Like I said, I do my cardio there, but only because I can hide upstairs and not be bothered LOL.
I had a personal trainer there for a month and a half, and I am pretty familiar with the equipment, but not the free weights. Is it ok to start with the machines? And what do I do? The trainer I had never went into detail about a program to use after I was done with her..we did mostly cardio and only about 15 minutes per session spent on the machines for weight training type things. Just do arms and legs? Or should I include back and abs?
My opinion is...just start! Seriously. I do machines now because of convenience, lack of a spotter. And I do what I call the minimal set (hit all the major muscle groups and get out) Is it ideal? no, but its what I can manage right now
Its like anything else....just start somewhere and tweak tweak tweak as you learn change and ...shrink.
Meg...I could say word for word about running what you say about weights....the mental aspect is king. Who knew I could be an "athlete"
We have a nice campus gym but all of the weight equipment is in one room, and there are always these bulked up guys or totally hot girls working out on it..I am just too intimidated right now. I only do my cardio there because there is a track upstairs, with a little cardio section nobody knows about..and the best ellipticals are up there hehe.
Same in my campus gym, but I've found out the guys are actually pretty nice and almost 'chivalrous', in a way (perhaps it's the whole "girl who's trying to lift the right way, but she's not better than us, so it's all okay". And the hot girls, well, after a few weeks, when you see that a lot of them actually don't lift very heavy and do those boring long-reps, low-weight same old series all the time... suddenly you start feeling better about yourself.
As for bulking up, yeah, there's not much risk as a women. The only risk is a gain of muscle when we still have too much fat above it, which can, for a time only, make us appear 'fat/fatter'. But as long as weight-training is coupled with an appropriate diet (as in manner of eating, not living off 600 calories a day ), we'll slowly build muscle, and lose the weight in parallel.
Finally, machines vs. free weights: you can start and do good with the machines, that's not a problem. Free weights in themselves are great because they make you work everything; for instance, when doing squats, it's only your legs that are working, but the rest of your body as well, to help you keep your balance. But it's also easier (in my opinion, that is) to hurt yourself with free weights than on a machine IF you're a beginner and doesn't know exactly what you're doing. I've seen people perform awful forms of squats at my gym, and others whom I was wondering about when I'd have to get up and help them to get unstuck from under that heavy barbell fallen on their chest. Also, it's a good idea to get a good warm-up before lifting free weights, and not start with only 5-10 minutes of cardio behind you. (On the good side of things? Since I've taken up free weights, I don't have any more of those little knee pains when running. I guess it truly did help building muscle at the right places!)
I say go try it, too. Check out the stickies in the Ladies Who Lift forum - lots of good info there as well as links to all the best sites in the Getting Started stickie.
I learned a lot from a book by Jillian Michaels (the trainer from Biggest Loser) called "Winning by Losing"...there is a whole 12 week program of workouts with how to's and also food advice. There are also Dummies books on weight lifting...
Everyone feels weird going into a gym at first...be not afraid, grasshopper..
OK...So I went to the gym! No one was doing weights, so I did 30 minutes of cardio to warm up, and by the time I was done a few people had showed up to the machine weights section....But I did it anyway. I saw this girl there, whose body looked so much like mine, and she didn't seem embarrased at all to be in there. The buff guys didn't stare at my fat, and the hot girls stayed all of 5 minutes. I did arms and legs, 8 different machines for 20 minutes total. It's not much, but better than nothing. And feeling my muscles work felt soooooo good!
I think I have given up on workout partners..They seem to be the reason I stop going to the gym...because when they back out of going I feel like I can too. I have had two different partners, and both never go anymore
And thank you all so much. Anytime I feel reluctant to do something, it's so nice to know there are wonderful people here to help motivate me and get me excited about doing this.
Yay Mary. Good for you!!!! You are doing just awesome. It only gets better from here on in. Keep it up.
I agree about the workout partners. You simply can not rely on anyone. Except yourself of course. If along the way you happen to meet someone who's totally into it like you, great. If not, so be it. Although nice to have, a workout partner is absolutely not vital.
), we'll slowly build muscle, and lose the weight in parallel.
Also, it's a good idea to get a good warm-up before lifting free weights, and not start with only 5-10 minutes of cardio behind you. (On the good side of things? Since I've taken up free weights, I don't have any more of those little knee pains when running. I guess it truly did help building muscle at the right places!)
I'm glad you did it and had a good experience!!!!
