How long should i work out at the gym.

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klever1985
klever1985 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I have started my weightloss journey, i'm weigthing at 270lbs my goal is to loose 100lbs. I know i have a lot of work to do but i'm determine to do it as long as it takes. I have started this before in my life and always give, i dont want to do the mistakes i have done in the past to where i burn my self out really quick (like in a month or two) my questions is how long should i work out for at the gym? I just enroll yesterday and i did about 45 min of weight lifting and 30 min of cardio. My cardio is not intence because i'm really heavy and i dont want to burn my self really quick but i will keep going up as time goes by. Also if you guys can, i'm cutting on my calories to 1,500 a day is this good or bad? Anything that could help is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
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    Get on a progressive weightlifting program. Something like stronglifts, go three times a week, do the set/reps and then you are done. Personally I would hold off on the cardio until later or if you want to burn calories to get some back to eat then do cardio, do something you enjoy. For me I hate doing cardio in the gym, preferring to do it in the "wild" where there is fresh air and different terrain.
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    I think anything after 1 hr or 1 hr 30 mins is counterproductive. It is even more counterproductive if you workout for 3 hours and eat 1500 calories. You will burn out fast. Yes at 1500 calories and the activity level you described you will lose weight and fast. But I don't think this is sustainable over the long term. Better to start with a higher calorie count on your workout days and gradually lower calories as you lose the weight. This strategy is sustainable over the long term as you won't get cranky and perhaps relapse. Slow and steady wins the race.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    If you do both cardio and weights in the same session, whatever you do second will suffer for it. I do cardio at lunch and/or on off lifting days.

    I used to do both cardio and weights in the same session and the progress I made with weights was minuscule.
  • megomerrett
    megomerrett Posts: 442 Member
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    Is there anyone at the gym who you can talk with who can give you support with a programme?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    I lift M/W/F and cardio on T/Th. If I'm feeling tired, the cardio is just walking. If I'm feeling energetic, the cardio is higher intensity.

    I work Stronglifts 5X5 for my strength training. It's been awesome and I've seen some major improvements (like my profile pic!). You can check it out at stronglifts.com. You can also download their app to track your progress.

    I'm 41 years old, 5'9", 177 pound female. I maintain at 2300 calories a day, and lose weight at 1930 calories. You don't say how tall you are, but just based on your weight, I'm sure you can still lose weight while eating more than 1500 calories. You can play with your calories at websites like scoobysworkshop.com or iifym.com. Search for the TDEE calculator. TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Once you know your TDEE calorie number, you can subtract from that number for weight loss, any where from 5% to 20%, depending on how fast you want to lose. However, slower weight loss is more sustainable so I would urge you to not go lower than TDEE - 15%.

    Good luck!
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
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    start with cardio... and working towards developing a well balanced diet... focus on the macros before you begin reducing your calorie count... and cardio should be low impact like a stationary bike, rowing machine, elliptical trainer etc. until you have relieved your skeleton of some of the gravity you are currently carrying... weight training.. should be focused on your legs and back... I frame things all in the context of the extra weight you are packing... like the extra weight is in increments of 20 lb bags of flour... so you say your goal is to loose 100 lbs... to get you to 170 lbs as a goal weight... so in context IF you start running tomorrow it would be like a 170 lb man trying to run with 5-20 lb bags of flour tied around his body... chances are as fit as that dude may be... he ain't going very far... and if he does... he is going to hurt himself...UNLESS he get strong enough to carry that weight... so...legs and back... I personally started on the elliptical... and it is still my go to machine... when I first started... 12 minutes... and after 12 minutes on level 1... I had to step off... and find a chair to sit in... the thought that went through my mind is... that when the ambulance shows up to haul me off to the hospital, it will be bit more convenient for them if they don't have to lift me off the floor... anxiety is something you will have to overcome... I would wish you luck... but luck has nothing to do with success.
  • kthompson601
    kthompson601 Posts: 174 Member
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    I would suggest you start very slowly. You say you've tried before to get a regiment going but get burned out after a month or so. That means you're pushing yourself too hard at the outset.

    When I started losing weight at my maximum of 290 pounds, I focused just on walking. That was it, walking around my block and my apartment complex, going up a single flight of stairs. I took it really slow. I committed to just a half hour of a slow walk on the treadmill, just to get myself going. I didn't even start with weight lifting until about 5 months in to my weight loss journey. Partly out of fear of hurting myself (I have broken both hips) and also because that was when I finally got the guts to join my local gym, which offered some complimentary PT sessions giving me a start on strength training.

    After two years and 120 pounds lost, I've worked up to about 90 minutes in the gym, including warm up and cool down, and added yoga. But there was no way I could have done those when I was at my heaviest. I would suggest just getting into routine: pick days and times when it is convenient to work out, pick something like light cardio (treadmill or bike), and commit to just doing that for a short period, like 30 minutes. I think once you get set into a gym routine, where it's an integral part of your schedule and you've been doing it for weeks, then you can focus on having more intense or longer workouts.
  • klever1985
    klever1985 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you all for your response, all great tips just confuses me more in a way lol because everyone has different methods. At the end all of you do have 1 thing in common which is having a caloric deficit, i went to TDEE and it tells me that my calories to maintain should be anything around 2,500 to 3,000 so that -20% puts me on a caloric deficit of 2,000 calories. Is that good? Any thoughts on this? Also i really want to know what to do at the gym, weights or just walk because the point of the guy that put the example of me carring 5 20 pound bags of flour lol (great example by the way) is excatly how it is for me.

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