Hello,
Im completely new to working out, I joined the local gym yesterday and really enjoyed it. Ive never been in a gym before yesterday but I feel motivated and really want to lose weight and build a bit of muscle.
I am 37yrs old, 5ft 3 and weigh 200lbs (ugh).
The gym instructor has advised me to do 10 mins of treadmill, 10 mins of rowing machine and 10 mins of bike, then over to the weights where there is 8-16 reps of back, abs, legs arms machines. This will work as pretty much anything you do when just starting out will work, but I can give you a bit of a better suggestion. I would recommend doing a warmup of 10 min on any of the cardio machines you mentioned above. From there go to your weights and to start out I would recommend 2-3 days per week of weights doing full body workouts on each one. This means one chest, back, shoulder, bicep, tricep exercise about 2-3 sets, you also want to do 2 different leg exercises, do one calf exercise and 2 ab exercises. Obviously you do need to work into this, but this will be a great begenning. Once you are done with your weights then go do the cardio & yes it can be 10 min on each cardio piece listed above, but really what you need is 30 min high intensity cardio. You may need to start with less like 15 to 20 min and work you way up though. High intensity means heart rate above 130.
it took me around 45 mins to do it all, didnt like the bike.
My main concern is the weight loss. Can someone pls point me in the right direction here. Do I eat before I go to the gym? Yes you should never train on an empty stomach.
How many times should I go per week, I thought 3? 2-3 days per week for the weights part and cardio right after on days you lift. On days you do not do weights just come in and do cardio and do 30 min high intensity. I would not do more than 5-6 days total of everything.
Has anyone been in my situation and succeeded in losing the weight and getting toned up? Absolutely...I have helped quite a few be successful in your situation. Most recently was a girl who started at 210 and in one year we had her down to 150. It really has to do with just how bad you want it.
Should I eat smaller meals through the days and what should I be eating? All this certain % of protein and carbs and all that talk confuses me, Help!! There was an earlier posting about writing everything down you eat this is VERY important and is often a huge eye opener. Don't make things too complicated...you should eat about 4-5 small meals per day, you should have protein in each meal, cut back on the garbage, eat dark green veges and salads (not loaded with tons of dressing), cut back on starchy carbs. Portion sizes without actually weighing everything an easy way to figure is it should not be larger than the palm of your hand. Not totally accurate but is a good starting point. I and everyone else here will be more than happy to help you more. If you would provide your food diary we can give you lots more help.
Just remember the most important thing is to take your time and don't always go by the scale (go by how your clothes fit as they do not lie).
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