So I joined a gym...

veassie

First step complete right?

But I am totally clueless when it comes to fitness... The gym tried to sell me on the personal training which I would love to do simply for some guidance here but we cant afford it unfortunately.  Can anyone give me any tips? I'm doing my googling and coming up with infinite amounts of workouts.. The gym manager used this machine to read my bmi and fat % and said I should lose about 18 lb and about 6% body fat to be at my ideal spot.  To lower that fat % should i be doing cardio more? or those weight machine things? If someone could point me in the right direction Id be so grateful! 

april79lynn

I think its good to do a mix of cardio and weight lifting to lose the most weight..

lbarr088

Mix cardio and weight lifting.  Also, as you many will say on here losing weight is 70/30 diet/exercise.  Start logging your food intake in myfitnesspal.com or sparkpeople.com.  This will really help you keep track of exactly what you are eating.  Make sure to log in exercise as well so you will know how much MORE you will need to eat on those days to stay at your calorie limit per day.  Also, it's better to go over your cals by a little bit then constantly be under.  

I have found a lot of good exercises on Pinterest and just general googling.  My main advice for starting weight lifting for any beginner is (please, please, please) pay attention to your form to avoid injury.  If a workout that you see online comes with a video I would suggest watching that and then doing that exercise in front of a mirror so you can make sure you are doing it correctly.  

Best of luck!

maribeth721

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_so-i-joined-a-gym?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:f1c13b71-d7e8-4949-8445-829599dc2a5aPost:40867892-2775-47ce-957b-3a75db17c9eb">Re: So I joined a gym...</a>:
[QUOTE]Mix cardio and weight lifting.  <strong>Also, as you many will say on here losing weight is 70/30 diet/exercise.  Start logging your food intake in myfitnesspal.com or sparkpeople.com.</strong>  This will really help you keep track of exactly what you are eating.  Make sure to log in exercise as well so you will know how much MORE you will need to eat on those days to stay at your calorie limit per day.  Also, it's better to go over your cals by a little bit then constantly be under. <strong>  I have found a lot of good exercises on Pinterest and just general googling. </strong> My main advice for starting weight lifting for any beginner is (please, please, please) pay attention to your form to avoid injury.  If a workout that you see online comes with a video I would suggest watching that and then doing that exercise in front of a mirror so you can make sure you are doing it correctly.   Best of luck!
Posted by lbarr088[/QUOTE]

This is great advice! I use my fitness pal but it seems pretty 50/50 on here as to who uses MFP and who uses spark people. They are both free so you can sign up for both and decide which you like better. When I first started using MFP I was shocked at how much I was over eating.

I am obsessed with pinterest in general but I have found a lot of good work outs on there. Also I am pretty new to weight lifting so I youtube almost every exercise before I attempt it. It really helps.

Good luck :)

reggiesmommy

Full disclosure, I haven't tried this yet.  But my friend who is in very good shape has used an app called "All In Fitness" to find workouts.  It has the whole calorie tracker like other apps, but it also has workouts designed to either target specific body parts, or an overall plan for beginners.  There are videos of every move, so that you can see the proper form.  If you want to use it, you might want to review the workout & the video tutorials before you go to the gym so you have an idea of what to do before you get there.  

I would also suggest joining in on some of the classes that your gym offers - zumba, spin, etc.  It's very motivating when you exercise with others, and you might even find a workout buddy to help motivate you!  

lls31

I also agree that you should mix cardio and lifting.  The suggestion about joining a class is great as well (I've noticed that they tend to be much cheaper than personal training sessions).

When I first joined a gym, I did a lot of watching.  Personal training sessions were very expensive at the gym I went to, so I couldn't afford them either.  Luckily, the training sessions weren't private - they were right out in the open gym area so anyone could see.  I would watch and learn the exercises and correct form.  Unfortunately, you may not learn exercises specific to your needs by doing this, but at least it's a start.  I was completely clueless my first day at the gym.  Watching helped me learn even the basic moves - like the correct way to do a bicep curl or the correct way to do a leg press.  Or even how to use certain machines that I had never seen before.

I also made friends with a lot of the other gym patrons.  It was a small gym, so we all knew each other and helped each other.  If someone more experienced was around, I would ask him or her for help.  And if someone saw that my form was off, they would correct me.  It was a huge help!

Good luck!