So my waistline has continued its expansion for the past few months and I figured that it was about time to bite the bullet and join a gym. I'm also trying hard to eat a lot more raw fruits and vegetables, and cutting out soda and fast food from diet. I'm really comfortable with the gym and somewhat excited to get started. So I realize that there is a lot of equipment at my disposal and it all kind of depends on what you're looking for. My primary purpose is to lose some weight at this juncture--obviously building up muscle is a nice side effect, but I think I'm going to wait on the more extensive weight training until I can get down to my target (roughly 50 pounds from what I am now). So my question for Clutchfanners is, what would you recommend as far as the equipment goes? I'm meeting with a personal trainer next week and I know that they'll have some great ideas, but I also know that every trainer has their preferred methods and I'd like to get some other recommendations as well. What equipment should I be using? About how long?
Bicycle, treadmill, any other cardio machine...the main thing is to get up off couch and start exercising...that's the hardest part
Swimming laps is probably the best combination of strength building and cardio exercise you can do. It gets the heart rate up, works practically every single muscle group and is little to no impact.
i dont get why people join the gym for cardio... just run. no place near by go to the local high school track. oh and like A-train said swimming is best.
cardio 4-5 times a week eat less fat, more protein, more complex carbs voila im a personal trainer.. but those are my condensed tips
Don't eat less fat, eat less saturatued fat and up your healthy fats. Stick with only complex carbs and limit your carb intake some all together. You don't want to go too low on fats because you want to train your body to use fats as fuel. That way your body will burn your own fat for fuel.
Joining the gym is one piece of the puzzle to becoming healthy, but not the main piece. It all starts and ends with your diet.
Not if you do it right. Of course, there is an injury risk when doing any kind of exercise, but it's probably better than getting fat...
The first question I would ask is how athletic are you? I've got a gut I could stand to lose, but I also play soccer 3 times a week and softball once. I'm in good shape even if I'm carrying extra weight. What you do depends on what you can handle. Don't jump in to difficult stuff right away. All you'll do is get discouraged and quit. Start with the treadmill or elliptical machine (that's my favorite). An hour 4 or 5 times a week is a great way to start. I'd suggest waiting until you talk with the trainer before going to weights. Working out the wrong way will do nothing for you.
I would not put off lifting for very long. Besides the fact that once you have more muscle you'll burn calories better...it's a quicker way to see results from the work you're putting in. Seeing yourself getting more defined will not only minimize the look of the remaining fat on your body, it will offer good motivation to keep going... And if you're going for steady/gradual weight loss and not just cutting, you can lose weight and build muscle at the same time.
Wow, thanks for the responses. Yeah, as far as the gym thing goes, it's worth the minimal expense to be able to watch ESPN while I work out. So as far as specific equipment, there's no pool, so that's out. I'll definitely do the elliptical as I hear that's great for weight loss--I've heard that bikes and treadmills aren't that great for losing weight, at least not compared to the elliptical ...any opinions on that? I mean, I'm certain I'll mix in a lot of stuff just so I don't get bored or discouraged, but what should I primarily focus on? As far as the food goes, yeah...that's going to be the most important and toughest thing, but I feel like I have a good idea of what needs to be done there, I just have to do it.
