Please help me create a fitness regime?

Marii2989
Marii2989 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I'm looking for someone's help who knows what they're talking about and I thought these boards seem good!

I've lost a stone in a couple of months by following slimming world. I'm now 9 stone 10 lbs but have a lot of fat on me still, my thighs wobble when I walk, I have a lot of excess belly fat and my arms are still quite chunky. My goal is to burn all this fat and tone up, I'd love a flat belly!

I've just started at the gym and tend to do half an hour cardio and 15 mins weights (machines). As a beginner I feel the machines are doing something cause I always ache after the gym, I'm just doing 3 sets of 15 on the second to lightest setting, lol!

I've seen on here people say cardio is a waste of time, would that be the case for me? Id just love for someone to point me in the right direction as to what I should be doing I.e on Mondays an hour cardio, on Tuesdays an hour weights etc.

I want to start the 30 day shred but not doing so until September as I've got a few things on where I couldn't commit to it.

Thanks for anyone's input x

Replies

  • lorenzovonmatterhorn7549
    lorenzovonmatterhorn7549 Posts: 495 Member
    Cardio is not a waste of time. It is yet another tool at your disposal. I do however subscribe to the idea that it should be implemented with resistance training and diet. And when I say diet, I'm not referring to Adkins, South Beach, etc... I mean watching your calorie intake and other macros
  • jenhed96
    jenhed96 Posts: 12 Member
    I'm not an expert and I'm really just starting out, but I did meet with a trainer when I joined my gym and, seeing as you are also just starting out as I am, maybe this will be helpful to you. I told the trainer I wanted to lose fat and build muscle, which (it sounds like) you are also trying to do.

    My workout is below. I do 10 reps, 3 sets. I do them in "super sets" which means, if there are 2 chest machines, I do ten reps on one, rest 40 seconds, then do 10 reps on the other. Repeat three times. All told, it takes around 40-45 minutes. My trainer said that if I have an hour at the gym, even if I can just do some cardio for 15-30 minutes after my weight training, that's better than nothing. Generally, Ive been trying to get to a couple of cardio-type classes for an hour a couple of times a week, in addition to doing the workout below 3-4 times a week.

    Chest: Vertical bench press, pectoral fly
    Back: front cable pulldowns, seated cable rows
    Shoulders: shoulder press, lateral deltoid raise
    Biceps: seated biceps curls, seated dumbbell curls
    Triceps: cable rope extensions, straight bar cable pushdowns
    Legs: leg press and calf raises (same machine), then lying leg curls

    Hope this helps!
  • Marii2989
    Marii2989 Posts: 3
    Thanks for the reply. I don't understand why people have said cardio is a waste of time. I've always thought it burns fat. I'll carry on with my diet (albeit slimming world, non calorie counting but a similar outlook using 'syns'), cardio and weights. I'd just love to know more detail cause I know you're meant to train different muscle groups different days? I just want to make sure I'm doing it all right as I combine cardio and weights in the same workout.
  • Marii2989
    Marii2989 Posts: 3
    Thanks, so it's best to do cardio after weights? Arghh I've been doing cadio before!
  • jenhed96
    jenhed96 Posts: 12 Member
    I asked about that (doing different muscle groups on different days) and she said that will come later. Like, (I guess) if you're just starting out then you should do all muscle groups on the same day? She also said that after about a month of this I'd be ready to switch it up. So I don't know. I agree on the cardio - it seems like I hear more and more that excessive cardio isn't necessary, and that building muscle is more important for fat loss and toning, etc. To be honest I'm happy to hear it. I'd rather lift weights for an hour than run on a treadmill for 5 minutes! That's why I'm trying to get my cardio in by just walking with the family, and classes (zumba, cardio interval classes, etc).

    Edited to add: I don't think she said whether before or after was better or worse. I'm not sure it matters? I happen to like to do it afterwards, but that's just me.
  • lorenzovonmatterhorn7549
    lorenzovonmatterhorn7549 Posts: 495 Member
    Thanks for the reply. I don't understand why people have said cardio is a waste of time. I've always thought it burns fat. I'll carry on with my diet (albeit slimming world, non calorie counting but a similar outlook using 'syns'), cardio and weights. I'd just love to know more detail cause I know you're meant to train different muscle groups different days? I just want to make sure I'm doing it all right as I combine cardio and weights in the same workout.
    I think this is because our bodies become conditioned fairly quickly to activities like jogging so the calorie burns aren't as significant as they were just starting out. The trick is to keep your body guessing. Cardio can be done in many ways. HIIT training is great. Interval sprints are another great thing to do.
  • Witchdoctor58
    Witchdoctor58 Posts: 226 Member
    As the body becomes more conditioned to exercise, the body burns fat more efficiently, due to changing metabolic processes in the mitochondria. Cool, huh?

Categories