Newbie at the Gym....few questions

Faythee

I need to know what I should be doing on a beginner level....I am lost. I started on Tuesday and first got on the elliptical, I didn't last long at all. I am 42 yrs old, 5'1" and 160 lbs. I then went and did about 20 reps on all the machines, some more. I have been quite sore and particularly my hip joints to where I have trouble sleeping due to the aching.

So today I got on the treadmill and pushed the 20 min. weight loss button. Did this okay except when the speed went up it wasn't enough to run, but too fast of a walk, awkward. Also was very dizzy afterwards for a while which the elliptical didn't do.

I see they also have a bike type machine and more like a ski one that I should try.

Should I skip the weight machines for now and which cardio is better for a beginner ?

Any suggestions on help with my joints ?

Thank you !

ndj1979

I would find a trainer and tell them you want to build a program around deadlifts, bench press, squats, over head press, chin ups, pulls ups etc...once you have these moves down incorporate them into a three day a week total body routine where you are hitting arms/back/shoulders/legs etc and then doing cardio on other two days with rest on two days...or you could do cardio three days, total body three days, and one rest day...

good luck to you ..

or you can pick up new rules for lifting or strong lifts for woman...both are good resources/books...

Health_Gal

If you can't afford a trainer, the next best thing is joining group exercise classes.

Game8

If you're having joint pains, you're probably doing too much. Take it easy, you don't wanna risk having an injury that may keep you away from the gym for months. Just something to keep in mind.

If you wanna include weight lifting in your fitness program, a good place to start is doing full body workouts 3 times a week. Pick one main movement for each muscle group and focus on learning the exercise with proper form and gradually increase the weight. Keeping things in the 8 - 15 rep range max. Anything more than that will do little to nothing when it comes to building muscle.

Make sure to warm up before weight lifting and make sure your joints are feeling easy and lubricated. This will help you avoid injury. It's also a great idea to do rotatory cuff exercises (google these) with light weight to strengthen your joints. You can include these in your warm up.

There are also supplements like fish oil (which you should be taking) and glucosamine that help with maintaining healthy joints. Including healthy fats in your diet will also help a great deal.

Strength training is probably the best form of exercise you can do for staying strong, healthy and lean, especially as you get older. I would highly recommend you spend more time learning the basic compounds movements and apply them in the gym safely with proper form. This is the best investment you can make towards your fitness goals.

jehavin

I totally agree that finding/adopting a strength training program is necessary. Hopefully I can answer some of your cardio questions, though.

For a beginner, I would recommend the recumbent bike or the elliptical. Part of the reason that you didn't "last long" might be because you didn't have a clear plan for your warmup, worktime and cool down. The machines at my gym are supposed to be for 30 min in case someone else wants to use them, so I base my cardio around that time limit. I usually "warmup" (taking my heartrate right when I start,) for about 7-10 minutes, which means pedaling pretty slowly just to get used to the movement. It might feel too slow, but it's good for your endurance to take your time so you can last the rest of the workout. After my time for warmup is done, I take my heartrate again, (by that time, it should be about 60% max,) and begin a five minute "power burst" where I go much faster. I do that for 5 minutes, then crank up the resistance and go slow and "heavy" for five minutes, then go back to my speed burst, and another heavy cycle. Take your heartrate somewhere around the 20 minute mark just to make sure that you are up to about 75-80% of your max. Anything less, you need to work harder, anything more, you might need to slow down. I then do about a 3 minute cool down, (think back to your warmup speed and make yourself go as slowly as possible,) before any of the gym staff realizes that I'm at 33 minutes and kicks me off the bike.

When I was beginning, I'd do this about 3-4 times a week. For you, I'd recommend that you start at 3 times and then do a half hour of lifting afterwards (like a PP said, choose one of your core lifts, deadlifts, OHP, bench and squats, and focus on that for about 5 sets of 6-8reps).

Good luck and feel free to add me as a friend!