Can someone PT my gym plan please?

[breakingpoint20]

Im new to the land of fitness and need some help

I joined a gym in early August as a started a job that made going to the gym possible around family life. For context - Ive never been a gym member before (mid 40’s). Ive never cared before. I lost 50kg on WLI which i have maintained since march, and i came off the jabs in July, im maintaining at 50-53kg, im 5’ exactly, my bmi is 21/22. Im trying to tone up and get some definition, gain back lost muscle tone, maintain my weight, and overall just be healthier. I go to the gym between 05:30 and 07:30

So my routine currently is

Monday 30 mins cardio 15 mins core
Tuesday 5 minute cardio warm up, 45 minute arms 10 minute stretch (generally dumb bell exercises this day)
Wednesday rest
Thur 5 minute cardio warm up 45 minute legs and glutes 10 stretch
Friday 5 minute cardio warm up 45 minute arm/back/chest 15 minute core 10 minute stretch (more machine based this day)
Saturday 30 minute cardio, 45 min circuits which is a whole body, 12 different stations 3 done times, 15 minute core 10 minute stretch
Sunday rest

Stretches mostly consists of yoga type movements, i have some resistance bands too

i do couch to 5km sun/wed. Sometimes on another day too but only the two days consistently in the evening my home walk pad. My job is work from home so ill do and hour of my work day on the walking pad too but at a slow pace.

i honestly have no idea what im doing. I go with a friend and just copy her. We do 3 sets of 12 reps of 6-8 different machines or exercises with dumbells each time. Im gradually uping my weights. But i dont know if what im doing sounds ok or if im just not achieving anything. I feel better. My arms and legs are looking better. My core is getting better. But how i can maximise the effectiveness of what i am doing? Does the variation sound ok? Should i be doing more of something? I cant justify a PT at the moment so looking direction, and i dont want to offend my friend as shes helped me so much and to learn how to use everything etc. But i want what im doing to be really beneficial.

tyia!

Nothing wrong with that as such and definitely better to be doing something but it’s quite a specialist kind of regime more than a beginner one

Most people starting out would do full body work outs concentrating on big compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press 3 days a week rather than a body part split. I would personally think that 45 mins purely of arms is quite a lot. I would do a mixture each session. Today I did squat, bench, walking lunges and lat pulldowns interspersed with some core work.

12 reps is endurance more than muscle building and is the max I would ever do. If I can do 12 reps for 3 sets I would definitely go up to the next weight. It’s important to keep doing this to progress.

I also prefer free weights to machines as it’s more flexible and more useful for functioning but you would ideally have some PT sessions to show us the form.

It sounds like you're making progress and are motivated to continue which is a great place to be. My main thought is if you're doing couch to 5k Wednesday and Sunday you're not getting a rest day, which is really important for recovery and building strength. If you enjoy c25k then swap for some of your cardio time.

There may be tweaks that could be made to your individual sessions (e.g.. different exercises or rep ranges) depending on your specific priorities., but that would require going into more detail. It might be worth just a couple of PT sessions, perhaps jointly with your friend, to discuss any ways you could enhance your shared programme. That could open the door to add in a few whole body free weight moves like squats which have lots of benefits. But that's icing on the cake - you are making progress and feeling motivated and should be really proud of yourself!

The comments made are great advice. I do split days too and started in Feb this year. Definitely take rest days and look out for gym promotions with the PT, sometimes they offer free sessions as you’ll want to have a tweak in the future to your programme.
Does the gym have a sauna? If they do try and make use of that as the benefits are fantastic if using 3-4 times a week.
I’m sure you’ll also have watched your protein intake whilst on WLI, so important to continue to maintain muscle.
Best of luck with it all

It's better than nothing, and there's some nice variety there eg stretching etc. But it's a bit random.

Do you keep notes of progress? The only way you build muscle is by gradually increasing load & pushing it "progressive overload" so I'd be inclined to see how much heavier you could go, and try fewer reps at heavier weights, with a good 1-2 minutes rests between sets. Most people don't lift as much as they could. You could start to think about the principle of "reps in reserve" - when you finish a set, how many more reps do you think you could squeeze out? General wisdom is that if it's more than 2, then you're not going heavy enough if you want to build muscle, rather than just "tone" - it's really hard for women to build muscle - you need to be training consistently and fuelling and resting.

I wouldn't do 45 mins just arms! On that day, try using some dumbbells and doing full body movements which involve your arms, such as
thrusters
devil's press up
bent over row
(google these movements)

Those will also work your core and the thrusters will hit back, glutes and quads - weighted squats are just bluddy brilliant as full body moves.

And in my experience, it's better to use free weights - dumbbells if you don't want to try bar bells - than machines. That's because using free weights requires you to stabilise and balance, and that trains your muscle memory (proprioception) and all the small, intrinsic muscles you need to balance.

The other thing to do would be to look at a couple of online, paid for programmes. I use Stronger by the Day, by MegSquats. It's about $US90 per year and a neat little app with lots of choice in how you do your workouts. A friend of mine uses Rachel Henley's "Blast your Bits" (Or something like that. Not sure of its cost, but she's very good on Instagram & YouTube.

You’re actually doing very well. Your routine already covers cardio, strength training, core work, stretching, and rest, which is ideal for overall health and fitness. The fact that you feel stronger and see definition means it’s working.
To maximize results, keep progressively increasing weights, focus on compound exercises (legs, chest, back), and don’t change routines too often. Recovery, sleep, and enough protein are just as important as workouts.
In short: your variation is fine, your consistency is the key, and you’re building muscle tone the right way. For extra structure without a PT, a reliable gym membership and fitness guide can help refine workout routines, strength training, and weight maintenance.