Advice for a beginner? -

[Dr.Research]

I'm just starting to hit the gym regularly (3 times a week, for at least an hour) and wonder if I can get any suggestions or advice.
I'm not overweight by any stretch, but have a bit of a tummy and want to generally get more toned. Anyone know of anything (weight routines, treadmill setting, ect) that can help? I'm also looking into supplements like amino acids and proteins.
Also important, I'm female.

If anyone else is a beginner and wants to join in here feel free.

 

[buttsbuttsbutts]

Take a notebook with you and write down what exercises you do and with what weights. That way you can see improvements, and keep track to make sure you're actually adding weight and making gains. Diet is also important but I'm too lazy to track what I eat religiously so I can't really make any comments there.
If you want to do cardio, google couch to 5k. As for weight routines, I personally do Starting Strength, but that's all free weights and might be a bit intimidating if you don't have anyone to show you what to do.

 

[Hyperion]

Get a good warm up and stretching routine. Thats about all the advice I'm qualified to give.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

When I started there was access to a personal trainer as part of the gym dues, so ask them if you need any help, that's what they're there for.

Don't do too much that you hurt yourself and know your limits. Other than that, have fun, and don't be too intimidated by all the buff people around - they had to start somewhere, too.

 

[Epithet]

For being notorious for shit posting, the more serious "lifestyle" boards on either 4chan or 8chan have some pretty useful stickied information. I know when I wanted to get more serious in lifting, I sat down and read through the 4chan /fit/ sticky. It has a lot of good general information about how to get started, what to look out for when selecting food, etc. The 8chan /fit/ sticky is a bit more in depth (I've recently just found out about it myself) but goes into much better diet and exercise detail than the 4chan sticky. I'm sure Reddit has some good info on one of their fitness boards too.

I would agree with buttsbuttsbutts and go with the Starting Strength training for weight lifting/fat burning, even if you are female. You'll be surprised the about of progress you'll see in just the first few weeks. I've also found the workout overall doesn't take a good chunk of time (usually took a little more than an hour) and is still pretty fun even after a few weeks. You may stagnate if you continue after a few months of the program, or at least I did, but the stickies also have info on other more intermediate programs you can move onto. From what I've been reading, weight lifting is as good, if not better, than cardio for calorie burning. But in the end, it comes down to what exactly you're looking to get out of training.

Still consider myself a beginner, cause there are definitely things I'm doing that I could be doing better (diet mainly) so take this with a grain of salt. But the more research you do, the better off you'll be.

 

[The Knife's Husbando]

Be sure to stretch well before exercising- and just as important- cool your system down after afterwards. Also, avoid drinking soda or anything with lactic acid in it while working out, it'll make your muscles more sore than they should be.

 

[Sweet and Savoury]

Avoid the treadmill, it's murder on your knees. Go for the cross trainer it's low impact.

Don't neglect your cardio, it will help get rid of that belly faster then crunches but don't do too much cardio and burn away your muscle.

It's a balancing act really.

Free weights are better then machines over all.

Go get some isolate protein powder and take like 20 to 40 grams depending on your size soon after your work out, a good multivitamin and if you got the bucks a pre-work drink like Serum by Magnum is nice but costly.

Oh yah, glutamine is required for your first month or so, it eases the muscle soreness. Take like 2000mg before you go to sleep on workout nights.

 

[Dr.Research]

Thanks, kiwis! I'm gonna start making a more serious plan and get a nifty little notebook to track it all.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

Thanks, kiwis! I'm gonna start making a more serious plan and get a nifty little notebook to track it all.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[Dirty Blond]

Stay out of the bodybuilding.com 'misc' forum.

 

[MACH-IV]

I bring my phone in with me with pictures to look up proper form. It's really helpful for trying new exercises and I use a notepad app to keep track of my progress.
A big mistake a lot of beginners make is reading a lot about fitness and trying to apply it all right from the start. Start off by doing whatever you feel you're capable of doing, even if it's just using a few machines for a few minutes. It will be a lot easier to adopt an exercise routine once you've gotten in the habit of going to the gym regularly.

A lot of people get really psyched up about getting fit and then quickly burn out because they tried too much, too fast, and didn't get the results they wanted.

 

[Dr.Research]

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Sure will
Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Dr.Research]

Hey everyone!
Hope everyone else is doing well. Just a mini-update; I was lazy this week and my schedule was different so I only went to the gym once but I'm forcing myself to go 3 times this coming week. My boyfriend showed me more weight routines so I'm giving that a go. Also working on eating better (i.e not going out so much).

And honestly, reading threads about Chris and Barb and their physical state (and that show my 600 LBS Life) is some good encouragement... (no intended)

 

[spylobster]

but have a bit of a tummy and want to generally get more toned.

Cardio tell you cry.

 

[rocket]

MOST WEIGHT PROBLEMS BEGIN IN THE KITCHEN. IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS LOSING WEIGHT AND/OR KEEPING IT OFF, KEEP A FOOD LOG. Sorry for the bolded all-caps sperg there, but seriously, examine your eating habits before you do anything else. A good metric for how many calories you should be eating while maintaining an active lifestyle is to add another 0 to your weight. So if you're 250 lbs, eat 2500 calories, and make sure about 40% of that is protein.

Lift weights. Compound exercises involving free weights are superior to using machines because they engage multiple muscle groups at once. Not only is this more effective, but you'll spend less time in the gym. (That said, machines are usually fine, but watch out for ones that isolate your joints, and stay off the goddamn leg press if you don't know how to do a proper squat.) Good resource: exrx.net. Good starter routine: Sean10mm's modified Starting Strength.

Do cardio, but try not to do it on days you're lifting weights. Alternating days is usually best so you're making the most out of both your strength and your cardio. If there's no way to do this, it's safer to knock out your cardio after you've done all your strength training. What kind of cardio and what kind of machine you use doesn't matter, do whatever feels comfortable, but if you're running make sure you're using the correct form or you run the risk of leg injury. Your maximum heart rate is 220 - your age. If you're just aiming for wellness and not like marathons or whatever, staying between 50% and 80% of your max is your goal.

Drink lots of water. Buy a sport bottle, fill it, suck that bad boy down. Take all day if you need to, just get it in you. Using stuff like Crystal Light to make it less boring is fine. Soft drinks, coffee, milk, beer, iced tea, anything that is not water does not count as water. This doesn't mean you can't ever have other stuff, it just means that you need to drink water.

Get off the scale. Don't weigh yourself more than once a month. Take weekly measurements instead. Notice how your clothes start fitting better. Watch how your skin clears up. Pay attention to the lift in your moods. The weight changes will come as you learn to manage your habits. Most people damn themselves by agonizing over the scale.

I'm a lady lifter too, and have been for several years now. I also do a triathalon every other year. I love sperging about this shit. Feel free to bother me with any questions.

 

[Alex Krycek]

I'm actually on the opposite end... I'm trying to put on weight since I'm slightly underweight and have always been pretty skinny. It isn't that I skip meals, its actually just my metabolism; all the men in my family have trouble putting on weight. Been trying to eat larger portions and I snack on Canned Sardines over toast or Cheez-Its between meals but my progress has been minimal. Might start drinking protein shakes too. Mind you I haven't worked out much in all off this, I'm trying to build mass first.

 

[Dr.Research]

MOST WEIGHT PROBLEMS BEGIN IN THE KITCHEN. IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS LOSING WEIGHT AND/OR KEEPING IT OFF, KEEP A FOOD LOG. .

Thanks so much! I'm definitely trying to eat better by cooking at home and not going out as much (which is my arch nemesis) along with choosing healthier snacks. Thanks again for all the advice and willing to answer my questions

 

[Dr.Research]

I'm actually on the opposite end... I'm trying to put on weight since I'm slightly underweight and have always been pretty skinny. It isn't that I skip meals, its actually just my metabolism; all the men in my family have trouble putting on weight. Been trying to eat larger portions and I snack on Canned Sardines over toast or Cheez-Its between meals but my progress has been minimal. Might start drinking protein shakes too. Mind you I haven't worked out much in all off this, I'm trying to build mass first.

My boyfriend has a similar thing when he wants to gain muscle/weight. His metabolism is also ridiculously high so he needs to eat a shit ton to maintain weight and muscle.
Protein shakes might work but if you have a good sized one with breakfast (for example) that may keep you full for a while and not want to eat which might not really help you.

 

[spylobster]

I'm actually on the opposite end... I'm trying to put on weight since I'm slightly underweight and have always been pretty skinny. It isn't that I skip meals, its actually just my metabolism; all the men in my family have trouble putting on weight. Been trying to eat larger portions and I snack on Canned Sardines over toast or Cheez-Its between meals but my progress has been minimal. Might start drinking protein shakes too. Mind you I haven't worked out much in all off this, I'm trying to build mass first.

Eating more food wont make you bigger, it will just make you fat. People do caloric deficits and surpluses because they give you certain amounts of energy. The more energy you have the more you can lift and get bigger muscles. The less you have is how much you don't have to burn off when doing cardio. If you want to gain muscle just include more protein in your diet and have a consistent workout routine. Everyone is a hard gainer.