The Beginner Plan: Your Guide to a Renewed Body

AtGymFit, we've always been about finding an athlete's deficits and gently addressing them before moving into advanced territory. If you've been struggling with injuries or know you need to strengthen tendons and regain mobility, the Beginner Plan is your gateway into new levels of fitness. But before you jump in, here's a little guidance.

• This plan was created to find and correct deficits in mobility and to teach correct form.
• For exercises that move across the floor (like the crab, ape, lizard, etc.)mastery is when you can walk 3 sets of 25 feet(8 meters) in perfect form.
• The Beginner Plan's 40 workouts are progressive, building upon each other.

• When you get to Workout 21, you will notice a shift in intensity as more challenging strength work is introduced. This will be done slowly while maintaining the mobility you've worked hard for in the first half of the Beginner Plan.
• If it's helpful, take the workouts on in groups of five. In other words, go through the first five workouts, then determine if you are ready to move forward to the next five from there. On average, athletes take 2-3 weeks to master each group of five.
• When you land on a "Block Review," that's where you can assess if you're ready to go forward.

The end goal is that you advance to Intermediate One and successfully build the strength and mobility you've only dreamed of.THIS IS HOW WE GET YOU THERE:

The Beginner Plan begins by activating movements you haven't practiced since you were a kid in gym class. It might look like an ape walk, but really you're loving your neglected joints when you squat and put weight on your fists! The same is true of crab walks, bear walks, inchworms, and lizards. We aren't obsessed with silly walks, but we are obsessed with getting your body to move in the ways it was meant to move.

It's safer for neglected joints than lifting weights, because it accesses greater ranges of motion using only your bodyweight. It may take a few months of silly walks to bring blood flow and strength into your soft tissues, but it will be worth it when you feel youthful again. Here's a few samples of how it works:

As you go through Fundamentals, you will also be doing Restore and Bands as accompanying work for the movements. Restore is a stretch program suitable for beginners. As you use it, it will isolate muscle groups so you can learn where your flexibility needs work. Bands is strength-building within mobility—what we callactive mobility. Both of these courses complement Fundamentals in that they build body awareness for the athlete. It will be clear pretty quickly which movements are more challenging for you, so you can focus on those in order to progress faster.

Halfway through the program (Workout 21), we introduce more strength and conditioning work. The core, conditioning, and Elements strength work from Workouts 21-40 will bring you to the point where you are ready to take on Intermediate One. If you are brand new, expect to spend more time than you might think getting to that halfway point. It's not unusual to take six months or more to get there!

The end goal is that you advance to Intermediate One and successfully build the strength and mobility you've only dreamed of.