I joined a gym a few months ago, got super busy with my internship (but it paid off, as it led to a great job!) and stopped going for 4-5 weeks. I started going again last week, but this is the first time I've ever exercised regularly in my life (and my weight shows it!) and I have a lot of questions. I met with a trainer to come up with a plan when I joined, but I always wonder if I am doing enough.
I always start by doing 5 minutes on the elliptical...I know it's not much at all, but my quads start killing me quickly and 5 is all I can do for now before my legs are shaking. Another trainer showed me a different elliptical yesterday that has a longer stride. It seemed better on my muscles, so I'm switching to that one and can hopefully improve the time. After the elliptical, I switch to the treadmill and walk at 3mph for 30 minutes, which is about a mile and a half. At this point, I am usually feeling too fatigued to do more cardio. Every other day, I do a circuit of resistance machines as well.
I know I am just a beginner and shouldn't compare myself to others, but 1.5 miles does not seem like much at all. However, it is 30 minutes of cardio, and I definitely get sweaty and fatigued. I was thinking maybe I should do more cardio after the resistance machines, but I'm not sure. Ideally, I would love to do more elliptical, but I will have to work up to that.
I am not working this summer, so I have a great opportunity to devote a lot of time and energy to changing my lifestyle and improving my health and I really want to make the best of it. How much should I be doing each day? Should I try going twice on some days to get in an extra workout? If you had over 100 to lose, where did you start? Thanks in advance for the advice!