Still not sure how to build a workout plan :/

katijjaa
katijjaa Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello guys, I’ve been going to the gym for few weeks now 6 days a week without a proper aim. Doing mostly some HIIT cardio and then using the weight machines randomly, low weight more repetitions, and then stretch. I’ve spent the last few days looking into youtube videos and reading articles about building a workout plan and splits, but I feel my aesthetic goal is different. I would like to tone my whole body and get some definitions on my arms & abs without increasing my size. I would also like to decrease the size of my thighs. I would appreciate any tips or a link to a good resource or an app etc. I do understand that I can’t target fat lose in specific area but I want to know which exercise type is good for getting toned body without getting bigger.

Please only comment if you would like to offer a genuine advice. Thnx in advance!

Replies

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    I assume that you are new to this. If not, absolutely ignore me :)
    As new to training, you cannot actually build any sort of routine, unless you start very simple perhaps and spend several years until you can have a routine, which is not really an effective strategy.
    So start with the basics:
    1) What do you enjoy? You cannot stick to any exercise unless you more or less like it. So answer for yourself soem basic questions: Indoors or outdoors? Land or water? Gym or home? Class, group, alone? If you do not know, enroll in some beginner's classes or ask for trials, several places offer them, and figure out what you like. Or try e.g. dancing with some videos, dancing in a class, going for a fast walk, running in the park, jogging on a treadmill and see what feels better.
    2) Once you decide on what it is you enjoy, build from there. If e.g. it is work in a class, figure out which classes can offer a good balance between cardio and strength training. It could e.g. be a combination of dance and TRX or pilates, it could be circuit type classes, it could be a combination of water aerobics and lifting. You get the idea.
    3) If, as you first post implies, you are already a member in a gym, and if you have decided to do this on your own, either ask the trainers there for a routine and to correct your form once you start, or google strength training programs for beginners. There are several out there, and as a beginner you really do not want to mess with them. Pick one, follow it, if it stops working pick a harder one after a few months and so on. There are several, so you can find one that can work with the equipment you have or you prefer: machines, dumbbells, barbells, body weight.
  • elfin168
    elfin168 Posts: 202 Member
    if you are a lady...and i am assuming that you are..getting bigger is very unlikely. you may notice a 'pump' after using weights however this is simply due to water retention and swelling and is only temporary. to get bigger and gain muscle you would have to eat in a surplus and for quite some time. if you want to lose weight and get some muscle definition there is a million different things you could do. what i am doing at the moment is a full body work out with weights, 3 times a week...with cardio also on the other days. i read somewhere recently that doing full body workout 3 times a week has been shown to reduce body fat better then a split routine

  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    katijjaa wrote: »
    Hello guys, I’ve been going to the gym for few weeks now 6 days a week without a proper aim. Doing mostly some HIIT cardio and then using the weight machines randomly, low weight more repetitions, and then stretch. I’ve spent the last few days looking into youtube videos and reading articles about building a workout plan and splits, but I feel my aesthetic goal is different. I would like to tone my whole body and get some definitions on my arms & abs without increasing my size. I would also like to decrease the size of my thighs. I would appreciate any tips or a link to a good resource or an app etc. I do understand that I can’t target fat lose in specific area but I want to know which exercise type is good for getting toned body without getting bigger.

    Please only comment if you would like to offer a genuine advice. Thnx in advance!

    There are so many all-body routines that would likely fit your goal of aesthetics. I have one that I love that is 12 weeks that I purchased years ago, designed for female aesthetics. It has the added benefit of building strength and after doing it over a few times I was able to do pullups which felt amazing and empowering to me. If you pick up enough weight to need the rest between sets, the strength will come, and as others said, females, don't have the hormones to "get big" - it's funny how it's really alway the excess fat that makes us big, and when we tone up (building muscle really) it tends to make us look too bulky when there is still a little too much body fat. We don't realize it until we lose it. I've had the body fat ebb and flow during my maintaining the last 9 year now to know this by heart! What I love about the All-Body routines I have collected is there is a different one every day, different order of exercises, slightly different routines, yet always 1/3 upper, 1/3 core, 1/3 lower for a balanced look, and balanced strength. It's nice to not have the same routine every day to help prevent boredom.

    Wishing you the best of luck!
    Roberta

  • katijjaa
    katijjaa Posts: 34 Member
    Thank you guys for your help. Fully body it is then. Would you recommend using the weight machines at the gym? Esepcially the legs and quads ones.
  • SuperSetsRound2
    SuperSetsRound2 Posts: 19 Member
    Full body is good, following a 12 week plan or guide is very helpful. I do a 6 day split. Chest, back, shoulders, legs and full body. Machines and free weights are a good combination. If you can find a plan that works for you follow it/modify it and track your lifts. Good luck 👍🏼
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
    aworkoutroutine.com
  • LeiLaura
    LeiLaura Posts: 238 Member
    thanos5 wrote: »
    aworkoutroutine.com

    This website is massively helpful, thank you.
  • LeiLaura
    LeiLaura Posts: 238 Member
    Just jumping in again in case it helps anyone in the future to say that the knowledge in the above website combined with the Strong app have helped me enormously, and made me safer in the gym. I now have a regular workout routine and I'm not afraid to approach the machines any more :) It feels good to have half an idea what I'm doing now. Before I read the site, I was overdoing the amount of weight I was lifting, and not resting long enough between sets. I highly recommend the link and the app (which lets you log and track how many reps/sets/kg you've done, and shows your pictures of each machine, so you know you're on the right one!).
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I prefer doing a simple full body routine for lifting, like stronglifts 5x5. There are only 5 lifts to learn and its focus is on strength, not size. Pair that with cardio on non-lifting days, and a calorie deficit, and you should be able to reduce your body fat to see some definition.

    Agreed.

    Pair that with a reasonable diet and you're set. No need to over complicate it.
  • katijjaa
    katijjaa Posts: 34 Member
    Thank you guys! This was helpful I will check the website and the app. Cheers!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    The above thread is a good place to start in finding well structured lifting routines. There is everything from bodyweight to advanced routines and everything in between, including programs focused on women which has high leg volume.

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