how to get started?
Hi all,
I've been going to a gym for a long time but I am afraid all I did was learn bad habits.
I saw on a post below someone recommending bodybuilding.com. Is that a good place to figure out the proper way to work out?
My gym is really bad about just letting people loose in there without any sort of orientation. When I started, I just started using the weight machines by looking at the little pictures on the machines
that explain the machine. I just picked certain machines that said they worked the area that I wanted to work on.
Now I want to learn to work out correctly. I am not even sure how many days I should use the weights and should I do cardio every day? I don't know if I should work certain body parts on certain days or how to alternate work outs. I also want to learn how to use the free weights.
Can anyone help me figure out what I should be doing?
I've been going to a gym for a long time but I am afraid all I did was learn bad habits.
I saw on a post below someone recommending bodybuilding.com. Is that a good place to figure out the proper way to work out?
My gym is really bad about just letting people loose in there without any sort of orientation. When I started, I just started using the weight machines by looking at the little pictures on the machines
that explain the machine. I just picked certain machines that said they worked the area that I wanted to work on.
Now I want to learn to work out correctly. I am not even sure how many days I should use the weights and should I do cardio every day? I don't know if I should work certain body parts on certain days or how to alternate work outs. I also want to learn how to use the free weights.
Can anyone help me figure out what I should be doing?
Ok, I'm sure others are going to chime in with genius information, but here's what I think is good beginner's information.
Don't work the same muscles on weight machines two days in a row - letting them recover at least 1 day is important. Some people do upper body one day, lower body next day, upper body, lower body, etc.
Lots of people do cardio 3 days/week and weights 2 days/week - which is a good system. You can do cardio as much as you like (again, a day or two of rest per week is good for you).
If you could pay for 1 or 2 sessions with a trainer, that would be really great.
I'm willing to bet you could find youtube videos for all the different machines, if you know the names of them.
I look forward to seeing what other folks post!
Don't work the same muscles on weight machines two days in a row - letting them recover at least 1 day is important. Some people do upper body one day, lower body next day, upper body, lower body, etc.
Lots of people do cardio 3 days/week and weights 2 days/week - which is a good system. You can do cardio as much as you like (again, a day or two of rest per week is good for you).
If you could pay for 1 or 2 sessions with a trainer, that would be really great.
I'm willing to bet you could find youtube videos for all the different machines, if you know the names of them.
I look forward to seeing what other folks post!
Read my blog, BARIATHLETE I run because I can.
First 5K race October 4, 2009 (34.59) PR 5/22/11 (27:26)
First 5 Mile: January 1, 2011 (50:30)
First 10K: July 4, 2010 (1:03.26) New PR 4/10/11 (1:01.14)
First 10 Mile: April 11, 2010 (1:46.15)
First 1/2 marathon: June 13, 2010 (2:22.21) PR: 5/1/11 (2:17.30)
First Marathon: October 16, 2011: 5:47:20
Goofy Challenge: January 7-8, 2012
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right. - Mary Kay Ash
First 5K race October 4, 2009 (34.59) PR 5/22/11 (27:26)
First 5 Mile: January 1, 2011 (50:30)
First 10K: July 4, 2010 (1:03.26) New PR 4/10/11 (1:01.14)
First 10 Mile: April 11, 2010 (1:46.15)
First 1/2 marathon: June 13, 2010 (2:22.21) PR: 5/1/11 (2:17.30)
First Marathon: October 16, 2011: 5:47:20
Goofy Challenge: January 7-8, 2012
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right. - Mary Kay Ash
Hello, I think its great how you are showing initiative and going to the gym. That says a lot. However, I do believe the best place to start is to get assistance from a professional because you are risking injury and perhaps could use your time more efficiently. A personal trainer is a good start if it's affordable or perhaps you may consider the aerobic classes. Even a good workout with pictures illustrations from a book is good or getting a good DVD such as Chair-A-Cise would be greatly beneficial. All the afore mentioned suggestions are designed by fitness experts to get you where you need to be safely and quickly. Just winging it at the gym usually leads to minimal results, furstration or injury.
Daryl Madison
www.chair-a-cise.com
www.chair-a-cise.com
(deactivated member)
on 2/1/11 6:30 am - United Kingdom
on 2/1/11 6:30 am - United Kingdom
HERE IS A TRICK: I really think it is good to get a personal trainer. I know they are often expensive but here is a little trick I learned. Use the personal trainer for only 3 different sessions. You will learn the basics over 3 lessons. Next you will write down all the training routines
then only use the trainer once a month. Basically you are going to write down all the excercises (reps..set..) that you learned and then use them on your own. Then increase amount of weight or reps each week (slowly)
I would stay away from the bodybuilding websites. They use legal drugs and do not teach good techniques. We all needed a teacher for school and the gym is no different
Remember to write down everything they teach.
* One final note: I have know people who have walked up to a gym regular(non trainer) and asked them to help, they made good friends and got a good work out
hope this helps
then only use the trainer once a month. Basically you are going to write down all the excercises (reps..set..) that you learned and then use them on your own. Then increase amount of weight or reps each week (slowly)
I would stay away from the bodybuilding websites. They use legal drugs and do not teach good techniques. We all needed a teacher for school and the gym is no different
Remember to write down everything they teach.
* One final note: I have know people who have walked up to a gym regular(non trainer) and asked them to help, they made good friends and got a good work out
hope this helps
I am also going to recommend a trainer. You can sit down with them and they cna show you how to use the machines properly, and more importantly how not to hurt yourself by doing something incorrectly. You can tell the trainer what you want is to have a workout plan designed and they can do that for you as well.
I started with a trainer at 1 month out for 8 sessions and told him that I will be getting new sessions every 3 months to get another plan, and he thinks it is a great plan.
Bodybuilding.com is a great site for information. I am on there and use that to track almost everything I do. What I recommend NOT to do there is if you post in the forums, do NOT let them know you had surgery of any kind. The people there are flat out rude and insulting to anyone who has had it done. It is nice tho if you have a bunch of friends and want to share workout info. I am doing that with my coworkers
Good Luck with working out! It is a blast :D
I started with a trainer at 1 month out for 8 sessions and told him that I will be getting new sessions every 3 months to get another plan, and he thinks it is a great plan.
Bodybuilding.com is a great site for information. I am on there and use that to track almost everything I do. What I recommend NOT to do there is if you post in the forums, do NOT let them know you had surgery of any kind. The people there are flat out rude and insulting to anyone who has had it done. It is nice tho if you have a bunch of friends and want to share workout info. I am doing that with my coworkers
Good Luck with working out! It is a blast :D
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