Just started taking Gym seriousely, does it get easier???

trinidadone

hello all,

For a few weeks now I have started attending the gym. Mainly doing a bit of cardio stuff - treadmill, strider, bike etc.... today I was introduced to three gym machines - weights, and my body is killing. does it get easier???

are weights good for reducing body fat??

asajj

Weights are indeed great and overtime your body will adjust. Don't overdo and hurt yourself though.

scooby088

Plus if you feel pain then you are doing the exercise wrong, it does get easier

1940sGal

trinidadone wrote: »

hello all,

For a few weeks now I have started attending the gym. Mainly doing a bit of cardio stuff - treadmill, strider, bike etc.... today I was introduced to three gym machines - weights, and my body is killing. does it get easier???

are weights good for reducing body fat??

It definitely gets easier. When you do weights make sure you use a weight that exhausts you after the set, if you can do more the weight isn't heavy enough.

Always warm up and stretch off, because it will hurt a lot more if you don't. I'm talking from experience there.

SailorSam

The best machines in the gym are those selling Mars Bars in the foyer.

jenniewb

Just wondering OP, what it is you do when you are at the gym? The gym can be for everyone as even with some of the more basic gym set ups there are so many variations on what you can do; it could be your work out is not suited to you or what your aims are.


If you can speak to a member of staff and explain your anti-gym feelings despite forcing yourself and that you need some help getting you a work out that works for you and has you at least finding it easier to return and maybe even wanting to return.


There are many different ways around a work out and it does depend what you want as much as what you are in to.
I go to a gym but really like the slower yoga classes which don't do anything to boost a cardivasular level, so I make sure I do any cardio (heart beat raising) stuff and then shower before a slower yoga type class which I view as my treat- it doesn't feel the same, not as relaxing or as rewarding unless I've done the hard work first.
My mum is a bit different, she doesn't do classes but she does sticking to goals like nothing else. So she has a gym person write out a programme for her and she sticks to it, goes back in 6-8 weeks for a new one (your body gets used to what you throw at it in 6-8 weeks and you need to up your game or you don't benefit as much from what you are doing). She then gets a whole new work out. It's not the work outs she gets anything from; it's the being able to have someone to be going back to and saying 'yes I did this and this is what I liked/didn't like/didn't work for me...'etc.
And then there are people who go for the adrenalin buzz and want a fast boosting 20 minutes in/out and home/back to work. It is important to make sure the work out changes frequently and the best results can be obtained in minimal time so things like HIIT or just interval training can come in useful; as you have to time yourself and change what you are doing every few seconds or minutes you don't have so much space to be bored and as the work outs are quite quick (the general rule for HIIT for example is no more than 20 minutes but a flat-out 20 minutes)
Another ploy is to have a really luxurious post-gym pamper to congratulate yourself on how hard you have worked out. Things like a face or hair masque, or a sauna if your gym has one can be really useful and give you something to look forward to.


If classes are your thing, maybe look at what is available at your gym or even change gyms if you find better classes or teachers or the people in the class are friendlier or more moral boosting elsewhere; many gyms will offer a one day pass to try them out, some offer more. I would also suggest trying new classes and things you may have only tried once before as with a different teacher the classes can be really differently run.

UKTigerlily

Does it get easier? Yes and no. Yes, if you keep to the same routine your body adjusts and you'll start to find it easier eg I couldn't do any on the toes press ups when I started and now I can. No as in you should always be challenging yourself and progressing your workouts to keep getting fitter.

Today I did a 125kg leg press, was it easy? No! But if it'd stayed at 60kg it would be but it'd be doing nothing for me.

As to does weight lifting help weight loss, yes! It's brilliant, boosts metabolism and helps put muscle mass on to look more defined/leaner etc

I love doing deadlifts and bench press, les press and everything else my PT has me do!

heartbreak_star

Get off the machines and get on the free weights or bodyweight exercises

HBS x

StuC75

Its all relevant to your body and what you want to achieve from the gym; people have there own experiences of what works best.

'Does it get easier?' can be countered with 'Would you push yourself more?'. The perceived effort it takes can stay the same and increase.

Over the years Ive had a bit of weight to lose and when I used the gym found that I tried to keep cardio and weights balanced, but suffered that I didn't really improve my cv fitness and bulked up a bit in the chest - so didn't really feel better for it.

Then after having a wrist injury (and surgery ) I turned towards just doing the cardio machines and Spin Classes, and found the weight dropped off much better, and was feeling more toned upper body wise...

This has carried on into this year, where I let the gym membership expire, and have taken to just running and biking to work each day - doing about 40km per day on my bike - I use Strava for the feedback and instilling a sense of competition in my efforts, and this has given the best results ever.

For weights I got a decent set of resistance bands and exercise using own body weight when I get home on an evening.

parking_question_chap

Best thing for weight loss, a good nutriton plan.

Cut out junk food.

Pinkpegasus

If you are in pain the following day due to achy muscles, then buy some protein powder to make up in a shaker. Have this after your workout and it really helps preventing sore muscles the next day.