Gym 101: I have never worked out before!

reallyrose

I've put on a little more weight in the last year than I am comfortable with and I am far too lazy to diet and exercise by myself. And in any case, i wouldn't know how, I have never exercised deliberatly, I've always had a job that kept me on my feet constantly until I started a desk job about a year and a half ago.
Most of my excess weight is carried on my stomach, around my waist.

So the plan is to get a nice toned middle and get rid of that extra stone I don't need.


So off I went to join a gym! I went with The Fitness Dock in Camden St.

I had my assessment today, and I was more than a little embarrassed to find out how unfit I am!

I am 5ft 2"
Weight: 57.5kg, so 9 stone about.
My bodyfat came out as 26.5% (argh!)

The instructor gave me the following to do:

Warm-up for 5 minutes on bike, RPM 60+

Leg-press 12 reps, 3 sets
Leg curls 12 reps, 3 sets
Bicep curl with dumbells 12 reps, 3 sets
Tricep dips, 12 reps, 3 sets

Then:
Cross-trainer for 10-15 mins, intervals between level 3 and 6, one minute each.

Then:
Planks (25 secs)
Ab curls 15 reps, 3 sets
Oblique twists 15 reps, 3 sets.

As you can see, I've been started off fairly easily. Like I said, I am really unfit and blobby!

But hopefully I will improve soon! I plan on doing a workout twice a week, and trying to get to a class once a week as well. Not sure what class yet. They all look scary...

Looking at the other fitness logs and other posters, I think I am coming in at the bottom for physical fitness. But we all have to start somewhere, right? It will give me motivation to catch up so I won't be the laughing stock of the Fitness Forum!

reallyrose

First workout!

I got through the weights ok. I'm not sure what level of weights to put the leg press and leg curl machines at, so I just put it at something that took a little effort to push/pull but not so much that I was hurting myself.

I found the cardio quite tough, I stopped after 8 minutes, I was feeling very wobbly. Next time I'll have to make the effort to go for the entire 10 minutes.
(I suck so much!)

The planks/ab curls/obliques were hard, but I did all my reps. Wooo

I feel quite good now. I can feel an ache in my muscles, but it isn't painful.
Apart from my stomach muscles, they are quite painful! Owch! I'm told this is a good sign.

Next time: Don't wuss out on the cross-trainer.

G86

Do you keep track of what weight you're lifting? You should try to put them in your log too so you can keep track of your progress. It'd be a good idea to ask your instructor about the compound lifts such as Squats and Deadlifts once you've found your feet too, you'll get way more out of them.

Good luck with your training

gavtron

G86 wrote: »

Do you keep track of what weight you're lifting? You should try to put them in your log too so you can keep track of your progress. It'd be a good idea to ask your instructor about the compound lifts such as Squats and Deadlifts once you've found your feet too, you'll get way more out of them.

Good luck with your training

Well done on taking the first step, it gets easier the more you go like so you've the hard part done!

+1 to everything G said, definitely keep a log of what you're doing, bring a notebook with you and just jot down what exercise you're doing and weight you are using so you'll know for the next time!
You could even prepare it in advance so you'll know exactly what to go to next in your workout!

If you're not sure what weight to be lifting then ask one of the gmy staff to help you out, some people recommend you should be failing/finding it very hard on the last rep of your sets.

After you've done a few weeks there and are getting a bit more confident you should definitely try moving away from the machines and start using free weights more...compound lifts like the squat and deadlift are great because you nearly use all of the muscles in your body between the 2!

Keep a log of what you're eating everyday too and if you've any questions on it post up a typical day's diet and the folks here will gladly tear it to shreds! :-)

Best of luck!

reallyrose

gavtron wrote: »

Keep a log of what you're eating everyday too and if you've any questions on it post up a typical day's diet and the folks here will gladly tear it to shreds! :-)

Best of luck!

I tend to keep a food diary (I get migraines , so I have the last month or so on hand!)

Breakfast: I don't eat it often. I often feel a little nauseated in the morning, I have all my life. Usually things have settled down by 11, so I might have a scone or some fruit.
Coffee! A latte with skimmed milk

Lunch: Chicken sandwich with salad and mayo. I alternate between brown and white bread. I have soup once a week or so, if I get bored of sandwiches.

Dinner: Usually pasta, with tuna, cheese, tomato sauce, whatever is around. I try to throw a few veggies in.

I get a takeaway on the weekend, chinese usually, chicken chow mein, or ginger chicken. If there is fruit in the flat, I'll eat it but I keep forgetting to buy any. Thank god apples last for ages!

Snacking: I don't snack much. Sometimes I have crisps or popcorn. I probably snack once or twice a week.

Coca cola: I drink a lot of this, at least a can a day, more on weekends. I'm not likely to stop either. (Although I have cut down lately, trying to cut caffeine levels a little)
I drink a fair bit of milk, in fact, I tend to drink milk instead of snacking.

G86

Would you switch to diet coke even? And wean yourself off that way? Also, porridge would be alot better instead of a scone for brekkie, it'll fill you up for way longer. Could you maybe take it into work so you could make it there? You could try a chicken salad instead of a sandwich, just to cut down on the carbs, or if you have to have bread try to go for the likes of McCambridges, definitely steer clear of sliced pan.

With dinner maybe try to only have the pasta as a side and not a main.

gavtron

reallyrose wrote: »

I tend to keep a food diary (I get migraines , so I have the last month or so on hand!)

Breakfast: I don't eat it often. I often feel a little nauseated in the morning, I have all my life. Usually things have settled down by 11, so I might have a scone or some fruit.
Coffee! A latte with skimmed milk

Lunch: Chicken sandwich with salad and mayo. I alternate between brown and white bread. I have soup once a week or so, if I get bored of sandwiches.

Dinner: Usually pasta, with tuna, cheese, tomato sauce, whatever is around. I try to throw a few veggies in.

I get a takeaway on the weekend, chinese usually, chicken chow mein, or ginger chicken. If there is fruit in the flat, I'll eat it but I keep forgetting to buy any. Thank god apples last for ages!

Snacking: I don't snack much. Sometimes I have crisps or popcorn. I probably snack once or twice a week.

Coca cola: I drink a lot of this, at least a can a day, more on weekends. I'm not likely to stop either. (Although I have cut down lately, trying to cut caffeine levels a little)
I drink a fair bit of milk, in fact, I tend to drink milk instead of snacking.

I suffer from migraines too, the bane of my life really...tends to be more stress /tired related but there's a whole menagerie of things i don't eat too!

Anyway about your diet:

Breakfast: Get some porridge into you, it takes 2 mins to make and you can get those quik pots now that you just add milk to and chuck in the microwave! It'll keep you full until lunch!

I'd drop the latté as well, but I don't drink coffee (migraines), if you can go for an americano or espresso...or Green Tea is great actually!

Get rid of the coke too, again I don't drink it (migraines) or any other soft drinks really, unless they're mixed with alcohol...

You could probably make a much healthier chow mein than you'd get in any take away if you need a chinese fix on the weekends!

Don't want to completely tear you to shreds either so i'll go now and just say best of luck with the training! There's loads of guys (and gals) that know way more than I do so if you've any questions post in the main forum and they'll sort you out!

reallyrose

Thanks for the comments on my diet folks. I'll make some small changes now and see how I get on with my increased level of activity. I'll get rid of the morning latte, it's expensive anyway!

Monday 31st May: 15*3 - Ab curls
15*3 - obliques
Planks*ouch
My abs were bits actually, but I was assured that it's meant to happen!

Tuesday 1st June: Went straight home from work onto the couch, I really wasn't feeling very well. So I had an early night!

jimi_t2

reallyrose wrote:

So the plan is to get a nice toned middle and get rid of that extra stone I don't need.

reallyrose wrote: »

Coca cola: I drink a lot of this, at least a can a day, more on weekends. I'm not likely to stop either.

reallyrose

Thanks for the comments on my diet folks. I'll make some small changes now and see how I get on with my increased level of activity.

Wednesday: June 2nd got myself back to the gym this evening. Got through my weights quite nicely. On the leg press and leg curl I did one set of 40 and two sets of 50. I had a go at moving up too 60 but I found it too hard.
I stuck with the 3kg weights for the bicep lifts.
Cardio was brutally hard. Just got to 9 mins and the legs were shaking coming off!
So I staggered off to curl my abs.
Ab curls / obliques and planks were quite hard, but I did them!

Wooooo. (ouch)

G86

reallyrose wrote: »

Thanks for the comments on my diet folks. I'll make some small changes now and see how I get on with my increased level of activity.

Wednesday: June 2nd too 60 but I found it too hard.
I stuck with the 3kg weights for the bicep lifts.

Fair play for hitting the gym

Just wondering, would you consider doing push ups instead of bicep curls? You could start off by doing them from your knees.

reallyrose

G86 wrote: »

Fair play for hitting the gym

Just wondering, would you consider doing push ups instead of bicep curls? You could start off by doing them from your knees.

Maybe!
I'm trying to do the exercises that don't require equipment on the days I don't go to the gym. So maybe I could do push-ups on those days. I'll google about to see what they are like, I can't picture them in my head.

G86

reallyrose wrote: »

Maybe!
I'm trying to do the exercises that don't require equipment on the days I don't go to the gym. So maybe I could do push-ups on those days. I'll google about to see what they are like, I can't picture them in my head.

Look at 2:30 in this vid(one of transforms) for an example of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIP5y8K1zYg&playnext_from=TL&videos=Y2Gx_b9eroY

Danger781

jimi_t2 wrote: »

Wow that really puts it into perspective..

gavtron

Good stuff, well done getting back in the gym I was wondering when you were coming back :-)

Your legs were probably a bit tired from doing the weights before cardio!

reallyrose

gavtron wrote: »

Good stuff, well done getting back in the gym I was wondering when you were coming back :-)

Your legs were probably a bit tired from doing the weights before cardio!

That's a good point, I might try switching the bits around a little.

Thursday June 3rd: No proper exercise, but I did have a nice brisk 20 minute walk into town and about an hour and a half of wandering around and then a walk home, so better than nothing I suppose.

Friday June 4th: Going to try and go for a jog in the park this evening, if I ever get out of work!

reallyrose

Saturday 5th June - Monday 8th June: No exercise, sadly. I have a chesty cough (in June!) and I'm finding it a little difficult to breathe so I can't do much. Boo-erns.

reallyrose

As it turns out, I have a chest infection. So no gym for me til it clears up. Just walking down the stairs puts me out of breath!

This is really really disappointing for me, it took me quite a while to motivate myself into starting an exercise program and to be set back like this, right at the beginning is horrible.

So back to square one. Square -1.

G86

reallyrose wrote: »

As it turns out, I have a chest infection. So no gym for me til it clears up. Just walking down the stairs puts me out of breath!

This is really really disappointing for me, it took me quite a while to motivate myself into starting an exercise program and to be set back like this, right at the beginning is horrible.

So back to square one. Square -1.

Chick I've been sick on and off for the past month and just getting over it now, I know exactly how you feel!! I know how frustrating it can be The main thing is to remember that you're NOT back to square one, don't use it as an excuse to eat loads of junk now and fall into old habits, you're still on track - you're just stuck in the one place for a while is all! Take it easy and once you're better you'll have the diet part sorted and you'll be raring to get to the gym!

reallyrose

G86 wrote: »

Chick I've been sick on and off for the past month and just getting over it now, I know exactly how you feel!! I know how frustrating it can be The main thing is to remember that you're NOT back to square one, don't use it as an excuse to eat loads of junk now and fall into old habits, you're still on track - you're just stuck in the one place for a while is all! Take it easy and once you're better you'll have the diet part sorted and you'll be raring to get to the gym!

Thanks. My diet is ok, I can only really manage soup anyway!

On the bright side, my abs are getting a great workout with all the coughing. :pac:

reallyrose

Back again, lungs intact. It took a lot longer to clear up than I thought.

Anyway, back to the gym tomorrow. I guess I had better take it easy. I think I am able for it, but we shall see.
I went for a 40 minute brisk walk this evening and I was ok.
(Other than being terriblely warm afterwards)

G86

reallyrose wrote: »

Back again, lungs intact. It took a lot longer to clear up than I thought.

Anyway, back to the gym tomorrow. I guess I had better take it easy. I think I am able for it, but we shall see.
I went for a 40 minute brisk walk this evening and I was ok.
(Other than being terriblely warm afterwards)

Welcome back

reallyrose

G86 wrote: »

Welcome back

I lost 8lb while I was ill. So result? (I guess)