What should I be doing in the gym?

[Sorrytomoan]

It's unstaffed so I can't have an induction.
I can't afford a personal trainer.
I don't want to follow a YouTube workout.
What should I be doing? I like using the machines but just need some guidance.

Thanks

Go to a different gym so that you can have a proper induction, as well as for Health and Safety reasons.

Seriously - this one sounds like it’s not for your needs. I would need an induction too if it were me joining but many people don’t . So whilst you need guidance on equipment usage and exercises to do etc, there are lots of ‘ pros ‘ who have been going for years and know the drill.

Unless this is the norms for gyms to be unstaffed in which case I don’t know what to suggest 🤷‍♀️

What are you trying to achieve thought? Weight loss, build muscle? It totally depends

My favourite at the moment is the stairmaster. I usually go on there for about 20 mins. I sometimes pause it every 5 mins to have a drink, get my breath back and then carry on. Then I might go on the treadmill but I set it to the highest incline and do a fast paced walk. Again for about 20 mins. Everytime you’re in the gym, attempt to use and try out one piece of equipment. I.e the leg press…do 12 reps x 3 with a minute break between each set. Then the next time you’re in the gym, do the leg press and add another machine…you can watch people while you’re on leg press to see what they’re doing…that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s eased me in slowly and I haven’t felt awkward.

You're going to have to follow something if you want to get results.

What's your goal? Lose weight? Strength? Flexibility? Mental health/feel good?

I just do 30 minutes on cross country trainer and 3 sets of 12 on all the weight machines there are six in my gym. My gym is also unstaffed so you figure it out as you go. It’s worth getting a stretch routine off YouTube though.

I just do a 30min power walk on the treadmills. 30mins, 5km/h, on incline 5.
I usually watch a bit of Netflix or YouTube whilst doing it

Thank you.
I like this gym I don't want to change.
I have been using about 8 different machines each time and doing 3 x 12 reps on each. About 25kg weight. Is thar right? It's a variety of machines.
Plus I do some cardio either running or the stair master. It's a killer isn't it!
There's a separate floor with free weights, should I be doing some of those too?

My goal is tone up, improve mental health and lose weight.

These are the machines I've been using,

Seated dip
Arm curl
Abdominal crunch
Calf press
Leg press
Prone leg curl
Leg extension
Hip abduction
Back extension
Tricep extension
Diverging seated row
Rotary torso
Lat pull

It's quite leg heavy so should probably do more arm stuff? I also do a plank for 60 seconds at the end and warm up with some cardio.

There is no way you should be using the same weight - 25kg - on different machines. They work different muscle groups, some much bigger than others.

I think going to an unstaffed gym, no PT (even to start you off with just a few sessions explaining both how to use the machines and how to programme your sessions) and not even following video routines - you are asking for injury. Or at best, lack of progress.

I reckon you could do a lot more than 25kg on legs. But 25kg for arms/shoulders etc might be good. Do you wear a heart rate belt monitor/fit bit to monitor your workouts?

So this seems a fairly odd bunch of isolation movements with not a lot of functional stuff going on in there.

In terms of the weight, I'd expect to be using a radically different weight for e.g. a leg press vs a tricep extension - are you really using 25kg across the piece? If so, you have v. strong arms and legs rather less so....

I'd be concerned that it's not very balanced, the leg weights look pretty low and conversely you could be looking at injury if you try to increase the weight / reps on the exercises focussed on smaller muscles. There's a lot info out there, but if you're a total beginner, a PT session or 1-off intro / gym programme would at least help you get started.

I see posts on my local FB with women asking for advice on routines to do in the gym. They get recommendations for personal trainers that can give you a plan of what you should be doing.

Re weights and reps you should be finding a weight that you can do 15-20 reps and moving up to the next weight when that's easy. This will generally be a different weight per piece of equipment

With weights I just go up a notch until it feels hard. Reps 8-12 should be tough but doable. For context on one machine (leg press) I do 80kg and way down to 14-21kg on the arm machines.

Thank you, I still feel totally clueless!

Is there an app anyone could recommend that would help?