Unsure of how to determine fitness goals/routine

predent

Hi guys. So this is kind of embarrassing to ask, but oh well, I'm doing it anyway!

I am struggling with trying to determine my own fitness goals or come up with a routine to suit them. I was a swimmer for the majority of my life and always had coaches laying out everything for me. Do x at the gym... swim y miles... give me z number of pushups. Now that I am four years out of swimming, I just have no idea what to do! I looked into a personal trainer, but being a broke college student, that was out of the question. I have free access to two different gyms (one literally across the street in my apartment complex and the other a 10 minute bus ride away at USF) ... do I just kind of go there and ... do ... exercise stuff? Should I focus on cardio or strength or a little of both? Sit at the Jamba Juice and drink 600 calorie smoothies? (kidding, maybe)

Plates559

New Rules Of Lifting For Women

Starting Strength - Mark Rippetoe

5/3/1 - Jim Wendler

Plates559

Now go do hours and hours of research

predent

Thanks I'll look into those!

angrykitty13

Does your university have fitness classes? Like a beginning weight lifting class, boot camp, etc? Maybe sign up for one of those and 1) get some great workouts in and 2) talk to the instructors about how you can set up your own workout schedule.

i did a boot camp class at a local community college a few years ago, and it was great. The instructor was a wealth of knowledge (she'd worked with Olympic athletes in the past and taught in the fitness program for students getting personal training certificates). She was great with suggestions on how to adapt workouts, and helped students determine fitness goals and how to meet them. I also took a spin class from her and walked away with a ton of awesome fitness tips.

predent

Does your university have fitness classes? Like a beginning weight lifting class, boot camp, etc? Maybe sign up for one of those and 1) get some great workouts in and 2) talk to the instructors about how you can set up your own workout schedule.

i did a boot camp class at a local community college a few years ago, and it was great. The instructor was a wealth of knowledge (she'd worked with Olympic athletes in the past and taught in the fitness program for students getting personal training certificates). She was great with suggestions on how to adapt workouts, and helped students determine fitness goals and how to meet them. I also took a spin class from her and walked away with a ton of awesome fitness tips.

They do, actually! My gym has tons of classes, running about one an hour. Only problem is that it's semester break so they all don't start up until August 27th. I definitely plan on joining some, but it's a month away.

lizziebeth1028

I really like the "new rules of lifting for women' as well! It's a good read and a great guide and starting point. The best strength training exercises are compound moves like deadlifts, squats, bench presses. Calisthenics and full body weight exercises are great too. HIIT's (high intensity interval training) are amazing for a big calorie burn. Or you can just alternate your workouts...strength training one day, cardio the next. If you google any of my suggestions you'll get all kinds of ideas. I'm also a firm believer of keeping my gym time to a certain limit.......in other words if you're there for over 2 hours you probably not working out very efficiently (that's just MY opinion). Cardio for me is 30 to 45 minutes....no longer.

lalonmeg000

This also might seem silly, but if you have a pinterest, look up some fitness blogs on there. Some days when I really can't drag myself to the gym I hop on my fitness pinterest board I created and pick a random exercise and do that. Its at least a good way to start in between summer and fall classes.

I am a student too so I completely understand at how hard and expensive it is to find a personal trainer!

JennKoz529

When I went to the gym (I am now a poor mommy who can't afford the gym because she spends all the money on her kids!) I did a little of both. I did about 20 mins on the tredmil and then I did the circut weight machines. That really seemed to work for me. Utilize the people who work at the gyms. They can be helpful as to what to do and how to do it. See if either gym has a personal trainer program. Sometimes they are not extra and they can show you how to do things correctly. Good luck!

Ps. I've been using different workout programs on On-Demand. Don't know if you have it, but if you do, and you don't have a lot of money to spend, they work great! I'm seeing results already and I started 2 weeks ago!

Good luck!!!!

madmickie

when you were swimming your goal was easy to determine - do a certain distance with a certain stroke in the shortest time possible for you - then designing a training plan to help you achieve this

So you need a goal! Should it be to get fit for an event, to help you play your sport a bit better - to lose weight - to have fun - to meet people - You need a goal.

Work that out and then ask about training plans.

predent

Thanks for the replies everyone

The gym at USF does offer personal training, but it's between $34 and $22 depending on how many sessions you buy at a time. I definitely cannot afford that, haha. I also don't have cable for the same reason. :blushing:

In terms of my overall goals I want:
- Lose weight
- Increase flexibility
- Gain endurance (either swimming or running)
- LOOK strong

Obviously I cannot accomplish all of that at once. A few people have told me about the C25K program, which can help me with gaining endurance.

I don't want to start swimming again until I have lost some weight... I seriously cannot fit into my old bathing suits and there's no way I'm paying $75ea for new ones that I(hopefully) will never wear ever again.

Learning to control my eating should help with the lose weight aspect. I have a very big problem with using food as a means of enjoyment instead of a means of sustenance, hence, rapid weight gain.

The only two parts left are increased flexibility and gaining muscle. Phew.

Determinednoob

Thanks for the replies everyone

The gym at USF does offer personal training, but it's between $34 and $22 depending on how many sessions you buy at a time. I definitely cannot afford that, haha. I also don't have cable for the same reason. :blushing:

In terms of my overall goals I want:
- Lose weight
- Increase flexibility
- Gain endurance (either swimming or running)
- LOOK strong

Obviously I cannot accomplish all of that at once. A few people have told me about the C25K program, which can help me with gaining endurance.

I don't want to start swimming again until I have lost some weight... I seriously cannot fit into my old bathing suits and there's no way I'm paying $75ea for new ones that I(hopefully) will never wear ever again.

Learning to control my eating should help with the lose weight aspect. I have a very big problem with using food as a means of enjoyment instead of a means of sustenance, hence, rapid weight gain.

The only two parts left are increased flexibility and gaining muscle. Phew.

Lift heavy, do some sort of basic endurance building cardio, eat an amount that puts you at maintenance or slight deficit while doing so. You will get noob gains on muscle strength and size and fat loss. After a few months you will stall on everything if eating maintenance or muscles if you are at a deficit. Continue decific until desired bodyfat% is reached. Switch to bulk if more muscle is desired. I have done a lot of the research for you. (well for me but...;) Check it out here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners

ilovedeadlifts

New Rules Of Lifting For Women

Starting Strength - Mark Rippetoe

5/3/1 - Jim Wendler

Great start for learning about lifting and what you should be doing to get stronger.


We can't give you ambition or goals though. You need to find that yourself. You won't last long in the gym if you aren't working towards something.

madmickie

Your goals arent sufficiently defined - so you'll never know when you have reached them . Try to come up with SMART targets

Specific - something you can define - speed, weight, time
Measurable - something you can easily measure to judge progress
Achieveable - something thats attainable
Realistic - you have the resources to achieve it
TImebound - the time in which to reach your goal

So - You may say you want to lose 20lbs by end of the year.
You want to be able to run 10k in under an hour by next March

Dont be afraid to amend targets if circumstances change, your targets need to remain achieveabe. For example, I wanted to do a Half Marathon this year but got a hip injury so now i have put that target back to next spring.

therealangd

WOW! This is probably one of the most informative threads I've read in a long time.

OP, read this stuff. It's awesome.