a question about how often to go to the gym

[faustina]

never done it before, though I've been doing stuff at home . rowing machine etc. Joined friday and had my assessment then, and I've been three times this week so far. Anyway - I have the time for the next few months and I really want to give it my best shot - all part of a plan to fix many things. My question is - the man who did the assessment said to only do it twice, three times a week - but how come you can do the shred every day? And how come I see people here talking about a recovery day (per week I assume)? If I went five times a week would I be doing damage - or undoing any good?

My collage Gym cost £4 per session Riven but the local brivate one costs £16 per session

I think in terms of how often to go its a case of building it up. I started the Gym and started streight away going 4-5 days a week for an hour at a time, after a week and a half i had to stop for a week becuase my whole body was in agony, i don't mean an ache from excersising either i couldn't walk! The Dr said i had over done it and to take a days rest between each session until i was used to it.

all the gyms round here wanted a whole year up front - 400 quid!!! No good for me since I'm hoping to move. The one I joined is 40 quid a month, but it's a spa too so you can use the other bits for that.

thank you tinselina - I felt like that after the first day - slightly less so now. How often do you go now you are used to it?

MY gym is £27 a month - local council one - v good.

I go as often as I can & how my body is reacting to it. Anywhere between 3 - 5 times a week.

I go almost every day but I alternate what I do. 3 yoga sessions often with a cardio warmup and 2 cardiovascular/weights sessions plus a couple of swims.

Recovery time is vital for weights - you can do cardio every day but if you're building up your muscles by pushing your limits lifting weights then they need time to heal.

Think of exercise as coming in different types that make up a balanced program - cardio, weight training, stretching etc. You should have a bit of cardio every time because that's the basis of a healthy body/heart but if you stretch or lift weights you need to allow your body time to adapt to the change.

recovery time is important for weights - but there is nothing to stop you going everyday but doing your top half one day and your bottom half the next day legs or arms etc

when I first joined a gym I went everyday, now about 4-5 days per week but now I do two classes on some days to maximinse time

oh this is really helpful thank you! So I can do the treadmill/bike/crosstrainer etc every day, and will be more careful with the weights

haven't tried a class yet - am a bit daunted

what type of classes do they offer?

I like bodypump - weights class to music, yoga for the strecthing and spin stationary cycling to shift 600 cals in 45 minutes of hill climbs to music

classes are good- diff at first coz you don't know anyone & imagine everyone else are firm friends. Soon enough you'll get talking to other people.

I used to just go in the gym & use the machines - now I almost exclusively do classes.

I go to the gym 5 times a week these days and do weights every time i go, as well as cardio too on 3 days out of the 5. I have two consecutive "rest days", which also happen to coincide with me having to go to work. :o

I only do classes as I find them very motivational, and also i have made friends with a few people that go too so we have a laugh.

My gym schedule is this:

Monday : Bodypump
Tuesday : Step and Bodypump
Wednesday : Step and Bodypump
Thursday : Rest/Work day
Friday : Rest/Work day
Saturday : Bodypump
Sunday : Body Combat and Bodypump

Lots of pump in there, i know, but I am careful not to load up on my weights too much as i bulk up pretty easily and that isn't what i am aiming to do! :)

I go 5 times a week and this has helped me to lose 2.5 stone (went more when I was losing the weight but this is current schedule)

Mon: Body conditioning
Tues: Skip and Tone plus swimming lesson
Wed: Zumba
Thurs: spinning
Friday: spinning
Sat: zumba and body conditioning

I've also started to run for 2-3k after some of the classes too.

All of these classes are only 1hr long so really I only do 7hrs exercise a week. I used to do 2hrs a night which I miss but have 19mth DS and work 4d/week so can be hard to squeeze in. This has kept the weight off despite trying my best efforts to un-do all my dieting work.

If I could count, it would be that I go 6 times a week!

thanks very much - it's all really helpful. I can only hazard a guess at what all those classes are - they do a pilates one and I was thinking of having a go at that? I don't need to lose weight, just get a bit more toned

what's spinning?

I'll give myself today off and then go again tomorrow

Body conditioning is a mixture of squats, lunges, body pump, abs exercises.

Skip and Tone is a mix of skipping for one song, then stretching with a dyna band for another and so on followed at the end by abs exercises.
Zumba is fantastic and is a colombian based dance/exercise class.
Spinning is cycling on a stationary bike to music with an instructor leading the class.

I can't motivate myself to use the gym so classes have been great for me. Good luck - it does become addictive:)

thanks carrie - at least it's a good kind of addiction. All those classes sound petrifying - maybe I am too anti-social for that kind of thing

Don't worry Faustina - I'm a pretty introverted character and it took me a while to go to the classes but once you start going to one, you do feel more confident. I'd stand outside some of them and watch them for a bit and then go the following week once I had an idea of what they involved.

Classes can be a bit daunting at first, but probably only because you dont know what's going to happen in them. Once you've been to a class for the first time you will know what happens so therefore will (hopefully) not feel so put off by them and will start to look forward to them! :)

Pilates is great, as is bodycombat.

Now term has finished I'm hoping I'll be able to fit a bodycombat class in (although I'm not sure whether it's advised in pregnancy?). I used to do Pump but was advised to stop that the minute I told the instructor.

gosh you have all been so helpful - thanks v much. It's stopped hurting now (4th visit) and next week I'll try at least one class

Frakkinup - why did your instructor tell you to stop doing pump? There's a lady in our pump class who's quite heavily pg and she is doing just fine! I think as long as you know your weight limits and dont do anything too stressful, it should be fine!

As for combat, it's a non-contact sport so should be fine too :)

Sorry, combat isn't a sport, it's an exercise class.....

I don't know - I guess he was nervous. Apparently you're not supposed to do half the exercises and I guess he didn't really know how to modify them whereas with yoga, balance and the aqua classes the instructors are female and knew what I can and can't do - go figure, hm? Either way I didn't want to take the chance.

That's fair enough :)

I seem to remeber soemone saying hte better your midrift is toned the harder it can be for baby when pg - but have absolutaley no idea why if if they were right - I think it had more to do with labouring and muscle tone impeeding the labour - though why??