Newbie to working out needs help.

In My Humble Opinion
21

You’re going to have to get over at least a little bit of your self consciousness, because it will be hugely beneficial for you to ask for help.

So, first - go. Everyone above is right, getting into the habit of going to the gym on a regular basis is the most important.
Once you’re there, the people at the gym will show you the basics of how to use the equipment - that’s their job. Most gyms will give you a basic intro-to-the-equipment free, if you ask. This will be true for both the cardio machines (treadmill, stationary bicycles, elliptical machines, etc.) and the weights. While the books are going to be very useful, your gym will probably not be exactly like the pictures in the books (close, but not exactly), so the tour/demo will be very useful.

For classes, pick something that sounds interesting, show up early, find the instructor, and tell her/him that you’re new. A good instructor wants to know. They might also ask if you’ve ever had (or currently have) any injuries and what other type of exercise you’ve done. They may also go over a quick rundown of what to expect, show you what equipment you might use that day, show you a good place where to sit or stand so that you can see them during the class. During the class, they may check in with you from time to time to see if you’re doing ok. If you’re not, be honest, they will likely have adjustments that you can make to whatever it is you’re doing. While you’re in the class, try to participate as much as you can, and ask for help (it’s ok to ask after class as well if you’re more comfortable doing that).

No matter what you decide to do, write things down. If you end up using weights, write down what exercise you did, how much weight you lifted, and how many times you lifted it. If you do cardio, write down what machine or exercise and how long you did it. If you’re in a class, write what class it was and anything notable that class.

You should wear clothing that you can move in and isn’t going to get in your way. Bring water, a towel or two, possibly toiletries (it depends on the gym and whether you’re heading straight home afterwards or not), and a notebook. Before or after dinner is something that you’ll need to figure out through experimentation. (I can’t exercise when I’ve eaten, but I know some people who can’t unless they’ve had a meal or at least a largish snack first.)

Good luck.

22

Good for you Maggie. There is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. Everyone there started somewhere.

Pay a trainer for a few sessions to get you started working out properly. You can discuss your specific needs with them and they can advise you in a way that an intro tour and machine labels cannot. They will choose exercises that are right for you and your fitness level, and they will demonstrate the moves and supervise you for proper form and technique so you can do it on your own. Book a session every 4 weeks or so so the trainer can monitor your progress and make adjustments in your routine. You may also want to visit a nutritionist to get yourself a good meal plan that you can live with. The key is to have a professional set up a routine that is right for you.

Stick with it Maggie. Goals are not as important as progress.

23

It really is an excellent book, and easy to read too. Just to give more insight into what it’s about, he basically dispels many weight lifting myths regarding the need to do extremely muscle targeted workouts, and instead offers evidence for the benefit of doing muscle group workouts as a better expenditure of gym time. So, rather than doing a hundred leg presses to work your quads, you want to do a few sets of weighted squats which work your quads, glutes, hamstrings, etc. It is a much more efficient way to work out and very easy to start one of the many lifting programs that are offered in the end of the book. He also gives a lot of good info about workout principles in general and how to ensure you are continually progressing in your goals and not plateauing. Very, very highly recommended for beginner lifters (and even people who have been doing lifting for a long time).

24

Weight loss happens in the kitchen.
Fitness happens in the gym.

A year ago, I was where you are now. Start out with a goal of getting your heart rate up for 30 minutes a day. Don’t worry about strength training (weight lifting) right now. Walk on the treadmill, take an aerobics class, get on a stationary bike and get sweaty. Cardio workouts are where you will see the most benefit at this stage.

If you want to lose weight, you will also have to monitor your calorie intake and change how and what you are eating. I joined Weight Watchers and in my opinion, it’s the best program available. You don’t get pre-made meals or even a meal guide…it teaches you how to lose weight using foods you like and make a plan that is livable for the long term. It’s inspired me to go back to school and get a degree in nutrition science. If you don’t want to spend any more money, you can use SparkPeople or Livestrong to track your calories. Tracking is essential, no matter what plan you use.

I’m just now starting to add strength training to my activity. About 2 months ago I started a Running Program and will be doing my first 5K next weekend. I need the strength training now to improve my running pace. When you get ready to add in weights, there should be a staff member at the gym that can show you how to safely use the equipment. If not, you can hire a personal trainer for a few sessions.

I’m the slowest person in my running group, and the heaviest, but it doesn’t matter. I’m faster than the people at home on their couches.

25

[ul]
[li]The weights should be heavy enough that it is a moderately heavy effort to get the 8th repetition in good form. The first few workouts should be experimenting to see what weight is right. Women usually use too little weight; men usually use too much.[/li][li]Lift the weights with a tempo of one second down, one second up. [/li][li]Stop your set when you could probably-but-not-definitely get one more repetition. Don’t push excessively, but don’t baby yourself either. Adjust the weights until that point is reached at about the eighth or ninth rep. When you can reach that point at twelve reps, increase the weight by five pounds.[/li][/ul]The article MsWhatsit posted is very good.

I’ve been working out, one way or another, for more than forty years. No one cares how out of shape you are, or how fat you are. Anyone who is in the gym trying to improve is automatically better off than anyone who is not in the gym and not trying.

Stick to it, and you will improve.

Regards,
Shodan

26

Weight Watchers.

It works. You can do it online or go find meetings nearby. Combine that with your exercise program. Be very, very meticulous about logging your food and staying within your point range. It will take you a while to get used to it, but you gotta stick with it to make it work.

My personal tip - you get a certain number of points per day and an extra block of weekly points. Set your tracker to add your exercise points into your weeklies. But the trick is to eat just your daily points and don’t go into your weeklies. If you do, you’ll lose 1.5 - 2 pounds a week just from the diet modification. Add in the exercise and you’ll probably lose another pound or so. Do NOT consistently lose more than 4 pounds a week - that is not healthy for you.

27

And please, when you’re done with the bench, don’t leave your 100 lb. plates on the barbell.

28

A lot of people are talking about weightlifting, which is probably because Maggie mentioned it in the OP. But I would not recommend weightlifting for weight loss. The purpose of weightlifting is to build muscle, not lose fat. And even then, there are a lot of technical decisions which need to be made to accomplish that goal. If you are a dedicated weightlifter you can use those techniques to lose fat, but you would need to tailor your workout towards that goal. For a newbie who is unfamiliar with weightlifting techniques, it is not a good match to lose weight. It’s hard enough to weightlift properly to gain muscle. To add on the additional goal to lose weight I feel would be too much of a challenge for a newbie.

For losing weight you’re better off doing some aerobic activity which has the primary benefit of burning fat such as running, swimming, dance, treadmill, stairmaster, elliptical, etc. It will be easier to accomplish your goals when you have simpler requirements for your workout.

I’m also a member of 24 and am familiar with many of their classes. Here are the ones I think you should look into:

Aqua – An aerobics class which is done in the pool. It’s great for beginners.
Cycle – Group class with stationary bikes. You set the resistance of your bike to your own ability. *
Zumba – Do you like to dance? Zumba is a lot of fun. Simple dance moves anyone can do. You’ll get a great workout and not even realized you exercised.
BodyPump – An aerobics class which uses weights. Set weights on your bar according to your ability. Movements are simple and structured which make them easy to do correctly. *

  • (Some classes are popular and need a pass. Check with the front desk and ask to get a pass before attending these classes).

I would not recommend the trainers at 24. The workouts they give to their clients seem more geared to keeping their clients coming back. I see many overweight clients doing very lightweight workouts with their trainer, when really they need to be doing more intense workouts to burn significant amounts of fat.

But the most important change to lose weight is to change your diet. If you don’t change your diet you could maybe lose 10-20% of your weight through exercise alone. Exercise is most useful to supercharge weightloss when combined with changes to diet.

29

Just one person’s experience, but I lost 30 lbs by just walking an hour five days a week. I didn’t change my diet. I did no cardio. Just walked. I have added in a little weight work and try to eat somewhat smaller portions, and am continuing to lose at a rate of about a pound every month or two. I have maintained my loss for over a year with only walking and decided to try a few extras to lose that last 15 or 20 lbs. But my blood pressure is down almost 20 points and my dr. is happy. So, maybe diet might help but I personally believe from my own experience that the most important change to lose weight is to start moving, and do it every day. For sure, though, just knowing that you have to do something is the first step and you have done that. So good luck!

30

I would.

That’s why I recommend it. Muscle burns calories, even at rest. Thus if you build muscle, you raise your metabolic rate and burn more calories even at rest. Plus, if you build muscle, your body will be better shaped, more functional, and more attractive even if your fat levels don’t change (although they probably will).

The basic 2-3 sets of 8 given to most beginners is relatively straightforward - at least as much so as the decision on what kind of aerobics to do, for how long, what should I wear, how fast should I go, etc.

Regards,
Shodan

31

Thank you so much everyone! I took some inspiration from the thread and downloaded the Nike+GPS app for my iPhone, and it says that I walked about a mile last night (I was taking the bus home and had barely missed one, so I just walked along the bus’s route until the next one came - between that and the walk from my work to the bus stop and from the last bus stop home added up to a mile-ish.) It was just walking, but it was fast enough to have me out of breath and sweating. So, yay!

I’ve lost weight with Weight Watchers before, and I like the program…the problem is that there aren’t many meetings near us, with convenient meeting times (why do they think that everyone’s still a stay-at-home wife? Grrr!). It’s been a while since I checked that, though, so I’ll have a look again. I’ve been delaying it because Husband’s in even worse shape than I am, and I would very much like to have him join with me…it would make it easier. But I might have to just plow through regardless.

32

I’m going to echo this - I’ve lost 70 lbs and kept it off for two years just starting to walk to work. I haven’t done any deliberate diet modification, but I’ve found that I tend to snack less when I’m walking - my energy level is higher and I don’t need the blood sugar rush to keep me going. Also, I recently started doing yoga, which probably doesn’t do anything for weight loss, but which has dramatically improved my strength and flexibility, which in turn makes it easier for me to be active.

Find something you enjoy! For me, I discovered that I love the mental space that walking allows me - I see all of these things that I would never notice while driving, and I hang out with the birds, and I can use the time to think or plan or just watch the world go by. I went from someone who was completely sendentary and used every excuse in the book to avoid moving to someone who goes out of her way to schedule work hours to allow walking, because it feels so good. If you had told me four years ago that I’d be skipping out on work to go exercise, I’d have told you that you were insane. But, here I am.

Also, about your self-conciousness. Go ahead and start. It’s shocking how fast your brain will move from “Everybody is staring at me and seeing how lame I am” to “Wow, I bet those losers wish they were me”. Really.

33

I wouldn’t procrastinate just because he is. If nothing else, your joining might be the little push that gets him going. Be his incentive! :slight_smile: Is your local neighborhood and climate suitable for a nice walk each evening, as kayT mentioned? Would he join you?

If you can’t or don’t want to join classes but your gym has a pool, some laps might be helpful. Easier on the ol’ joints, of course, plus it’s sorta fun to challenge yourself to add a lap each time or whatever.

34

I forgot to mention that a friend and I both started using pedometers and have a friendly rivalry to see who can get 10,000 steps in the most days. This has definitely helped.

35

I have an Online only membership. All of the plan materials are there and the message boards are my “meeting” any time I need one. If you have used WW in the past, you will need to delete all of the old plan information from your memory banks and go into the new plan like a newbie. The new plan is livable for the long term. Online only is also less expensive than meetings.

36

Sparkpeople.com is another good option if you’re looking for weight loss/fitness planning and support. (It has the benefit of being free.)

37

I’m another vote for the just start walking everyday - and count those calories - I used myfooddiary.com to track what I was eating. I lost weight by being conscious of how much I was eating (I was keeping up with my husband - bad idea) and how many calories are in the stuff I love. I chose a very modest weight loss goal (0.5 lbs per week) and the exercising helped burn enough calories so I could afford to eat small healthy snacks during the day to keep me from feeling hungry.

Also - you need to be able to forgive yourself of the times you go off the diet - just shrug and get back on the next day. Keep at it long enough and it becomes habit, that’s when you’re golden.

38

Just a couple things to add to this excellent thread:

-I want to emphasize that you start slow. Countless good intentions to lose weight have been crushed by injury due to starting out too hard.
-Related - stretch. It helps to prevent injury and can actually accomplish a bit of cardio if you do it vigorously.
-You might respond to fitocracy.com. It tries to make a game of working out. I love the concept, but didn’t stick with it. You might like it more.
-Finally, regarding eating habits, my advice is always to take baby steps. Try to drink diet soda instead of soda. Then move to juice or water, which is best. Or eat fewer candy bars and then move onto the healthiest habit of having fruit. Things like that. I’ve been doing this for years and my diet has improved from pretty bad to pretty decent (I still can’t really see fruit as a ‘treat’). Who knows, maybe it’ll be great in a few more years.
-Oh yeah, and try to get hubby on board. There’s nothing worse than trying to get healthy while somebody close to you makes fun of you or tries to sabotage you. Plus, if you get healthy and fit and hot and he stays the same, the relationship dynamic is going to tilt and lead to inevitable arguments.

In the end, best of luck in getting healthy. There’s little else in life that’s more important.

39

Another small addition to the wise bits already said:

Focus on the habits not the scale.

The goals are what you do each day and if you meet those goals you will getting fitter and healthier even during the inevitable weight loss plateau period, the weeks on end where there is no weight loss despite your doing everything right. That fitter and healthier is what you care about; not the scale per se.

Yup, at least 6 days a week doing something that gets you breathing heavy for at least half an hour. Whatever you enjoy the most or can best tolerate at least. Mix it up if that makes it more fun. More cardio? More weights? Yes. Whichever. If weights start off with less weight and more reps and build to having some with more weight and fewer reps. Do big and or multiple muscle group exercises mostly. Yes, build gradually so you don’t get hurt or so sore that you need to stop for a period. Start going slow on the elliptical then add periods of speeding it up and breathing much faster as you get used to it. Eat real foods in modest amounts and avoid the food-like processed crap.

Us klutzes can still be fit. And even a modest investment in improving your fitness has HUGE health benefits.

40

I`have a question re: fruit, and not to derail, but this is all very interesting to me. My doctor recently told me the only good fruits to eat on a diet are oranges and anything that ends in or rhymes with “berry.” Any idea why that would be?