Suggestions for just starting

I am just getting to the gym after over a year of not going.  I like the bike the best, eliptical can only do about 15 mins. and treadmill is kind of boring.  Any suggestions for starting out and mixing things up?  I also plan on doing strengthening machine, alternating upper and lower body. 

I am 205 lbs, 5'6" and have very thick legs, should I do strenghting on legs or just concentrate more on upper body?  I was thinking I would do 30 mins cardio and 20-30 strength, taking 2 days off a week. 

TIA

Deb

Id say start out slow.  When i started i commited to 30 minutes three days a week. I didnt even add weights for awhile.  Once I was commited to making those 3 days.  I added weights to one of them, then to the other, and not I am up to 4 days a week of cardio.  I think sometimes people jump to quickly into it and overwhelm themselves, resulting in them quiting.  baby steps.

I started at 216 and working out 3 days a week of cardio dropped to 202.  Then i started watching my diet and uped the cardio and added weight and now i am down to 187. 

I love to rollerblade and that is great on your legs and your core.  It also burns about 800 calories and hour.  maybe set some mini goals on the equip at the gym to spice it up.  Like start out with a run/walk with 2 minute walk 1 mintue run and try to build up to something.  I am trying to reach 30 minutes of consequtive running and its been a really motivating thing to go from only running for one minute at a time, to now doing 9 minutes run one minute walk for 30 minutes. (also note to make the treadmill equivalent to running on ground you have to have incline to 3.

When you do start strengh training, do it for the entire body.  Fat is not burned in one place but all over, so the more muscle you add the more calories you burn. 

good luck

htide

I started on the stationery bike, because it was something I was used to (from past attempts at losing weight and going to a gym and doing an exercise plan) however after about 2-3 weeks I was getting really bored with it, so I started using the different press machines and other resistance machines, and I am finding I like them a LOT more than the bike.  If you are going to a gym, ask one of the trainers - or even some of the other members - for suggestions.  Just remember to take it slow.

I would suggest splitting up your routine, and starting off slow. If you want to do 30 minutes cardio, do 15 minutes on the bicycle and 15 minutes on the elliptical. If you want to do an hour do 20-20-20 on the bicycle-elliptical-treadmill, and so on.

I find the bicycle to be a great warm up exercise. You get your muscles going and you're not out of breath like you would be on a treadmill. That way, it's easier to push yourself on one of the other machines.

If you choose to do your entire workout on one machine, then do it on a different machine the next time around - this way your body won't get used to the same workout day by day.

Warming up and cooling down are very important, make sure you do very light cardio (walking or cycling slowly) for 5-10 minutes before getting into the fat burning zone, and then for cooling down as well. This is just as important as stretching. If you're going to be on the bicycle, make sure you stretch your glutes, hamstrings and calves well before AND after you do cardio. It's important to stretch your entire body before going on the elliptical, and obviously when you're going to be doing strength training exercises. Sparkpeople have a good list of printable stretches you can do before and after your gym sessions.

Don't forget about weight training. Because you're going to the gym, you can use the circuit machines which are great. I think you should have a couple of sessions with a trainer so that they can give you a routine, and show you exactly how to use the machines. So many people make the mistake of just going in and lifting a few times and thinking they are benefitting from it. But, you have to have the right technique, as well as use the correct weights. If you can lift 50 reps with a weight, it's not heavy enough. If you can lift 12-15 reps and just struggle to finish, then it's right.

Doing the entire circuit is good, but I simply do one exercise per muscle. For example, I might do squats, split squats and plie squats for my butt (I split this up because doing 150 squats is tedious and torturous!); lunges and bridge ups for thighs + butt; bicep curls for biceps, shoulder raises for shoulders, chest press for back + chest; tricep dips for triceps, crunches and reverse crunches for stomach. This is the routine I've been sticking to for a while, and it works for me.

So basically, split up your cardio and make sure you do weight training 3 x a week!

if weight loss is your goal, up the cardio.  30 mins isn't enough, especially if that includes your warm up and cool down (and like dhm said, don't forget those, they're really important!).

Typical cardio session should be 5-10 minute warm up, 30-40 mins cardio (more on this in a minute) and 5-10 minute cool down.  Personally I warm up for 10, then stretch my hams and quads for 30 secs each and then do my 30+ mins of cardio. And I do a good 10-15 minutes of stretching after.

Mix in some interval training. Upping the intensity with interval training is good for your heart and will burn more calories.  Try for 1-2 interval sessions a week. Basically you do higher intensity for a short period followed by a recovery period, then higher intensity again, another recovery period, etc.  Also good for boredom since you need to pay attention to your time. 

The treadmill can be boring, but it's good for you because it's a weight bearing exercise, good for building bone. Don't forget that you can increase the intensity of those treadmill sessions by upping the incline, you don't need to run! Just rotating among the machines will fight boredom and mix up your intensity too. split it up like dhm suggested. If you can only do 15 mins on the elliptical, then mix it into the rotation in short bursts. for instance warm up for 10 mins on the treadmill, do 10 on the elliptical, 10 on the bike, treadmill on an incline for 10, 10 on the elliptical, 10 min cool down on bike. now that sounds like a good cardio session!

Almost every issue of Shape magazine has a new interval workout to try.  Don't always do interval training though, you also need those longer, lower-level, steady-state endurance-building cardio sessions.

Here's a good article on a fat-burning workout
Here's another on various cardio workouts

2 days off a week is good. And do all over weight training, don't just focus on your legs. For maximum time efficiency do multi-muscle exercises that focus on big muscles. Squats, lunges, deadlifts for lower body, push ups, pulls ups, dips for upper body.

Lastly, I've been weight training for many years but recently discovered Pilates. It's also strength training, but very different from traditional weight training. If your gym has a class I highly recommend it.