Best gym workouts for beginners?

angie13xx
angie13xx Posts: 29 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have recently started to go to the gym, after failing to lose much weight just by dieting( I lose some pounds then next week i gain it back lol)
The exercises I did so far :
- treadmill for 20-30 mins (+2 mins cool down) I usually walk at 6.5 km/h with elevation of 6.5 and I incorporate few minutes of running in between- I can't run much, most I managed to run was just under 10 minutes :(
-cross trainer for 20 mins level 1-4 (+2 mins cool down)
-bike 20 mins level 1-4 (+2 mins cool down)
-rowing 12 min at level 5
After I add all the calories burned from doing all exercises above it adds up to 500-600 calories( depending on how hard I push my self)
On top I do weights lifting ( 3 machines for arms, 3 machines for legs, I dont remember their names lol) On some I lift 7.5 kg, on some i do 15 kg, 8 X3 repetitions.

Now what am i confused about...what is the best way to work out to actually burn fat, what is the fat burning zone, what levels should I work out at, is level 1 useless when it comes to burn calories, do i burn more calories from fat at a lower level or at a higher level?

I am 4.11'', i weigh 124 pounds and im 25 years old. This week i was in the gym 5 times for 2h 30min each time doing all the above and 3 times swimming and haven't lost any weight so far!
I should be on 1200 cal a day but I tend to eat my calories back from the exercises. Should I or shouldnt i do that?
Any advice would be much appreciated! Many thanks x

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Squats, dead lifts, bench, OHP, rows, and pull ups (weighted, bodyweight, or assisted depending on strength).
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    I don't really know what your talking about.

    Treadmill is good. Look at couch 25k. loose the rest. maybe keep the bike, swimming is good.

    look at new rules of lifting and strong lifts.

    So lift heavy.

    Oh, you more than likely need to eat more. eat your calories back. If your set at 2 pounds a week to loose, I'd change it to 0. work on lean muscle mas.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Eat at a deficit and work out to lose fat. Don't worry about fat burning zone crap.

    Once you have a level of comfort with the gym, look into a full body compounding lifting routine - Starting Strength, StrongLifts, or NROL
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Yeah I don't pay attention to the fat burning zone stuff....I am always over the "Fat burning zone" and am still losing weight.
  • angie13xx
    angie13xx Posts: 29 Member
    I don't really know what your talking about.

    To be honest i dont understand all that crap neither, all i knew before is that u have to eat less and exercises if u want to lose weight; now more i read about this stuff more confused i get...some say that depending on the exercises u do, you burn different calories, like for example calories from carbs tend to be burned off first but i want to lose the calories from fat and then you must exercise at "fat burning zone" what is that?
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Losing fat anywhere on the body is more to do with a calorie deficit than any particular exercise. With that said the fat will burn off from wherever the body decides. You can not control this and it usually comes off in the reverse order it went on.

    To lose "weight" put your calories in a moderate deficit. Notice I said "weight". To make sure the majority of your weight loss comes from "body fat" you will need to do resistance training. Muscle is very expensive to maintain calorie wise. If you do not convince your body that the muscle is necessary it will get rid of it. This can look great on the scale but is terrible for body composition. This site is full of people who reach their weight loss goals and are not happy with the way their bodies look. This is usually do to excessive calorie deficit (from severe dieting or excessive cardio) and no resistance training (lifting relatively heavy weights). I recommend a linear beginner program like Stronglifts 5x5. You are not going to build much muscle, if any, while in a caloric deficit so working a body building program is not ideal. It will work but a strength program based on the major compound movements will work a lot better. Any resistance training will work pretty good though even body weight programs.

    Is cardio necessary for fat loss? Nope. You can lose weight just with diet alone or diet with strength training combined to maximize fat loss.

    Should you do cardio anyways? Yep. Many benefits of doing cardio but I recommend high intensity cardio. 20-30 minutes as hard as you can go. Try HIIT training at first. Do that about 3 times per week. Spending hours on a treadmill will burn calories but is so inefficient that I think its a waste of time....unless you are training for some kind of event or sport.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Watch this video on the fat burning zone myth. I think she does a very good job of explaining it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up5n86VGC3c
  • angie13xx
    angie13xx Posts: 29 Member
    Losing fat anywhere on the body is more to do with a calorie deficit than any particular exercise. With that said the fat will burn off from wherever the body decides. You can not control this and it usually comes off in the reverse order it went on.

    To lose "weight" put your calories in a moderate deficit. Notice I said "weight". To make sure the majority of your weight loss comes from "body fat" you will need to do resistance training. Muscle is very expensive to maintain calorie wise. If you do not convince your body that the muscle is necessary it will get rid of it. This can look great on the scale but is terrible for body composition. This site is full of people who reach their weight loss goals and are not happy with the way their bodies look. This is usually do to excessive calorie deficit (from severe dieting or excessive cardio) and no resistance training (lifting relatively heavy weights). I recommend a linear beginner program like Stronglifts 5x5. You are not going to build much muscle, if any, while in a caloric deficit so working a body building program is not ideal. It will work but a strength program based on the major compound movements will work a lot better. Any resistance training will work pretty good though even body weight programs.

    Is cardio necessary for fat loss? Nope. You can lose weight just with diet alone or diet with strength training combined to maximize fat loss.

    Should you do cardio anyways? Yep. Many benefits of doing cardio but I recommend high intensity cardio. 20-30 minutes as hard as you can go. Try HIIT training at first. Do that about 3 times per week. Spending hours on a treadmill will burn calories but is so inefficient that I think its a waste of time....unless you are training for some kind of event or sport.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Watch this video on the fat burning zone myth. I think she does a very good job of explaining it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up5n86VGC3c


    Thank you very much, I watched the video and it was helpful.
    Can't wait for tomorrow to go back to the gym and Ill deff do more strenght exercises :)
  • angie13xx
    angie13xx Posts: 29 Member

    So lift heavy.

    Oh, you more than likely need to eat more. eat your calories back. If your set at 2 pounds a week to loose, I'd change it to 0. work on lean muscle mas.

    Thanks for the advice, I have now set my goal to lose half of pound a week instead of 2 and hey i can eat even more haha
    I'll deff try more lifting
  • angie13xx
    angie13xx Posts: 29 Member
    Thank you all for your advices. X
  • bits4226
    bits4226 Posts: 101 Member
    I agree (for the most part with everyone above) . With that being said I think you should start by looking at how much and wht your eating and be sure that its healthy options and a sufficient amount of calories. In reference to the gym... when I started I began on the elliptical trainer and I like doing the hill programs. the reason I like it is because it gives you moments where you push yourself and then moments to recover. You can be on the treadmill or any machine for hours but if you are not getting your heart pumping then it will be hard to push yourself. I also play around with the levels on the machine. I almost never do level 1 but i test the each level and "feel" things out. I basically get on the machine start my workout and increase the levels gradually until it begins to become difficult to have a conversation (that's when I know Im doing something). Once I get to that point I try to workout at that levels for a few weeks until i am comfortable then go up...

    For example right now I do either manual or hills at level 10 for 40-45minutes. (I started at level 5 for 30 -35minutes about 1 month ago)

    on the treadmill I started at 3.5 mph to 4.2mph/0 incline with 30 seconds "runs at 5mph" for 30 minutes.

    I decide my pace based on how i feel. I want to push myself without overdoing it.

    I would also try not to do so many things in one day.

    Also burning 500-600 (i think thats what you wrote ) in one hour seems like a tiny amount of calories. Even though most calorie counters on the machines are inaccurate ... i try to burn 10 calories per minutes when i'm on the elliiptical.

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