Starting Gym - your best practices please

[lovemy2babies]

I shall be starting the gym the soon, am rather unfit, have not been for a few years and very tired during the day due to baby still bf in the night.

So my questions to you lovely lot are:

Is a early morning work out better than an evening one.

If I do an morning work out do I have breakfast before I go and what breakfast would be best?
I normally have tea + porridge.

errm any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, for most people the best time for a workout is when you can fit it in! If you have the option to choose then try going at different times of the day and see what works for you, you may find the gym is quieter at certain times which is always a bonus. If you go in the morning then definitely have breakfast and give it time to go down before you workout, your body has already fasted for a number of hours overnight so it needs fuel.

Have you been given a workout to follow? If not I would suggest having a plan of what you are going to do so you don't waste time wandering between equipment thinking about it as this adds on 'rest time' whereas you want to keep your heartrate up.

Don't worry if your first time feels like a complete struggle and absolute hell, it will improve quickly!

Thanks lostgirl.

I was planning to use my old routine of weight loss which I used to enjoy doing.

I am worried about struggling but your right it will get better and I will be much fitter than I am now

If you're going back to an old routine then you'll be surprised how quickly your muscles 'remember' what they are supposed to do. Once you've done it for about 4 weeks try something different though, variety is key to keep seeing changes as our bodies adapt very quickly to cope with what we throw at them. Good luck, I hope you enjoy it

I find morning better as I have more energy, also supposed to be better for metabolism. But realistically go whenever you have time .

My DS2 is 9 months old and I hardly went whilst I was BFing (until he was 6 months) it didn't work for me while feeding... have been back into gym for 3 months now, (3x a week) and I would describe myself as "gymfit" now.

I usually eat light breakfast before morning workout, currently low carbing, so breakfast is usually eggs! But small serving of porridge ok - I find if i eat too much can't work out properly.

i prefer mornings because then you have a lot less time to build up excuses not to go. i tend to eat something like a banana about an hour before i workout. a strong black coffee can also be good especially if you are doing cardio because i makes you do more.

gyms tend to be far less busy early morning compared to evening and i don't like busy gyms.

get yourself a small mp3 player that you can clip onto your kit so you can listen to music to keep you going. a hairband can be useful for keeping earphones in place i find.

if you can afford it a session with a personal trainer is often worth it to set you on the right track (most gyms give you one free session anyway).

mix cardio workouts with power / strength building.

just keep going and don't stop. try to go as often as you can but allow one rest day a week. the first three months are the hardest. don't give yourself excuses and make it your top priority.

also...try upping your protein intake and reducing your carbs. this has really worked for me. i used to be a porridge for breakfast person but now i have baked beans or scrambled tofu or a couple of quorn sausages. sometimes i still have the porridge - you don't have to become obsessive.