Excersize routine in a gym

chasfound

I recently started working out with a friend from work. We are both overweight. I personally would rather focus on the cardio and fat burning now and focus on the strengthening later. I try to stick to the treadmill and getting my speed and incline higher. She wants to speed more time in the total body and ab machine areas. Was wondering if these areas are as productive for weight lose as a treadmill? Or any advice would be greatly appreciated really!

afur73

speak to the gym instructors, they should be able to provide you with a training programme based on what you wish to achieve.

i would say as good as the treadmill is for cardio work, you should really start strengthening as soon as possible, dont leave it to later. doing weights will burn calories for hours after you have left the gym.

riffraff2112

honestly, the simple answer. Do it all
You need to lift some weights to keep your muscles and help boost metabolism.
Cardio is great, resistance training is awesome.
Waiting to strengthen is totally counter productive, in fact you need it now more than later!!!
Weight loss will come mostly from eating at a deficit and strength gains, improved fitness, and body shaping will come from the gym.
Good luck to you!
Feel free to add me as I am always willing to share what I know...and please listen to the advice on this thread because I am sure you will hear much of what I typed echoed, but maybe explained better

Jennikitten

Generally speaking you burn more calories from weights than you do for cardio

I tend to do a bit of each as I am mostly interested in improving my overall fitness (weight loss is an added benefit)

TR0berts

Don't put off strength training. You'll almost definitely want to hold onto as much of your current lean body mass (LBM) as you can. There are a great many stories about people that try to do what you seem to want to do, but are never happy with their results. Below is a link to one. Mind you, you don't have to necessarily do what she did, but I'd be willing to bet that you'll agree that when she changed her mindset, her results were much better.

While I believe there are better ways to go about it than using machines, if that's what your friend (and you) want to do, that's fine.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

cwolfman13

You should be doing some form of resistance training now...I'm not saying you need to spend all of your time in the weight room...but you should be doing some kind of resistance training to compliment your cardio work as a matter of general fitness. This will also help you preserve some lean mass.

You don't need to be in there going crazy, just do some full body work as part of your fitness regimen.

syddiane09

I also recently started working out at a gym and I thought the same thing as you did. I just wanted to focus on weight loss and then I would worry about toning and strengthening once I got close to my goal. One day I asked my brother if he would join me in helping me develop a routine. He went to school for personal training. So he tagged along with me one day and he said that although my focus isn't to build muscle, that it does still help in weight loss and will make it easier for when I do reach my weight loss goal and want to start strength building. SO he said to mainly focus on cardio such as the treadmill, bike, eliptical, or step ups. Those are definitely important to start out with since they get your blood moving. He also said to also add in a few strength building things and to change up your routine every so often.
So for me, I go to the gym 3-4 times per week (he said not to go everyday, especially if you are just starting). For this last week I started with stretching (of course), then on the treadmill at a nice walking pace and worked my way up to a run then finished with walking again. Then I moved on and did step ups. Then I did weight machines that worked on my back- and I definitely felt it the next day! Then to finish I would ride the bike(felt like it helped me cool down). This next week I will change it up.
So I guess you are both right- but cardio is what you should focus on to lose weight, but it is still important to work on your strength building... even if it is just a little at a time.

Capt_Apollo

my advice to you is to start lifting.... heavily.

ruqayyahsmum

work out your calorie deficit and log accurately to stick to it
do your cardio for fitness levels, use the weights to preserve lean body mass
And make sure you get adequate rest/sleep

kingw363

ruqayyahsmum wrote: »

work out your calorie deficit and log accurately to stick to it
do your cardio for fitness levels, use the weights to preserve lean body mass
And make sure you get adequate rest/sleep

Pretty much that, anything else is more details like finding your macros, and getting a personalized workout routine for you.

chasfound

thanks everyone! I appreciate it

tinuz

my advice has allready been given.... commence lifting mode.

clarim2

i went to a seminar recently by Justine Moore and she talked about that people should start with strength training first for 30-40 mins then do cardio high intensity for 30 mins because you'll burn more fat that way

cindykatytx

Just starting with My Fitness Pal. How do I show calories from strengthening exercises? I know I must be burning calories, just not sure how many.

rckeeper22

They don't show calories for exercises other than cardio. It sucks, but it can be difficult to measure too. You might be able to get ballpark estimates from Googling exercises or some of the folks who are more well-versed in the science aspect of it on here.

mlamathews

A great way to measure calories burned while strength training is to invest in a heart rate monitor. It will be able to tell you how strenuous your workout is and how many calories you burned during the activity.

When I first started working out I had a very similar thought process as you. I mainly stuck to cardio and to be honest the weight room intimidated me a bit. But now I know what weights can do for you I will never go back to an all cardio routine.

Adding weight training to your routine will improve definition and make weightloss more noticeable. When I was only doing cardio I was losing weight but I was still unhappy with my results because I still felt flabby and out of shape.

A well balanced routine of both cardio and weight training will provide you with the best results. I highly recommend weight lifting! Not only does weight training burn calories but it will continue to burn more calories throughout the day then cardio will. Providing you with more noticeable results.

arditarose

mlamathews wrote: »

A great way to measure calories burned while strength training is to invest in a heart rate monitor. It will be able to tell you how strenuous your workout is and how many calories you burned during the activity.

When I first started working out I had a very similar thought process as you. I mainly stuck to cardio and to be honest the weight room intimidated me a bit. But now I know what weights can do for you I will never go back to an all cardio routine.

Adding weight training to your routine will improve definition and make weightloss more noticeable. When I was only doing cardio I was losing weight but I was still unhappy with my results because I still felt flabby and out of shape.

A well balanced routine of both cardio and weight training will provide you with the best results. I highly recommend weight lifting! Not only does weight training burn calories but it will continue to burn more calories throughout the day then cardio will. Providing you with more noticeable results.

HRMs are not accurate for weight training.

mummyzena

I'm a 300lb maid and I started back at the gym last week. I do 15-30 mins (depends if im focusing on upper or lower body) cardio to warm up then hit the free weights and weight machines. Then go back to cardio for 30-60mins.
Last time I lost weight this worked very well for me and being able to lift weights is the most amazing feeling ever.
But my much smaller friend does more cardio and fewer weights. As long as you are happy exercising that is all that matters so get a routine that suits you.

bmanlatour

Check out greatist.com. They have circuit training routines that will strengthen and raise your heart rate to cover both goals. They can be calisthenics or weighted, such a squats, presses, whatnot, each for 45 sec full intensity, rest 15 sec then start the circuit over.

I suggest you do circuit training for the first half of gym time and the cardio of your choice since that's what you prefer. If you are new to exercise and you use challenging weights and good form, you will develop strength in addition to getting cardio. This will be good until you are ready to start a more specific strength training.

Circuit training is a compromise, you won't gain as much muscle size or strength as dedicated strength training routines but you will get cardio benefits and an increase in work capacity.

bmanlatour

cindykatytx wrote: »

Just starting with My Fitness Pal. How do I show calories from strengthening exercises? I know I must be burning calories, just not sure how many.

Under cardio you can enter weight lifting, calisthenics, or circuit training and get an estimate of calories.

47Jacqueline

Do both. And use an HRM to measure your burn.

juggernaut1974

Jennikitten wrote: »

Generally speaking you burn more calories from weights than you do for cardio

eh? If so, you're doing it wrong.

But regardless, yeah like everyone said, weight training is just as important (if not more important) than cardio in order to maintain lean mass while you're losing the fat.

chasfound

Thanks everyone! It looks like the general census is to lift so I guess Ill work that into my workout sessions!