What to Do at the Gym

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I think there's a lot of conflicting messages out there about what to do at the gym - for example, look at the two trainers on Biggest Loser - if you read their books, etc. you'll see that Jillian feels that strength training is #1 priority, and cardio is secondary, and Bob feels just the opposite. Personally, I do about half and half, I do about 3 days of each a week, and then one day off.

I've posted several workouts in the past (http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/search/label/workouts), but here's a refresher on some workout ideas:


Cardio:
I used to do all elliptical because, well, it's easier than the treadmill, at least for me. I used to just do an hour on it a few days a week, and that was my entire workout routine. After meeting with a personal trainer, I realized (1) I need to do strength training as well; and (2) I need specific goals to step up my time on the elliptical. So, if you're doing cardio, try to do a certain distance, a certain intensity, strides per minute, etc. and up that goal a bit each week.


I now sometimes add in the treadmill as well because for me, it's quite a challenge. I can't burn as many calories on it, but I have been pretty proud to have gotten from 1/2 mile without stopping to 3 miles now. So, even if you're like me, and think you could NEVER run, trust me, you probably can, it just takes some work!

Legs: Aside from doing the elliptical and treadmill, the best leg workouts are the tried and true classics of squsts and lunges. There's no excuse not to do these, since no equipment is even needed!

Arms:
I think this right here is probably the best arms workout I have gotten from my PT - http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/2009/03/kick-butt-arms-workout.html - keep in mind that this is basically a full hour of arms, and if you're doing other strength training, you should reduce this to 20 minutes by just doing one set each of the exercises as opposed to 3. And if you're low on equipment, just doing push-ups, while hard, will be GREAT for your arms!


Here are some 1-hour sample strength training workouts, one created by my PT, and one by me, that include arms, legs, etc. -
http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/2009/02/diy-strength-training-workout.html
http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/2009/01/full-one-hour-strength-training-workout.html

Hope this helps those needing some inspiration of what to do at the gym!