New to the gym - help!

[MessyNDepressy]

Sorry I know IABU to post in AIBU for traffic!

I’m 5ft8, a size 10 on bottom and 8 on top and weigh around 67/68kg. I don’t necessarily want to lose weight but since starting a new job earlier this year I’ve been moving less and eating more - too many Gregg’s, takeaways etc at lunchtime! I want to change this and am planning to join the small gym local to my work and going on my lunch break. I will be able to go 3 days a week (Mon, Tues and Fri) for 30-40 minutes. Figured it will get me moving a bit and I’ll not have time to go and buy rubbish for lunch.

I’m just not 100% sure what to do when I’m there! I was thinking weights Monday and Friday and cardio Tuesday? Can anyone recommend some good apps or programs I can follow? I mainly want to focus on toning my legs, bum and getting a stronger core. I’ll also do a hot pod yoga class at the weekend and I usually average around 8000 steps.

Any advice for a total beginner would be much appreciated!

I had never stepped foot in a gym until 6 weeks ago. I booked 8 PT sessions because I had absolutely no idea what any of the equipment was or how to use it so a membership would have been pointless until I knew what to do.
The PT sessions have been a saviour and she's kindly written me a programme to use so I have something to follow, can purchase my membership and drop the PT as it's costly xx

Just ask chat gpt to write you a programme. Job done

If you can, a few PT sessions. They can write an initial plan, but more importantly will show you the right way to do the exercises and use the equipment properly to maximise results. I’ve seen people do the most ridiculous things (believing that they’re doing it well) and risking injury as a result.

The Henley fitness app is ace and has a free trial for the first week

Another one for the personal trainer, even if it’s just for a few sessions. Mine gave me a really good start.

MyFitCoach app is brilliant. It's not free but it's transformed my training in the gym! You can probably get a weeks trial on it to see how you get on with it first?

Use the free gym inductions to learn the equipment, some also write you a free initial plan. Also you could get a few pt sessions if they don't do the free plans.

Some gyms also have workout plans on their apps (The Gym Group do,so do Pure Gym I think).

ChatGPT is great for this. But I'd also recommend at least an intro session at gym, they all have different machines and it's really helpful if someone takes you through how to use those particular ones.

Yes please get guidance from a PT first - not just to maximise the exercise benefits but to prevent injury! (And don't trust ChatGPT at all.)

Personally, with that time limitation, I wouldn’t bother with the cardio at all.
You want body recomposition,
so weights so three times a week is perfect.
I weigh more than you but am taller (5ft10) and a solid size 8 because I’m mostly muscle. It’s entirely possible to replace fat with muscle but you’ll prob have to ignore the scales because they will go up.

Legs, bum and a stronger core probably requires squats, maybe deadlifts and maybe some things like the leg press. Those first two are not compound lifts that you can screw up. So either persuade a friend to come with you who already knows what good form looks like, or consider booking a few PT sessions to get you started.

On the core front, when I rowed they made us do daily core exercices - took 5 minutes, so you could put those in if you wanted :

Front plank 1 min
Side plank x1 per side x30s
V sit 30s

Then up the times as your capability improves.

Edit: fixed typo

The key thing at the moment is to do stuff that you enjoy. So long as you are working your muscles and getting out of breath you will be doing yourself loads of good; and the more you enjoy it, the likelier it is that you will build up the habit of attending the gym.

Try some classes, if your gym offers them, and stick with the ones you enjoy the most. If you get fed up with any particular activity, switch to something new. That way, you will be exploring the variety of what's on offer and gradually learning how your body responds to exercise and what it needs the most.

Based on that learning, you can start to build a more efficient and tailored workout programme if you want to. Or you can just keep on going in a more informal and spontaneous way. Whichever works best for you.

I would walk as your cardio, and focus on resistance workouts on the 3 days. A good step count on a daily basis goes a long way.

Second the PT programme if you can afford this - I paid for some PT sessions to get me into a routine after a long spell of doing nothing fitness wise.

For an app, Caroline Girvan's is good for a structured set of excercises, but you should invest time checking the right posture to maximise performance and avoid injuries. I see too many people swiwing weight instead of doing bicep curls, and hurting their lower back doing squats or deadlifts!

Won't you feel a bit fed up spending lunch break at the gym? I always preferred going before work early

Legs and butt:
Rack up the squat rack, start with just the bar and do squats. Increase by 2.5kg and aim to go ass to grass aka squatting low and keeping stable and even
Do 3 sets of 5 squats
Then go on the leg press machine, again start low weight and extend legs but never extend your legs straight, you want your knees slightly bent. Focus on feeling the stretch in your legs and butt. Again 3 x 5 or 2 x 10 if you want
Leg raise and the opposite one (pushing the bar down) are also great, focus on raising the bar and holding for 5 secs at the top, your legs will shake and it'll feel good
Make sure you end with stretches, bird dog is good

Another day you can do arms and chest machines. They're pretty self explanatory
Bench press is nice, or laying down on a bench and pressing up two hand held weights is the same thing.
I also love Kettlebell weights, you can do Kettlewell squats, swings, overhead press
Joe wicks does great short vids on kettlebells you can use as a routine at gym

Chat gpt is great for a quick, high impact routine with the alotted time you put aside, definitely get shown round the gym and machines and ask chat gpt to make you some routines to follow for different days

Rowing and stair machine are great cardio but I hate cardio lol

Won't you feel a bit fed up spending lunch break at the gym? I always preferred going before work early

Me too. And are you planning to not eat lunch on gym days?

Thanks for all the advice! I would love to be the kind of person who goes to the gym in the morning before work but it’s just not practical for me at the moment for multiple reasons. I’m a single parent to DS14 and he needs a kick up the backside in the morning to get moving. I also have DDog who needs walked etc and I don’t have access to my car on work days (share with family member) so I couldn’t even get up really early and come back home before work.

I don’t really enjoy my lunch break at work in the winter anyway, there’s nowhere you can really go for some peace and quiet. I end up just scrolling on my phone so half an hour of me time will be bliss! I’ll still have lunch, I’ll probably have a roll at my desk before going and a flask of soup or something after.

The gym I’m going to is absolutely tiny, it doesn’t have a lot of fancy equipment, it’s just a small council gym. I don’t even know if they have PTs there but I’ll ask, a couple of sessions and a plan from one would be a good idea.

Remember - people in gyms are only looking at themselves. They are not looking at other people. No one is looking at you and judging you, so don’t waste a nano second feeling self conscious. Too many women quit gyms for that reason

I use ChatGPT which has prevented injury more effectively than personal trainers over the years