New to the gym

I would suggest you research some good strength training programs. There are alot out there and as I have said before in other posts I love youtube. Not everyone there is experts, but you can find really good ideas and thoughts there.

Do not over do anything cause you do not want to injure yourself. Start out slow and low with weight and add as you go. What I am doing is 3 sets of 8-12 reps of weights that I can just about do them all. Once you can easily do all 3 sets of 12 then move up in weight. Building muscle will help burn more calories. Does your gym offer a free assessment?

Does your gym offer group fitness classes? I find I push myself way more there than when free to venture out on my own.

That regimen is just fine since you’re just beginning. Build on that a little at a time, more weight, reps, etc. if you feel comfortable with it, you can incorporate high intensity on the treadmill or elliptical, alternate between high and low speeds. Much better to slowly build up ham to overdo it too quickly.

Afitbeginning wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

I understand you are new and with that in mind I'm going to give you some feedback and some info.

First, you are bouncing around to multiple cardio activities, treadmill, bike and rower. I can't see any reason this would make sense. Pick a couple you like and do them consistently on an alternating basis.

You intuitively sense that you want both cardio fitness and muscle fitness and strength. For the strength side it is best to pick a structured, proven program and do it 3 to 4 times per week. One great program for women is Strong Curves. There are other great programs listed here http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Pick one and do it for 12 weeks to get a base of strength and technique and then go from there. There are some women who do Strong Curves for quite some time with the variations. The important thing is a progressive program. (progresses up in weight).

For programming, 6 days is a lot. Many who have lots of experience vary the intensity for adequate progress and recovery. For example, on the days that you are going to do strength work, keep the cardio to a minimum, maybe 30 minutes split into 2 sessions. Before and after the strength session.The reason is to focus your energy on a great strength session 3 to 4 days per week. On the alternate days, focus more on cardio. This will let your muscles recover and be ready for the next strength session.

Lastly, you don't really mention what your goals you have for your fitness. It helps to decide whether you want to improve endurance and athletic performances or you want to get stronger and have the best shaped body you can. This would really determine your focus. Cardio focus for the former and weight training for the latter.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for such indepth detail, I have found this very informative. I normally do about an hour on cardio and then about 30 minutes on weight training. Can I ask why using multiple cardio machines isn't ideal? I thought using a range of different cardio exercises would be good as majority of them work different areas?

Thank you for the recommendation, I will be looking at the strong curves, the minute I get a chance.

That is true, I will begin with 3 days weight training and then the other days focus mainly on cardio. I'm personally using the gym so much as I find it quite enjoyable and it helps with other issues that I am currently having.

For me mainly, my goal is to lose 5-6 stone in weight and have my previous figure back but I also want to be fairly fit as I'd love to be able to run around with my children without getting out of breath.

Again, thanks for all the advice, you've been great xx

First, glad to be helpful! I'm going to work backwards in order here.

The loss of weight, or more specifically fat, is primarily driven by diet. So, a reasonable calorie deficit and consistent eating a logging habits will be paramount for losing. Accurate measuring and weighing become critical. Also, no too aggressive a deficit as that can cause muscle mass loss and hormonal issues.

The weight training is the primary way of building strength and getting the body shape you want. Many people wait too long to begin and end up losing muscle mass and just being a smaller version of their fatter self. It will help you keep maximum muscle mass. As we lose weight, we lose some muscle mass. The key is to keep as much as possible and resistance training/ weight training is the key!

On weight training days, it can be helpful to limit cardio to just maybe 15 minutes warm up and 15 minutes cool down. Thi preserves maximum energy to focus on a great weight training session. I tend to walk or jog 15 minutes to get loose and warm, then hit the gym for weight training for an hour to an hour and a half. Maybe walk 15 minutes afterwards. On my primary cardio day, I hike at good intensity up and down hills for 5 miles.

Be mindful of fatigue and energy levels. It is best to go hard 3 to 4 days per week and then easier for a couple. I weight train hard 3 days, do a 5 mile hike 1 day and walk between 2 and 3 miles the other days. I am active 7 days per week but at lower intensity 3 of those days. The rest and rebuild part of the cycle is just as important as the work phase. That is when your body consolidates the gains from the work.

Cardio is endurance work to build overall fitness and heart and lung health. It doesn't really "work" different parts of the body once you are in reasonable shape. With the exception of rowing and swimming, most cardio is leg centric. So, which one you do is less important than doing some. Some people pick which ones they do based on a sport where they want to perform better. So, unless there is a performance related reason to do one over the other, any one will do to accomplish overall cardio fitness. I do all mine primarily outdoors whenever possible.

Sorry, I didn't mean to write a novel here! Lol. I hope you find this helpful.