Had my gym induction yesterday, this is what's suggested, how does it look?

Feek

Feek

Feek

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I joined a gym (Anytime Fitness) about a month ago through Gymflex and salary sacrifice at work and I managed to get my official induction yesterday.

My plans are to go each morning before work and effectively replace my morning walk. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I'm working my way through the NHS C25K program and Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm going to use the machines.

These are the exercises and weights she's given me.

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For the lat pull downs she suggested starting on the lighter weights, working up to the heavier weights with fewer reps and then going back to the lighter ones. Only one set of each but multiple sets on the other machines.

I appreciate that these are probably incredibly light weights compared to most people in here but hey, this will be the first time I've trained in a gym for nearly twenty five years!

So picking apart what she's suggested here, when she says (for example) shoulder press, 3 x 8 15kg. Clearly this is three sets of eight reps at 15kg. How long should I be pausing inbetween sets and would it be reasonable to simply start at the top of the list and work my way through them all on both Tuesday and Thursday. Realistically I don't think doing all these is going to take very long but I'll be trying for myself tomorrow morning for the first time.

Bottom line, is this a sensible start for me?
 
Starting with low weights is the best way to go tbh :)

Do you have access to free weights rather than machines? Free weights are infinitely better for developing general strength. Exercising with machines will grow muscles but often will cause imbalances and not do much for your smaller stabilisation muscles.
 
FrenchTart said:
Exercising with machines will grow muscles but often will cause imbalances and not do much for your smaller stabilisation muscles.
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Agreed - I joined a gym recently, and stuck to machines for the first couple of weeks. Now I'm using free weights 90% of the time, my stability is definitely increasing - the machines did a decent job of breaking me in and getting my strength up but I was wobbly as hell the first few times I used free weights - I'm glad I don't feel the need to use them any more.
 
How long should I be pausing inbetween sets
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Looking at the rep ranges she has given you I would be guessing your goal is more towards hypertrophy (muscle building) than strength so ideally you would be looking around 60-90 seconds between sets. The important thing to remember is that you are just starting off so if you feel you need more time then take it.

would it be reasonable to simply start at the top of the list
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I would tend to start doing the exercises on the bigger muscle groups first usually because they will take more out of you, so legs, back, chest, shoulders. Again though there isn't a hard rule so experiment a little you may find you prefer training them in a different order.

I appreciate that these are probably incredibly light weights
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Pfft to that. It's weight training not weight lifting. You should be commended for taking some action so dont let anyone put you off training.

Bottom line, is this a sensible start for me?
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It's as good as any. As you get more time in the gym under your belt you will get a feel for what does and doesn't work for you and you can look to adapt / increase your training through a myriad of options (increase weights, add exercises, reduce rest between sets, increase time under tension etc). Enjoy your training :)
 
It's a very Commercial PT thing to do: low impact, low risk exercises that make the client feel good and achieve a bit of progess.

Functionally, it's working most of the major muscles and so will do something.

Practically, it's not great because of all of the above: there is no core work (which - for a beginner is pretty important), the compound movements are all machine-based and there are only a couple of those compound movements.

In other words, it's perfectly 'ok' but there are much better routines for getting big/strong/fit.

HOWEVER...

- If the routine works for you and you can stick to it;
- If it gives you the results you're happy with;

Then who cares/ :)
 
It takes 2-3 minutes for ATP-PC (just think of it as anaerobic muscle energy) levels to return close to normal. There, is little to be gained from doing sets faster than that, you will fatigue faster but wont experience the same gains since you will have done less reps.

What I tend to do is try and 1 one muscle group for a set, then alternate to different muscles which can be worked harder within a shorter time since their ATP levels wont have been used. This way I can get more sets done within a workout, because I don;t want to spend more than 3 minutes in the gym once or twice a week, its boring as hell.
 
Basically to translate DP's post in to English, he supersets exercises with opposing muscle groups.

Why he's gotta write that as if he's having a fitness debate with Steven Hawking is beyond me :p
 
GSVBagpuss said:
This man always speaks the truth



You need to squat heavier - I sometimes need a 3 minute rest just to get my breath back!
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I don't want to do heavy squats. When i do squats I do 1 legged body squats, all the weight I need without having to go to the gym.
 
So is that saying "Do the lat pull downs, then go do glutes, then go back and do the chest presses, then hamstring curl, then shoulder press and finish off with the leg press" ?
 
Feek said:
So is that saying "Do the lat pull downs, then go do glutes, then go back and do the chest presses, then hamstring curl, then shoulder press and finish off with the leg press" ?
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Sort of. What it actually means is "do Stronglifts" but translations may vary. ;)

If you are new to the gym, take a minute between sets. If you find that is too tough, initially, keep rest periods to two minutes.

The "problem" with D.P.'s workout premise is that it completely ignores hormonal response to exercise: the biggest "growth" stimuli come from the body responding to the huge buildup of hydrogen ions and micro tears accumulated through hard contractions, slow eccentric (I.e the "letting go" of the weight) movements over 6-12 reps without much rest between the sets.

But that is fine because D.P. isn't worried about being particularly strong or huge.
 
Apart from what has already been said the only thing that jumps out at me is that it looks a bit odd to be doing less on the leg press than on hamstring curls but that might be down to the way the machines operate (e.g. levers/pulleys affecting the difficulty) or it might simply be that you are naturally stronger with certain movements at the moment.

Well done on starting the exercise regime and don't worry about the weights themselves, everyone had to start somewhere and it's far better to begin at lighter weights so you can get the form right and progress than start at heavier weights and risk getting injured just because your ego thinks you should.
 
I'm an amateur compared to the others giving advice here so ignore me and listen to them :) But good on you for losing the weight you did and now trying to step it up a gear by joining the gym. The only advice I can give is that lower weight with better form is absolutely better than bigger weights just for your ego. Don't worry about what others in the gym are doing or how much they are lifting. Just concentrate on yourself and improving over time. The only person you're competing with is your old self.

If you aren't already looking at your diet then do so (I'm sure you have been to lose the weight you did). I've tried getting stronger many times in my life and it was only when I combined a good routine with a clean diet that it really came together and made a big difference.

Good luck and most importantly have fun. It's changed my life and I'm sure it will with you :)
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I've been through the above routine a couple of times now and it all seems to be OK. I've swapped the order around a bit though compared to going straight down the list and have increased the time I was leaving between sets slightly. I can't do the shoulder press weights she's suggested though, I simply don't have the strength. Yet :)
 
Feek said:
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I've been through the above routine a couple of times now and it all seems to be OK. I've swapped the order around a bit though compared to going straight down the list and have increased the time I was leaving between sets slightly. I can't do the shoulder press weights she's suggested though, I simply don't have the strength. Yet :)
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Try dumbbells for the shoulder press. I find I can shoulder press more with free weights than I can on the cable machine. Start off with lower weights though.
 
I'm glad I read that it was all with a machine instead of dumb bells/machine mix like my mind first processed it as. I originally thought the weights where unbalanced between muscle groups as my mind automatically doubled some for db's.

My only bit to add is once you get comfortable doing the exercises, adding weight/reps then look into getting a PT for a couple of session, a block of 4, and get them to go over free weights and techniques. If you don't want to keep the PT sessions up, then maybe every so often have a "refresher" session for new moves or even to check up on large compound moves.
 
I think the only thing that I might add is that it might be a good idea to get into some good habits with stretching / mobility work after your workout.
 
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