Does my gym routine sound okay?

[ManchesterBeatrice]

New to the gym... I do, spinning for 45 mins, warms me up and gets me sweating and heart pounding.

Then 5 leg machines 5 sets of 10 on each, increasing weights.

5 arm machines as above.

A bit of rowing, and some abs work, also on a machine. 5 sets.

Weights are various but trying to increase, everything from 10 - 30kg at the mo.

I'm new to the gym, started last Monday and trying to go 3 - 4 times a week.

My goal is toning up really, and better fitness.

Does this sound reasonable?

Thanks!

If your main goal is to increase muscle (muscle mass is what tones you up) you’d be better doing your cardio afterwards. A small warm up first is fine but 45 mins spin is going to take a lot from you. Otherwise sounds good but quite a lot to do the weights plus the spin all in one session (in my unprofessional opinion!).

Looks good. Diet is 90% of toning, so make sure this is on point.

Just also beware that if you're increasing the weights, you'll likely slowly start to bulk up.

Heavy weights don't make you bulky

It takes years of dedication lifting (very) heavy weights with similar dedication to diet for a woman to get 'bulky'.

I would advise cardio after weights, do a 5 minute warm up if you want, but definitely nothing intense.

I’ve been doing/increasing weights regularly for four years and am definitely not bulky.

@C1N1C diet is 90% of losing weight, but losing weight is not the same thing as 'toning'. A toned look is commonly understood to mean less fat and a little muscle definition.
Losing weight by diet will make you smaller, but whether that's something you're happy with depends on how you feel about yourself and your natural body shape. The look that is shown in the media as toned is almost always the result of strength training + diet.

@ManchesterBeatrice if you love spinning then stick with it, but I think you'd be better off having some gym days where you're focusing on cardio/fitness (rowing, spinning) and others where you focus on strength. The first two will take it out of you so much that you won't get much benefit by doing machines afterwards. The only benefit of doing both in the same session with that intensity would be if you're training for endurance, physically or psychologically, eg if you were training for endurance events such as triathlons or long distance running.

You're kidding right? Lifting heavy weights is exactly how you bulk up. The world's strongest men and women are huge, and they don't get that way by lifting low weights, high reps...

Did you genuinely mean to say that???

Thank you very much for the feedback, for various reasons I think I will be doing gym then spinning in a couple of weeks.

That's good to know it doesn't look too bad!

Good to hear about the diet also, I'll try and keep an eye on that!

@C1N1C do you also think that everyone who goes for a jog has the physique of Usain Bolt?

That’s not the majority of people though. OP isn’t going to be eating 200g of protein a day and lifting super heavy weights with body builder programming six days a week.

OP you do want to be getting 100g of protein in a day split into 3-4 portions if you want the best muscle gain. And creatine is the only universally recommended supplement.

Thank you! I'll have to work on the diet, currently eating around 1400 cals a day, and probably not enough protein.

@ManchesterBeatrice 1400 sounds very low unless you're very short. Is there a reason for eating that amount? What you've described is an intense gym programme and that isn't likely to be enough to fuel what you're aiming for.

1400 would be low for most women when sedentary, without regular exercise.

I think you're right.

I'm 5'4" and currently weigh 58 kg. The lower calories was to try and lose some weight but I should increase that now with more exercise going on!

I'm enjoying the gym. I'd rather than than eat next to nothing! 😊

This is misguided if well intentioned, diet is 90% of body fat which might show off muscle tone underneath.

It's also quite hard for women to 'bulk' without eating intentionally in a surplus and lifting far heavier weights than that.

Your routine sounds good but try and keep variety. If you're not confident on different moves maybe try a one off PT session, kettlebells are great and really variable

@C1N1C
https://www.cnet.com/health/fitness/does-lifting-weights-make-women-bulky/

Here's some reading for you.

How long does all that take you?!?

I'd be worried that it's a huge time commitment to do that whole routine 3-4 times a week and you might find it unsustainable.

Personally I prefer shorter workouts and also having an A and a B workout to alternate so I don't get too bored / fatigued

Around 2.5 hours but I'm okay with that time wise, this might change in the future but for now it works 😊

And yes totally agree that I might get bored though! It's early days!

I would be interested to see what sort of enthusiasm it actually settles down to long term 😬

Personally I think something between 45 minutes and an hour and a half is ideal duration for a workout. Much more than that and you’re more likely to lose focus and lose energy. In your regime, I’d worry that I wasn’t lifting my best after 45 mins of spin. Agree with PP - I’d do the 45 mins spin and the strength work on different days. Can still do a cardio warmup on weights day but 5-10 mins would do.

It's better to do cardio after weight training so your muscles aren't already fatigued before you start training them. Look up banded 7s and hip halo. Banded 7s before upper body and hip halo before legs.

I'd also split body parts into days depending on how many days you're planning to work out. So legs one day, back and shoulders one day and arms and chest and arms another day. Aim for 6 exercises per session.

5 sets of 10 is too much. Try 3 or 4 sets of 8-12. First set should be a warm up set, your final set you should be struggling to complete 8-10 reps. If you can complete 12 rep on the final set you need to up the weight.

I sometimes do a short ab set at the end of my workouts and a stretch. But you don't really have to. If you're lifting heavy enough weights you'll be engaging your core throughout the workout. I have visible abs and I only do focused ab workouts occasionally.

This is not enough. You'll end up making yourself ill. In 5'6 and 56kg and I eat about 2000 a day. If you're struggling for protein add a protein shake in after your workout.

Thank you!

1400 isn't massively low for me calerie wise, but I'll bear that in mind! Also imagine as I lift more I might get hungrier.

Just regarding doing weights afterwards, if the muscle is fatigued does that mean the exercise sort of doesn't count or burn anything? Build muscle, or is it more that I won't be at my best?

Thanks!

By 1400 not being unusual, I just mean that isn't me 'cutting back' that's just me at the moment t😊

You're not going to be able to push out the same number of reps/weight after cardio as you would without. If you're lifting less weight then that will obviously impact your muscle building.