How should fitness beginners start training?
Common options for fitness include: self-study and home training, going to the gym yourself, and hiring a coach. However, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods, and how should we choose? Let me analyze them for you one by one!
Self-study home training
illustrate:
Home gym refers to setting up equipment for fitness in your own space, usually in a spare room, basement or garage. For beginners, home training can be divided into the following three levels:
1. Beginner version: freehand fitness, elastic bands (simple fitness tools with elastic resistance for pulling), which can use basic movements to train most of the muscles in the upper and lower limbs, and the intensity and difficulty are not too high.
2. Intermediate version: In this stage, you will buy simple equipment such as dumbbells with adjustable weights and bench presses. The training intensity and movement diversity are higher than the beginner version, such as dumbbell bench presses for chest training, bench presses for shoulder training, and bench presses for chest training. Dumbbell shoulder press can be trained at home with these equipment. If a beginner has a limited budget, he can buy a bench press with the most basic functions for about two to three thousand yuan.
3. Professional version: When you have reached a certain level of training or have enough budget, you can try to buy a more advanced bench press, or a squat rack, rowing machine, or a multi-functional training machine (for example, a machine that can do squats, lying A training machine that can perform a variety of movements and adjust the height of the pull bar). It allows you to safely perform more different types of difficult movements through professional equipment.

The advantage of training at home is that you can freely control the time, location, and training menu, and you don’t have to commute to the gym, pay annual fees, or queue up with others to wait for equipment. But when training on your own, you must pay attention to the instructions for using the equipment and whether your posture is correct, so that you can achieve fitness results safely and effectively!
● Cost:
The cost of home fitness is mainly concentrated on equipment. For example, the "beginner version" must have elastic bands, yoga mats, and relaxation rollers (small tools for relaxing muscles), which can be purchased for about a few hundred yuan, and the elastic bands may be repurchased several times in a year; The "Intermediate Edition" and "Professional Edition" require you to further purchase a bench press chair, which can cost as little as two or three thousand yuan, or as much as several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan. However, it can be used at home for a long time. Which one to buy depends on your personal preference. Budget and training intensity. In addition, it is also recommended that fitness beginners prepare a mirror at home to observe whether their movements are correct while exercising.
Go to the gym by yourself
●Note: Usually when you go to the gym, you will sign a membership contract and pay on time, but you cannot buy out. The three major gyms with multiple locations in Taiwan include: World Gym, Fitness Factory, and Genghis Khan; it is usually recommended to choose a gym close to home to reduce commuting costs. The advantage of going to a gym is that there are relatively complete and professional fitness equipment available for use, and you don’t have to purchase and maintain them by yourself. However, if there is no fitness coach to guide the movements, there may still be a risk of sports injuries.
● Fees: For most large gyms, the membership fee model is usually a "membership fee + handling fee" for the first time joining, and a monthly fee or annual fee after signing the contract. The monthly fee varies depending on each chain store, the length of the contract, and the payment method, and is approximately 800-1500 yuan per month. If you don't want to sign a contract on your first try, you can also try going to a gym or sports center that charges hours to test the waters, but you need to pay attention to the quality of the equipment and venue, such as whether there are sufficient and diverse weight training equipment.
Ask a fitness trainer
●Description:
The most difficult part of fitness is persistence! But with a professional fitness coach accompanying you, he can arrange a personalized menu according to your needs, check your progress, and guide your movements, so that you don’t have to search the Internet for information, take fewer detours, and quickly achieve your fitness goals; you can also learn how to use muscles accurately. The correct way to use the equipment. A good fitness trainer usually has extensive teaching experience or relevant certificates to help correct posture, check physical condition, or provide dietary advice. This can effectively avoid possible sports injuries caused by fitness and greatly improve fitness efficiency and results.
● Cost:
The market price of a one-on-one fitness coach is about 1,500 per class (beginners usually take one class per week), and the more classes you take, the cheaper it is. If it is a group class, since the students can share the venue fee (usually a gym or fitness studio), ), so it will be cheaper, ranging from a few hundred yuan to around 1,000 yuan. However, the actual cost will still increase or decrease depending on the coach's academic experience, venue, number of students, etc.

*Related certificates: When a coach shows us his certificates, how can we confirm whether he is professional? The industry gold standards are: National Certification Commission (NCCA), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), followed by: National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM-CPT), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM-CPT), or American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM-CPT). The coaching certifications issued by the American Fitness and Exercise Association (ACE-CPT), the American Fitness and Exercise Association (AFAA), and the Republic of China Sports and Fitness Association have a certain degree of credibility.