I'm 17 and want to get fit

[UniSeek]

Hi guys, I'm new here. :action11: I've only briefly looked around and I wanted to see if I could get some advice from people who know what they're doing.

I'm 17, and I'm generally an active person... I run a mile every day on the treadmill, sometimes outside if it's bearable (living in the Florida heat and humidity, I'm not always up for it after a long day of school), swim often, sometimes bike, and casually play sports with friends pretty often. I'm pretty slim and slender at 5'8 weighing just under 120 lbs. I'm not muscular but I'm not just a twig either... I think the best way to describe it is that I have the muscles there, you can see them, but they're just waiting to be pumped and get big.

Lifestyle Family Fitness (not sure if that's a nationwide health club or just southeast US) gives free gym memberships through the summer for kids up to 17 years old, so I went and got one and want to come up with a pretty basic workout plan to help get me into some sort of shape. I don't want to be a bodybuilder obviously, but I want to look more defined, a little bit more toned I guess?

I've never worked out before.... my exercise has always been casual, so I'm really not sure what I should be doing, how often, etc. Any advice on where I should start would be great. I haven't started hitting the gym yet because I'm doing two weeks of summer camps then I'll be free.

Thanks!

 

[DoubleTapThat]

Firstly, are you a guy or a girl?

I'd start yourself off with some medium strength training, try working most of your muscles with compound movements such as bench presses, squats, overhead presses, deadlifts, rowing, pulls/chins etc. That should get you going perfectly and youll probably get some massive strength gains. don't worry about getting bulky, unless you're eating big you'll never be big!

As you're probably aware, muscles need overload to grow, so try to keep increasing the weight of your lifts weekly if possible. Google a 5x5 method as this might be good for you.

One big tip: never neglect the legs and back!

And also, seeing as this is your first time working out, you're gonna be shocked by how sore you'll be after your first workout. This soreness often comes about 2 days after your workout and it'll probably stay for a few good days. Don't let it put you off, it's because its such a shock to your system the first time. I've never had soreness as much as the first time I hit the gym, although some soreness can be a good sign you're making progress. Up your protein intake to help with this.

Hope this helps you Any questions, fire away