New to dieting and excercise.

I have a whole bunch of questions, so please bare with me.
I just recently started going to the gym. I'm also trying my best to eat healthy.

My problem is I'm forced to go to the gym after work and I end up eating dinner late. To add to the problem, I'm starving. Any advice?

Next problem is the gym. I'm doing a lot of cardio, but want to work on my midsection. How many sets/reps/weights should I be using? How long are you supposed to rest in between sets? I'm completely lost so any advice you can give me, I would really appreciate. So far I'm up to 25 min treadmill, 25 min bike, and 25 min weight training (mostly midsection machines).

Re: New to dieting and excercise.

Ok, first off, eat something before you go to the gym. Something that has a little bit of protein, a little bit of fat, and a little bit of complex carbs. So maybe a half a whole grain bagel with some natural peanut butter.
That way you can get in a good workout and not be starving when you get home.

With the gym, doing machines for your midsection (I'm guessing you mean abs?) is not the best idea. Machines in general are not a good idea. Gyms are only full of machines because they're easy to figure out, so people will use them before even attempting to do free weights. BIG mistake. Free weights will give you much faster results. I suggest doing some research on different exerscises with free weights. Just stick with a couple of exercises for each body part to practice and then add on when you feel comfortable. You can start out with lighter weights and around 10 - 12 reps so you can focus on your form. Once you have the form down, lift heavier weights and lower (8 - 10 reps). You can do 3 sets (or even 4 or 5 if you want!) but you want to fatigue the muscles as much as you can.

I could go on and on about weightlifting but it would probably be easier for you to do some reading on your own and then ask questions

One last thing; you can't spot reduce. So if you're trying to lose weight from your abs, it's not going to happen by doing a ton of ab work. You have to do weights THEN cardio then ab work (but your abs need to rest, just like every other muscle group, so no need to do them every day).

Hope that helps!

ETA - my rest period between sets is one minute, or sometimes 1 1/2 minutes if I did a really heavy set.

Message edited 3/14/2007 12:41:21 PM.

Re: New to dieting and excercise.

Posted by Anniegrl

Ok, first off, eat something before you go to the gym. Something that has a little bit of protein, a little bit of fat, and a little bit of complex carbs. So maybe a half a whole grain bagel with some natural peanut butter.
That way you can get in a good workout and not be starving when you get home.

With the gym, doing machines for your midsection (I'm guessing you mean abs?) is not the best idea. Machines in general are not a good idea. Gyms are only full of machines because they're easy to figure out, so people will use them before even attempting to do free weights. BIG mistake. Free weights will give you much faster results. I suggest doing some research on different exerscises with free weights. Just stick with a couple of exercises for each body part to practice and then add on when you feel comfortable. You can start out with lighter weights and around 10 - 12 reps so you can focus on your form. Once you have the form down, lift heavier weights and lower (8 - 10 reps). You can do 3 sets (or even 4 or 5 if you want!) but you want to fatigue the muscles as much as you can.

I could go on and on about weightlifting but it would probably be easier for you to do some reading on your own and then ask questions

One last thing; you can't spot reduce. So if you're trying to lose weight from your abs, it's not going to happen by doing a ton of ab work. You have to do weights THEN cardio then ab work (but your abs need to rest, just like every other muscle group, so no need to do them every day).

Hope that helps!

ETA - my rest period between sets is one minute, or sometimes 1 1/2 minutes if I did a really heavy set.

Re: New to dieting and excercise.

Re: New to dieting and excercise.

Posted by Anniegrl

Posted by Diva

Wonderful!! Any suggestions on reading material or websites? Thanks so much for your help. I had no idea I was doing this all wrong. So cardio should be the last thing I do at the gym?

Well, I don't read magazines much anymore....maybe someone will be able to give you some good suggestions. Shape is ok but I hate how they show these stick figure models lifting 1 lb dumbbells

Here's one website that's fun to read: Stumptuous. Her writing cracks me up!
Here is another one

I always always always do weights first and then cardio. Some people prefer to do it the other way around. Cardio will tire you out though which makes your weight lifting seasons weaker. Do what you prefer though.

Re: New to dieting and excercise.

Posted by Diva

Thanks for the advice. And the weight lifting before cardio makes a lot of sense. I'll try this tonight and see how it works. Thanks again!!

Re: New to dieting and excercise.

I like to look at www.prevention.com - it is from Prevention Magazine. It has great work out ideas and healthy recipes.

Good luck!

ETA: My brother-in-law (personal trainer) also suggested doing weights first, cardio last b/c he said you will burn carbohydrates during the weight workout, then burn fat during the cardio workout. If you are doing cardio first, you are buring only carbohydrates, not fat. Hope that helps!

Message edited 3/14/2007 4:34:37 PM.