Are there any fitness experts here (or can you point me to one)? Need some gym advice please

[schnapps]

Well, I've rejoined a gym and intend to go once or twice a week. I've sort of decided on a routince based on the things I enjoy doing there, but what I could do with is someone who knows their stuff telling me if I'm on the right track. I will at some point make an appointment at the gym with someone to help me devise a programme to follow, just wondering if someone can help in the meantime?

I could, was v fit and did lots of types of training and adventure racin pre preg,
more details needed, if you'd rather not publish can send you my email?!
Whats your level of fitness just now
whats your aim
any med conditions of note
any inj of note
how post natal are you
what do you enjoy
what time can you commit??
Do you like questions

Thanks for your reply chapsmum

I'm not exactly unfit, I go on the odd bike ride, but not especially fit either. Not on any meds, not had a child any time recently. I'd really like to lose fat from my bum, hips and thighs (wouldn't we all!) and be more firm and toned.

What I've been doing is:
5 min brisk walk on treadmill to warm up
20 mins bike
10 mins rower(don't particularly like the rower but feel I ought to do something with my arms and cant stand arm weights)
20 mins eliptical machine
3X10 reps on the weights machine where you sit down and push your legs out to the side (sorry, that's prob a really carp description! It works your hips/outer thighs)
3x 10reps on opposite to the one above, it works your inner thighs.
5 mins cool down on the treadmill.

This is the bit I'm really unsure of - whilst doing this I've been aiming to keep my heart rate between 120 and 130 because someone told me (ok, it was actually Geris Halliwell's personal trainer in her book) that a longer workout with lower heart rate is more effective for weightloss (which makes me think my workout maybe isn't long enough).

So, whaddya reckon? Could this be effective at all? Or am I being a complete wimp?

DH's professional opinion (qualified fitness instructor, gym manager and triathlete extraordinaire!):

1. Definitely go and get a programme and listen to the fitness instructor's advice (he also thinks you should try and quantify your goals- apparently everybody wants to lose weight on thighs, bums and tums- maybe suggest what percentage of body fat you want to lose in what time. Or how may pounds of weight. Or inches. He expects this will get a better response from the fitness instructor too).

In the meantime...

2. You need to check you are working out at the right intensity. A general rule of thumb is to take 220, minus your age and multiply by 0.6 (so if you're 25 it's 220-25=195 and then 195x0.6=117) The figure you get is what you should keep your heartrate above (60% of your theoretical maximum heartrate) BUT keep it below 70% (in this case 195x0.7=136)

3. To lose weight and firm up you definitely need to do more resistance work but with more repetitions (15-20 instead of 10) with a lower weight- which machines are you willing to use? What about sit ups etc or using an exercise ball?

4. You could also try mixing up the CV and resistance work (alternating between the two, not just doing a huge block of CV) so that your heartrate remains raised while you're doing the resistance work and you burn fat whilst toning up.

5. The time you're spending on CV work is about right but he suggests substituting the 10mins on the rower for something else because it's more complicated than most CV machines and if used incorrectly (without an instructor's guidance) you could end up hurting yourself.

6. Finally if you want a programme for the time being he will write you one. Just CAT me.

HTH Any other questions just ask. He likes to waffle on about fitness

It s grand start, few points to think about...
Think this is what gerry was on about, your max target heart rate is 226 - your age. the fat burning zone 60-70% the aerobic zone 70-80% which devlops heart and lungs (and is better for your health)
long fat burning exersice will work but it has to be long...
Can't beat a good aerobic work out!!
tis better to aerobic exersice three times a week
this doesn't have to be at the gym. brisk walk to the shops,hoovering to power ballads etc
If your gym does classes their worth investigating, you tend to achieve more in a short space of time. I love biking and I found the best fat burn exersice in the world was spin fit class

Now you mentioned your love of weights...
keep in mind that the more muslces you have the more efficiently you'll burn calories
consider a night of a gentle warm up followed by exersises that will work your core muscels,
abs back upper legs, the big muscle groups that keep you up right.
These don't have to be done with weights Have you ever used a pilates ball??
.
1)Make sure your tequnique is perfect, it is better to drop your weight and do controlled movements and hols rather than poor reps
2)aim for 4 set of 16 reps for lower legs and 3 set of 12 reps for upper body If you're doing it
If you feel the rower is an exersice for your arms your probably not doing it quite f#right, the arms are worked but not as much as the legs,
Have you tried doing the croos trainer for longer but concentating on different nuscle groups
driving it with you quads(front of leg), then hamstrings(back of legs) calves and then driving it with your arms?
You are most certainly not a wimp, doing really well so far

Christie- my DH has a few questions for you...

Do you have a lunch break? How long is it and what do you do during it? Where do you work?

What is your general lifestyle like? How far do you travel to work? How do you get there? How does your 7yr old get to school, how far is it?

Do you have days off? What do you do on those days (apart from contend with three children)?

As much info as possible he says so that he can give you an informed opinion... Do you have any free time you can set aside or do you want to shoe horn fitness into your existing routine?

Thanks for all the great advice.
Wow, kleggie, what a husband to have! Does that mean you're both lean, muscular, toned, fit, images of body beautifulness?

I'm 29 so it seems I was on the right track with regards to heart rate. It doesn't seem 'hard' enough though. I've not been to the gym properly for a couple of years, but when I did go, I used to work myself really hard, to the point of near exhaustion where I really couldn't've pushed myself much harder. I felt very good for it but I don't feel so motivated to work quite so hard this time, and don't think I would keep it up. But what I'm doing now just feels too easy in comparison (don't s'pose that's a bad thing though as long as it's working).

Going to a class isn't really an option because I'm very limited as to when I can go (work full-time, single Mum etc. Absolutely NOOO motivation to work-out at home, other than the odd bike ride of a weekend (but that depends on dd wanting to go too).

Have never used a pilates ball, but as I said, no motivation to workout at home and to be honest (I know it's daft) but I do feel pretty embarrassed about the whole working out in front of other people as it is, which I suppose has something to do with my dislike of weights - all that grunting with effort, going red in the face and other people checking out how much of a wimp you are! lol!

As much as I don't like doing weights I am prepared to do them if it will make a difference. Don't really have a preference for which ones though, so any advice there would be welcome.

I'll definitely give the rower a miss, and I'll do more reps on the weights machines. I don't mind doing sit-ups, again just feel silly

Schnapps ROFL at 'Wow, kleggie, what a husband to have! Does that mean you're both lean, muscular, toned, fit, images of body beautifulness?'

Ever heard the phrase 'opposites attract'?! Welcome to the kleggie household:

It's 5am, the dawn chorus can be heard in the background. A young-ish couple are asleep in bed

Kleg's DH (leaping out of bed): Right, time for a 16mile run before work...(pulling on jogging bottoms and trainers)...might do some interval training (now stretching round the bed like some kind of possessed animal)...might go for a swim afterwards... (glancing down at sleeping wife)...wanna come?

Kleg: Sod off

Anyway...

Firstly, heart rate training divides (roughly) into five zones:

One: 55-65% easy/recovery training
Two: 60-70% endurance (best fat burning benefit)
Three: 70-80% aerobic capacity training (good if you're a distance runner/marathon runner)
Four: 80-90% lactate threshold (really hard, used for pushing your boundaries)
Five: 90%+ sprinting (impossible to maintain for any lengthy period)

Basically (and I translate) by working in zone two you are effectively keeping fit and it's the best place to start (and potentially stay if you're happy). Once you start achieving your goals and see a noticeable improvement (or if it starts feeling too easy or stagnant) you could then proceed to a couple of sessions in zone three/four as a means of challenging yourself and adding variety. Zone two shouldn't feel easy but should feel comfortable (could give one word answers easily and possibly hold short conversation whilst training and definitely not feeling exhausted of energy or like you need to stop). It is a common misconception that you have to push yourself to complete exhaustion to see any results.

Let me just interject something here- I hate gyms! I always feel silly and ridiculous BUT I have come to realise that I can work effectively and happily within my own limits and achieve what I want. The silly ones are the 16stone grunting apes who are damaging their hearts, backs and intelligence by showing off and not really getting anywhere... Please don't feel silly about trying it out. You can always stop and tbh when you start really achieving your goals it's all worth it. Sorry back to the DH...

The exercise ball (if you can face it) is fantastic. The most useful piece of kit in your gym DH reckons. Good for resistance, core stability etc. Helps posture, poise, balance, agility, tone etc etc. You can do anything on a ball you can do on a machine and more... though you really need to get the instructors to go through it with you (he doesn't want to make suggestions on here, you follow them blind and end up injured) Good exercises to try and ask about are sit ups, russian twists, leg flexions and back extensions.

In terms of machines to use for your target areas: stick with the abductors and adductors (leg pushy in and outy things- technical me!) and add in the leg press (lie down or sit up and push back using your legs- better workout if you lie down, better natural position), leg extension and leg curl machines (sitting down, bending and straightening your legs by lifting a weight or pushing it down). Several things you can do to determine what weight you should be using. Get an instructor to do a maximum rep test with you and then work at 60% of this. Alternatively, you should aim to work within 15-25 reps to tone. Start with 3b sets of 15. You should feel that on reaching 15 you have reached your limit. Rest for one minute between sets. Push yourself each time until you can do 3 of 25, then either increase the weight or add another set.

Abs wise stay well away from those ridiculous cradle things. They are NOT a good idea. You can do lots of different sit-ups (actually just crunches are very good for you, you don't have to sit up all the way). Firstly check your starting position. Flat on back, bend your legs so there is approx. a foot between your heels and bum. Keep your head back, spine in line and forehead to the ceiling. Put your fingers on your temples and when you lift imagine a board nailed to your back. Lift your forehead to the ceiling and imagine you are pulling your belly button under your rib cage. Most importantly, if your back hurts, STOP and if your neck aches you can support it with your hands. Resist putting your hands on the back of your head. Right:

Try: pulses, doing a crunch but don't go all the way back down, lift again and repeat, so small movements (one to two inches), with your chest and shoulders lifted, chin off your chest (three sets of ten, increase if too easy)

Oblique twists: when you lift into the crunch aim your opposite elbow to opposite knee in a twisting motion, same as above for sets and reps, make sure you do both sides!

Experiment with raising your legs to the ceiling so you form an 'L' shape and do crunches like this. In the same position you can try using your abs to push your feet towards the ceiling. This will work the lower part of your abdominal muscle- the bit which always seems to be a bit flabby, especially on women. Crikey, you should see mine! Probably should make sure you work your lower back too. Lie on your stomach, fingers on temples and lift upper body using your lower back muscles, keep your legs completely relaxed. Only raise a couple of inches.

DH is concerned that you might feel a little bombarded with information at this point. He says to pick and choose what you want to do from his advice, experiment and mix it up. Do what works for you and ask any questions you want to. Or alternatively tell him to shut up! He said be careful of pseudo-advice, listen to your instructor and don't believe everything you read in a magazine. Plus, see if your instructors are REPS registered or affiliated to BASES- apparently it's a good thing if they are!

HTH. I've no idea what I just typed, all from the weird and wonderful brain of my DH.

Thanks again for all the advice chapsmum, kleggie and keggie's husband

Right, I went to the gym today and this is what I did:

5 min walk to warm up
30 mins bike
I aimed for 3X16 reps on each of the following machines (but spent most of the time faffing around with getting the seats/weights right - will be better next time):
abductor
adductor
leg press
leg curl
leg curl extension
30 mins cross trainer, switching between driving it with my legs and my arms.
5 mins walk to cool down.

I found it difficult to keep my heart rate low enough to be in the fat burn zone on the cross trainer so thought that next time I would maybe swap to doing the cross trainer first and then the bike later.

I really couln't bear to do sit-ups in public (I know, I know! I WILL get over that). Other than that, how does it sound?

Also, the one chance I will get to go to the gym during the week I'll only have an hour, so I thought that I would maybe do just 15 mins on each of the bike and the cross trainer, but aim to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone.

I aslo noticed a crunch machine, where you sit on a seat and hold some bars attached to weights and crunch your body down to your legs - would that be a good substitute for sit-ups?

Well done, you fit person you...
cruch machine good, but only works top muscles in your six pack. Why not try sit ups at home?
Agin technique is really important.
use your arms to support your head not to pull it up, this can hurt your neck...
Also, the movement of a cruch doesntr have to be huge, as long as its contolled. you can do twisting motions from side to side to shed inches form your waist
additionally if you lye flat on your back, oh err
legs straight out and lift your legs 6 inches, (best not to let a man guide you) small dsistance off the gropung, hold for five and repeat.
SStretchin is also v importan for buliding good muscles..
You are doing fantastic, very impressed
My ds just started crawling yesterday so have spent all day on all fours, does that count as exersice?!
Keep up the good work

Yes, I think I will do the sit-ups at home. I suppose it will only take a few minutes and it's not like I'll be breaking out into a sweat, so don't need to even bother changing, or I could do it straight after the gym so still in my gym clothes. Could even do it naked!

Hi all. Sorry it's taken a couple of days to get back to you. RL getting in the way of MN...

Christie

Going for a brisk walk before you eat your lunch is a good idea. 20mins to half an hour should be fine and will make a difference even if you don't feel like it at first. Just make sure you're getting a little bit out of breath while you do it. Thumbs up to the fitness class, keep it up. If you keep going it will eventually just feel like part of your routine. DH also suggested that you think about getting an exercise bike. You can use it at home, still read, watch TV etc and hide it in a corner when you're done (great clothes horses too!) In terms of housework (great, my DH advising on housework rofl) he says think of it as exercise and do it at speed- things like gardening, hoovering, cleaning floors become strenuous activities (oh so amusing dh is muttering about karate kid- wax on, wax off). Plus, do you live near to a supermarket? Try walking to the shops and carrying your shopping back with you and he says to involve the kids in this too (gets them thinking about active lifestyles, gets the shopping done and you're not exercising alone. Plus it's quality time with the family). Alternatively, shop on line and use the time to go to another class, use an exercise bike, do the housework, spend time with kids etc

Schnapps

DH says it sounds like you are on the right track. He says you could alternate doing CV work on one visit to the gym and weights/resistance work the next time- good if you haven't got a lot of time. As long as you do a warm up and cool down as well. The machine you saw is fine for your abs, but watch your back while using it. To balance it up you need to work your back as well. There should be either a machine similar to that one but you lean back against the resistance or something that looks like a weights bench with a rolled pad at the end for doing back extensions. Plus try other crunches and twists at home, naked or otherwise... Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks for making DH feel needed... !

Christie,have you thought of going before work???
If you divide the cost of gym memebership by times attended it works out pretty well.

I have started going again after ds's birth (18 months ago!!) and a leg operation and follow old routine of 20 mins running,20 mins step thingy,20 minutes rowing,plus 20 reps on all the wight machines (there are about 12) and 20 crunches.

Dunno if it is accurate,but works for me!

any chance of picking Mr Kleggie's brains re an exercise bike? My partner needs to use one to build up his leg muscles ( recommended by osteopath) and ours is broken. We'd prefer not to pay more than £400 but had thought maybe Trimline R203 or Horizon CYBSC 200. Are these really better than, say, a York 530, which is a lot cheaper? Limited space but dp gets bored easily and didn't use my old one much because he didn't like the saddle, hence semirecumbent seemed a good idea.

bump - anyone else's advice welcome?

Oh Christie-you must be exhausted even before you start work!
(Are you sure you need the gym at all?!