3 days at Gym, and I'm not sure this is for me.

KaylaBushman

I just want to add a few things...

I signed up for personal training because I wanted to learn correct form and how to properly get into weight lifting.

I had to tell my trainer a few weeks in a row (we only meet once a week) that I wanted to be over in the weights section. He finally realized that I didn't just want to do body weight exercises for 30 minutes and said "Ohhhhh you want to lift heavy?!" So know what you want to do (do some research) and then TELL YOUR TRAINER.

Secondly, I work out for 30-45 minutes max. I don't slave away at the gym for 1.5 hours a day (I would love that stamina tho). You don't have to either. I do a 10 minutes cardio warm up, 30 minutes of strength and then 10-15 minutes of cardio afterwards and call it good.

Thirdly, why cant you go home, spend time with your kids and then when they go to bed at 7:30 you go work out either at the gym or at home? That to me is a win win. you get to work out and you get to spend all the time with your kids.

Fourth, you absolutely don't have to work out every day of the week, get to the gym 3-4 times a week and call it good. if you make one of those days Saturday then you are only spending 2-3 work nights at the gym.

Edited to add, and yeah! the gym sucks the first 3-4 weeks, once you get into the swing of it, it can become addictive (in a good way).

coriander1209

Instead of having to choose between working out or spending time with your kids, do both, at home. Get them involved with you. My daughter loves to go on walks with me when it is nice enough to go outside. Get some videos and have them do them with you and have fun with them at the same time. It sounds like you are going to stress yourself out too much to keep up going to the gym.

Chain_Ring

YOu got this........

coltsgirl311

There are so many things you can do at home, even with no equipment at all. I personally love the Neila Rey visual workouts. Here's a link to 100 no-equipment workouts to work on everything from abs to cardio to arms or legs. I turn to these especially when i'm crunched for time but want a really good workout.

http://neilarey.com/100-no-equipment-workouts.html

I hope you enjoy them too!

Totally off-topic, but your dog in your progress bar looks just like my dog! :laugh:

spickard34

I have a treadmill and do DVD's like Jillian M, Bob Harper, Fitness Blender. I have 2, 3, 5, 8 ,10 pound weights. I use to go to the gym and felt like you. Since working out at home I will never go back I know I go harder in the privacy of my living room then I ever did at the gym. Home workouts are the way to go to me and they save you a ton of money too I went from 186 to 151 at home was down to 140 but had a couple months of not great eats lol

lyzmorrison

You are seriously overthinking this and making it MUCH harder than it is.

1) You don't have to do machines every day. Pick a few days that are just cardio....treadmill or elliptical...Set a goal and then just do it. 30 hard minutes? Done. 45 hard minutes? Done. Then go home.

2) Decide if you are doing legs or arms. Either way, when you are seated, your feet should be flat on the floor. No dangling toes. Back straight and against the chair. Sit proud. Then decide how much weight you want to try. Start light and try to do 3 sets of 10. If you get up and feel like you haven't done anything, add 5 lbs. Increase weight over time as you see fit. If you need further help, the machine should have instructions w/ pictures on it. If not, ASK. (On these days, do a few minutes of cardio to warm up....15-20 minutes)

3) Arms one day. Legs another.

4) Get ONLINE. If you want to know more about proper form for the Chest Press...get on Google and look up Chest Press Machine form. Or ask here....these folks will be happy to tell you how to correctly do the Tricep Extension machine.

5) You can also start with 30 minutes of cardio and then do 5 machines of either legs or arms. Then as you gain confidence you can do more.

6) IMO, you don't need a trainer. You just need to be committed.

Seriously....you are talking yourself out of this before you've even begun.

motivatethismom

Day 4, here I go! hope its better...

JoRocka

Day 4, here I go! hope its better...

did you prepare?

bring a book? write stuff down? ask questions?

GO GO GO_ you can do it!!!

action_figure

Yeah, I wish I could be a stay at home mother, too. But I am not. I also work full time, have been in and out of school full time simultaneously and am a single parent. Key point: I get it done because it is important to me. My last post on this topic because again, the people on the board can't give you what you want. You want the results minus the effort. If it were that easy, this site would not exist!

No offense, but you've just been doing this a couple of weeks. You're still in the giddy, excited, "Look! Everything is cute magic ponies!" phase of it, girlfriend. How about you try to not be so judgemental of someone who is just where you likely were not that long ago? Loads of people "Get it done because it's important to them" but their way of getting it done won't look exactly like yours.

caitconquersweight

I work out primarily with the Wii. I only have two games, Wii Fit and Gold's Gym Dance Workout. I've had Wii Fit for yeeeeears, and got the Gold's Gym thing last year. Wii Fit is my daily thing, and Gold's Gym is for when I want to kick my own *kitten*. It's not a pansy game at all if you do it right. It's latin dancing (like Zumba) and cardio boxing. I also have some free weights. I have Hip Hop Abs and Walk Away the Pounds. HHA is SO much fun.

I went to the gym a little last year, but it's really not for me. I like being able to look as foolish as I want at home. I like taking a shower in my own bathroom. I like still being around my kid. I like not having to pay membership fees.

pinkraynedropjacki

Gym is not for everyone. I went for about a week & then never again. Big mistake for me cause I never wanted to join anyway, just try to 14 free days they offered.... pity it meant being locked into a contract for 3 months..... ended up paying for the rest of the 3 months despite not going. I hated every moment & running on a treadmill is just wrong. Elliptical hurt me more than just walking anyway. Weights...forget it, the meatheads down there were rude. I didnt take classes (not a group person) and I got more of a workout on my own outside.


Don't feel you MUST join a gym.

kristennikco

Giddy, excited, "Look! Everything is cute magic ponies!" phase of it?? Please tell me you are joking! You are judging me in the same breath as asking me not to be judgmental! Every single day is an absolute struggle for me to stay on a healthy diet and fit time in to exercise when I am so exhausted all the time (I have a medical condition on top of the pure laziness) but I push through because it is important to me. The part that really struck a chord with me was where she blamed her children for her not having time. Children don't deserve the burden of her laziness on their shoulders. There has been person after person on this topic offering great suggestions (including working out with her children) and the posters response to everything is an excuse. Yes, we all have our own ways but excuses won't cut it. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

NoExcusesFitnessCoach

I workout at home using DVD programs and have had incredible results. The gym isn't for everyone. You can get everything you need if you choose a program you will enjoy. You can also get support/motivation by creating a thread here or looking for online support groups on Facebook, etc. That always helps.

Really, it's just about finding the type of workout you like. For some people, that's the gym. For others, that's a DVD program they can do at home.

arabianhorselover

You seriously don't have to go anywhere if the roads are icy? The roads are icy here for most of five months of the year.

I do DVDs at home and have had GREAT success. I've never stepped foot in a gym before. This works for me because I'm a single mother of 2 5 year old twin boys who have severe disabilities and I also work full time and am enrolled in University. I work out at 6am while my kids are still asleep. I will never go to the gym because I can do enough at home and I do what I love. Right now I'm doing Les Mills Combat and I can't get enough of it.

Great response. I think the key for all of us is to find what works with us and what we can fit around our already busy lives.
Myself, I was going to the gym after five, but because I have to cover so many different events at night (sports, meetings, fund raisers, etc.) for my small town newspaper that it became impractical. So now I wake up earlier than I used to (5:40ish) and get an hour to 90 minutes in. Luckily I am in a small town where my home, gym and work are all so close to each other.

To the Original Poster: Find a schedule that you can keep. It might even be better to find a workout buddy that can match your schedule so that the two of you can encourage and keep each other on track. For example, this morning I woke up hoping there was ice on the roads so that I could go back and hibernate. No ice! So I drove in and got a text from my workout buddy "How are the roads?" I called him with "These weights aren't going to lift themselves. Get your *kitten* in there." For both of us, left to our own nature, we would have probably skipped the gym and slept in. Instead, I burned a few hundred calories and I feel better for it.

motivatethismom

Giddy, excited, "Look! Everything is cute magic ponies!" phase of it?? Please tell me you are joking! You are judging me in the same breath as asking me not to be judgmental! Every single day is an absolute struggle for me to stay on a healthy diet and fit time in to exercise when I am so exhausted all the time (I have a medical condition on top of the pure laziness) but I push through because it is important to me. The part that really struck a chord with me was where she blamed her children for her not having time. Children don't deserve the burden of her laziness on their shoulders. There has been person after person on this topic offering great suggestions (including working out with her children) and the posters response to everything is an excuse. Yes, we all have our own ways but excuses won't cut it. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

FYI I was never making excuses! When I work full time, live an hour away from my work, I cherish the little time I have with my children so that's one reason why I gave up on the gym. The very next day I bought a treadmill and have been on it daily since along with dvd workouts. Yes im making time so stop judging and calling me lazy!! Keep yourself off of my post if you can't be nice. No one wants to hear someone be so negative and judgmental. I originally posted in the "motivation and support" area. Not for you to come criticize me bc I'm not doing things the way you think I should!!!! Have one more kid yourself, 3 is way harder than 2.

MissBabyJane

There is a great workout videos on youtube. IMO the best are fitnessblender. I also workout at home and the results are great!

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

how do i adjust them right to fit me, how many of each should i do? in what type of order?

First, the order for now is really not that important. Doing it is what matters. For adjusting it, you can always ask one of the trainers that's there at the time - this doesn't need to be a session. Also, some machines might have a description right on it. Lastly, for how many - shoot for 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Pick a weight you can do 8 of, then next time 9 and so on until 12. When you get to 12, next time increase the weight and go back to 8. Rinse and repeat.

I have a little book I carry with me around the gym in which I record all my exercises, how many sets, reps and weight I lift on that particular day. The next week I typically look back at how much weight I've lifted the previous week and determine if I am capable of lifting heavier, repeating those same exercises. I really like your suggestion of working up to 12reps and then upping the weight. I'd never heard of that before but it makes complete sense. Thanks for the information. I find doing my splits much easier this way because I don't have to try and remember what i did the week before and it ensures I am progressing and challenging myself. The little logging book wasn't expensive and i found it at indigo. You can record your food in it as well but I don't do that since i record it here. After 8wks I will change up the exercises.

hbwright74

I hope this is allowed here so if not please moderator delete, but I find the app jefit helpful. Sign up online and you can choose your workout or make your own according to what the trainer gives you and it syncs with your phone just like MFP. It keeps up with your workouts, reps, weights, etc, and gives you goals to increase your weights, which I love getting to that goal!! There are numerous workouts to choose from, even workout at home with no equipment, which I used when the gym was closed for the storm last week. No need to wonder what to do because it's all there for you. If your gym doesn't have a piece of equipment called for in the workout, you can chose another to take its place, or if you don't particularly like an exercise, say for your triceps, you can use the app to find another exercise that works the triceps that you like better. Just an idea to help you know what to do and how much to do while you are at the gym. My daughter and I use this all the time and love it.