When I was a student I never liked gym class. I have no idea what I'm doing with "working out".
But on the other hand I didn't know if just riding bike was doing "enough." Bike riding is mostly a cardiovascular exercise. If I wanted to build strength I'd need to bite the proverbial bullet and start using some strength-building machinery.
I bought a Weight Training for Dummies book but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I mentioned to my parents that I was thinking of trying to work at a gym and they bought me a one-year membership at a local gym.
Good side: it's five minutes from my house.
Bad side: it's a gym.
Like I said. I know nothing about what I'm doing and I hate gyms. C'mon...we all have a pretty good idea what thoughts go through a Normal's mind when the grossly overweight guy walks into the workout area, yeah?
I was given a sheet to keep track of my progress. Here's what I did (1 set of 15 reps each):
compound row, 65 lbs
lat pulldown, 95 lbs
pec fly, 80 lbs
vertical chest, 65 lbs
lateral raise, 35 lbs
overhead press, 35 lbs
bicep curl, 35 lbs
tricep extension, 35 lbs
lower back, 110 lbs
abdominal, 65 lbs
leg press, 260 lbs
leg extension, 80 lbs
seated leg curl, 80 lbs
abd/adduction, 50 lbs
I had started with 1/2 mile on the treadmill at about 2.5 mph, and ended with 10 minutes on an elliptical machine.
I have no idea if this is "good" or not, but it was over an hour at the gym, and the girl there originally told me that new people start off with 3 sets of 15 reps (I did just one!). I probably could have done it all again but I saw the time and wondered if I really wanted to be there another two hours to do 2 more sets.
I skipped riding bike tonight since I spent an hour there. She said that I should wait a day before coming back in...I'm not available until after the holiday, so I'll probably try riding bike tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go back to the gym for another session if I'm not too sore. I'd assume that meant that I wasn't overworked or hadn't worked enough.
Anyone have knowledge of workout routines? For a greener-than-a-frog beginner, was what I described good or bad?
Weight Neutral Healthcare
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Good article on what weight neutral healthcare is & why it is so critically
important to be seen as a person, not a body size. Includes fat people
treated ...
2 weeks ago
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If you can get out of bed the next morning, you are doing well!
ReplyDeleteKeep track of your workout, and each time, try to do a little more.
You should do one set of between 8 to 12 reps on each piece of equipment, according to everything I've learned. Once you can do at least 12 reps (or more), move up in weight the next time.
Work up a sweat. This is from my doctor. He wants to be sure my muscles don't waste away, so just doing aerobics doesn't cut it. You have to work up a sweat.
Since you are just starting, don't overdo it. Just get used to keeping track and doing the machines slowly. Muscling the machine up, rather than controlling them doesn't work the muscles the way you're supposed to.
Don't lock your bones when you get to the full extension. Instead, change directions and come back down just before that point. You are allowing your muscles to rest if you lock the joint. This makes it really tough and you will feel the burn.
Breathe - Learn to inhale and exhale. Your gym can help you do that.
The purpose of exercise is to fatigue the muscle. You then give it a day off to recover and grow. Then, you fatigue it some more. If you go back every day, your body will get used to the exercise,but you will plateau after awhile and not get stronger.
The other thing is to change patterns after 4 to 6 weeks, and do something else. Use the machine in a different pattern, or do a different kind of aerobics.
Pretty soon, you will notice major changes in the way you feel. If you can bench press the weight slowly, not locking your elbows, and return it slowly twelve times, you can look back at the times you could only do half the weight 8 times.
You will also have energy to do more with your kids, family, and home as well.
Good luck on the management job, too!