Got a Gym membership...now what? Need help planning workout routines

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srijay1
srijay1 Posts: 176 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I am 310lb, 6'1. I finally decided enough is enough and want to loose weight. I got a gym membership 2 days ago and have gone both days. First day i did 30min of upper body weights and yesterday i did 30min on the elliptical. I need help from the wonderful community here to give me advice on what my workouts should look like, i think it should be a combination of cardio and weights but i could be wrong. Any help is welcomed...Cant afford a personal trainer! thanks in advance!

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  • Jovicat
    Jovicat Posts: 3 Member
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    Most is your diet too. Healthy options to be consumed. You must burn MORE than what you eat per day. A good place to start is cutting out breads/sugars if you can. Baby steps. Walking is amazing. Lifting weights and cardio will be so great for you. Good luck!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    For the weight training, I would recommend running an established program. Starting Strength and Strong Lifts are two popular 3x per week full body beginner programs. They are very similar except SS is 3x5 and SL is 5x5...personally, I'm partial to Starting Strength.

    Depending on how much time you have available, you could do a bit of cardio after you lift...I typically do my cardio on non lifting days. An active rest/recovery day is also good.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I would suggest taking a look at starting strength or strong lifts 5x5 as good 3 day full body programs to get started. Outside of those 3 days you could do some light cardio. Set your goal to lose 2 lbs/week, eat what MFP tells you and eat back some of the cals burned from exercise.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,487 Member
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    For lifting, pick a beginners programme from this list-
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Cardio on the days you don't lift will work well, choose something you like running, walking, cycling, rowing, etc.

    Including a yoga class will help with balance and flexibility.

    For weight loss, a reasonable calorie deficit.
    Good nutrition is important, work on fulfilling your nutritional needs while eating food you like.

    Cheers, h.
  • RealWorldStrengthLLC
    RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
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    They've got you covered on the strong lifts/starting strength thing. For cardio, steady state aerobic cardio, I'd recommend bike at your weight-running is going to do a number on your hips and knees. To train anaerobic, I'm very partial to sledgehammer tire hits, battle ropes, tire flips, and sled/tire pulls and drags. There are other options, but those are all great and do not wreck your joints with you being heavy.

    Just my .02
  • srijay1
    srijay1 Posts: 176 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback guys, will look into those lifting plans. For lighting I have been sticking to the machines and have been doing, chest press, bicep curls, abs, back. For cardio I have been on the elliptical. I have patellar tendinitis so I’m not suppose to do squats.
  • andreajaimie
    andreajaimie Posts: 12 Member
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    Attend a few HIIT classes! Once you do a few its easy to kind of come up with your own routines. Don't be intimidated - there's ALWAYS a way to modify each exercise to any fitness level.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    As someone who has gone from ~330 to 210, I want to stress the gym will have little impact on your weight. You need to eat in a deficit over the long term to lose the weight. MFP is a good tool for that.

    Having said that, the gym is still a very good ides. Read the thread linked up above to see what fits without squats. You still want to pick a structured plan instead of just winging it. Lift ~3 times a week and cardio the other days with a rest day. Don't push too hard as you don't want to injure yourself. I prefer to run than the elliptical (never got the hang of it) and started C25K at about 275 lbs, but that is a personal choice.

    Best of luck.

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