how to get the most out of my gym sessions??

buggsbunny

Hi everyone,
i have just joined a gym as i have just lost about a stone on the heartbreak diet(didn't eat a thing after he left), and i would now like to maintane my weight and tone up.
On my induction he said i should do 30mins on the treadmill on an incline walking fairly fast and 30mins on the cross trainer, 3 times a week and it should burn body fat and tone me up. He also said to keep my heart rate at about 123 but it seems to be at around 170 doing these things. I am 9 stone and 29 years old.
Any tips on how to get faster results as i really would like to be more toned and after my workouts i dont seem to be aching like i thought i would if i was toning.
Thanx for any sugestions
clare xx

jenniewb

I'd see if you can speak to a personal trainer or another gym instructor- if your able to get your heart rate higher this is fine but you must learn the pros and cons of it all and it can also be risky to have your heart so high for a long time unless your used to it as it basicly puts stress on your heart and too much of this is not good. Too high a heart rate all the time is also not good if your doing this every day as it can mean your body is producing alot of cortisol (stress hormone) and this hormone can result in your body retaining extra body weight around your waist and back. Sort of the opposite of what most of us want!

What is good is a more varied workout, a little here, a little there, training on a variety of machines that first stop you from getting bored and second mean your working out all of your body in different ways so getting a better fitness level then just say running alone would. Thats not to say running wont make you fit, it just misses out on other things.

See what works for you, if your happy with what your doing then stick with it, I think the most important part of the gym is feeling motivated to go and keep on going, if you hate what you do you normally don't push yourself as hard and even end up stopping going. Feeling that you don't mind going is very important IMO.

Can you do any classes? I found that classes gave me new ideas- especially circuit classes, plus they'd have me work out areas I'd not normally do. Its also great to have a teacher to correct your posture and give you tips. I learnt alot from gym classes over the years and posture I think is so very important.

Resistance: weights, running up hill, upping the levels on the gym machines, even the power plate all make a difference, a personal trainer I once knew told me "muscle burns fat" which I think is a bit too simplstic but the essence is true: muscle requires that your body needs more calories to keep it running, if you have surplus calories stored within body fat and don't over eat your day to day calories your going to lose weight. BUT! You must keep on training the muscle as when you lose weight, you always lose a little from your fat stores and a little from your muscle, you don't really want to lose the muscle so keep on working it so you can rebuild it and your going to be at a better chance of maintaining it if not building it.

Aching isn't always essential, it just means you have worked your muscles to the max. When you work your muscles out they make lots of little micro tears and this is what hurts (unless you have an injury which is not always the same thing). Then you rest them and they repair, they build up as they repair and this is a form of improvement. But to improve your cardio fitness (the fitness of your heart) it doesn't really tend to hurt, you may feel tierd after a workout but aching is not an essential. If you want to ache, try weights, press ups/sit ups/squats/lunges and etc- get advice on these as they can cause injury if you get the postures wrong.

One way to get better cardio results (and according to many magazines, fat loss) is to do either Interval Training or High Impact Interval Training (Links to Wiki supplied on words).
Both require you work either v.hard or v.v.v.hard (your max effort) for a short time and then slow to catch your breath for a similar or shorter amount of time and repeat for 5-6 times or 20 mins, this works your heart and is less boring IMO, I do this alot after a personal trainer taught me how (I won two sessions!) and it made such a difference. You can transfer it to most cardio machines and even when running outside (sprint to every other tree, walk/jog inbetween every other tree)

And lastly, do not not not trust the calories given on the gym machines, if you must, get a heart rate monitor which will still exaggerate but not the the same degree- I have seena 300% difference on some machines compared to my heart rate monitor and its almost laughable!

pandora205

If your gym offers it try Bodypump as it is a great way to tone up. Using a treadmill and cross trainer wont exercise all muscle groups (such as your abs) and Pump does this. It's a good combination with some cardio exercise (like your current programme). If your gym doesn't offer it, consider asking for a programme using weights and resistance equipment.

kavics17

I do 5 sessions in the gym and I vary them every week. I do body pump, spinning and aerobic class than twice a week I work out on my own when I concentrate on different parts of my body. I always start with a 20 -25 min interval training on the treadmill (jog speed 10.00/miles, run speed 12.00/miles) than use machines for my inner and outer thighs, for my arms for about 15 min. Than I concentrate on the core, stomach and back for about 20 min, this I find really hard to do but very rewarding.I use stability balls, weights and medicine balls for different workouts. I vary these so don't get bored with them .Good luck and remember, enjoy it even if it hurts afterwards!

buggsbunny

thanks for everyones replies. my gym is just a cheep £10 a month one so there are no classes and if you want any help after your induction you have to book a £25 personal training session witch i cant afford at the mo. I will take all the above tips on board, i do like going and feel good after which is a good thing, so i guess i will keep working towards my goal.

ribenatina

I know this might not be much help but I used Running Free Magazine to help get fit.. it's a free running magazine that you can read online and they always have tips from experts! type runningfreemag into google

Tina