I got a gym membership! But now what?

miamouse3 · August 2014

When I start going back to the gym on a regular basis, I start small and work up.

Begin with what feels comfortable to you for 20 minutes and try to do this 3x/week. Start tracking your heart rate when you exercise on cardio equipment (I do 5 minute stints, testing heart rate for 30sec at every 5 minute mark without an actual monitor) and try to aim for a HR goal. Gyms and the internet have good information on how you can find your target HR. You'll reach that HR based on your fitness level. An athlete will need to do a lot more work to get a 150 HR than you or I would.

Once you have re-introduced physical exercise and given yourself something to look at, begin increasing. My favorite method is to increase time to a goal. Each week, add 5 more minutes to your cardio time. Once I'm at 30 minutes cardio 3x/week, I start adding in weights.

For weights, I always track my weight lift. A circuit is actually what our gym does for the old people that are trying to get fit and is what I start with - every type machine 1x each, 12-15 reps at whatever weight you can do 12-15 reps. I would do this on my non-cardio days with a warm-up of 15-20 minutes cardio (as opposed to my 30 minutes on cardio days). Don't forget to stretch!!! I've pulled my back SO many times because I never stretched my hamstrings. Seriously - stretch - even on non-weight days. Even on resting days. Muscles will be tight when you first start.

After a couple weeks of this, I'll start adding more time to my cardio days with a goal in mind (work up to 40 or 60 min). Once there, I'll start focusing on changing my strength training to something more focused on building muscle.

By the time you get to actually looking for strength training routines, you should feel much more comfortable in the gym and a little more familiar with the machines and not quite so intimidated.

I can do two sets of 30 minutes each on a recumbent elliptical so far, and 10-20 minutes on the treadmill between. 1.5-2.0 on the treadmill speed, varying elevation between 0-2. The slower speed goes with the higher elevation for me. I don't keep the elevation long though. On the recumbent elliptical I do intervals and random for the programs, aiming levels 4 and 6 with the intervals, and last time I set my base for random at 6. I get pretty good speed when the level drops to four, and go at a easy but good pace for levels 6 and (with random program) higher. I think it shows my speed between 30-40. Its gotten easier lately. Before I had it on 1 and 4. So thats good, right? Do you think its safe to incorporate weights now, or work on cardio longer? On the standing elliptical I barely do ten minutes. I'd just go a full hour on the recumbent if it weren't for the seat making my bottom hurt after the 30 mins + 3 minute cool down.
I do move a lot at work. Part of its desk time, but I do a lot of cleaning, and we don't have an elevator so I regularly find myself going up and down a couple flights of steps a few times a night. So I'm not so bad that I need to take breaks frequently, I'm just not great.

I would really appreciate advice on stretching. I mostly just do the reeeeaaally basic stretching they grilled into us in school. I want to learn how to do Yoga, because I heard its a good warm up and cool down in terms of stretching and prepping for working out.

The heart rate the machine shows me is usually in the 112-120 range. Is that good? I'm trying to not get it up too high.

The weight circuit you mentioned sounds appealing.

miamouse3 · August 2014

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I don't know how serious your heart condition is by I also have a pretty serious heart condition myself and of course I'm only speaking from my own experience but you're doing fine by just working on the elliptical machine.

I stayed on the elliptical machine for the first 2 and a half months of my workout journey and that's all I did. My doctor recommended this for me along with other exercises that I could do such as row machine, and exercise bike, but I liked elliptical machine the best.

I didn't do anything else in gym. I didn't lift weights or any of that. I just focused on elliptical and losing fat. I didn't do any crunches or things of that nature. I thought crunches were a waist of time as long as I had a gut surrounded in fat and wanted to get fat rid of fat. I didn't give a damn about what people thought also I never had that feeling that someone was staring at me either. I also modified my diet of course with help from MFP.

The first week I did 3 times a week, 30 minutes each time...

Second week 35 minutes...

Third week, I did 5 days a week at 35 minutes...

Fourth week kept it at 5 days and did 40 minutes...

By this time, I was burning around 500 calories in the gym, which was my goal.

Fifth week onward I did 45 minutes 5 days a week until I started to doing high interval training, I do 45 minutes regularly and then take 5 minute break and do 15 minutes of higher intensity so total time at this point would be 1 hour a day on elliptical machine.

I dropped 30 pounds the first 2 months. That was my biggest drop by far. Things are now starting to level out for me but I'm content on that as I've reached my initial goal. I want to lose 15 more pounds at most but don't care at this point if takes me 5 months to do that since I'm happy.

My only advice to you if to do what makes you happy and focus on that. Don't care about what others think. Sometimes they may not be thinking anything about you and it's all mental (coming from personal experience) and it's up to you get over that mental hurdle.

At my peak I was 270, I am now down to 204 and still haven't did one crunch. When I get down to 195, I plan to start doing more core exercises.

Right now, my workouts still consist of elliptical machine every day I go to gym which is at least 3 times a week now. I work out now 5-6 times a week...sometimes 7. I lift weights 3 days a week with the rest being elliptical machine, basketball, jogging, or some other cardio type exercise.

And this is coming from someone who again has a heart condition. I know it will take some time as I again don't know the severity of your illness but you can't let fear take over. I was scared at first but my will to live overpowered my fear and I feel so much better now as a result of it.

This is good advice. Don't go all out at first. Build up gradually. Also the advice on focusing on your nutrition is very sound. I did have a trainer at one point and he waited until I lost 10 pounds before making a workout routine.
For the first 10 pounds all I did was watch what I ate and I walked on the treadmill.
Don't let the idiots at the gym bother you. I bet there are other folks that see you and think..."Good for her, she is here, she is brave". That's what I think when I see people that need to lose like I do.

Thank you, I really appreciate that.
I'm a very healthy eater more often than not, and I am trying to track my calories as best I can. I think I need to get a little notebook or something, for when I can't access MFP.
Why'd he make you wait?

brennenjones · August 2014

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Did you or do you use a regular standing elliptical, or the recumbent one? I've been using the one thats like a bike but with the arm things and the larger pedals. Now and then I go on the other, but I can only do about ten minutes. The tops of my thighs and one of my calves like to seize up on me.

I use a regular standing one....at first it was hard but it gets easy quite fast. Start at a low level such as 1. Use the manual program options then as the weeks go by increase the intensity. But If I were you, just focus on a number for how many calories you want to burn, say 500 and get there. I go by the machine's estimate for what my calorie burn should be although I know it's not 100 percent correct but it's a start.

If you burn 500 calories a day at the gym, then cut out at least 500 calories from your diet, that's how you'll lose 2 pounds a week.

When I was first starting out I was at least a 1000 calorie deficit with diet and then the 500 plus calories working out. I was losing 3-4 pounds a week. I had a week where I lost 5 pounds! The bigger you are, if you're able to follow this, you should drop pounds easily. Again, when I first started I was 270, I am now 204 so now the pounds aren't coming off quite as fast and I'm also eating more than when I first started.

I shall try that. I usually don't last long but doing it small and slowly doing more, a little at a time, is something I should definitely do.
What you are doing is obviously working well if you are fairing so well. Thank you, I will work on applying that to what I am doing. That is a pretty fantastic drop, congrats. Did you mention how long it has taken you? I know not to expect it to come off instantly, or what worked and how long for one person to work for me, I just wonder what kind of timelines. Looking at other's timelines may not be the same as mine, but it will help me with setting those mini goals and etc someone suggested.

I started getting serious, about the last week in March....

I'm on a 139 day streak on MFP and I believe that's my starting point. I don't have calendar in front of me at the moment to count back but that's when I started logging everything in faithfully to have some numbers to crunch.

I was around 270 last October though and worked out off and on, nothing serious, and got down to around 255 in March. So I wasn't 270 in March. March is when I picked up the pieces and really hammered away at my fitness goals.

So 255 to 203 now in about 5 months or so. I've lost a pound since I last posted on here, lol.

miamouse3 · August 2014

That kind of progress is really awesome, you should be proud of yourself

thank you for all the info.

UPDATE:

A combo of nagging and unexpected good happening in my life relinquished some of my hard earned cash to meet with a trainer to do a health assessment and a workout plan. This one is the owner and I have only met him once. He's actually a lot nicer. Its refreshing, because I wasn't being brushed off.
He also has a very surprising and vast understanding of actual science and medicine. And I remember someone saying the trainers probably wouldn't even know what a macro is, well he did. I remembered a lot about health that I had forgotten (memory and cognitive abilities have been dulled thanks to prescriptions I was on.) and learned things I didn't know.

I learned that despite how well I take care of myself, there are medical and scientific pitfalls that strongly affected the outcome. A lot to do with timing, mixed with a few other factors.

I look forward to hearing back from him with my workout plan. I could get that much without needing to pay for actual training.

Buu_kz · August 2014

You cant let what you think others are thinking about you bother you, its going to end up making you leave the gym early and not work out hard enough. My trick and i dont what anyone says about me after I say this!! I make sure I look my best at the gym I wear clothes that I think I look good in I even put on water proof mascara and I can honestly say its not for anyone else just for me because the minute I start feeling like people are judging me and I look awful I start to lose momentum. Another good trick make sure you got some killer music to keep you motivated nothing better than getting in the moment and just forgetting about everyone else.

Buu_kz · August 2014

btw! You will be surprised I bet you people will actually start complimenting you on how hard you're working out and your progress along the way I got a ton of it and I never expected anyone to really notice honestly

BramageOMG · August 2014

I lost the majority of my weight on the elliptical (The stride rite to be exact) Started on resistance 1 and worked my way up. Its amazing how fast you can progress up. The heart monitor (or better yet- your body) will tell you if you over do it)

I also did weights (much less than elliptical) to maintain strength.

43 lbs in 70 days... Elliptical

rosiemaji · August 2014

That kind of progress is really awesome, you should be proud of yourself thank you for all the info.

UPDATE:

A combo of nagging and unexpected good happening in my life relinquished some of my hard earned cash to meet with a trainer to do a health assessment and a workout plan. This one is the owner and I have only met him once. He's actually a lot nicer. Its refreshing, because I wasn't being brushed off.
He also has a very surprising and vast understanding of actual science and medicine. And I remember someone saying the trainers probably wouldn't even know what a macro is, well he did. I remembered a lot about health that I had forgotten (memory and cognitive abilities have been dulled thanks to prescriptions I was on.) and learned things I didn't know.

I learned that despite how well I take care of myself, there are medical and scientific pitfalls that strongly affected the outcome. A lot to do with timing, mixed with a few other factors.

I look forward to hearing back from him with my workout plan. I could get that much without needing to pay for actual training.

I'm so happy that you got the owner to help you with your health assessment and workout plan. Also, that he turned out to be a nice guy and much more knowledgeable than you expected. After you get your plan, all you need to know after that is how to use the machines properly in order to get maximum benefit, minimum risk. He should be willing to show you these things if you don't already know how. After all, being the owner, he wouldn't want his patrons getting injured because they did not know how to use a machine properly. Then let your body be your guide. Start slowly and easily. Kick it up a bit when the activity gets easy. If you begin feeling not right, back off a bit and see if that helps. If it doesn't help, stop and rest, drink water. Try as many machines as you can to see which ones you like best and which ones let you control your heart rate. When you are able to get a heart monitor, you will be able to see how fast your heart can beat before it begins to negatively affect you. Then you can exercise just short of that to get the maximum aerobic workout which will strengthen your heart. Until then, let your body be your guide. You can only do as much as you can do and it may not be as much as others can do. But even doing what you can do will help you lose weight and increase your level of fitness which is why you paid dearly for the gym membership in the first place.

I like the idea mentioned above about playing music if you have an mp3 player and some inexpensive ear plugs. Moving to a music beat has a way of keeping you moving. Notice how all of the classes have music to set the pace and mood? I see quite a few people at the Y where I workout plugged into music and to the TVs that the new elliptical machines and some of the treadmills have. They are in their own world and not concerned with what anyone else is thinking, saying or doing.

Push through that initial period when you are setting up your routine with intent. Soon you will become familiar with your routine and you will be perceived by everyone else that you know what you are doing. You should be able to get everything you need with just your gym membership and utilizing what they have available. Ask the owner if you can call him if you have any questions about any of the equipment or get the name of someone you can ask. It sounds like you are on your way. Keep us posted.

aWildFlowere · December 2018

Love this machine. I do intervals for 50-60 min and it says I burn 1000-1200 calories spanning 11-13mi +/- depending on my settings and energy for that day. I weigh 217 right now vs 214 (grrr) and I am 6'2" so don't freak about my lofty female stats;) I usually do an avg speed of 77-90...I should slow down during rest interval level 7 but need to talk to my personal trainer and finally splurge for a iwatch or the fit bit that can go in the pool for those cross training workouts & PT as I need to get a handle on maximizing my aerobic & evaluating my anerobic HR etc.

I was pre-360 spinal fusion and TKR and used it per above for two years. Post surgery (both within 6mo & 1yr recovery each) I hopped on this asap as the most comfortable.

I constantly adjust the seat, never use the handles (I hard lift days btwn cardio so my arms need rest). I also adjust resistance if my intervals are off a bit per energy plus I don't look down and move my feet everywhere like dancing to work my neuro coordination and work the little muscles vs just the big/primary.

Friend me!!! I will let u know what my trainer, new watch and sports nutritionist say!

lorrpb · December 2018

I started at 300 lbs. I understand the frustration that all workouts are geared for people at a higher fitness level than some of start with. Most programs offer modifications and sometimes you even have to modify the modifications. You do what you can and make it a goal to keep improving.

There is nothing wrong with going from machine to machine but it will help to follow an organized routine so you’re working all major body areas. Gym staff should be able to help with this. Basically identify 5-6 machines, do 2 sets of 10 reps on each at s weight you can handle. You can do one set at each machine then go around again, or do both sets at one machine with a 30-60 rest in between.

Basically you need a leg press, back extension, pull down and/or row, chest press, shoulder press, and ab crunch. If you want to do cardio, do 20 min on a bike or elliptical at an easy pace.
The gym might have forms where you can write down your weights and reps each day to track your progress.

However, it is not realistic to expect non medical people to help you figure out how to accommodate your heart condition because we do not know the risks and limitations. Perhaps you could research info provided by the American Heart Association or similar to learn what they recommend for exercise.

kellie5218 · December 2018

I understand how you feel. I too have cardiac issues, and recently diagnosed with MS, and prediabetes.

What state do you live in?

At the very least, please verify CPR/AED certified staff are always on site at the gym you are using.

Have you looked into local colleges with Kinesiology programs? Sometimes they offer free/ low cost personal training.

Also, local hospitals (especially medical schools) offer reduced fees for ppl who can't afford care. You have to apply, but it helps if you're eligible. (I'm thinking physical therapy)

If these options aren't feasible, just do cardio at the gym and get a set of resistance bands to use at home. Remember to warm up.

Best of luck to you.

GaryHarbishee972 · December 2018

My advice would be, just start with what’s comfortable. If you like the bike, use that. If you like to walk, walk on the treadmill.

Don’t stress yourself with some fancy program, just have consistency and be happy with going. Any activity is better then no activity. Then build from that.

I got a gym membership! But now what?

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