Gym Advice?

CarolTempleton

So i recently joined a gym and all I do is elliptical or treadmill, I need a direction. I want to lose weight. I work 3rd shift 4 days a week and off 3 days. The 3 days I have more time to work out, but the 4 days I work, I do not, I have about 30 mins to work out. i want to lose weight, but i also have a belly to get rid of. I need a routine that works and I can for the most part stick with. I think if I see a workout of some kind in writing I am more motivated than just doing the elliptical for 30 mins every other day. Please help, someone. Thanks

mich1902

I don't have a routine or anything for you to follow but I feel the exact same way and rather intimidated about going to the gym and now knowing what I was there to do! I just joined a gym yesterday and i've kept money aside this month to have a few personal training classes to keep me right. Otherwise i'd probably use some cardio machines, get bored and confused then leave...

CarolTempleton

I know what you mean Mich1902, Unfortunately my Gym is small, but enough for me to lose weight, we don't have classes and they don't have trainers. Which is disappointing. If you find out anything from your trainer, please share if you can, love to hear what they have to say. Thanks

mich1902

I will do. I need to lose around 10 pounds weight wise and then improve on body fat and stuff using weights so i'll likely be doing dome HIIT mixed with weights. I'm not much of a cardio bunny so i'm hoping that will keep me interested! This guy says kettlebells are his thing but i''ve never used them. Quite excited and nervous. I really need to build up my confidence and stop thinking people care what i'm doing in the gym ha. Hopefully when I start seeing results it will give me that buzz to 'just do it'.

CarolTempleton

Girl, you will do great. I still have a long way to go for my goal, but I hope I can get there at the end of this yr or pretty close anyways and as far as Kettle bells, I love them, so that will be a new cool thing for you to experience, Good luck and keep in touch

EmmaKarney

There are a tonne of 30 minute workouts on YouTube...

Capt_Apollo

Bumping for when I'm in front of a computer and not in my phone. I work 12 hour rotating shifts.

We'll talk.

jimmie65

This is a pretty wide-open request. Things to consider:
Other than losing weight, do you have any other goals?
What do you enjoy doing?
Do you have any physical limitations keeping your from certain exercises?

Without knowing these, a blanket suggestion would be to start lifting heavy weights. Look at Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting, or StrongLifts 5x5 (this one is a free website).

Matt_Wild

Sort your diet out. All the workouts in the world won't lose the bodyfat if your diet is not in place.

erik9686

Hi Matt, you are right in a way. Diet is just one part of the story, but what's equally important is also to have an exercise plan and structure in place to get going.

ArroganceInStep

Hi Matt, you are right in a way. Diet is just one part of the story, but what's equally important is also to have an exercise plan and structure in place to get going.

I disagree. Diet is and always will be more important than your exercise plan. If you have a stellar diet and mediocre workout plan, you'll end up looking good, not so much the other way around.

So definitely make sure your diet is in order.

For exercise plans, I'd suggest getting into lifting weights. If you plan to go to the gym daily, on the days you work and only have 30 minutes, plan to hit the treadmill or elliptical. On the days you have more time, lift weights (and if you still have time after that you can do more cardio).

The three most common starting places suggested are Starting Strength (it's a book by Rippetoe), StrongLifts 5x5 (stronglifts.com), or New Rules of Lifting for Women (also a book). Those are as good a place to start as any. What you should do, though, is log your progress (on paper, not your phone or whatever). Get a workout notebook and starting keeping track of your workouts, that includes cardio and weights. Look to improve in some way. If you managed 3.1 miles in 46 minutes last time, try to get it in 45:30 this time. If you're doing intervals and are going between 6mph and 3mph, try doing them with a 6.1mph top speed, or a 3.5 rest pace. For weights try to lift a heavier weight, or the same weight for more reps than last time. You need the log to keep track of your improvement, and to keep yourself accountable.

Good luck.

Frogoutofwater

Shift work makes it challenging but not impossible. I'd suggest you consider the following elements for a workout routine:

1) Strength
2) Cardio
3) Flexibility

You don't need to do each of them every day, and you can also divide up your routine and do some mini-workouts (10-20 minutes) a couple of times a day (making it easier to fit exercise into your work days).

You might consider something like the following:

1) Cardio:

A) One long, moderately paced workout per week (on a day off) - depending on your current fitness, start around 30 minutes and aim to reach 60 minutes. Could be elliptical, walk-running, bike etc. Add 5-10 minutes of flexibility exercises at the end.
One medium-length, fairly intense workout (start with 20 minutes, aim for 45) - also probably on a non-work day. You can combine this one with a strength workout of 15-30 minutes and 5-10 minutes of flexibility exercises at the end.
C) Two circuit training workouts where you alternate between 3-5 minutes of cardio (intense pace) with 3-4 strength exercises. Note that you could do this at home if you wanted to. Your cardio could be dancing or stepping up and down on a couple of stairs, and your strength exercises could be mostly body weight exercises (e.g., squats, pushups, etc). Although circuit training isn't the most effective way to strength train, it's an efficient way to combine strength and cardio when you're pressed for time, so this would be a good option for a workday when you only have 30 minutes to train. You could also look at getting a DVD (like Jilliam Michaels etc) that combines strength with some cardio.
D) Try to add some stairs and extra walking to your days whenever possible.

2) Strength

A) The basic principle is don't train the same body part two days in a row, so your strength workouts need to be no more frequent than every other day. (You can do some ab work every day if you want.) If you're pressed for time, start with a short full body routine. For example, my super-basic routine is the following: push-ups, bicep curls, tricep extension, lateral raise, squats, clamshell (works your hip flexors), leg lifts, plank, back extension, bridge, calf raise.
I do Pilates 3 times a week to strengthen my core.

3) Flexibility

A) You don't have to do a lot but you should do a little, and it's easy to incorporate 5-10 minutes at the end of each workout.

Try to take at least one full day off per week with nothing more strenuous than an easy walk or relaxing stretching routine.

Matt_Wild

Hi Matt, you are right in a way. Diet is just one part of the story, but what's equally important is also to have an exercise plan and structure in place to get going.

I'm not right in a way. I'm actually 100% right.

You can lose weight with zero exercise, simple calorie deficit and day to day living with burn fat.

Exercise on top of this will of course increase energy used and help burn further calories and fat.

HOWEVER doing all the exercise you want (unless you are burning more than you eat each day, unlikely) will not out do your poor diet.

alpine1994

Hi Matt, you are right in a way. Diet is just one part of the story, but what's equally important is also to have an exercise plan and structure in place to get going.

I'm not right in a way. I'm actually 100% right.

You can lose weight with zero exercise, simple calorie deficit and day to day living with burn fat.

Exercise on top of this will of course increase energy used and help burn further calories and fat.

HOWEVER doing all the exercise you want (unless you are burning more than you eat each day, unlikely) will not out do your poor diet.

Totally agree with this. There was a period of time (1 month) when I did 45 minutes of kickboxing every single day and didn't lose any weight or body fat. It's because I was eating the same crap I always had. I stopped kickboxing and sorted out my diet and immediately started losing. It really is all diet. For me, working out is a stress reliever after a long day at my crappy job, and it helps my muscles look nice and gives me nice cuts here and there.

That being said OP, I also enjoy the benefits of working out, and find that HIIT (high intensity interval training) produces the best results if you only want to do cardio (no weights) for now. Are you on pinterest? There are tons of treadmill interval plans and most of them are 30 minutes or less because that's all you need. Do a search on pinterest for "treadmill intervals" and a bunch of stuff will come up. I'm sure just googling works too. Once you feel more comfortable in the gym and working off of structured plans, you can venture into the weights section.

Good luck!

ChrisLindsay9

Check out this podcast episode (or read the transcript) of the Get Fit Guy podcast. It's on how to get in a relatively effective 10 minute workout (it'd be about 20 to 30 minutes with warm-up/post-workout stretching).

http://getfitguy.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-do-a-10-minute-workout.aspx

I hope it can provide some help!

da_bears10089

Try adding in strength training. A lot of people say that they want to lose weight before they start adding in strength training, but it's an awesome way to help burn off fat. stronglifts 5x5 would probably be good for you if you have a small gym. You can complete most of it with a squat rack and a flat bench.

lacroyx

Hi Matt, you are right in a way. Diet is just one part of the story, but what's equally important is also to have an exercise plan and structure in place to get going.

I'm not right in a way. I'm actually 100% right.

You can lose weight with zero exercise, simple calorie deficit and day to day living with burn fat.

Exercise on top of this will of course increase energy used and help burn further calories and fat.

HOWEVER doing all the exercise you want (unless you are burning more than you eat each day, unlikely) will not out do your poor diet.

I agree. Diet is key. I work nights as well. 8 hr shifts, 5 days a week. 11pm-7am. I learned early on that sleep is also very important. I found that when I lacked sleep, I was tired, over ate to help me in staying awake, and didn't even bother with exercise since I was too damn tired to do so.

Capt_Apollo

so like others said, it's all about diet.

but you came here asking for some exercise advice, about routines and things.

first, i'd like to direct you to these links. i got a lot of good information here on how to start building a routine when i first started.

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/15/how-to-build-your-own-workout-routine/

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/10/26/how-to-not-suck-at-working-out/

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/08/09/infiltrating-the-empire-how-to-workout-properly-in-a-commercial-gym/

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

honestly, you should read every article here: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/top-posts/

I work a lot of 12 hour shifts, where i'll do 3-4 day shifts in a row, and then have 3-4 days off, and then 3-4 night shifts in a row. it's taken a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for me.

first, those 12 hour days are usually rest days for me. they're long days, that start when i wake up at 430am, and i don't get home until 7pm. i'm tired and usually i just eat, pack my stuff for the next day, and relax. However, lately, i've been finding that i usually have the energy to do a work out one of those evenings. i have to have my exercise gear with me in the car, and go straight to the gym or the swimming pool. if i stop at home then i'm done, and there is no getting off the couch. these work outs are generally light, 30-60 minutes tops.

my night shifts are hard. on the morning of the first night shift, i take advantage and work out early. on the morning getting out of my last night shift, i usually find that a work out (usually swimming) helps reset my body clock. the night shifts in between are a roll of the dice; some days i can get a work out in, some times i can't. it all depends on how my body feels.

the days that i really do my best to kill it at the gym are on my days off. i'll be at the gym as it opens, and i'm usually there for about two hours. then in the afternoon i usually do some cardio, either a swim, bike ride, or a run. it sounds like a lot, but obviously i built up to this. i also know that while i'm straining my body, i will be pretty much taking 3-4 rest days immediatly after.

so if i were you, i'd first start by just concentrate on working out on the days that you CAN work out.

Jess21684

there really is no wrong way to workout but it all depends on your wants and your goals. If losing weight and slimming down is your goal, def focus on burning calories and doing cardio.. I would suggest adding in interval work, it burns more calories in shorter amount of time and keep your body burning calories after your workout is through as well plus it beats boredom from doing the same pace for an hour! I def would add in strength training ontop of cardio.. a good balance of both is def the best way to go. circuit training is a good way to go bc It adds in bursts of cardio and keeps your HR up, so you burn more calories. Def focus on compound, total body moves, these will work more muscle and you will get the most calorie burning benefits and work several muscles at once! I get a lot of great interval workouts to do on the treadmil and eliptical as well as awesome circuit training workouts from Pinterest actually! there are some really great ones. If your gym has fitness classes, maybe try some of them out a few times a wk to switch things up & meet new people. Dont be afraid to ask as well.. if you see a machine or something you dont get at the gym, dont be afraid to ask somebody!! I agree with everyone else that diet is most important. def keep your diet in check and make sure your eating at a decent deficient bc if you are not watching what you eat or eating too many calories, it can def outdo your workouts! I would just research, get advice and suggestions from others and find what YOU enjoy doing.. experiment with different cardio machines and workouts and find what you like to do and are most likely to stick to. I would stick to whatever form of cardio you enjoy doing, try bumping up the intensity by adding resistance and intervals for a better & more efficient burn & do total-body, compound strength work and a lot of circuit training. and watch your diet!

CarolTempleton

This is a pretty wide-open request. Things to consider:
Other than losing weight, do you have any other goals?
What do you enjoy doing?
Do you have any physical limitations keeping your from certain exercises?

Without knowing these, a blanket suggestion would be to start lifting heavy weights. Look at Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting, or StrongLifts 5x5 (this one is a free website).

My goal is to get healthier and lose weight. I love swimming and hiking and biking. But my limitations is I have Athsma. which sucks.

CarolTempleton

Thanks everyone for the advice. very helpful and I will continue on my journey to a healthier me.