Since I am a personal trainer, I do possess general knowledge about fitness. However most of my first-hand experience comes from the time I've spent in the gym and the different training methods I've tried out. With that being said, most of the advice I give can be applied to the lifting in the gym as well as other modes of exercise. Except the first one:

1. DO NOT CURL IN THE SQUAT RACK.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Just please please please PLEASE do not do this. Squatting requires coordinated movement across your whole body and this takes a lot of time. It is also a workout that is best done with multiple sets that may require you to take longer rests before the next set, and even in between each repetition, than you normally would. All of this put together increases the likelihood that someone will be on the squat rack when you want to use it, not because everyone in the gym is working legs (cause they aren't), but because everyone who gets on it takes a long time- similar to how long they would take in a different exercise. So do you really want to walk over and see some guy curling the bar and not even using the rack AT ALL? No. He would be unnecessarily adding to the chances of it being taken and inconveniencing you. If you want to curl a bar, there is a bar specifically for curling called an EZ-Bar. Find it! If you want to curl a straight bar, there is usually a short one laying around. If you can't find either of them, attach a bar to a cable or JUST CURL A DUMBELL. Just avoid this. It's inefficient.

(This next one is gym exclusive too)

2. Re-rack your weights!

Another one of my pet peeves! I'm sorry, but if you do not properly re-rack your weights, overly considerate guys like me will end up wasting time during their workout to fix it and waste energy in the meantime. I understand if it was already like that when you got there, but if it was racked properly, just put it back properly. I shouldn't have to remove move to 45 lbs weight plates to get to a 10 lbs plate, and I've definitely had to remove plates left on machines for older gym goers because they simply cannot lift it off.

(Onto the actual advice!)

3. First and foremost- know what you're doing

This doesn't mean be an expert in the gym by the time you walk in, but you should have a plan once you walk through those doors. There have been plenty of times when people have told me that they can't get into the gym because they don't know what to do, so even if they do go they wander around, do a couple of random exercises, then walk out. There are numerous websites and fitness personalities on social media that will tell you what you should do for your goals. I myself often use bodybuilding.com for their database of exercises that encompass gm exercises as well as exercises you can do at home with your body weight. The knowledge is out there.

4. Bring a buddy

I do not personally have a consistent gym partner, but people who do have one swear by how effective it is in keeping that consistency with getting in the gym and putting in that work. This should be intuitive because we are always trying to make excuses for ourselves when we don't feel like getting up and doing what we know we're supposed to, so having someone who will hold you to the standards you set for yourself is great to have. It also creates a feeling of being in it together where if one person doesn't succeed, neither does the other one. Even though I do not have a consistent partner I am usually on the lookout for one, but its hard when you want to put yourself through hell each time. But I am lazy so if you want to motivate me in the morning let me know!

5. Be patient

I cannot stress this one enough! If you go in expecting to hit your goals within a day, week, month, or even a year you could be disappointed. Whether your goals are to gain weight (muscle) or lose it (fat), doing either too quickly can have negative consequences for your body. Pushing your muscles too hard too often without adequate rest and nutrition will leave you feeling exhausted, rather than filled with wonderful lifter energy. Before long you won't even want to keep exercising. Also, eating too much while bulking will lead you to build much more fat than muscle because your muscles can only create so much new tissue each day. On the other hand, losing more than 2 lbs or even 1 lb a week can have a negative effect on your metabolism and make it harder to keep the weight off. Any personal (as opposed to a brand name) trainer will tell you getting fit is about lifestyle changes rather than short, super intense, programs. While the latter does work, I doubt you're planning to do P90X or give up carbs (pasta, cake, bagels, french toast) for the rest of your life so guess what happens when you stop.

6. Research any commonly held belief/myth

Creatine is not a steroid! If I had a dollar for everytime someone asked me if it was, I would have enough to buy a lot of whey protein (which is ridiculously expensive). You've heard of ATP right? Adenosine Triphosphate. That energy your muscle tissue uses to you know, work. That's produced by your body, but your body has very limited amounts and once it runs out or all your ATP is reduced to ADP (adenosine diphosphate) your muscles aren't going to contract the same way. Well that's where creatine, or creatine phosphate which is another compound produced by your body, comes in. Again, your body has limited amounts of this, but what it does is provide phosphate to your ADP to turn it back into ATP and allows your muscles to use it once again. With more energy your muscles can put in more work, break down more, and be rebuilt more. I am not telling you to use creatine, but giving an example of how a myth or commonly held belief can be way off base. If you've ever heard that training on an empty stomach helps you lose more weight, this is another myth that in reality just comes down to personal preference. There are both myths that need to be looked into before acquiring my certification.

7. Keep it simple

This goes hand in hand with having a plan, but should also be a separate point. The quickest way to discourage yourself from going back to the gym is by going and feeling like you've made an absolute fool of yourself. So try not to pick any workouts that have a form that is very complicated or a range of motion that is hard to get exactly correct starting out. But also, do not be afraid to try new things and exercises to keep yourself challenged which leads me into my last point...

8. Challenge yourself and be creative

If you are bored at the gym or in your exercises, you're not going to stick with it for long. The body knows when its growing and its not going to feel any growth if you're going in attempting things you could already do. If I started doing 10 push ups everyday I'm probably not going to get any stronger but instead be able to do 10 push ups really well. But if you want to see growth, you gotta spice things up sometimes and make your forehead cry.

I hope these tips help you take off onto your fitness journey and remember to stay strong!