Exercise Suggestions...I'm so lost at the gym
I am 35 years old 5 ft 11 inches tall and 320 lbs.
I went to my doctors 4 months ago and since my first appointment I have lost 41 Lbs.
I am on Phentermine, a diet, and exercise. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. For my diabetes I take Glucaphage, Lantis, and Byetta.
My intentions were to have weight loss surgery, however my insurance has a rider that excludes weight loss surgery...and I can NOT afford it on my own. (Which is completely outrageous as my prescriptions are about 2K a month so after a year the surgery would be covered...I could go on and on but my ultimate goal is to get fit and healthy for my husband and my kids (and to fit back into the size 9 Calvin Klein Jeans that I have in my drawer).
I have made a decision to do it on my own. I have lost 41 Lbs in 4 months by diet and meds. Now its time to go to the gym.
My first day to the gym in hmmmmm 10 years I ran on the elliptical for 15 minutes and did a 30 minute circuit. 2 days later I went back and ran on the ellipitical for 30 minutes and did random weight machines.
I have no idea what I am doing in the gym. I know cardio is always good, I am a big boned person I already have a lot of muscle so I really do not want to gain muscle what exercises can I do to burn all this excess fat I have?
Why do I have all of this excess fat when I do not eat bad? i guess its luck....
Well any suggestions on exercises would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a million!!!
Hi Brandy,
I want to suggest you some simple tips to stay healthy and fit use it in your daily
routine wake up earlier,
Don’t Break the Habit.
Commit for Thirty Days
Make it Fun
Schedule During Quiet Hours
Get a Buddy
Enjoyment Before Effort
Stress Relief
Measure Fitness also join some arobic classes this will help to maintain your body.
There is literally "no way" that you will build up enough muscle tone (well MASS/bulky look) that you will notice unless you are specifically trying to do so (as a lady)
Here is what the trainer at Wake Forest's program told us to do:
3 days a week of weight training, building up to THREE sets of all the major machines / muscle groups. Each set would be 12-18 reps.
So you find a weight on the bicep machine that you barely can do 12 reps, that is perfect, keep doing that weight until you barely can get in the 18th rep, then add weight / so you can barely make 12 again.
You will be getting more toned, NOT building "mass" but will be getting stronger!!
Every major muscle group, just think from your legs to your head. So calves if they have that machine, if not, find a board or something and put your front of feet on it and stand up on tippy toes. Hold weight in your hands/barbells to make this harder.
Front/rear of upper legs, usually several machines to consider for this, presses, leg extensions, and leg "curls"
Tummy/lower back (You may want lighter weight so you can do a few more reps on these)
Upper chest/back, so the bench press machine, the row machine
Shoulders, the machine you pull down or push straight up
Biceps, you curl the weight
Triceps you push the weight away (bending at elbow)
That is it, the major muscles. Now, 12-18 reps, and 3 ROUNDS of this, 3 times per week. Build UP to that, start with ONE round for a week or two, then TWO rounds....then THREE.
She suggests starting the above off with 20-30 minutes of cardio first to get your heart rate up and try to move quickly between machines to keep the heart rate up.
The OFF days, build up to a full HOUR of cardio (elliptical / treadmill are best, you are using full body weight, bike is next...) and you want your heart rate up enough that you can sorta talk but not really "easy" to carry on a full conversation. You can increase SPEED or INCLINE to get your heart rate up.
That should put you at 5 days a week and the 6th day she suggests just BE ACTIVE!! Hike, walk, play a sport, rake leaves, etc.
That is it, and she has a Masters degree in exactly this!
Sam
EDITED to come back and say why 3 days of WEIGHT training mentioned first then cardio. Getting STRONG/toned muscles will help you burn calories 24 hours a DAY!
If you do this, the above program, you will be stronger, you will ALSO have more stamina from those cardio workouts and your body will start ramping up the fuel burning process.
FINAL note.. you cannot OUT TRAIN / workout bad eating habits. So combine all of the above with GOOD eating habits and you will lose weight over the long term. Calories in/out is not an exact science but it will work.
Instead of finding the number of calories you burn at 320 pounds, look at how many calories it takes to MAINTAIN at say 200 pounds to start with and set that as your daily number. That means you will have a calories deficit and with the exercise, you should lose weight until you hit that goal.
Reset the calories then at your NEW goal weight and go for it. Basically, find the calorie number for the weight you want to be (short or long term goal setting)
My dad did that with Weigh****cher points. He looked at the points he would get for a man at 160 pounds and that is all he ate. He dropped from 270 to 155-157.
