Ok so I recently started a new job and one of the perks is that they pay for a gym membership for you. So being the new year, new resolutions, etc. I figured it would be a good time to join. The only problem is, I don't think i have ever worked out a day in my life. besides intermural soccer as a kid, i wasn't much of an athlete, and since graduating and sitting at a desk for the past year or so, I've started to notice, well, more of me. So does anyone know any excersizes a complete novice could do to start to get into some sort of shape? I mean seriosuly, I don't even know how to use the equipment.
I would suggest talking with the people at the gym. They are more than willing to 'show you the ropes'. The last thing they want is for someone to get hurt or hurt someone else (i.e. blow up the Precor EFX 546 Elliptical Crosstrainer V2-120V and injure the woman on the GymTuff™ Butt, Hip, Thigh & Glute Machine).
yeah, quix - you should be able to ask one of the gym instructors to give you an introduction. Just tell them this is the first time you've joined a gym and you want to learn how to use the machines. They'll give you a quick demo on each and discuss your best options as they do.
Like thrifty says, they won't want you to injure yourself and everybody had to start from scratch at some point. Consider it a health and safety induction like at the workshop.
Also, I would recommend dividing your time between doing Cardio and Weight training. So 30 minutes cardio/30 minutes for muscle training. Always work different muscle groups and allow the muscle group 48 hours to recover before working them again. So many men overlook cardio and only lift and the opposite goes for women. Women think they will get big a bulky if they lift weights but that’s really not the case.
I liked the elliptical. You get on it and start moving around... There are footpads and handles... it's pretty self explanatory.
My gym also has this wonderful exercise equipment. It's a shiny floor pad and a set of fuzzy booties that you put on over your shoes... you push from side to side on the floor thing and it replicates the action of ice skating or rollerblading. And you get to wear fuzzy boots and look like you are doing a funny dance!!!
i'd suggest starting on the cybex/cable rigged machines for a few weeks to build up intial familiarity with weight resistance, then move to plate loaded machines for a few weeks, then to freeweights. If you're trying to lose fat walk uphill on the treadmill at a pace of 3.3-4.0 mph at an incline of 4 to 8 degrees for 30-45 minutes, 4-5 times a week.
MOST of all, EAT RIGHT. Diet will make the biggest difference, if you don't eat healthy, you're growth/gains/fitness level will be stagnated.
Lots of protein, some carbs (or a lot of carbs if gaining mass) take your vitamins, eat veggies. No carbs after 6 or 7pm. Get a lot of rest. drink a gallon of water a day. No soda no beer no alcohol no candy no fast food.
Thats the basics. in about 18 months you can start worrying about real mass gaining (if you're a guy) or other fitness goals or supplements. I was a competitive powerlifter for several years and am currently training for bodybuilding. hope it helps!
I like to do the bike, a little treadmill, sometimes the rowing machine. The weight machines usually have little pictures of how to use them. One way to do it is start out with a very easy weight, lift that like 12 times, rest for a minute or so, then add more weight, lift that like 10 times, rest, add more weight, then lift that 8 times. Sometimes you then go back to the lightest weight and lift it as many times as you can. Most of my gym rat friends do say, arms one day, legs the next. I don't go as much as I'd like, so I'm more do the over all picture at one time haha. Also, don't lift as much as you can or you will hurt. I remember my friend and I did that the first time. We're like "Oh I can lift 130 no problem." So we lifted as much as we could. THe next day, neither of us could move. But looks like there is a lot of good info on here.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I went to sign up and apparently when I join the gym they actually give me two free sessions with the personal trainer. So hopefully when he's not too busy laughing at my puny frame, he can show me the ropes. Then I'll go from zero to hero in no time!
at your office, fight for the 'fire' stairs to be located on an outside wall with windows, finishes that are a few notches above painted cmus/raw concrete, and are easier to locate then the elevators. Also move the employee parking as far away from the building as possible- then the future inhabitants of your projects can be fit without even trying.
A good gym will typically give you an orentation session or two with a trainer that will help you set up a basic workout plan to get your feet wet.
Advice from a gym rat.... Start slow and be consistent. Consistency is key, intensity will come from it. Be there for you, its YOUR time for YOU not chat time. Get in get out get home. Know your goals and constantly tailor your workout toward them. Work with both weights and cardio. Free weights are better in that they work the little stabilizer muscles and will help you stay balanced. Most importantly, try to change up your workout with different excercizes at least every 2-3 months. (This will keep you from getting bored.)
and impalajunkie is right on, though i hate to use the term diet and my abusive nutritionist girlfriend would kill me:
you need to eat right.
avoid the beer/soda/candy crap.
to lose 1 lb a week, you need to reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 cal. that's basically your daily coke + snickers run.
you can find a really indepth breakdown on food here
dean karnaze is pretty much the guy to emulate in that area - the discipline of a tibetan monk.
Use the plate-loaded machines over the cable machines if possible.
This machine is great:
Don't think that others in the office won't notice how much more powerfully you open the flat files after a few weeks on this. Approach doors with newfound confidence!
Don't forget that muscle mass weighs more than fat. Depending on your body's condition starting out, and how much you bulk up, it is possible to simultaneously gain weight while still growing slimmer and more muscular. Don't permint numbers to rule you, and don't trust them on their own. Consult the mirror and how your clothes fit, or if applicable, consider the increase in the number of people who try to bounce coins off your bum. :)
If you see a personal trainer for those complimentary sessions they almost certainly will tell you that you need to work out and lose weight (even if you don't) and they can help you. If they told you you're in good shape, they would never make money by personal-training. They're only selling their services and trying to hustle, so don't be hurt/insulted/pressured. But if you want that service and can afford it, go for it.
I don't believe in absolutes, nor strict dietary discipline for the average person. I can't deal with the prospect of NO beer, NO pizza, NO soda, NO candy, NO fast food. Instead, simply eat more healthy/balanced things, and less unhealthy/nonnutritive things, but still allow indulgences regularly enough to feel satisfied and don't feel guilty when you have them. Remember you don't need to finish everything set before you. You can eat part of your big greasy meal and take home or refrigerate the rest. You can eat one piece of chocolate and save the rest for later. Have one beer instead of 3. Drink vodka soda instead of vodka tonic. Get your burger/fries from a good restaurant that uses 100% real meat or vegpatty, fresh veggies, natural bread, and potatoes fried in veggie/olive oil, instead of McDonalds and its overprocessed preservative-laden trans-fatty goodness. Listen to your body telling you when you are full, and eventually it becomes second nature and you cannot bear to overeat. It doesn't sound like you are training for a marathon or the Olympics, so allow yourself to live life!
Oh and if you shower at the gym, bring your own pair of flipflops and a towel for the locker room if the gym doesn't provide disposables/sanitized ones. And make sure you clean the sweat off anything you use. Otherwise, terrible things happen.
This is all good advice. I'm not large by any stretch of the imagination, @ 6'3" i'm still under 200 lbs. I guess i've just noticed that I've got a weird gut that looks like im smuggling a turkey out of the grocery store. I don't drink so i don't have to worry about that and i walk the three blocks to my office from the subway and up the four flights of steps to my office every day, so i feel like I'm allready on the right path, i guess my main goals are to lose the gut (which probably means no more coke and McDonalds diets) and gain a little muscle mass on my arms, stomach and chest.
Oh and improve my vertical leap. I can't jump for shit. My 13 year old sister is schooling me in basketball and i'm itching for some payback.
Dude, loosing the gut is SO hard. I can't do it. I don't have a "GUT" but I'm mildly padded. I have hard abs with a coat of gut. Sucks. I guess if I could get rid of coke, mochas etc I could. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with my hot body haha. Maybe some sweet DD pecs would be nice.
Jan 5, 07 9:29 pm ·
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Thanks to Archinect's work out plan, I'm the envy of all my friends.
Ok so I recently started a new job and one of the perks is that they pay for a gym membership for you. So being the new year, new resolutions, etc. I figured it would be a good time to join. The only problem is, I don't think i have ever worked out a day in my life. besides intermural soccer as a kid, i wasn't much of an athlete, and since graduating and sitting at a desk for the past year or so, I've started to notice, well, more of me. So does anyone know any excersizes a complete novice could do to start to get into some sort of shape? I mean seriosuly, I don't even know how to use the equipment.
I believe this is who you should be asking.
if you don't have a car, don't buy one
if you have a car, sell it
take the bus and walk everywhere
I would suggest talking with the people at the gym. They are more than willing to 'show you the ropes'. The last thing they want is for someone to get hurt or hurt someone else (i.e. blow up the Precor EFX 546 Elliptical Crosstrainer V2-120V and injure the woman on the GymTuff™ Butt, Hip, Thigh & Glute Machine).
What? I have a thing for workout equipment...it’s no different than your love for modernist furniture…
yeah, quix - you should be able to ask one of the gym instructors to give you an introduction. Just tell them this is the first time you've joined a gym and you want to learn how to use the machines. They'll give you a quick demo on each and discuss your best options as they do.
Like thrifty says, they won't want you to injure yourself and everybody had to start from scratch at some point. Consider it a health and safety induction like at the workshop.
I prefered the step classes (when I went to the gym of course). The fellow classmates helped inspire me.
Also, I would recommend dividing your time between doing Cardio and Weight training. So 30 minutes cardio/30 minutes for muscle training. Always work different muscle groups and allow the muscle group 48 hours to recover before working them again. So many men overlook cardio and only lift and the opposite goes for women. Women think they will get big a bulky if they lift weights but that’s really not the case.
Squat thrusts.
I liked the elliptical. You get on it and start moving around... There are footpads and handles... it's pretty self explanatory.
My gym also has this wonderful exercise equipment. It's a shiny floor pad and a set of fuzzy booties that you put on over your shoes... you push from side to side on the floor thing and it replicates the action of ice skating or rollerblading. And you get to wear fuzzy boots and look like you are doing a funny dance!!!
i'd suggest starting on the cybex/cable rigged machines for a few weeks to build up intial familiarity with weight resistance, then move to plate loaded machines for a few weeks, then to freeweights. If you're trying to lose fat walk uphill on the treadmill at a pace of 3.3-4.0 mph at an incline of 4 to 8 degrees for 30-45 minutes, 4-5 times a week.
MOST of all, EAT RIGHT. Diet will make the biggest difference, if you don't eat healthy, you're growth/gains/fitness level will be stagnated.
Lots of protein, some carbs (or a lot of carbs if gaining mass) take your vitamins, eat veggies. No carbs after 6 or 7pm. Get a lot of rest. drink a gallon of water a day. No soda no beer no alcohol no candy no fast food.
Thats the basics. in about 18 months you can start worrying about real mass gaining (if you're a guy) or other fitness goals or supplements. I was a competitive powerlifter for several years and am currently training for bodybuilding. hope it helps!
bike riding...as in bicycle! Hell everyone in china does it, why cant you?
I like to do the bike, a little treadmill, sometimes the rowing machine. The weight machines usually have little pictures of how to use them. One way to do it is start out with a very easy weight, lift that like 12 times, rest for a minute or so, then add more weight, lift that like 10 times, rest, add more weight, then lift that 8 times. Sometimes you then go back to the lightest weight and lift it as many times as you can. Most of my gym rat friends do say, arms one day, legs the next. I don't go as much as I'd like, so I'm more do the over all picture at one time haha. Also, don't lift as much as you can or you will hurt. I remember my friend and I did that the first time. We're like "Oh I can lift 130 no problem." So we lifted as much as we could. THe next day, neither of us could move. But looks like there is a lot of good info on here.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I went to sign up and apparently when I join the gym they actually give me two free sessions with the personal trainer. So hopefully when he's not too busy laughing at my puny frame, he can show me the ropes. Then I'll go from zero to hero in no time!
at your office, fight for the 'fire' stairs to be located on an outside wall with windows, finishes that are a few notches above painted cmus/raw concrete, and are easier to locate then the elevators. Also move the employee parking as far away from the building as possible- then the future inhabitants of your projects can be fit without even trying.
susan has just made my day...and it is only about 9 am
the gazelle is the only way to go...
me garwondler...me strong
A good gym will typically give you an orentation session or two with a trainer that will help you set up a basic workout plan to get your feet wet.
Advice from a gym rat.... Start slow and be consistent. Consistency is key, intensity will come from it. Be there for you, its YOUR time for YOU not chat time. Get in get out get home. Know your goals and constantly tailor your workout toward them. Work with both weights and cardio. Free weights are better in that they work the little stabilizer muscles and will help you stay balanced. Most importantly, try to change up your workout with different excercizes at least every 2-3 months. (This will keep you from getting bored.)
screw the gym.
you need to find a nice big lake or river, and join a crew team. hell, you might even convince them to let you design the boathouse
welcome rottnme! good advice.
and impalajunkie is right on, though i hate to use the term diet and my abusive nutritionist girlfriend would kill me:
you need to eat right.
avoid the beer/soda/candy crap.
to lose 1 lb a week, you need to reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 cal. that's basically your daily coke + snickers run.
you can find a really indepth breakdown on food here
dean karnaze is pretty much the guy to emulate in that area - the discipline of a tibetan monk.
Use the plate-loaded machines over the cable machines if possible.
This machine is great:
Don't think that others in the office won't notice how much more powerfully you open the flat files after a few weeks on this. Approach doors with newfound confidence!
Here is the non-gymrat's perspective:
Don't forget that muscle mass weighs more than fat. Depending on your body's condition starting out, and how much you bulk up, it is possible to simultaneously gain weight while still growing slimmer and more muscular. Don't permint numbers to rule you, and don't trust them on their own. Consult the mirror and how your clothes fit, or if applicable, consider the increase in the number of people who try to bounce coins off your bum. :)
If you see a personal trainer for those complimentary sessions they almost certainly will tell you that you need to work out and lose weight (even if you don't) and they can help you. If they told you you're in good shape, they would never make money by personal-training. They're only selling their services and trying to hustle, so don't be hurt/insulted/pressured. But if you want that service and can afford it, go for it.
I don't believe in absolutes, nor strict dietary discipline for the average person. I can't deal with the prospect of NO beer, NO pizza, NO soda, NO candy, NO fast food. Instead, simply eat more healthy/balanced things, and less unhealthy/nonnutritive things, but still allow indulgences regularly enough to feel satisfied and don't feel guilty when you have them. Remember you don't need to finish everything set before you. You can eat part of your big greasy meal and take home or refrigerate the rest. You can eat one piece of chocolate and save the rest for later. Have one beer instead of 3. Drink vodka soda instead of vodka tonic. Get your burger/fries from a good restaurant that uses 100% real meat or vegpatty, fresh veggies, natural bread, and potatoes fried in veggie/olive oil, instead of McDonalds and its overprocessed preservative-laden trans-fatty goodness. Listen to your body telling you when you are full, and eventually it becomes second nature and you cannot bear to overeat. It doesn't sound like you are training for a marathon or the Olympics, so allow yourself to live life!
Oh and if you shower at the gym, bring your own pair of flipflops and a towel for the locker room if the gym doesn't provide disposables/sanitized ones. And make sure you clean the sweat off anything you use. Otherwise, terrible things happen.
This is all good advice. I'm not large by any stretch of the imagination, @ 6'3" i'm still under 200 lbs. I guess i've just noticed that I've got a weird gut that looks like im smuggling a turkey out of the grocery store. I don't drink so i don't have to worry about that and i walk the three blocks to my office from the subway and up the four flights of steps to my office every day, so i feel like I'm allready on the right path, i guess my main goals are to lose the gut (which probably means no more coke and McDonalds diets) and gain a little muscle mass on my arms, stomach and chest.
Oh and improve my vertical leap. I can't jump for shit. My 13 year old sister is schooling me in basketball and i'm itching for some payback.
Dude, loosing the gut is SO hard. I can't do it. I don't have a "GUT" but I'm mildly padded. I have hard abs with a coat of gut. Sucks. I guess if I could get rid of coke, mochas etc I could. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with my hot body haha. Maybe some sweet DD pecs would be nice.
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