end a set with a drop set. Upon finishing
your set, you will drop the weight to half of what it was, and complete as many
more reps as you can with this lighter weight. Take as short a break as possible
between the “drop.”
Superset (SS): When you do two exercises back to back with little to no rest.
Many d
umbbe
ll exerc
done w
ises ca
ith bar
n be
bells a
nd visa
versa!
9
How to Choose Weights
You will notice that along with each exercise I list the number of reps you will do
per set. To begin with, you should focus on perfecting your form. As you start to
feel more comfortable, you will start increasing the weight.
Ideally, if I suggest 15 reps, you will be ‘failing’ on around the 14th or 15th rep.
Failing means you are no longer able to complete the rep with proper form.
If you feel that you are able to fit in more reps, you DEFINITELY should! However,
if you are exceeding the suggested amount of reps with ease, it’s time to increase
the weight.
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10
Machine vs. Free Weights
A free weight is any object or device you can move freely! Some of
the more common free weights found in a gym would be:
Dumbbells
Barbells
Medicine balls
The Human
Body!
With free weights, it is up to YOU to stabilize your body. You will be
using your core, stability muscles, and your entire body in almost
every free weight exercise! Needless to say, this is going to burn a
TON of calories. Your entire body will be flexed and will be focusing
on staying balanced and stabilized. Machines are great for directly
targeting a muscle, but the muscles you are not directly trying to
target will not be in use.
I love using free weights, in fact I usually center my entire workout
around them! They are proven to burn more calories and, based on
my experience, they give better results!
With this said, I do believe machines have a place in a workout. I try to
prioritize my workouts around my free weight movements, and finish
off my workouts with a machine when my body is fatigued!
11
Rest Day
Rest is JUST as important as going to the gym! Your body needs to
recover from these workouts. Listen to your body. If you feel that you
need a day off, then take one. If you are sick, do not go to the gym!
I usually t
ake aroun
d 2 rest
days a we
ek. But I a
lways
listen to m
y body.
12
Cardio
Many people think that cardio is essential for reaching their goals.
This is not to say that cardio isn’t a useful tool, but it definitely is not
essential. I personally am not a fan of cardio. In fact, when I first
began my fitness journey I did no cardio until around the 3rd month.
If I am not trying to burn fat, I don’t do any cardio! I find that weight
lifting burns enough calories to keep me lean.
However, if you are actively trying to burn fat, I would recommend
implementing some cardio here and there. It is important to know
that you should NOT go 0 to 100 with your cardio regime. As I
mentioned previously, the body LOVES to adapt. It will try to adjust
itself to the routine you have, and therefore stop changing. This
means you should increase cardio slowly overtime. Begin with once a
week, increase to twice, increase to three times etc. This will allow
progress to keep coming.
Which cardio is best? My answer is: The exercise that burns the most
calories is the one you never do. (Again, the body loves to adapt.)
This is why many people experience progress plateaus. In order to
avoid plateaus, there needs to be VARIETY in your routine. My
favorite forms of cardio are: stairmaster, incline treadmill walking, and
sprints.
13
Cardio for Fat Loss
Monday: Stair stepper 15 minutes
Wednesday: HIIT cardio on elliptical (using arms) for 12 minutes.
Cycle of 20 seconds full sprint with 1 minute low intensity.
Friday: Incline treadmill. Starting with slow walk on low incline. Every
30 seconds increasing speed and incline. Total 12-15 minutes
Saturday: Casual hike outside for about 1 hour
My favorite type
of cardio?
Taking a hike wit
h my dog!
14
Cardio Continued
10 Minute Walks
There are a lot of confusing cardio methods out there. However, my
NUMBER ONE tip is simply to move as much as possible. Take 2-3 ten
minute walks everyday. I still follow this guideline! Walks are
awesome for you physically and mentally.
Benefits:
•
Getting outside is great for the mind and the body!
•
Walking can help with post meal digestion.
•
Getting your heart rate up is important especially if you have a
sedentary job.
•
Walking helps with blood flow, which helps with sore muscles
after weight training.
15
How to Approach
Each Exercise
1. Look over the instructional pictures in the exercise glossary
2. Read the exercise notes
3. Practice exercise in the mirror with no weight
4. Attempt exercise with a low weight
5. As you feel more comfortable, begin to increase weight
I always
use the
heaviest
while sta
weight I
ying safe
can
! Make s
correct b
u
re your f
efore yo
orm is
u increa
se weigh
t!
16
Warming Up
I do a ten minute warm up before every workout session. It gets the
blood moving, joints warm, and muscle ready to move some weight.
Nothing will halt your progress more than an injury at the gym.
E.g:
·
3-5 minutes on stairs or treadmill
·
Arm swings backwards and forwards 20 times
·
Basic stretches-holding each for 8-12 seconds, repeating twice
*Always do 1-2 practice sets with a light weight before performing any exercise
Stretch before
e
very workout!
17
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are an awesome tool. In fact, I never train legs
without bringing my band! Bands are going to help you warm up your
legs, AND activate your glutes. Personally, I used to struggle big time
with using my glutes rather than my quads. Resistance bands are
going to help you ‘pre-exhaust’ your glutes and keep them engaged,
to ensure you are using them throughout your workout. Bands are
also super portable so you can get your workout in anywhere,
anytime!
As you girls know, finding a good band can be tough. The bands
provided by the the gym are rubbery and roll up your legs. Others are
too loose and fall down! This is why I have decided to make my own
PERFECT resistance band. My bands are made of a heavy duty fabric
that WON’T snap, WON’T roll, and WON’T fall down. Plus they come
in adorable prints and colors.
Find these on my website!
18