As a former fat guy, I understand the struggle of working out and getting back into shape after years or even never being in good shape. However, you need to take that first step to start working out so that you can live a happier and longer life.

You may be large, but your strength could be limited, there is often a sense of fear about stepping into a gym and being shamed, and you may not even know what exercises to do or how to do them correctly.

If you’re ready to start working out and stop being the fat guy, then let’s get started.

How to Start Working Out As A Fat Guy

You should sign up for a gym membership as it will provide you with an incentive to get up and out each day and go to complete a task. You’ll have access to a wide range of cardio, weights, and areas to perform everything you need to start working out.

First thing to understand, and this is 99% true, nobody is going to judge you at the gym, and if they do, they’re going to be very much in the minority of helpful and supportive gym members. If you’re very concerned, pick the least busy time at your local gym.

There are multiple areas that you can target as a fat guy to improve your strength, stamina, and lose the weight that you’re ultimately looking to get rid of.  Resistance training and machine cardio are almost always the best options for fat guys to get started in working out.

Activity	Primary Benefit	DIfficulty
Resistance Training	Fill Out Loose Skin	Medium
Machine Cardio	Weight Loss	Easy
Sports Teams	Cardiovascular Health	Challenging
Group Fitness	Learn To Exercise	Easy
Bodyweight Exercises	Workout At Home	Easy

It will take you around 30 days to get into the habit of going to the gym, so attempt to go six times a week for a full month so that you get used to carving out the time every day and into the habit of going every day.

If you don’t feel comfortable to start with, you can start slow with cardio each day and slowly venture into the weight rooms, or consider bringing a friend or getting a personal trainer for a few sessions to help build up your confidence.

Best Apps For Overweight Beginners

Downloading a fitness app can be hugely beneficial when you’re just starting your fitness and weight loss journey. The apps can often provide visual aids in how to do exercises, provide fitness plans, help with nutrition and tracking, and allow you to keep track of your progress.

App Name	Best For	Free Version	Cost
Fitness Point	Overall	✓	$5 / Month
Simple Workout Log	Tracking Workouts	✓	$0
Jefit	Exercise Demonstrations	✓	$7 / Month
Strong	Track Progress	✓	$5 / Month
Gymaholic	Detailed Workout Plans	✓	$4 / Month
Sworkit	Limited Equipment Workouts	✓	$10 / Month
Fitbod	Personalized Workout Plans	✓	$10 / Month
Bodyfit	Workout Plans To Build Size		$7 / Month

Workout apps are extremely helpful for beginners, but a lot of the information can be found online for free, so there is never any requirement to buy apps, supplements, or anything else aside from some workout clothes and gym membership.

If you have difficulty remembering your workout plan or need some help as you’re starting out, then these apps can be great to watch in the gym to make sure that you’re performing exercises properly so that you don’t injure yourself, which becomes a larger problem as weight increases.

Resistance Training For Fat Guys

Resistance training to build the size of your muscles is one of the best things that fat guys can do because as you lose weight, your skin is going to take some time to recover and shrink, so building out muscle will fill out loose skin and make you look better.

As you build out the muscle, it will take more energy to grow and maintain, so your daily energy requirements will start to increase, so you’ll also be burning more calories just by having more muscle, and that results in faster weight loss.

You’ll also be increasing your strength and mobility with strength training through full ranges of motion of each exercise, which will add support to your joints that may have taken a beating over the years from the extra weight you’ve been carrying.

Issues with knees, ankles, lower back, and many other areas are often a big issue for fat guys that can hinder their daily lives, so adding that support can greatly improve life and remove a lot of pain.

Best Resistance Training For Fat Guys

When starting to work out, you should keep it simple and try to hit as many muscle groups at the same time as possible through compound movements. Learning and improving the core exercises builds a strong base and gives you the best bang for your buck on results.

Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and the variations of each of these compound movements will quickly improve your strength, hit multiple muscles, and make you look much better.

You can focus on specific things like bicep curls, but they should be included at the end of your workouts if you have time and not at the expense of the compound movements.

Machine Cardio For Fat Guys

Steady-state cardio or simply using a cardio machine at a normal pace will help you burn the most extra calories to speed up your weight loss and improve your cardiovascular health, which is going to allow you to work out for longer.

Generally, a quick 5-10 minute warm-up on any type of cardio machine will be helpful before workouts. However, you should be performing 30-60+ minutes at least 3-4 times per week for some additional weight loss, and if required, you can do it every day of the week to increase results.

Best Cardio For Fat Guys

Hands down, the best overall cardio for overweight people is the elliptical trainer, this allows you to perform long, steady-state cardio sessions, it protects your joints, and it’s the most sustainable and won’t hinder your progress.

Any type of cardio that causes impact like running or forces HIIT like rowing will impact other days that you’re trying to train and ultimately slow down your progress. 

Sports Team Fitness For Fat Guys

Many gyms have basketball courts or other sports that may even have teams, so you can join a league, and this can be fun, but often the cardio requirements are a little too much for fat guys that are just starting out.

While this is a good option for cardio training, if your endurance is low it can be too much for you and hinder your weight training on subsequent days or discourage your gym usage as you get too tired or worn out.

Group Fitness For Fat Guys

Group Fitness is often a great way to understand how to perform certain movements in the gym when you’re brand new, it’s much cheaper than a personal trainer and may even be included as part of your gym membership. 

The biggest issue for fat guys is that it’s a mixed grouping of people, and you may feel self-conscious about being stuck in a room for 60 minutes. If you do need help with how to workout, you can watch youtube for free or consider a personal trainer for 1-4 sessions.

Bodyweight Training For Fat Guys

Bodyweight training for fat guys is perfect for getting started at home or as a supplemental workout at home to speed up your results. You don’t need to be performing full plyometrics, just incorporate some body weight exercises each day.

Some of the best options are pushups (on your knees if needed), and bodyweight squats, both of these will improve your upper and lower body strength, allow you to build up to weighted versions of similar exercises, and it can improve your confidence if you’re not ready for the gym.

Best Beginner Workout Plan For Fat Guys

As a beginner with extra weight to lose, focus on a simple push, pull, leg workout plan that incorporates compound movements, with some supplemental variations of those compound movements. You can work out as little as three times per week or hit the gym six times per week for faster results.

Start figuring out the weight that you can perform each exercise for the sets and reps required with the rest periods. You can slowly increase the weight and build up your sets and reps from the minimum.

Push Workout Day Exercises

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest (Minutes)
Flat Bench Press	3-5	8-10	1-3
Overhead Press	3-5	8-10	1-3
Close-Grip Flat Bench Press	3-5	8-10	1
Standing Tricep Extension	3	8-12	1
Tricep Pushdown	3	8-12	1

Pull Workout Day Exercises

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest (Minutes)
Deadlift	3-5	8-10	1-3
Bentover Row	3-5	8-10	1-3
Pullups On Machine	3-5	8-10	1-3
T-Bar Row	3-5	8-10	1-3
Bicep Curl	3-5	8-12	1
Preacher Curl	3-5	8-12	1
Barbell Shrugs	3-5	15-20	1

Leg Workout Day Exercises

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest (Minutes)
Squats	3-5	8-12	1-3
Leg Press	3-5	8-12	1-3
Leg Extensions	3	8-12	1
Leg Curls	3	8-12	1
Calf Raises	3	15-20	1