What to do at the gym?!

R

r3negade

New member
So, I got my gym membership, but my trainer who's meant to make me a weight loss programme has gone MIA, so while i'm at the gym, what do you guys recommend for weight loss? Dont worry about diet, I have 3 meals sorted, with smaller portions, and much more greens, with no fatty food.

Currently, this is what im doing
10 min fast walk on treadmill - Max incline (15), and speed of 5.5
20 min jog/sprint on treadmill - 1min jog - 1min sprint
10min cardiovascular machine - resistance 8
10min stepper machine - resistance 8
5min rowing machine
15x2 reps on chest press machine - weight 5
15x2 rep on abs machine - weight 5

Is this good, or can you recommend what to do at the gym to aid my weight loss, and maybe build up/tone muscles on another day, although I'm not sure whether I should lose weight before building muscle.

Many thanks!
 
You look to be a little all over the place. :)

I'd suggest that you pick up a couple of books at the library and find one that has a plan that works for you. The two I usually recommend are:

The New Rules of Lifting
Body for Life

They both have very similar philosophies about diet/exercise/programs for losing fat and building muscle.

There are also some websites that have good programs. Stronglifts.com is a good site that has several different types of workout plans. I'd recommend combining one of their basic/beginner workouts with some interval cardio.

One thing to keep in mind is that you MUST schedule in rest days for your muscles if you're going to lift weights. You can do some kind of cardio (ss, interval, HIIT) every day if you want to, but what builds muscle is the time you allow for them to heal. So if you're going to lift weights, make it at the minimum an every-other-day thing ... not every day.

Hope that helps some.
 
I was actually thinking about startting the StrongLifts beginner programme myself.
The Men's Health Gym Bible is a great, easy to read book with good advice and descriptions. Probably can be found in your public library.

One thing I do recommend is stay away from a lot of the machines, like the bench press machine. The restrict your range of motion, and therefore the benefit you get.

I say do as much with dumbbells as you can. They work a lot of the little stabiliser muscles that you use in real life when you are rarely moving a perfectly balanced load. Dumbbells are fantastic.

As Kara says, mix weight training days with cardio days. You can do some cardio on your weight days, but don't do weights on your cardio days - your muscles need time to rest and repair.
 
I say do as much with dumbbells as you can. They work a lot of the little stabiliser muscles that you use in real life when you are rarely moving a perfectly balanced load. Dumbbells are fantastic.
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I agree. I'm all about the free weights and I use dumbbells a lot. I do use a couple of machines, but mostly those that allow free range of motion - lat pull downs, the seated row, etc. Those machines don't isolate muscles the way the others do.
 
Wow! This is a very good website, reading its articles now! Bookmarked ;) Thank you very much! I'll see what my instructor has planned for me on Friday, and take your suggestions into account! To be honest, I just want to focus on losing my belly and man-boobs (damnit)
 
To be honest, I just want to focus on losing my belly and man-boobs
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Unfortunately you can't focus on losing from any one area. There's no such thing as "spot losing" or "targeting" fat loss. All you can do is lose fat. For many of us the belly is the last fat to go, too, (which kinda sucks) so you just have to be patient.
 
KaraCooks said:
Unfortunately you can't focus on losing from any one area. There's no such thing as "spot losing" or "targeting" fat loss. All you can do is lose fat. For many of us the belly is the last fat to go, too, (which kinda sucks) so you just have to be patient.
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I guess its like learning a language...it takes time but thats ok - 4 years is my target to transform myself :)
 
r3negade said:
I guess its like learning a language...it takes time but thats ok - 4 years is my target to transform myself :)
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Dude, that is one of the best things I have ever read on this forum. Someone who isn't out for a quick fix "need to lose X lbs in X months". Seriously, MAD respect. Wish you all the luck on your transformation!
 
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