Clueless

[K-Dizzle]

Hi

I recently joined a gym and I'm CLUELESS!

I go there and end up pretty much doing cardio the whole time.

I have slowly worked up the courage to go upstairs to the male dominated weight machines and now I don't know where to start.

I know that I should do workouts in reps, but I'm worried I'm going to screw myself over. I don't want to increase the areas I'm trying to reduce.

Can anyone suggest ways to increase muscle tone on my arms and legs and reduce thighs and tummy?

Also, should I do cardio before or after weights? And when it comes to protein, before of after the gym? I usually go around 8:30-9pm every 2-3 days for an hour.

Many thanks in advance.

[esteel]

Hi there and just saw your other *waves* thread.. so welcome.

Do you have any preferences on what you would like to do? If you are just curios about free weight training i'd suggest the 'starting strength' workout by Mark Rippetoe. He got a really great book with the same name that explains how to do those exercises correctly and explains the program. I can whole heartly say its great. There are also some online resources on that program:

http://startingstrength.com/

Fan made:

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Program

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts

How much cardio do you wanna do? I'd try it before weight training as thats what i like more and i like hard training, so the other way round would not work that well for me.

Protein intake should not matter what much if its enough in general. After the training is often recommended though.

[TurtIe]

Hi

Hey K-Dizzle! Welcome welcome!

I have slowly worked up the courage to go upstairs to the male dominated weight machines and now I don't know where to start.

Machines are a good place to start, but the most benefits come from free weights. Hit machines that target your big muscle groups (chest, back, legs) and don't be afraid to experiment with the weight until you find something that makes you struggle around the 8-10 rep mark.

I know that I should do workouts in reps, but I'm worried I'm going to screw myself over. I don't want to increase the areas I'm trying to reduce.

Believe me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I work out hard with heavy weights five days a week and eat three huge meals each day and four massive protein shakes in between and it's still taking me months to put on any noticeable size. It takes a lot of hard work, heavy eating, patience and dedication to put on size, it's really not as easy as anyone outside the fitness industry think and nearly impossible for women without supplementation (girls simply don't have enough of the natural steroid 'testosterone' in their blood).

Can anyone suggest ways to increase muscle tone on my arms and legs and reduce thighs and tummy?

There's no such thing as 'spot reduction'. You can't pick where on the body you lose weight so the most effective way to hit those target areas is to slim down all over. Also- muscle built through strength training increases your resting metabolic rate (the amount of calories your body burns at rest) and tones your body. Strong muscles help with long term weight control and will aid you to reach a physique you're proud of.

Also, should I do cardio before or after weights? And when it comes to protein, before of after the gym? I usually go around 8:30-9pm every 2-3 days for an hour.

Cardio after weights- doing it before will reduce the amount of weight you lift due to physical and mental fatigue which will limit your potential for strength gains. Studies show that any longer than forty five minutes of weights is counterproductive so for an hour session you could fit in forty minutes of weights and twenty minutes cardio.

Many thanks in advance.

You're very very welcome! Feel free to ask any other questions on anything you're not confident with =)

[rtalencar]

Do squats and lunges. You can also do these with weight. You can also do some hamstring work (glute ham raises, leg curls)

If you can do pullups do those, if not try to build up to it. You can also do other pulling work (deadlifts, bent over rows, inverted rows, Tbar rows, seated rows)

If you can do full pushups do those, if not try to build up to it. You can also do other pressing work (incline press, bench press, overhead press*)

You can build a tremendous foundation of strength by emphasizing leg work, press (as in pushing stuff away from your center) work, and pull (as in pulling stuff towards your center) work consistently. This can be done with weights or through bodyweight exercises (your best bet would be to do a combination of both, in my opinion).

To get a basis I'd start with one of the beginner programs: Starting Strength, StrongLifts 5x5, Steve's book (I haven't purchased it but I know he has one and lots of people seem to like it a lot), or New Rules of Lifting for Women are all very popular

[MuayTyson]

As part of my sales pitch to potential clients I say this. You can get professional help and be taught the basics or you can research yourself and suffer the consequences. I'm a terrible plumber if my sink is stopped up I have no problem paying for and utilizing a plumber. I may ask some questions and peer over his should to learn some basics and I am sure he would be happy to tell me.

Don't be afraid to take a few sessions of Personal Training it can really help in the long run and you can further utilize that trainer as you questions and need become more advanced. Sites like this are great but there is no substitute for hands on one on one instruction. With the right path you can learn a skill that lasts a lifetime.

[Razor]

As part of my sales pitch to potential clients I say this. You can get professional help and be taught the basics or you can research yourself and suffer the consequences. I'm a terrible plumber if my sink is stopped up I have no problem paying for and utilizing a plumber. I may ask some questions and peer over his should to learn some basics and I am sure he would be happy to tell me.

Don't be afraid to take a few sessions of Personal Training it can really help in the long run and you can further utilize that trainer as you questions and need become more advanced. Sites like this are great but there is no substitute for hands on one on one instruction. With the right path you can learn a skill that lasts a lifetime.

I respectfully disagree with this. When I first joined a gym, I paid for 3 sessions with a Personal Trainer. You know what it got me? Bad deadlift form, being told to squat the smith machine instead of freeweights, a bunch of isolation machines. I was instructed to do a superset of barbell curl and then bench press. And you know what happened after the half hour of weights? The elliptical. My PT even told me I had to consume a protein shake within a half hour or so after lifting or I wouldn't see results. When I first met them I said my goals were building muscle and gaining strength. And I was doing sets of 12 and 10.

You know what happened with my own research instead of a PT (and the help of sites like bb.com, /fit/, and NF)? In 3.5 months I've tripled my OHP, more than tripled my squat, almost tripled my deadlift, Increased my bench by 35 pounds and gone from doing no chin ups or pullups to 7 chin ups and 3 wide grips. And I didn't pay a cent other than my gym membership. I've gained 8 pounds of body weight (which is split between muscle gain, water retention, and fat).

Now I recently purchased the 3rd edition of Ripptoe's starting strength, but getting knowledge that you paid for doesn't inherently make it better than free knowledge in today's age of agendas and sales pitches.

Now, this doesn't mean that all PT's aren't qualified and knowledgeable. I just think it's less likely to find one at a commercial gym, which appears to be the setting of our hero's story. From mine, and a lot of anecdotal evidence, trainers there seem to be sub-par. I'm sure there are many good ones. However, I think the first step is to do a lot of research first. Find out what's true and what isn't, what's backed by science and what's bro-science. Then if you need help, seek a personal trainer. But make sure what they do and say correlates with some of the things you've researched and know as fact. I don't think one or the other is necessarily better.

[MuayTyson]

I agree there are a lot of bad trainers but it is like life there are a lot of profession where people are not qualified. It is important to find a qualified trainer before you decide to take instruction maybe I will put up a post on how to do that?

[esteel]

I agree there are a lot of bad trainers but it is like life there are a lot of profession where people are not qualified. It is important to find a qualified trainer before you decide to take instruction maybe I will put up a post on how to do that?

And thats why i think getting some knowledge is a great start.. reading some good book or online resources helps a lot in finding and/or judging a good trainer. Actually when i recommend a book or similar its not meant to replace the trainer