begginer gym exercise help?!

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mgaje
mgaje Posts: 43 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello!

lately i have found that 3 activities a week dont seem to be cutting it for me... i used to have something to do on fridays and i find when it rolls around i am sooooo bored and so to avoid snacking i have decided to hit the gym (yay !) my issue is this.... i dont really know any good easy-ish exercises to put between my 30 mins of elliptical and my 30 mins of biking. my friend suggested doing squats with an arm raise with weights (easy ish full body work out :P) and i have been using that along with bicycle crunches to work the core. right now i kninda figure that im not really doing enough (1 set of 30 reps each) any suggestions????

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  • jenronan1
    jenronan1 Posts: 44 Member
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    You can do a whole core workout. Start with plank, then go into bicycle, then go into a bridge or superman. I would go 20-30 seconds on each exercise and do 2 sets. You are doing a ton of cardio, so you should be working the whole core (around the torso) to help prevent injury.
  • mgaje
    mgaje Posts: 43 Member
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    sweet! thanks for the great ideas :happy:
  • nikolaim5
    nikolaim5 Posts: 233
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    Goals?
  • jlzrdking
    jlzrdking Posts: 501 Member
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    What is a bridge or superman?
  • MissingMinnesota
    MissingMinnesota Posts: 7,486 Member
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    Do you get a free training session when you joined the gym? I would have someone on the gym staff or a trainer show you how to work some of the machines and free weights. You can do 2-3 30 min sessions a week working different parts of you body. Also go to youtube and search body weight exercises like push ups, burpees, mountain climbers, lunges, squats, etc and you can build your own curcuit training session.
  • mgaje
    mgaje Posts: 43 Member
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    well my goal is just to keep active and out of the fridge :P right now i do yoga,belly dancing and zumba so im hoping the gym will just fill it out a little and maybe help build a little muscle...(more toning than anything) as for the trainer no the rec center i go to doesnt offer a free training session with the staff so i would need someone to help[ build some sort of routine.... any suggestions for websites? i have tried searching google and i dont seem to be finding anything helpful(or free :P)
  • nikolaim5
    nikolaim5 Posts: 233
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    well my goal is just to keep active and out of the fridge :P right now i do yoga,belly dancing and zumba so im hoping the gym will just fill it out a little and maybe help build a little muscle...(more toning than anything) as for the trainer no the rec center i go to doesnt offer a free training session with the staff so i would need someone to help[ build some sort of routine.... any suggestions for websites? i have tried searching google and i dont seem to be finding anything helpful(or free :P)

    Ugh, "toning"...Oh mass media, how I hate thee!!! I'm not picking on you I just hate that word because it's misleading. Muscle can't be toned. What people actually want when they say that four letter word is two VERY different things. They want to A: Build muscle mass. And B: Reduce body fat to help show off that increased muscle mass. This is what is really meant when people say they want to "tone up" or whatever. You seem to have the "reducing body fat" part of the equation well under way with your current regimen of belly dancing, Zumba, and staying out of the fridge. As for the muscle building part, that requires lifting some heavy weights with compound exercises. That's the most efficient way of doing it. You'll want to start off light but steadily increase the weight you lift every week. This is called "progressive load" and it's one of 3 keys to building muscle. the other 2 are diet (adequate calories and protein), and rest. Some compound exercises are squats, dead lifts, rowing, and over head pressing. Doing just those will be plenty to get some muscle growing.

    good luck
  • mgaje
    mgaje Posts: 43 Member
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    haha thanks for clarifying :) and thanks for the advice
  • Bombbombgo
    Bombbombgo Posts: 46
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    You could also go to your local supermarket and look through the fitness magazines. They always have a ton of strength training exersizes with illustrations showing exactly how they should be done. And it may be helpfull to do a minimum of two to three sets of most exersizes.
  • gastankerdriver
    gastankerdriver Posts: 162
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    I would start out moderately. Often people push themselves too hard at the gym and get burned out and then stop going. Others make it too complicated. The most important thing is to just show up. You don't have to push yourself to the maximum limit every single time. Sometimes I spend more time gossiping than lifting weights. If your body wants a break, then listen to it. You want to create a routine that is sustainable--a routine that you will still be doing in 15 years, Some of the core excercises would be dumbbell curl, tricep pull down, squat, bench press, leg press, standing calf raise, dead lift (start out light!), shoulder lift and crunches. Start out doing at least 3 sets of 8-10. Form is more important than how much weight you pick up. There are a lot of great Youtube videos on each of these excercises to help you. One of my secrets is squeezing the muscle while I am excercising it. The next step is nutrition. Pick up a good protein drink. I prefer Nitro 92 Xtreme because it is zero cholestoral. I also take creatine chews. There are also vegan protein drinks. There are so many amazing articles on the subject. Pick out a routine that seems to work for you the best. I hope I have helped.

    Mike
  • mgaje
    mgaje Posts: 43 Member
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    thanks for the tips mike :D

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