This guy came into the gym last week for the first time ever. He’d been watching YouTube videos for a month, trying to figure out what to do before he showed up. Looked terrified walking through the door. Told me he was worried he’d look stupid and everyone would judge him.
I told him what I tell everyone – nobody’s paying attention to you. Everyone in here is focused on their own workout.
And the people who’ve been lifting for years? They remember being new. They’re not judging you; they’re usually happy to help if you ask.
He’s been back three times a week since then. Doesn’t look nervous anymore. That’s how it goes once you realize the gym isn’t this scary place you built up in your head.
Why Bother With Strength Training
Strength Training In Colorado Springs, CO
Most people walk in thinking strength training is for people who want huge muscles. That’s maybe 10% of why people lift. The rest of it matters way more for regular life.
Building muscle increases your metabolism. Muscle burns calories even when you’re doing nothing. This helps whether you’re trying to lose weight or just not gain weight as you get older and your metabolism naturally slows down.
Your bones get denser. Doesn’t matter much now, matters a lot when you’re 60. Lifting weights signals your body to build stronger bones. Less chance of fractures and breaks when you’re older.
Everything physical gets easier. Carrying groceries. Picking up your kid without your back tweaking out. Hiking around Colorado Springs without being completely destroyed. Moving furniture without needing to hire someone. This stuff adds up.
Injury prevention is real. Stronger muscles support your joints better. I’ve had multiple people tell me they used to throw their back out a few times a year doing random stuff – bending over to tie their shoes, picking up a bag wrong, whatever. Started lifting consistently and it stopped happening.
First Couple of Weeks Feel Strange
Your first time walking into a gym in Colorado Springs, CO, is intimidating, no matter what anyone tells you. Everyone else looks like they belong there. The equipment looks complicated. You feel self-conscious even though, realistically, nobody’s watching you.
That feeling fades pretty quickly. Two weeks in, you know where stuff is. A month in it feels normal instead of foreign.
The first workout might feel easier than you expect. Then 48 hours later, you’re so sore you can barely move. Welcome to DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness. It’s brutal the first time. The good news is that it drops off dramatically after your first few sessions. Your body adapts fast.
The actual movements feel weird at first. Squatting with weight feels unnatural. Deadlifts feel awkward. Pressing feels unstable. Everyone goes through this. The movements start feeling normal after a few weeks of practice.
Five Basic Movements Cover Most of What Matters
You don’t need to learn thirty exercises starting out. Five or six basic movements and you’re covering everything important. Everything else is just variations.
Squats hit your legs, glutes, and core. Start with bodyweight squats or holding a light dumbbell. Form matters infinitely more than how much weight you’re using. At AlphaGainz, we make beginners nail down proper squat form before we add real weight. Bad form with heavy weight is how people get hurt.
Deadlifts are picking something up off the ground properly. You do this in real life constantly, whether you realize it or not. Start light, keep your back straight, and lift with your legs. I’ve seen people hurt themselves deadlifting because they tried to go heavy before they learned the movement.
Pressing works the chest and shoulders. Bench press, dumbbell press, overhead press. Useful strength for pushing things, putting stuff overhead, and general upper body function.
Pulling balances pressing. Rows in different variations, pull-ups if you can do them or assisted pull-ups if you can’t, and lat pulldowns. Works your back, prevents that rounded-forward posture everyone develops from sitting at desks all day.
Core work stabilizes everything else. Planks, dead bugs, and pallof presses. A strong core prevents back pain and improves basically every other movement you do.
How Often You Should Show Up
Three days a week works great for most people starting out. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday give you rest days between sessions. Your body needs recovery time – that’s when you actually get stronger, not during the workout itself.
Two days a week still gets results if that’s what your schedule allows. Slower progress than three days, but infinitely better than zero days. Some people start with two and add a third once they’ve built the habit.
Four or more days weekly is usually too much when you’re brand new. Your body needs time to adapt to this new stress. Trying to do too much too fast leads to burnout or injury.
Sessions should run 45 minutes to an hour. Much longer and you’re probably resting too long between sets or doing too many exercises. Here in Colorado Springs, the altitude can make you tire out faster, too, so keeping workouts efficient matters.
What Weight to Start With
Everyone asks what weight they should use. The answer is always lighter than you think.
For barbell stuff like squats and deadlifts, lots of beginners start with just the empty 45-pound bar. That’s completely fine. Learn the movement pattern with light weight, and add weight gradually as your form improves.
Dumbbells, start with whatever you can handle for 10 to 12 reps with good form. Can’t get 10 reps with proper form? Too heavy. Can you easily do 15 reps? Go heavier next time.
Adding weight should be gradual. Five pounds per week on main lifts is solid progress for beginners. Don’t jump 20 pounds at once. Slow and steady prevents injury and builds better habits.
We track progression for people at AlphaGainz. Helps beginners see they’re getting stronger even when it doesn’t feel dramatic week to week. Look back over a month or two and the progress is obvious.
Mistakes Everyone Makes
Going too heavy too soon is the big one. Your ego tells you to load up the bar. Your body isn’t ready for it. You end up sacrificing form to move the weight, which doesn’t work the muscles properly and increases injury risk.
Skipping warm-up because you want to save time. Five minutes of light cardio and stretching prepares your body for lifting. Cold muscles get injured more easily.
Inconsistent training kills progress dead. Training hard for two weeks, disappearing for a week, coming back for a few days, gone again. You never build momentum. Consistency matters more than intensity when you’re starting.
Nutrition gets ignored because people think they can just train harder. You need protein to build muscle. You need enough calories to fuel workouts and recovery. Training without eating properly limits your results significantly.
Not asking questions when you don’t know something. Everyone in the gym was new once. Most people are happy to help if you ask. At AlphaGainz, teaching proper form is part of what we do. Ask questions.
Altitude Makes a Difference
Training at 6,035 feet hits differently than sea level, especially if you’re new to both lifting and altitude. You’ll get tired faster initially. Your cardiovascular system is working harder even during strength training.
Take longer rest between sets when you’re starting. Sixty seconds at sea level might need to be 90 seconds here. That’s normal, not you being out of shape.
Drink more water than you think you need. Altitude makes you lose water faster through breathing. Hydration matters more than people realize.
Most people adapt within a few weeks. Your body adjusts and training feels easier. Initial adjustment can be rough, though.
Just Keep Showing Up
Results come from showing up consistently over months, not from having the perfect program. Three times a week with decent effort beats the theoretically perfect program you only follow occasionally.
Guy I mentioned at the start has been coming three times a week for a month. His squat form looks good. He’s added weight to everything. Doesn’t look nervous anymore. That’s what happens when you stop overthinking and just do the work.
Starting strength training at a gym in Colorado Springs, CO, isn’t complicated. Learn basic movements, start light, add weight slowly, and show up consistently. Everything else is details that matter later.
Come into AlphaGainz and we’ll get you started. You don’t need perfect knowledge before you begin. You need a willingness to learn and consistency to show up. Results come from doing it, not from knowing everything first.
Stop overthinking it and just start.
