Ok so I am joining a gym...

I joined today for my free week and then will sign up next week.

The thing is - I am so intimidated by the machines!
I guess I can get on them and figure it out but how do you know how much to do?

Does anyone have a "program" they follow?

Like so many minutes on the treadmill, then this many reps on this machine etc?

Message edited 1/17/2007 9:59:12 PM.

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

Repeat after me: "I will stay away from the machines".

Most machines are a waste of time. Some are ok, like the pullup assist.
You should stick with free weights - you'll have a better range of motion than with machines, and get a better workout.

Here is just an example of some exercises you can do, and you can look them up online so you can see how to do them. You also want to lift fairly heavy weights; NO light weights and high reps! NO little pink girly weights! You'll get in shape WAY faster using heavy weights and low (~8 - 10) reps.

Shoulders: Military press, rear delt flyes
Biceps: dumbbell or barbell curls
Triceps: overhead dumbbell extension, skull crushers
Back: barbell rows, pull ups
Legs: squats, romanian deadlifts, split squats

P.S. here's an article on why you should stay away from machines (read #3):

Machines

Good luck!

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

really? even if I have a decent amount of weight to lose? I don't really want to build muscle on top of fat?

I thought I needed cardio and aerobic exercises?

I can get a set of weight for at home!

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

Definitely listen to Ann. She is right!

You will build muscle, but that will help your metabolism. Adding cardio and eating right will help you lose the fat!

You don't want to lose fat and be flabby, do you? using the weights as mentioned above in Ann's post will give you enough muscle to look firm, not bulky. Bulk is from adding muscle, but not eating correctly and not doing cardio.

good luck!

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

thanks ladies...

I am starting to think I should finish out the week and forget the gym idea.
I saw a set of Billy Blanks tapes at BJ's last night - those with some weight activities, I can do in my house.

I think I was so excited for the gym because they had a nursery for Aidan

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

I thought heavy weights and less reps was how to build big muscle, i.e., what guys do? I have been using small weights and doing multiple reps (per a former trainer). I'm confused!

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Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

Posted by -DonnaMarie-

thanks ladies...

I am starting to think I should finish out the week and forget the gym idea.
I saw a set of Billy Blanks tapes at BJ's last night - those with some weight activities, I can do in my house.

I think I was so excited for the gym because they had a nursery for Aidan

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

Thought I'd post this - might answer some questions....

Exercise myths:

MYTH NUMBER ONE

"I just want to tone; I don't want to get big."

"Toning" is a ridiculous notion. Anyone who is mildly active has muscular tone; it is nothing more than the healthy and normal condition of a muscle which can remain contracted under resistance. If you can carry a small sack of groceries to your car, you have adequate muscular tone. A lack of muscular tone is what occurs when people are bedridden and their muscles begin to atrophy from disuse. It has nothing to do with the size of the muscle or muscular definition.

Just to have a "muscular" body requires dedicated and consistent weight training and a controlled diet. Getting "big" requires many years of near-obsessive weight training, a daily calorie intake well beyond what most people consume, and a strong genetic predisposition toward easy muscle growth. It often involves anabolic steroids, too. Even those who would like to get "big" will rarely be able to do so. The chances of it occurring unintentionally are nil.

In my experience, the true meaning of this statement is: "I really don't want to work very hard or control my diet, but I want a great body." Sorry. It doesn't work like that.

MYTH NUMBER TWO

"Lifting lighter weights for many repetitions creates muscular definition."

There is no support for this proposition. Low-weight, high-volume training may create a brief illusion of muscular definition because it will create some "pump," i.e., the engorgement of skeletal muscles with blood, but that is a temporary condition that will fade within hours. Muscular definition is created by [a] increasing the size of the muscles, and [b] reducing the amount of body fat covering the muscles. Increasing the size of the muscles requires heavy weight training. Reducing body fat requires a controlled diet. There is no special lifting routine for improving muscular definition.

Low-weight, high-volume training does not substantially improve strength, either. It may improve muscular endurance, and that may be beneficial in certain sport-specific training, but strength is largely the product of heavy weight training. For a more detailed discussion of this subject, see Fred "Dr. Squat" Hatfield's Powerlifting and Speed-Strength Training.

MYTH NUMBER THREE

"The only way to burn fat is to do aerobic exercise."

This proposition is simply untrue. There are numerous bodybuilders with amazingly low body fat percentages who do little or no aerobic exercise. The type of exercise generally referred to as "aerobic" (running, cycling, treadmill, stair-stepper, etc.) does burn fat, but it is not the only method. In fact, weight training may actually be a more efficient method of fat reduction. Aerobic exercise burns calories, and thus fat, during the period of exercise, while weight training burns calories not only during the exercise period, but also afterwards, when the muscles are recovering and growing. Furthermore, the body requires additional calories just to maintain the increased muscle mass achieved by strength training.

Although most "exercise gurus" consider an avoidance of aerobic exercise to be absolute heresy, some medical research has implied that aerobic exercise is not nearly important as it was formerly believed to be, even for cardiovascular health. A detailed discussion of this issue may be found at the "Why Not Aerobics?" FAQ.

MYTH NUMBER FOUR

"Fancy fitness machines are designed to isolate certain muscle groups and are better than free weights."

Nonsense. Good, old "iron gyms" are suddenly turning into "fitness centers" with the addition shiny new machines that boast ergonomically-correct seats, cams, pulleys, cables, chains, and weight stacks. But are these machines more effective than free weights? No. In fact, they are often less effective.

The new "strength-training" machines, which some experienced lifters refer to as "foo foo" machines, are designed to limit movement and to isolate specific muscle groups. This is not a great advantage to someone trying to build all-around muscle mass. While these machines guide movement through a pre-determined path, free weights require the lifter to maintain a balanced movement without the assistance of artificial control. This need for balance causes many "stabilizing muscles" to be put into play. Thus, free-weight exercises incorporate more muscles into the same general exercise movement. If a single set with free weights develops more muscles than a single set on a "foo foo" machine, which is better?

Furthermore, the human body is designed and used to manipulate heavy objects in a free-moving environment. No matter how well designed a machine claims to be, its confined path of movement cannot approximate the movement which the body uses to propel heavy objects in the "real world." The best way to achieve strength and increased muscle mass is to move heavy weights through the path naturally dictated by the human body, not through a path determined by the machine manufacturer.

The occasional use "strength-training" machines may be beneficial for concentrating on specific muscle groups which are lagging in development, but the vast majority of weight training should be done with free weights. And the benefits of free weights are self-evident. "Strength-training" machines, such as Nautilus, have been around for more than 20 years. In that time, a new generation of young bodybuilders has come of age, knowing all the options available to them. Yet upon entering nearly any gym, where do you find the "big guys"? You know the answer. The true reason that such machines are filling gyms and "fitness centers" everywhere is not because they are more effective; their purpose is to attract more members by making weightlifting appear to be easy and painless. And as I said before: it doesn't work that way.

Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

This information is so great! So much useful info. I definately will take all this into consideration. Thank you for taking all this time out!

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Re: Ok so I am joining a gym...

There are lots of books on weight lifting for women -- try shapeboutique.com
The books shows you how to use machines and free weights so you are less intimidated.

I used to work out with a friend whose husband is a trainer and we did 30 minutes of cardio (it sucks but the treadmill running really gets the best results) and then pick 2 muscle groups and do 3 different exercises for each (3 sets each)

For us day one is chest and triceps, day two is back and biceps and day 3 is shoulders and legs. Those muscle groups are complimentary so it works!

Go for it - its YOU time and youll learn to look forward to the euphoria you feel after the workout. I am no expert or fitness buff its just what I learned. Now if I coulld only get my portions under contril I might have a chance.