advice needed on gym and what to do

dimasj
dimasj Posts: 164 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Last year I started on this journey and lost 30lbs. but my routine consists of going to the gym 6 days a week and 5 days of the week doing a spin class and one day a body pump class.
Most of this is because I don't really know what to do in the gym or how often to do it.
would adding more body pump classes to the week help to get a more toned look or do I need to go into the weight room more often and what basic exercises are best?
I'm a 43 year old female 5"6" and 165lbs looking to lose another 15lbs and tone up everywhere.
Any input would be great!
Thank you

Replies

  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    You need to be working at a really high intensity. It doesn't much matter if you do that through a class, weight machines, or free weights, but a balanced routine of cardio and weights will probably be the most effective for you.

    As for what exercises are best... again, intensity is key. A good full body circuit using machines can be very effective. So can a full body routine using free weights. Generally speaking, you'll want 1-2 lifts where you push with your legs (think squat-like movements), pull with your lower body/back (think picking things up off the ground), push with your upper body, and pull with your upper body. Covering those basic movements with appropriate intensity should be a good starting point.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    dimasj wrote: »
    I'm a 43 year old female 5"6" and 165lbs looking to lose another 15lbs and tone up everywhere.

    Looking "toned" is mostly from reducing body fat, which is from a calorie deficit and requires no exercise. :+1:

    That said.. for fitness, i would do strength training every 2-3 days, with optional cardio on the other days, depending on how active my job/lifestyle was. If you're mostly sedentary, 3 days a week can work.

    For strength, i'd go with New Rules of Lifting for Life, or a good personal trainer's plan. Body Pump isn't as effective, but it's better than nothing. :+1:
  • always_smilin_D
    always_smilin_D Posts: 89 Member
    I would go to bodybuilding.com and find a beginners workout or start with New Rules of Lifting for Woman both really good options... Jamie Eaton (found at bodybuilding.com) also has some really good easy to follow workouts. then depending on what your actual goal is - weather it is lean athletic or curvy toned - you choose on whether you go high rep low weight- 12-15 rep (lean athletic) or low rep close to max weight - 8 - 10 reps (curvy toned)... one thing to keep in mind is that once you start doing this it will come a moment when you will notice the scale isn't going down but your body fat content is, it is for this reason you cannot concentrate on the # on the scale at that point a measurement tape will become your best friend... 147 lbs with high % fat occupies more space than 147 low % fat, therefore in one scenario you can be a size 12 in jeans and in the other a size 5...
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Another great site is Popsugar Fitness. They have a fitfinder. You punch in if you are beginner, intermediate or advanced, if you have a membership, equipment at home or nothing, what you want to work on and it will show you different workouts. It's great!!
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/FitFinder-Workout-Generator-37460581
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    If you belong to a gym that gym should have a professional certified fitness trainer on staff. If not leave that gym. If so then have the trainer design a regiment that is right for you. The trainer should be able to give you a regiment/routine that will fit your needs and enable you to achieve your goals. Of course the trainer can only lead you to the water, you have to drink it. Meaning he/she can only tell you what to do, the effort has to come from you. They can try and give you motivation but again you have to be willing to put forth the effort.
    For whatever reason if you do not have access to a trainer, you can do research online (Google is your friend!) and come up with a pretty good plan on your own. This is what I have actually done for myself, although I have received tips from certified trainers on my routine that has helped. You should always be open to input especially when it is coming from a certified trainer.
    Other than Google a good website that has tones of information as well as videos on exercises is bodybuilding.com go to the link below and you can click on a body part to see a list of exercise that target that muscle group. You can then pick an exercise and read up on what it targets and how to execute it. Always start light and insure that you get the form right. Using improper form can be detrimental, it can lead to injury or at best make the exercise ineffective.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/?

    Good luck.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Joanna2012B wrote: »
    http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/FitFinder-Workout-Generator-37460581


    That link, um... yeah. Just for S&G, I told it I wanted to do strength training with weights. It told me to do a 30-minute Cardio with Pilates routine.
  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    ss.fitness/ will tell you everything you need to know to make your own decision.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    Joanna2012B wrote: »
    http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/FitFinder-Workout-Generator-37460581


    That link, um... yeah. Just for S&G, I told it I wanted to do strength training with weights. It told me to do a 30-minute Cardio with Pilates routine.

    I got the same results as well! I was thinking it was because I marked that I currently only do weights and no cardio, which is true, so it's "suggesting" that I add cardio. No thanks, but the link could be helpful to some people, beginners perhaps.

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