gym/lifting questions

stephyj528
stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey so for all of you who work out and lift: This may be a dumb question but Is it just as effective to use the machines at the gym opposed to having a personal trainer? Also is it better to focus on specific body parts vs daily doing the same like 10 things? and whats a good length of time recc for working out per day?

Replies

  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Use free weights not the machines.
    trainers aren't necessary and so many are *kitten* trainers anyway.

    Find a full body beginners routine like stronglifts, new rules of lifting for women
  • TrailBlazinMN
    TrailBlazinMN Posts: 209 Member
    edited June 2015
    If you want to be a serious badass, I would highly recommend watching this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnaLgcJ8kHw

    Some of the movements may be too advance but just do what you can and work on easier variations. Machines aren't bad but they shouldn't be relied upon. I would do a mixture of machines and bodyweight exercises since bodyweight exercises are plenty of resistance for beginners and work muscles (stabilizers, etc) that machines don't work.

    As for length of time, I would keep working out until you feel like your energy is falling quickly. This might be after 5 minutes of working out or 30 minutes. It all depends on the individual.
  • erichknguyen
    erichknguyen Posts: 10 Member
    stephyj528 wrote: »
    Hey so for all of you who work out and lift: This may be a dumb question but Is it just as effective to use the machines at the gym opposed to having a personal trainer? Also is it better to focus on specific body parts vs daily doing the same like 10 things? and whats a good length of time recc for working out per day?

    Hi Stephy!

    I'm not an expert in bodybuilding nor profess to be but my understanding is that free weights allow you to work stabilising muscles as well as the main muscle groups. The advantage being that this will strengthen not only your target muscles but also the muscles that would normally accompany them. It is much more beneficial to have the strength of the two groups in balance
  • stephyj528
    stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
    Thanks! Going to hit up the gym now and also head over to the bookstore too lol
  • slideaway1
    slideaway1 Posts: 1,006 Member
    erichknguyen wrote: »
    stephyj528 wrote: »
    Hey so for all of you who work out and lift: This may be a dumb question but Is it just as effective to use the machines at the gym opposed to having a personal trainer? Also is it better to focus on specific body parts vs daily doing the same like 10 things? and whats a good length of time recc for working out per day?

    Hi Stephy!

    I'm not an expert in bodybuilding nor profess to be but my understanding is that free weights allow you to work stabilising muscles as well as the main muscle groups. The advantage being that this will strengthen not only your target muscles but also the muscles that would normally accompany them. It is much more beneficial to have the strength of the two groups in balance

    Exactly. However, there is nothing wrong with using machines either when starting out. I started using free weights (dumbells) from the day I started and have now started incorporating machine work which I also really like for variation. It targets specific muscles and can reduce injury. Plus, using machines can be less intimidating for someone starting out if they don't want to approach the Free weight area in a gym. You don't need a personal trainer. Use Youtube to learn techniques and observe what others do.
  • hotpoison
    hotpoison Posts: 6 Member
    Free weights are best because you can single out specific muscle groups you don't need a trainer but they are helpful to make sure your doing things right if your new to the gym it's best to do legs one day arms next day cardio next day then do it all again depending on what you can lift change reps low weight more reps heavier weight les reps hope that helps :)

  • rick_po
    rick_po Posts: 449 Member
    Whatever you do, it's important to get on a good beginner strength program. A good program should tell you which lifts to do, how many sets, reps, how often to workout, how often to rest, and when to add weight.

    A good PT can design a custom program for you and teach you good form. If you don't have a good PT available, there are a bunch of decent generic programs that will work fine for average people in decent health. Some I know are good:

    Starting Strength
    Stronglifts 5x5
    New Rules of LIfting
    all pro beginner
    Strong Curves

    If you're not going to use a PT, get the Starting Strength book, by Mark Rippetoe. Even if you don't follow his program, the book goes into a lot of detail about good barbell form, which will be helpful for just about every good barbell program.
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