I've managed to avoid exercise so far...where do I start?

bms34b

Alright. So far I've lost about 17 pounds and if I'm being honest, it's completely through diet. I know, I know, this is only going to let my body stay flabby as I lose muscle along with fat during dieting.

I bought a membership to a gym down the street and have honestly been too busy to go down there very often - I work a lot. But, I'm about to have about two weeks off and I'd like to go spend some time there.

I enjoy yoga - I'm not intimidated by that and love it. I find I don't hold onto water weight from yoga, as well.

Pilates, also good. My gym offers a lot of classes.

But as far as machines (I'd like to go any time of day instead of cater my day to a yoga or pilates class) I don't really know where to start. I've tried doing about an hour on an elliptical every day for three weeks back in January, and I didn't lose a pound. I've never done weight training and honestly (especially for my arms) I don't really want bulk or defined muscles.

MFPers, where do I start? I'm lost!

infamousmk

I'm still pretty new to weights, but as women it is important to do some strength training. You'll never 'bulk up', but you've gotta build muscles to keep your body in balance. So my only advice is to do low weights/high reps at least twice a week.

reepobob

Your body isn't designed to "bulk up"...lift girl! toning up burns a lot of calories at rest and you will look smoking hot...you can even lift heavy...it WILL NOT make you look like a musclebound freak...promise.

allybtucker

Most gyms offer a free one time orientation/workout setup. Maybe they have that. I'm doing the exercises from the book New Rules of Lifting for Women. I like the free weight workouts, they're short, but initially, they system is a little difficult to figure out. Definitely recommend getting from the library before you invest in it. Library is a great resource for all kinds of strength training books.

Kolohe71

Like reepobob said... Women's body's are not designed to "Bulk up". That typically requires testosterone.

Here is a good starting point for a weightloss regime (female 20-39):
http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides/female-20to39-fat-loss/intro

ccf478

First, congrats on your diet change and weight loss! This is huge! You're also recognizing the necessity of weight training too, which is going to seriously amp up your results and change your body. As women we don't possess the hormones to "bulk up" like what you're thinking about. We need to have muscle though...it strengthens your bones, plus it burn more calories. Bonus! Lifting weights is essential to any training program. Start researching weight training programs. What worked for me was P90X, but not everyone wants to commit to that. It taught me a lot on how weight training works, and what to do and when. I lost 20 lbs doing it too! Good luck with your journey, and let me know if I can be of more help!

Cindy

dad106

See if your gym offers a free personal training session to get you started. That way you can learn what machines to do(both cardio and weight), and they can give you insight on you're goals. They will also teach you proper form so you don't harm yourself lifting.

Egger29

How many push-ups can you do? How many chin-ups can you do? You needn't go hardcore in the weight room.

Start simple and build from there!

AlsDonkBoxSquat

as a woman you would have to work out with large load weights for 3 - 5 hours a day to "bulk up" like a body builder (or have your testosterone out of balance). You like classes? Take a body sculpting class, a dance class, a step class. Did your gym membership come with a session with a trainer? take advantage of if. Find something that's fun and work (I hate being a rat on a wheel). If you're going to branch out do 2 things, remember that it take at least 3 classes to get the hang of a new class, and if it's a body sculpting class ask the instructor for tips on your form after class.

bcattoes

If you are new to machines a treadmill is a good place to start. But give them all a try and see which one(s) you like best. Because the more enjoyable it is the more you're likely to do it.

gcineas

Don't listen to anyone who says to do low weights high reps...it's not going to do anything for you.

You need to come up with first the number of days you want to strength train. This can be 3 days, 4 days and so on. Once you determine that then you want to figure out how to split the muscle group you want to target. Do you want to split the days based on upper body and lower body or do you want to target specific areas of you body: abs, chest, back, shoulders, legs. From there you want to choose which days you are going to do what and when you are going to give your body a rest. Below I have an example of a fake schedule just to give you an idea of what you can do .

Monday: Upper body/ abs + 30 min cardio
Tuesday: lower body/ abs + 15 min cardio
Wednesday: Chest/ triceps+ 30 min cardio
Thursday: High Intensity Interval Cardio Training/ abs
Friday: Back/biceps/abs+ cross train cardio
Saturday: Shoulder/ leg+ 15 min cardio
Sunday: Rest Day

I would recommend doing maybe 3 sets of 8-10 reps. When choosing your weights you want to choose weights that cause you to work. You want the end of your last set to be pretty hard at about 75%+ effort. It is hard for women to bulk up. I lift pretty heavy and you can tell from my picture that I have not blown up- instead I have leaned out .

I am by no means an expert (I'm still trying to figure my **** out lol) but if you have any questions please feel free to send me a message!

Don't be intimidated by the gym.

gcineas

Also make sure you learn proper form on how to lift. Work with a trainer for at least 1 or 2 sessions to figure this out!

bcattoes

Wow, who knew you'd be bombarded for saying you don't want to lift weights. I didn't know so many people were passionate about others lifting. You build muscle from other forms of exercise too.

infamousmk

Wow, who knew you'd be bombarded for saying you don't want to lift weights. I didn't know so many people were passionate about others lifting. You build muscle from other forms of exercise too.

Can you give some examples on ways to build muscle without lifting? I'm always looking for ways to get strength training in without weights!

bms34b

This is all super helpful! Thank you all so much!

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Wow, who knew you'd be bombarded for saying you don't want to lift weights. I didn't know so many people were passionate about others lifting. You build muscle from other forms of exercise too.

No, she said that she was unfamiliar with machines and didn't want to bulk up, i took that to mean that she was considering using machines and thinking about branching out from pilates and yoga. I automatically, then, go to cardio and strength training (notice I didn't say muscle building).

stefraab

I'm doing P90. I can't get to a gym anymore (toddler) and LOVE it. I'm way fitter than I ever got with machines @ the gym. It motivates me like crazy to try and keep up with those guys. It is NOT P90X - it's more of a beginner version. I HIGHLY recommend. I've lost 15 lbs and have gone from a sz 14 pant to a sz 10 in 60 days (I kid you not). My results for the first 30 days are in my profile pic.

bcattoes

Wow, who knew you'd be bombarded for saying you don't want to lift weights. I didn't know so many people were passionate about others lifting. You build muscle from other forms of exercise too.

Can you give some examples on ways to build muscle without lifting? I'm always looking for ways to get strength training in without weights!

Just about any exercise will build muscle. My leg muscles are fim and shapely from Zumba, when I ran they were hard as rocks. For upper body I do pushups (front and back) or use a resistance band. These give a nice muscle tone without bulking up. And by bulking up I don't mean like a man, I'm think more like Jillian Micheals. I don't like that look.

hwholland

Contrary to popular belief, women rarely need to train differently from men. Without the addition of pharmacuetical assistance, you don't need to worry about looking like a man or getting "bulky". The only reason anyone would look "bulky" from strength training is if they have too fat fat on top of the muscle, which causes the buldge.

Low weight + high reps is one of the biggest myths in the fitness world. That will accomplish basically nothing. There is no such thing as "sculpting" muscles, and you can't spot reduce fat around certain areas, despite what you may read in popular magazines.

If you are new to strength training I would recommend getting on a good beginners program like Starting Strength. Focus on the big exericses like Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, and Press. Those will make you stronger, more powerful, and build a lean sexy physique. If I could only do 4 exercises, those are the ones I would do.

Heavy weight + low reps is the way to constantly make progress. The 8-10 rep range is for hypertrophy training, which at this point (since you are a beginner) is pretty much useless as you aren't strong enough yet to reap the benefits of hypertrophy training. The 5 rep range is probably a good idea.

infamousmk

Low weight + high reps is one of the biggest myths in the fitness world. That will accomplish basically nothing. There is no such thing as "sculpting" muscles, and you can't spot reduce fat around certain areas, despite what you may read in popular magazines.

Interesting... I'll read up on this, because I clearly have learned this myth as a fact! Thanks!

dragonflydi

Your body isn't designed to "bulk up"...lift girl! toning up burns a lot of calories at rest and you will look smoking hot...you can even lift heavy...it WILL NOT make you look like a musclebound freak...promise.

Amen! I life heavier than some of the men at my gym and they still bulk and I don't. It's just not in the genetics. That's not to say you can't see definition ... it's there now more than befor and getting better, but girls just aren't designed to look "beefy" (w/out steroids anyway).