If you had 45 minutes in the gym...

[smiles]

how would you use the time?

Although I am not a large person, since I left high-school and began university I have gained about 10 pounds. Everyone tells me they can''t tell, (I fit into clothes from grade 8 (which is interesting since on a 5''2" person 10 pounds could look like alot)), and that if I lost weight I''d be too skinny but I can feel the weight even if others can''t see it!!

As a dancer, not only am I clueless in the gym because dance was always my exercise, but I also have little endurance ( am used to going as strong as possible for 4 minute intervals!)

What would/do you with your time at the gym that you find has worked best for you in terms of toning up?

 

[bee*]

Are there any instructors at the gym that could give you a programme. Personally I''d probably alternate the days between cardio and weights but not sure if that would help you or not.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/18/2009 9:48:20 AM
Author: bee*
Are there any instructors at the gym that could give you a programme. Personally I'd probably alternate the days between cardio and weights but not sure if that would help you or not.

Ditto, some gyms offer classes. You might even like Interval training classes 3 mins of intense cardio and 2 mins of muscle work. Or sometimes gyms offer a group muscle hour? I personally do 2 interval classes a week and 1 class of muscle hour/core work and the rest of the week I walk outdoors. Also, a good dvd is 30 Shred that you could do at home, it is interval training that gets the heartrate up in under 45 mins where you do muscle work. You do need a few hand weights for the 30 day Shred and I think it only costs like $10.

 

[Snicklefritz]

I''m usually at the gym for 45 minutes. I do 20 min of cardio on the elliptical machine because I, like you have little endurance, and find the elliptical to be very low impact. Then I work either my arms or legs using weight machines. I alternate working legs one day and then arms the next day throughout the week. And I nearly always do the ab machine.

Hope this helps.

 

[smiles]

Thanks Skippy and Bee.
I know the gym offers interval training classes - I have never taken it because I never knew what it was!! But now that I do, I''ll check it out! I have taken other classes but I guess I was just wondering what everone else''s gym routines are!

 

[smiles]

Thanks Snicklefritz! That is helpful. I have tried the treadmiill (so boring) and the bike but I will definitely check out the eliptical!

 

[vespergirl]

If you''re a dancer you might like a Zumba class.

 

[White Orchid]

When I used to go to the gym I''d do a weight circuit followed by a run on the elliptical. I''ve since cancelled my gym membership and bought an elliptical machine so that''s really all I do now. Most gyms offer some sort of dance classes you might like. I tried belly dancing once. I was horrible at it, but it was lots of fun!

 

[bee*]

Date: 4/18/2009 2:09:19 PM
Author: smiles
Thanks Skippy and Bee.

I know the gym offers interval training classes - I have never taken it because I never knew what it was!! But now that I do, I''ll check it out! I have taken other classes but I guess I was just wondering what everone else''s gym routines are!

To give you an idea of my routine-
Mondays-I go there at 5 after college and then I do 20 minutes elliptical, hill programme, level 9, then 5 minutes on the rower level 8 (have to row 1000m in that time), then I do situps, fixed weights for upper and lower body, squats and lunges and after that I do 10km on the bike, hill programme, level 11. I do a salsa step class as well afterwards.

Tuesday-I normally do the same as Monday without the class. Sometimes I do a tone class though.

Thursday-do the same workout as Monday without the class.

Saturday-I do weights and then I do an hour of salsa step and an hour of salsa aerobics.

I sometimes to on Sunday as well if I''m bored at home. My instructor changes my routine every six weeks though so it keeps things varied.

 

[MMT]

I alternate running and the elliptical for my cardio. I also really believe in weight training. I try to get in at least one good upper body day and one good lower body day a week. I have a workout partner and we help keep each other motivated. Good luck.

 

[smiles]

Thanks again everyone!
Every embarassing to admit but I went to the gym Monday all excited to try the elliptical and got to the machine and pushed quick start (usually with treadmill and stuff i like to just get it on and then decide what i want to do) and it wasn''t turning on from that but someone had just been on it so I knew it was working!! I didn''t want to look like an idiot that couldn''t turn on the machine and there were lots of people around so I walked away.

Am I missing some special start button?? I will try again though. Not only was it embarassing at the time but it''s embarassing to admit how embarassed i felt!! Anyways, despite the lack of elliptical machinery I still had a good workout... will try again soon!

 

[bee*]

I hate it when things like that happen! See if there''s an instructor around next time and they''ll show you how to start it and what level to do etc. The ones in our gym light up when you start to exercise and then you can put in the programme and level you want.

 

[Lorelei]

If you want to lose weight I would suggest mainly cardio to begin with.

 

[babysteps]

Smiles, I am a big fan of getting a handful of sessions with a trainer to start with at the gym - like 5 sessions or so. I think it is a good investment in your health and time - they can show you how to work all the cardio machines, and review both weight machines and free weights with you - a good way to not injure yourself and also make sure that any time you spend weight training is done with the best form so that it really benefits you. For me, it really made me feel a lot more comfortable in the gym. For workouts, I try to alternate higher intensity cardio (intervals)/ lower intensity days/weight training though sometimes I mix them up. Most important is to find a mix that you enjoy, so keep trying things til you find a great fit.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

If I had only 45 min I would try to go 3-4 times a week. I would do 25 minutes of cardio, either running or elliptical. The elliptical that makes you use your arms as well should burn a high amount of calories and be low impact. Than I would do 20 minutes of strength training, either free weights or the machine weights. I would do chest, triceps, legs, abds on one day, and than back, biceps, shoulders on the other day and alternate between the two.

The cardiovascular exercise will burn a few extra calories a day. The strength training will increase your muscle mass. Muscle burns more energy than fat. So having more muscle mass increases you basil metabolism, so you burn more calories even when you are sitting at your desk.

 

[smiles]

Ok, so I have slowly been taking all the advice that has been given here and am hoping now that school is over to be able to get to the gym much more regularly now.
I have been trying out the various ellipticals ( I can turn them on now ) to see which one I like best and started out with 15 minutes of cardio. I definitely think I could do 20 but I didn''t want to be too ambitious at first. The thing I am finding is that after sweating it out doing cardio I am tired and am not doing the weight trainin/squats/abs work as well as I know I can.

Do you guys do your cardio first and then weight train? or weights and then cardio? Or am I missing something else here?

 

[bee*]

That''s great that you''re getting into it! I normally do a 15-20 min cardio warm up, then do all my weights and sit ups etc then do 25-30 mins cardio.

 

[tlh]

It depends on what your goals are. If you want to tone, your muscles will be WORN OUT after cardio... and you wont be able to build much strength that way. So warm up on machine 5-10 minutes, lift weights 10-20 minutes, cardio 20-30 minutes... but cardio is really going to be where your calorie burning is.

I also read somewhere that in order to have the post workout effect, your cardio much be AT LEAST 20 minutes. Otherwise the extra calorie burn stops when you do.

Just one word of caution, the biggest mistake made is that people over-estimate the amount of calories a workout really burns... and they overeat, ("I can have this slice of cake because I went on a walk during luch." However, the cake has 400 calories, and the walk during lunch may have only burned 180 calories... so that thought process can lead to weight gain.) Also, unless you are a MALE and weigh over 150 pounds, the calories on the machines in the gym give false readings on how many calories you are actually burning... and give a HIGHER number of calories burned than what was actually worked off.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php use this - it isn''t exact but it is better than the machines in the gym.

But you said you like dancing, I''d pick workouts like Zumba that are similar to what you enjoy doing, because if you enjoy it - you will continue to do! I''d just pick some songs you like and push yourself hard, it should be difficult to sing along. Yeah, I actually lip sing at the gym because I''m shameless!!! But that is how I know I''m working myself to my limits and burning some calories!

Best wishes to you!!!

 

[Squirrly]

if i only had 45 minutes i''d either do the elliptical or the step machine (my favorite looks like an escalator) for about 20-25 minutes and then weights for the rest.

class-wise i love bodypump (a weight-lifting class that''s set up like an aerobics one) kickboxing is also a lot of fun, and sweaty yoga''s pretty good, but not offered at my gym

 

[LaurenThePartier]

For me, my focus is trying to build strength, so I'd take advantage of the gym's various weight facilities and spend the majority of my time there. I split it pretty evenly between high rep/low weight, and high weight/low reps.

I don't do a whole lot of cardio, but spend at least 20 minutes doing some Tae Bo-like (I know, hello 1999!

) aerobics that combine some martial arts with some dance, and I alternate that with the treadmill.

 

[Amanda.Rx]

Circuit workouts are super. Go from machine to machine, and don''t take breaks. If you need to rest your arms or legs, do some abs/core work in between. That way, you get a toned workout and a cardio workout at the same time.

Do like- 1 minute on a machine and 30 seconds to switch to the next. Pick 10-12 machines/stations (arms, abs, and legs) and rotation through 3 times.

I used to be a collegiate athelete and in a preseason, we would do a 90 minute circuit 3 days/week (60 stations- 1 minute as hard as you could go, and then 30 seconds to change to the next station). We''ll just say, we had a lot of people vomit, but it got you in shape VERY quickly. (although I don''t suggest pushing til you vomit- not a good idea).