Managing your time at the gym

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mikeyp11
mikeyp11 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
When I initially came home from college, I decided to start going to the gym and was spending about an hour and a half at the gym 5 days a week. I also got involved in some men's hockey leagues and was playing 2 nights a week. I ended up dropping about 40 lbs in 3 1/2 to 4 months. I was just under 150 lbs.

Then, I went to law school and gained almost all that weight back. Now that I graduated and am working typically 12 hour days, I can't find the time to be able to spend an hour and a half at the gym 5 days a week or get involved in any type of hockey leagues. Thus, I am finding it more difficult to drop the weight again (and I really want to since I am getting married in a little over a year!).

I typically get 45 minutes to work out when I end up making it to the gym. My question is, what is the best way to spend that time? Is a split between cardio and weight lifting the best, just cardio, just weight lifting? Any ideas, comments or suggestions would be helpful. I am hoping that eating healthy while managing to get to the gym a couple times a week will end up making the struggle back to 150 lbs a bit easier. I just don't know what produces the best results.

Thanks for any input!

Replies

  • sh2010
    sh2010 Posts: 12
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    I really don't know either, the only thing I could reccomend, and this is going to be based on if you can or cannot afford it, would be to get a personal trainer. Not for everytime you work out, but one that can meet with you one or two times, you can tell them your goals and everything you just stated in your post, and they can make the best workout plan for what you need.

    Good luck to you!:smile:
  • gmvanloo
    gmvanloo Posts: 100 Member
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    Do you have the ability to work at home? I found that I'm more likely to do things and stay more on track working out at home. If so I would suggest a Beachbody prodcut to you. They are the makers of Slim in 6, P90, P90X, Turbo Jam, etc. I'm not sure where you are in your fitness level but that would help determine which workout would be right for you.

    I am a P90X fanantic...loved it so much that I became a Beachbody coach to help spread the word. My website is below in my signature. Maybe check it out and see if there any products that interest you.

    I can promise if you follow the plan you will see great results. It would save you the time of going to the gym as well. I know it was worked well for me.
  • jimmygouache
    jimmygouache Posts: 1
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    Somebody mentioned P90X. I have this program and love it! I don't use any time driving to the gym...I can do it at home and fit it into my tight schedule. I've found I'm more likely to workout if I don't have to go somewhere else. It gives a great mix of cardio and weight training among other exercises. I never get bored with it...It's like having a personal trainer for life and is about $120. I'm noticing muscles develope that I haven't seen since High School! I have no financial gain to push this product...I'm just so pleased with it, I almost consider it my new "religion"! LOL The best part is that it has variations for people at different levels and is great for both men and women.
  • ropsnik
    ropsnik Posts: 68 Member
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    I just read the book "Younger Next Year" by Chris Crowley and Harry Lodge. I downloaded it on my Kindle from Amazon. This book talks about living better as a Senior but it does give a very nice explanation of the benefits of balanced workouts. It was a very good and easy read. Some parts of the book were pie in the sky but Dr. Harry Lodge does a nice job explaining how Cardo exercise can improve longetivity and how using weights will help your body repair itself and make you feel better. I think it is a great read for anyone 30 years and older.
  • missykaye1975
    missykaye1975 Posts: 95
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    In my honest opinion, if I HAD to choose between one or the other, I would lift weights to build lean muscle mass. By building muscle, you will naturally speed up your metabolism since muscle is active and needs to be fed, whereas fat just sits there and does nothing. The reason for yo-yo dieting is because when a person just does cardio and/or diets away their "weight", that weight can be made up of water, fat, AND muscle. Your muscle IS your metabolism! It will be so much easier to maintain your new physique once you get there because you NEED to feed it--often--to maintain your muscle. I could go on about the benefits....but it would be good to read about them yourself. Bodybuilding.com has a wonderful "transformations" section, which totally inspires me, as well as many articles on fitness and nutrition. That being said, I truly believe to be balanced and healthy--both physically and emotionally--you need to fit both weight AND cardio exercise in somewhere. Maybe do weights at the gym where they have the equipment, and some type of cardio at home at a different time--running, bicycling, etc.?? Take care! :smile:
  • courtney_love2001
    courtney_love2001 Posts: 1,468 Member
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    I gathered from a few people on here that it was best not to mix aerobic and anaerobic exercise on the same day. Therefore, one day you should do cardio, and the next day do just lifting. I believe it was Banks that said something like this....maybe he will chime in!
  • missykaye1975
    missykaye1975 Posts: 95
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    I gathered from a few people on here that it was best not to mix aerobic and anaerobic exercise on the same day. Therefore, one day you should do cardio, and the next day do just lifting. I believe it was Banks that said something like this....maybe he will chime in!

    I do both cardio and weight training on the same day, 6 days a week. Works great for me! :happy:
  • SGFlyinHi
    SGFlyinHi Posts: 469 Member
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    I gathered from a few people on here that it was best not to mix aerobic and anaerobic exercise on the same day. Therefore, one day you should do cardio, and the next day do just lifting. I believe it was Banks that said something like this....maybe he will chime in!

    I don't know what the 'experts' say, but doing Cardio and weight training on the same day worked for me. When I was losing my weight, I would do 30- 60 min of cardio 6 days a week and I was doing 50min of wight training 3 days a week. Now that I am in maintenance, I do 3 days of weights and 2 days of cardio for anywhere from 50 to 60 min each.

    Do what you can in the time that you have. If you only have 60 min a day, then I would alternate cardio and lifting for 6 days, and be sure to take at least 1 day off a week.

    This is just my oppinion, as in no way am I an expert, it's just what worked for me. And remember that everyone is different and their bodies repond differently.

    Good Luck!!!
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I gathered from a few people on here that it was best not to mix aerobic and anaerobic exercise on the same day. Therefore, one day you should do cardio, and the next day do just lifting. I believe it was Banks that said something like this....maybe he will chime in!

    I'm gonna disagree with this. Lifting weights before you do cardio is what works for me. You use up the energy in your muscles lifting weights and are forced to find other ways to get it when you do the cardio.

    There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing both on the same day.
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
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    45 minutes in the gym is more than enough, if not a limit.

    if you were doing 1 1/2 hours a session, then you were definitely not utilizing your gym time effectively.

    Whether you do cardio, strength or stretching in those 45 mins, keep the intensity up. There's two things that make me laugh at the gym, people who have full on conversations on the treadmill (or read a book/magazine) and weight lifters who take 3 or 4 minute breaks between sets.

    Personally, my favorite work out to wear myself out is a 20 min cardio workout (after a 5 min warmup which I don't count). I then stretch for about 5 mins after that and then do some weights without rests. Do an upper body exercise and then a leg exercise, maybe then some sit ups.

    The less breaks you take, the higher your rate will be and the more calories you burn (plus your building strength). These type of workouts for me push me into the 600-750 calorie range according to my HRM. 3x a week, and it's a good way to maximize your time.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    It will take some time to work up to be able to tolerate the workouts, but, basically, the less time you have to work out, the harder you have to work. 45 minutes would be a good amount of time for a high-intensity interval circuit, combining some cardio and strength. If that's not to your liking, then I would split the time into some tempo level cardio for 20 min, followed by strength training. Maybe every 3 wks or so, or if you feel you are plateauing, do some endurance workouts, then ramp it back up.
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Whether you do cardio, strength or stretching in those 45 mins, keep the intensity up. There's two things that make me laugh at the gym, people who have full on conversations on the treadmill (or read a book/magazine) and weight lifters who take 3 or 4 minute breaks between sets.

    Um I can do the elliptical trainer, read a book and keep my heart rate up at around 160-170 BPM just fine.
  • mdale2
    mdale2 Posts: 79
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    45 minutes is more than enough. An hour and a half workouts might as well be reserved only for a long run, hike, or bike ride, IMO, and these certainly aren't daily activities for the majority of us (unless we're training for Ironman!)

    Have you ever considered a lifting program such as Stronglifts (5x5) or the like? Simple yet effective heavy lifting that won't exceed 45 minutes, if not 30 minutes.

    3x per week, using this program: http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

    If you're going to use a treadmill or elliptical for cardio, you're better off doing an intense 20-30 minutes of HIIT style training or interval sprints versus lollygagging along for an hour, excuse my sarcasm.

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