Any gym bunnies out there?

[buttonmoon78]

I'm about 3 stone overweight and am starting at the gym tomorrow. I've done it before but not really been happy because I bulk out too much before I've lost any weight, even working on the lighter weights more reps principle. So I'm now thinking of doing lots of x-trainer, rowing & swimming until I've shifted a good stone THEN adding in some weights.

Does this sound reasonable? I can't get an appointment with the personal trainer for a couple of weeks but as the kids are all at school from tomorrow I don't want to lose this initial enthusiasm in waiting!]

Thankyou!

A combination of weight training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best way to make use of your time in the gym. It is very unlikely that you will bulk up as the vast majority of women simply do not have the necessary hormones or eat enough protein to enable easy muscle growth.

If you do just want to do cardio then look at doing HIIT, where you would do say 2 minutes at a moderate level, and then 1 minute at a much harder level where you are really challenging yourself, then drop it back down to the lower level for 2minutes and so on. This is more effective than just going at the same pace for 20/30 minutes.

Don't be scared of using weights. When you start using them your muscles often fill with water temporarily and this can cause an initial feeling of adding bulk and also mean that there is no change in the scales or sometimes even an increase in weight which causes most women to panic and stop weight training altogether. Weight training will help increase your bone density, increase or at least maintain muscle mass which is often lost when people 'diet' and will increase your metabolism.

Maybe start by doing things like squats, lunges, push ups, step ups, romanian single leg deadlifts. All of these can be done with just bodyweight at first and then when you need more of a challenge you can add dumbbells. If you can do 12-15 reps of an exercise and still feel like you could do more comfortable with good form then the exercise is too easy for your body and it will not have any effect on it. You have to force your body to change by challenging it, and that is why it is necessary to keep using heavier weights, keep increasing the pace that you workout at etc.

If you do use weights remember to leave 48 hours between workouts. You can still crosstrain ie run, swim etc on the days between but your muscles must have time to recover and rebuild between sessions or you can end up weaker than when you started!

Try not to worry about what the scales say either and try measuring yourself, or even better taking pictures in your underwear as a way of monitoring your progress. Take a notebook to the gym so you can keep track of the level that you use the cardio machines on, how much weight you use for each exercise (this will vary drastically depending on what muscle group you are working), how many reps etc.

Also, the lighter weights more reps principle means that you are only working on increasing the endurance of that muscle, not the strength. It is working on the strength element that will cause the muscle to change shape, burn more calories etc.

I agree totally with Lost Girl. Women don't bulk out - any feeling like that is temp. Plus the more muscle you build the more calories you burn (even when doing nothing)!

Best thing to do is eat clean (no processed stuff) lots of fluid. And do a mix of cardio & weights (& none of this low weight high rep as that doesn't help) speak to your PT & see what they say & good luck.

I do (@ the GYM)

Mon - Target Pump (kinda weight lifting to music you can choose your own weights)
Tues - Box Fit (curcuit training like a boxer)
Thurs - Box Fit
Friday - Pilates

Thank you, that's really helpful. I had envisaged doing a full work out Mon, Wed & Fri am with a long swim on Tues / Thurs. So that would fit with what you're suggesting.

I have a lot of shape changing to do and I really want to get on with it now. 3 babies and a bad back wreak havoc with your figure and I'm hoping that the increase in muscle tone will help my back. (Losing 3 stone would also help a bit I reckon !)

If I did a min of 60 mins 5 days a week, how soon would you expect me to see results (in terms of my figure)? From past experience, I noticed a change in my fitness levels within a fortnight but I've never stuck with major cardio stuff for very long before!

The bulking thing is mainly my arms. I don't bulk anywhere else, but then my arms are chunky anyway. I think it's a genetic thing as my mum and one of my sisters are both 8-10 but have chunky arms. So I have to resign myself to the fact that I will never be able to wear little cap sleeves!

I know what you mean about chunky arms, I too am cursed with them. I started weight training in January this year and whilst they have only changed in size slightly (smaller) there shape has changed completely and they now look shapely and athletic rather than chunky and flappy .

60 minutes will be more than enough in the gym, try and sort out two weight routines which you can alternate between, and then 15 minutes of HIIT, and then a good stretch. Try and use free weights and avoid the machines which just isolate muscle groups and work them in a way that you never would in real life.

How quickly will you see results? Within a month providing you are eating a healthy balanced diet. Try and eat a high protein snack within an hour after exercising as it will help your body get the most from your workout.

Hope you enjoy it and get the results you are looking for.

Thank you for all your help. I hope I'll be back soon waxing lyrical about all the changes I've seen! Am doing my best diet-wise. I really really don't want to diet as we have a very full social life which revolves around food and entertaining so I'm trying instead to work on portions and generally getting better about not eating crap.