Gym & exercise help& advice needed !!

JADEPH0EN1X

As a novice to the whole exercise thing & being very socially inept with confidence issues , the whole gym scene scares & intimidates me !! I normally go walking & swimming for my exercise , but have recently joined a gym as I need to tone up my arms & torso & bum I have a few questions about using the equipment & exercising that may sound stupid but I don't want my ignorance to make me look stupid ( or even worse injure myself !) so here goes nothing !
1 what equipment is best for toning up the arms & torso & bum ( & how long to do on each ?? )
2 strength training ?? Again exercises for the toning up of the above !
3 on the strength training , for toning is it better to do more reps with a smaller weight or heavier weight & fewer reps ??
I told you I was a complete novice & they would sound like stupid ??? .
Any advice would be gratefully received !
thanks !

meshashesha2012

look programs such as starting strength, strong lifts and new rules of lifting for women.

for questions about form watch youtube videos by mark rippetoe or schedule a session with a trainer at your gym and let them know that you are wanting to get instruction on how to properly perform squats, deadlifts, bench presses, over head presses and barbell rows

benlambrou

Most gyms have some sort of trainer and some have free group routines at certain times. You may want to look into that just for a few classes and let them know you are a beginner.

Another choice is getting in there and just doing some cardio and watch others for a week to get used to the /gym and see what others are doing and try different machines at first. very little injury risk. Most machines are grouped together for upper body/ lower body/ abs so you could do 4-6 different ones that work different body parts different days of the week.

Youtube is a great place and can surely find workouts.

Bodybuilding.com is a great resource. They have a huge forums and tons of articles for beginners. The beginner workouts outside of the forums are way to much and should only be done after a year or so in the gym. Even after a year going to the gym I am overwelmed by what they want you to do half way through a 12week program.

For a beginner you could start with 3sets of 10reps for each exercise.

GymGeek free app is great and has lists of exercises for each body part. It also has timers built in so you can keep a steady pace. Main thing is to have a workout plan and know what you are going to do before you get there. Nothing worse than wondering around looking for something to do.

freddi11e

bump

gabrielleelliott90

For number 3 I'd say start with smaller weights first, so do more reps with the smaller weight to start with. You have to ease yourself into it to going onto bigger weights, it's gradual. You don't sound stupid at all, the gym can be a confusing place.