Question Gym Users: What's your routine?

[Killswitch]

I've just started going to the gym after many years of being a fat lazy bastard. I want to lose weight and get fitter for badminton and football. My week is planned like this;

Sunday - Gym(AM)
Monday - Gym(AM) Badminton(PM
Tuesday - Gym(AM)
Wednesday - Day Off
Thursday - Gym(AM)
Friday - Football(PM)
Saturday - Gym(AM)

Done this for a whole week so far p) and I'm actually enjoying it although the early mornings (in the gym at 6:30am) are tough!

I'm not very fit and to be honest I'm using the gym half to get fitter and half to stop me eating so much rubbish! The plan being if I spend an hour in the gym, I'll be less likely to want to eat McDonalds and sweets later in the day!

I tend to start with 10 minutes on a reclined bike, then 20 minutes on a cross-trainer, then a circuit of a few resistance machines (50 reps, low weight) and then a few laps of the pool.

So far, weight loss and fitness increase have been disappointing, but then again it's only been 7 days

So...what do other Freddies do to keep fit?

 

[Ch3tan]

Your cardio time is too low for what you want to do, 30 minutes is useless, you won't even be getting your heart going properly until 40 minutes.

Forget about changing machine, use the cross trainer or treadmill or bike and stick to it for at least 40 minutes. Do interval training to get more out of your time (1 min sprint, 1 min jog / walk - you can use longer intervals).

You are also not getting enough rest time. You don't have to go to the gym everyday, if you are doing it properly your body will want rest.

Go every other day, or a maximum of 4 times a week. You already do football and badminton so anymore than that is overkill until you get super fit.

If you want to burn calories faster, then lifting weights will burn more than cardio alone, so increase the weights on your resistance machines to a mid range.

Also weight loss will require a good diet in combination with training, one alone will gain you nothing.

 

[Killswitch]

Your cardio time is too low for what you want to do, 30 minutes is useless, you won't even be getting your heart going properly until 40 minutes.

Forget about changing machine, use the cross trainer or treadmill or bike and stick to it for at least 40 minutes. Do interval training to get more out of your time (1 min sprint, 1 min jog / walk - you can use longer intervals).

You are also not getting enough rest time. You don't have to go to the gym everyday, if you are doing it properly your body will want rest.

Go every other day, or a maximum of 4 times a week. You already do football and badminton so anymore than that is overkill until you get super fit.

If you want to burn calories faster, then lifting weights will burn more than cardio alone, so increase the weights on your resistance machines to a mid range.

Also weight loss will require a good diet in combination with training, one alone will gain you nothing.

Partly it's limited time before work and partly it's trying to get used to actually going to the gym. Right now, I couldn't do 40 minutes of cardio with my heart rate up where it should be. I'm really just wanting to do "some exercise" right now. Once I've lost some weight and i'm a bit fitter, I'll be looking to move to the "right exercise".

 

[Vasconcelos]

Depends on what phase i am.

Im now on the 4th week of 7 of my volume phase so, my routine looks like this:

Monday: Chest, Legs (frontal exercises) and biceps/triceps superseries
Tuesday: boxing + abs
Wednesday: Back, Legs (the other half), and shoulders
Thursday: boxing + abs
Friday: full body routine + abs with weights

Weekend: rest

Currently on 75kg (i'm 1,79cm) and need antoher 4kg, prob is that i eat non-stop but 'tis hard to gain "clean" weight

 

[Laddey]

I go

Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday

But i do some form of cardio on a wednesday, either a decent hill run or boxing.

But then again i dont want to lose weight!

Good luck mate

 

[Killswitch]

Depends on what phase i am.

Im now on the 4th week of 7 of my volume phase so, my routine looks like this:

Monday: Chest, Legs (frontal exercises) and biceps/triceps superseries
Tuesday: boxing + abs
Wednesday: Back, Legs (the other half), and shoulders
Thursday: boxing + abs
Friday: full body routine + abs with weights

Weekend: rest

Currently on 75kg (i'm 1,79cm) and need antoher 4kg, prob is that i eat non-stop but 'tis hard to gain "clean" weight

Sounds very, very serious. I'm 6'4" and about 114kg but it's pretty much all fat and facial hair. I'd like to get down to about 95kg but I'm not planning on doing anything beyond basic toning.

 

[Vasconcelos]

Sounds very, very serious. I'm 6'4" and about 114kg but it's pretty much all fat and facial hair. I'd like to get down to about 95kg but I'm not planning on doing anything beyond basic toning.

Hhmmm sounds like you need some weeks of cardio exercise to clean off all that "unwanted" weight, so thats basic toning.

Focus on 30min to 40min of cardio work 4 days/week and more important, reduce the consume of food: losing weight is just a simple maths problem, burn more calories than you consume. The bigger the difference, the more weight you'll lose.

I'd try to start on easy goals set by yourself, e.g: losing 500gr-1kg in a week. Tis not hard with some willpower, just put on those sneakers and go out jogging for 30min, and MORE IMPORTANT: quit all the junk food for 1 week: sodas, coke, sweets, apetisers, burguers, pizzas, coffee, etc... I assure you, you will notice the results

 

[Ch3tan]

Partly it's limited time before work and partly it's trying to get used to actually going to the gym. Right now, I couldn't do 40 minutes of cardio with my heart rate up where it should be. I'm really just wanting to do "some exercise" right now. Once I've lost some weight and i'm a bit fitter, I'll be looking to move to the "right exercise".

Then you won't succeed, if you can't commit to 40 minutes of basic cardio now then you won't later, you've already settled in your mind to do the bare minimum.

Stop making excuses for yourself and push your limits. The reason I suggested interval training is to make it easier to keep your heart rate in the zone. Going hell for leather for 40 minutes is hard, doing it in intervals will get you fitter faster.

 

[Vasconcelos]

Then you won't succeed, if you can't commit to 40 minutes of basic cardio now then you won't later, you've already settled in your mind to do the bare minimum.

Stop making excuses for yourself and push your limits. The reason I suggested interval training is to make it easier to keep your heart rate in the zone. Going hell for leather for 40 minutes is hard, doing it in intervals will get you fitter faster.

OH YES

Interval training. Totally forgot about it: BEST RESULTS ever with little time consumption.

Try it. By all means.

 

[Chosen]

First of, make sure you don't train too much, as it will have a negative effect. If it is weightloss you want, changing your way of eating is the most important factor here.

Also remember, it's not before after 45 - 60min with working out(Jogging/bicycling or whatever you do) that you start burning fat/muscles. This because your body needs to empty up the natural storage it has with glycogen(Think this is the english word for it).

I do have some good sites for you about all this, but as you probably do not understand Norwegian its pointless

 

[old.Tohtori]

Well, most weeks i get to the pub at 10pm, but sometimes at 11, sometimes at 9. It's the usual routine though, slow going, several hours.

Then i rest the next day, unless i'm particulary up for it, i go for a doublenighter.

 

[Septima]

OH YES

Interval training. Totally forgot about it: BEST RESULTS ever with little time consumption.

Try it. By all means.

what you guys mean by internal training?

I'm trying to get in shape after a year of no exercice, don't need to loose weight just to get some muscular tonus and strenghten my arms and abdominals. If anyone can give an advice, that will be sweet.

 

[Chosen]

OH YES

Interval training. Totally forgot about it: BEST RESULTS ever with little time consumption.

Try it. By all means.

Interval training focuses on how much the body takes up oxygen, and not that much on weightloss.

So if it is weightloss he wants, then he have to spend more then 40min with the training, since it is not before after this that the body actually starts burning fat/muscles(You will always burn some muscles when trying to get down in weight, just the way it is).

what you guys mean by internal training?

I'm trying to get in shape after a year of no exercice, don't need to loose weight just to get some muscular tonus and strenghten my arms and abdominals. If anyone can give an advice, that will be sweet.

Interval training is mostly short and hard intervals. Like we had a lot of something called 4 x 4 in the military.

That means you run a 4 minute intervall , then a short break, then 4 minutes again, break, 4 minutes, break then 4 minutes. Where those 4 minutes you should have your runningpulse above 80% of your maximum pulse.

 

[Ch3tan]

Interval training = start with low intesity cardio, so a jog for example. Then do an interval off sprinting.

So for example; 1 minute jog, 1minute sprint, 1 minute jog etc.

 

[Septima]

Interval training = start with low intesity cardio, so a jog for example. Then do an interval off sprinting.

So for example; 1 minute jog, 1minute sprint, 1 minute jog etc.

Ok thanks

 

[Killswitch]

Then you won't succeed, if you can't commit to 40 minutes of basic cardio now then you won't later, you've already settled in your mind to do the bare minimum.

Stop making excuses for yourself and push your limits. The reason I suggested interval training is to make it easier to keep your heart rate in the zone. Going hell for leather for 40 minutes is hard, doing it in intervals will get you fitter faster.

My limits aren't all they're cracked up to be and I'm pretty sure the bare minimum doesn't include getting up at 5:30am 4 days a week

You're probably right though...my plan was to get some weight off, mostly through healthier eating, and get my body (and mind) used to regular exercise. When I'm sure I'm not going to humiliate myself, there's an MMA club (dojo?) near me who do twice-weekly circuit training and I know a few guys there.

Hmmm...could try taking it easy Saturday/Sunday, Badminton tuesday, nasty horrible hard training on Tuesday and Thursday and football on Friday. Can probably stretch to an hour in the gym if I work late.

Bleagh

 

[old.Tohtori]

From what i've read, you don't want to get toned up and be uberfit, but just want to get used to the gym in general and maybe lose some weight while doing so(which might already happen due to changing diet).

Hobby gym stuff if you will?

Ch3t etc advice are for more serious gym action in my opinion, so all you really need to do is;M keep going to the gym, get used to the rhytm of doing it x days, get hooked on it so to speak(takes about two weeks to get hooked) and then start planning more on the goals and what you want out of it.

Changing diet is the easier task, just don't buy X in the shop and think of every X you want out of diet as something you're allergic to.

 

[Killswitch]

From what i've read, you don't want to get toned up and be uberfit, but just want to get used to the gym in general and maybe lose some weight while doing so(which might already happen due to changing diet).

Hobby gym stuff if you will?

Ch3t etc advice are for more serious gym action in my opinion, so all you really need to do is;M keep going to the gym, get used to the rhytm of doing it x days, get hooked on it so to speak(takes about two weeks to get hooked) and then start planning more on the goals and what you want out of it.

Changing diet is the easier task, just don't buy X in the shop and think of every X you want out of diet as something you're allergic to.

Yeah, that's mostly it...I figure some exercise is better than no exercise and that the lifestyle change of going to the gym, playing sport regularly and whatnot will help me get some weight off and get generally fitter.

I can see the points people are making though, that working for longer is required for the best results. It would be sensible to give it a try, but I don't want to put myself off either...currently I'm enjoying going to the gym, I feel good afterwards and have energy during the day and so on.

 

[Chosen]

My limits aren't all they're cracked up to be and I'm pretty sure the bare minimum doesn't include getting up at 5:30am 4 days a week

You're probably right though...my plan was to get some weight off, mostly through healthier eating, and get my body (and mind) used to regular exercise. When I'm sure I'm not going to humiliate myself, there's an MMA club (dojo?) near me who do twice-weekly circuit training and I know a few guys there.

Hmmm...could try taking it easy Saturday/Sunday, Badminton tuesday, nasty horrible hard training on Tuesday and Thursday and football on Friday. Can probably stretch to an hour in the gym if I work late.

Bleagh

Noone starts at the top. You can start doing it 2 times a week at the beginning(Then increasing as you get better into shape and have the energy). It's better doing it 2 times correct, then 4 times half arsed

Easy way to burn fat, is when you wake up. Take a large cup of coffee, and go out jogging for an hour. Then eat a good healthy breakfast when you come back. If you combine this with some healthy daily food(It is ok to eat some junkfood now and then), you're weight should be going down quite fast(Not the unhealthy way)

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yeap, jumping from no gym to optimal gym is not the way to go. Quite like my doctor once said; don't start running a marathon, just walk around the block today, twice in two days and so on.

Get used to it, then start picking up the pace if you feel current isn't doing anything, or if you think you've got the time/energy for more.

 

[Vasconcelos]

Well, from my experience and other ppl's I know from, INTERVALS give one of the best results when combined with a halved calorie diet.

As Chet said: start with some warming up, like 5-10min light jogging, then start one of the interval routines you can find on the web. When I did intervals, I started with a 12min routine which consisted in (after the warm up): 1min of light jogging + 30secs of full sprints (and when i say sprint, i mean like if you werebeing chased by rabid dogs), then 1min light jogging + 30secs srpint, rinse and repeat till the 12min mark.

Finish of with 5min of cooldown jog, stretches, whatever floats your boat.

I assure you, when combined with the proper diet, you will be more than satisfied with the results

PS: you can also try JUMP ROPE for some refreshing different exercise from time to time. One of the best cardio exercise in the world.

 

[Killswitch]

Noone starts at the top. You can start doing it 2 times a week at the beginning(Then increasing as you get better into shape and have the energy). It's better doing it 2 times correct, then 4 times half arsed

Easy way to burn fat, is when you wake up. Take a large cup of coffee, and go out jogging for an hour. Then eat a good healthy breakfast when you come back. If you combine this with some healthy daily food(It is ok to eat some junkfood now and then), you're weight should be going down quite fast(Not the unhealthy way)

Actually (and this is quite embarrassing) I tried running first, before I joined the gym but I'm so fat that it was really screwing my legs up. I can handle football and badminton because it's short bursts, but jogging a mile or so was properly fucking me up! That's why I use the cross-trainer and not the running machine

Coffee - check
Healthy Breakfast - check
Healthy Food - check

 

[Ch3tan]

Just saw a quote of toht's post. No what I am suggesting is not for serious trainers, it is the bare minimum people should be doing for basic cardio if they want to be fitter or lose weight.

Killswitch, the basic messages are all the same - longer cardio, reduced days in the gym - but higher quality. And diet, diet, diet.

If you want to help yourself eat less then try brown rice, bread pasta and sugar if you take any. They burn slower, cause less of a spike in your blood sugar and will therefore keep you feeling fuller for longer. A lot easier than the extreme low carb diets.

 

[Killswitch]

Just saw a quote of toht's post. No what I am suggesting is not for serious trainers, it is the bare minimum people should be doing for basic cardio if they want to be fitter or lose weight.

Killswitch, the basic messages are all the same - longer cardio, reduced days in the gym - but higher quality. And diet, diet, diet.

If you want to help yourself eat less then try brown rice, bread pasta and sugar if you take any. They burn slower, cause less of a spike in your blood sugar and will therefore keep you feeling fuller for longer. A lot easier than the extreme low carb diets.

I'm pretty good with the old GI/blood sugar stuff, what with my Type-2 diabetes and all

That's part of the reason for doing this in the first place. I mean, a heart-attack sounds fun and all but who has the time?

Longer cardio will be in my plans starting Saturday morning...I've seen the light!

 

[Chosen]

Actually (and this is quite embarrassing) I tried running first, before I joined the gym but I'm so fat that it was really screwing my legs up. I can handle football and badminton because it's short bursts, but jogging a mile or so was properly fucking me up! That's why I use the cross-trainer and not the running machine

Coffee - check
Healthy Breakfast - check
Healthy Food - check

Then start with bicycling, untill you are able to do the jogging without totally destroying your knees(Remember to wear good shoes aswell)!

 

[Vasconcelos]

YouTube - Jump Rope Cardio Workouts #1 - Fat Loss Exercises & Training


Jump Rope. Trust me. 'Tis fun and 'tis a superb cardio workpout to mix with jogging or cycling

 

[Chosen]

Well, from my experience and other ppl's I know from, INTERVALS give one of the best results when combined with a halved calorie diet.

As Chet said: start with some warming up, like 5-10min light jogging, then start one of the interval routines you can find on the web. When I did intervals, I started with a 12min routine which consisted in (after the warm up): 1min of light jogging + 30secs of full sprints (and when i say sprint, i mean like if you werebeing chased by rabid dogs), then 1min light jogging + 30secs srpint, rinse and repeat till the 12min mark.

Finish of with 5min of cooldown jog, stretches, whatever floats your boat.

I assure you, when combined with the proper diet, you will be more than satisfied with the results

PS: you can also try JUMP ROPE for some refreshing different exercise from time to time. One of the best cardio exercise in the world.

I assure you, intervall is not effective when it comes to burning fat(12 minutes is not enough). The reason you had effect in going down in weight is because of the halved calorie diet.

Intervalls is used to get your condition up, and is the best way to increase your bodys way in taking up oxygen(You last longer).

After 12 minutes, your bodys storage with glycogen is not even empty, which mean you wouldnt have the time to burn anything at all. If you ask any educated instructors out there, I am sure they will tell you the same!

on the other side, Intervalls is good for you in one way, as I mentioned earlier. You are able to last longer when out burning fat(Which will then help you loose weight).

But you won't loose much of weight at all, if only doing intervalls. Hence as mentioned above me: get some quality training before quantity. Reduce your days, and make the days you have longer(Atleast 1 hour).

 

[old.Tohtori]

Just saw a quote of toht's post. No what I am suggesting is not for serious trainers, it is the bare minimum people should be doing for basic cardio if they want to be fitter or lose weight.

Fair enough, just sounded like your xtreme gym-man talk

 

[Ezteq]

I used to belong to a gym, till I realised what a massive con it was and saved my money I would of used on membership and brought home exercise equipment instead (cross trainer, 10k a day on that, 70 sit ups and usually some weights and a few sets on my chin up bar) and also go running which is free.

After years blowing my money on gyms and not really losing any weight I can definately that how I did it is the better (and cheaper) route for me, however, what works for you might be the incentive of coughing up all your money to a gym. Good luck and stick with it matey

 

[Cerb]

Any suggestions on how to build up running/cardio?

I've always kindof hated running for any kindof long period. I litteraly can play football for 2 hours but I can't jog for tenminutes on the treadmill. What I want to know is how you make the jump from being able to walk at a decent pace for lots of time, to being able to jog...if that makes sense. I can walk no end but as soon as I start to jog I can't make it a mile even. I don't know if its a psycholical thing but I've always had a problem running for any sort of distance.

Any suggestions since people seem to be giving them in here?