Today I was talking to an old hometown friend about her recent gym membership. I am very proud of her for beginning her journey. I have a lot of faith in her and I hope she achieves great success!
I for one know how expensive gym memberships and personal trainers can be. I just happen to have gotten lucky by finding a gym that was willing to wave enrollment fees to allow us to join. When I first signed up, I thought that Personal Trainers were a waist of money. Of course, I had nothing to base this off of. After a free training assessment, I was in love with Personal Training. I wanted one! I just didn't want to pay an arm and a leg. I tried going back to the gym on my own but failed. I didn't know what I was doing and it discouraged me. Some people just need someone to push them and help them with working out. My husband managed to talk the manager into waving the trainer fee and lower the monthly cost. I only see my trainer twice a month but he made very sure that I had a complete workout plan. I remember what it was like walking into the gym that first day. I was terrified, nervous, self conscious and paranoid. Once I got my trainer and my workout plan, I returned with much more confidence.
Now, I am not saying that a trainer is the key to success. I just wanted to give credit to my trainer. Without his help, I would be 20 pounds heavier and probably still gaining. I do think that if you have a plan to follow, you are more likely to succeed. You don't waste time guessing what machines to use and what workouts to do.
In this post I am going to post my entire workout routine. It is 5 days worth. I will also be including little tips and additional info that my trainer has told me. Think of it as using my trainer for free!
"I will not say I can't do it. I will always try it."
Let's start with cardio. When I first began, I was told that I needed to do at least 3 hours of cardio (that increases your heart rate) a week. I could spread it out however I wanted to as long as I completed at least 3 hours of cardio within 7 days. There is no specific speed or incline that you need to use, duration is greater than speed. You can do any type of cardio that you choose. running, swimming, jumping jacks, bike riding, or even take an aerobics class. I had made up my mind that I would complete 5 hours of cardio a week. I began by doing 30 minutes of walking in the morning and 30 in the evening. After just a couple of weeks, I was walking for a full 60 minutes every morning. Once you feel that your body is getting used to the pace that you are walking (probably about 2-3 weeks in) try increasing your speed or your incline of your cardio. This does not need to be a huge change. For example. I walked at a 3.0 pace for several weeks. Once my body began to get used to it, I bumped the speed up to 3.2 mph. It does not sound like much, but you will feel it. You will know that it is time for an increase when it becomes easy.
My cardio: 60 minutes on Treadmill at 3.2 mph and 7.0 incline (I have built this up over 3 months @ 5 days a week)
On to Strength. Including strength workouts into your routine will help tone your body while you lose weight. It helps in the prevention of sagging skin that may result from weight loss. Strength training builds muscle and muscle burns more calories than fat does. This workout will not bulk you up. You will not end up looking like Rocky. It will help you build a small amount of muscle and to tone your body while you slim it. Ideally, you want to gain around 10 pounds of muscle. Do not let the word 'gain' throw you off. This is not 10 pounds that you will be unhappy with. This is 10 pounds that will show by the definition in your arms or in your legs. It will be what makes you look nice and tone. By building this muscle, you will increase the amount of calories that you burn, not only while working out, but throughout the course of the day.
When you do these workouts, don't get afraid that you will bulk up and get beefy. If your goal is to bulk up, you focus on high weight, low rep sets. To tone, you do lower weight, higher rep sets.
Each muscle group is broken up into different days. With this workout each muscle group will have a full 7 days to rest before working that group again.
Reps: The number of times you complete the movement of the exercise. You want to keep this number between 12-15
Sets: The number of times you complete your reps. You want to keep this around 3-4
For example: 15 push ups, rest 30 seconds, 15 push ups, rest 30 seconds, 15 push ups. This would be 3 sets of 15.
Example1 Bulking: Bench Press 300 lbs x 6-8 x 3
Example2 Toning: Bench Press 60 lbs x 12-15 x3
The workout below is the workout that that I have been doing for the last 3 months. Each workout has a link that will show you a picture of a machine goes with the workout. Every gym is different and your gym's equipment may not look exactly as the image. If you cannot locate a machine that looks like the images, try matching up the names.
Monday: 60 minutes of cardio
Tuesday: 60 minutes of cardio & Chest/Shoulder
Chest Press: 3 x 15
Pectoral Fly: 3 x 15
Shoulder Press: 3 x 15
Lateral Raise: 3 x 15
Abdominal Crunches: 3 x 15
Wednesday: 60 minutes of cardio & Back
Seated Row: 3 x 15
Pull Down: 3 x 15
Rear (deltoid) Fly: 3 x 15
(Low) Row: 3 x 15
Preacher Curl: 3 x 15
Thursday: 60 Minutes of cardio & Legs
Hip Abduction: 4 x 15
Hip Adduction: 4 x 15
Leg Curl: 3 x 15
Leg Extention: 3 x 15
Leg Press: 4 x 15
Friday: 60 minutes of cardio
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
* The Pectoral Fly and the Rear Fly Machines look very similar, some machines allow you to use the same machine for both workouts. Be sure to rest for 30 seconds in between each set.*
To figure out which weight is best for you test different amounts. You don't want it to be easy, but you don't want to hurt yourself either. Ideally, you should be able to complete a full set, but not easily. Once you get to your last 4-5 reps, they should require a little bit of a struggle to finish. If you can easily complete a set, increase the weight one block at time (the machines weights differ from 5-15 pound increments). If you are struggling to complete 8-10 reps, decrease the weight one block at a time.
Be sure to read the instructions on the machine carefully and ask a staff member for help if needed. Some machines may require you to adjust the seats or grips. Adjust them accordingly.
Also, remember that you can break up your cardio however you choose.
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