Working out

megan1329

I'm on a mission to lose 14lbs for around March. I think I have a handle on the diet side of things but wanted to take advantage of the time I get at the gym, I usually get about 30-45 minutes there and I walk to and from work every day which takes 35 minutes there and back.

I have seen mixed things promoting cardio and then others promoting weights/resistance. What exercises should I be doing when I am at the gym? Are there any home workouts for during my time at home that anybody would recommend?

La5Vega5Girl

i love lifting weights at the gym, it's 2 days a week for me. i like cardio, but it just doesn't do what weight lifting does. if you have 30 minutes, that is plenty of time to pick-up some dumb-bells and do some weight lifting training. try 2 days a week, along with 2 days a week on the treadmill or elliptical machine.

**ETA i always recommend weight lifting for women. load/weight-bearing exercises are great for muscles and for long-term bone health.

jodielarms

I've had a good experience with HIIT so far. It's a mix of cardiovascular and strength in a compact workout. You can watch all kinds of free videos on both YouTube and Fitness Blender. I also have quite a few apps (that were free) and I'm currently only doing at home workouts. Try a little bit of everything and find something that you think you can stick with.
Good luck!

richjones1968

A good mix of weights will give you muscle tone and a better body shape to show when the diet has shed the pounds - you already have cardio in two half hour walks every day.
- If you want to do more then try picking up the pace on the walk home.
- Exercise at home depends on what you want to do. Pilates gives great core strength and tone and is more relaxed than the dance/aerobics based regimes (first time I did Pilates I thought it was pointless for the first 3 or 4 sessions then I realised how much straighter my posture was and I was amazed that I got such results from such low impact exercise).

bwogilvie

You really should be doing both cardio and strength training to get the maximum benefit. Strength training will preserve muscle mass as you lose weight, improve your bone density, and make you feel badass. Cardio will improve your endurance, burn more calories (so you can eat more while still losing weight), and has been shown to have a number of long-term health benefits, especially as you age.

A couple recent, accessible books that address current scientific research on exercise, fitness, and health are Gretchen Reynolds, The First Twenty Minutes, and Alex Hutchinson, Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? Your public library should have them or be able to get them. Reynolds doesn't have references, but Hutchinson does. Many of Reynolds's chapters first appeared as columns in the New York Times, where you can find them online.