Went back to the Gym today...now what

jparker12379

For mother's day I got my family a membership to the YMCA and this morning I got up at 4:30am and headed to the fitness center BUT I was completely lost...... I did the Elliptical for 10 minutes (my legs were jello) and then did some arms and legs machines but I felt like I had no idea what to do next...... What does your workout routine at the gym look like

My previous gym had a circuit training room and I just followed the little arrows to the next machine it was nice to have it all laid out for me.

The personal training sessions are out of my budget right now.

ilovedeadlifts

Focus on doing compound lifts (multi joint, multi muscle groups) first.

Elliptical for 5-10 to warm up.
Then pick some compound lifts to do. Rows, squats, pullups, bench press etc.
After that you can do isolation work like curls or leg press etc.

I'd either do a full body workout 3x a week (non consecutive days) or do upper body one day and lower the next.

Try to find a friendly gym goer and ask for help. Most people aren't ****s and will be happy to help someone out.

steveinct

If you are new to the gym, do not bother with any isolation exercises or split routines for a few months. For now, just go in with a plan similar to this:

Warm up for 5 - 10 minutes. Then:

Squat or Deadlift. (2 sets x 12 reps) -- If you are new, you might be able to just do this with your body weight.
Bench press (2 sets x 12 reps) -- I would suggest dumbbells.
Row (2 sets x 12 reps) -- This can be a dumbbell row or a cable row
Military (overhead) Press (2 sets x 12 reps) - Use dumbbells
Lat pull down or assisted chinups (2 sets x 12 reps)
Abs (3 sets: plank until failure/20 crunches/20 reverse crunches). If you can't do 20, start with 10 and increase by 1 each week.

Cardio - 20 to 30 minutes intervals (1 minute hard, 1 to 2 minute recovery). As you get stronger, reduce the recovery time and increase the hard part. The cardio can be done on an elliptical, treadmill, rowing machine, or bike. Switch it up!

Cool down and stretch.

With the weight training, try to keep the rest between sets to about 45 - 60 seconds. Also, each week try to increase the weight for one of the sets or squeeze an extra rep or two out. You always want to be progressing.

You should only do this program 2 or 3 times a week and never on back to back days. On your "off" days, you can do your traditional 'steady state' cardio where you get on a machine and go at a steady pace or go for a walk/hike/etc. After 4 weeks of this, take a week where all you do is steady state cardio. The week off from strength training will help your muscles and tendons heal completely. Then do this program again for another 4 weeks and push harder. At this point, you have been training for over 2 months and you can look at working with a more complex program.

Disclaimer so I don't get sued: I do not know you nor do I know your physical conditioning. You should check with a doctor or a trainer before doing anything in this workout and if you don't, it is your fault if you get hurt or in fantastic shape. Also, if you don't know the proper form for any of the exercises above, please look online or ask a trainer at the gym for guidance.