Hello everyone, I am new to the whole gym exercise thing..
I am wondering is there a certain regimen I should follow?

I am doing as follows:
10 on the exercise bike
15 on the treadmill
35 crunches on the ab lounge type thing
5 mins on the abducter
5 mins on adducter
5 mins on butterfly machine

but I was told that really was a good workout plan, but I am new to this and going at it on my own

I was told I need to be doing more weight training than cardio
I am sooo confused

Well your regimen should change as your body progresses although the abducter/adducter machines shouldn't be used and weight training isn't done in terms of minutes like cardio. Ideally, you should be using free weights over machines.

My recommendation would be to pay for a personal trainer for at least one visit and tell them your goals of weight training and that you would like a plan which you could use on your own for at least a month. You could ask for a total body workout or look at a lower body/upper body workout.

A decent book to look at is Body for Life which has an upper body workout plan and a lower body workout plan. A highly recommended book would be the New Rules of Lifting for Women.

Also feel free to wander over to the weight/resistance training subforum:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=80

There are a lot of useful stickies and information there.

I was also going to say you need more weight training- weight training builds muscle which also burns more fat!

I was doing muscle once a week and cardio 2-4, and my friend told me it's better to do weights everyday (one day upper body- one day lower) and then cardio AFTER my weights- even if it's only 10 minutes weights than 20 minutes of cardio after it'll help.

I like weight training so it's not bad news for me!

I agree get a trainer- even if it's just a few sessions to learn how to use the machines- any good trainer will be glad to help you with that!

Don't forget to mix it up or your body will get used to it and you won't continue to see results.

Nelie, why shouldn't the abducter/adducter be used?


My regimen tends to be what I originally learned at FitZone, though I don't go there anymore: 20-30 min warm-up on a cardio machine (usually the elliptical if my legs are up for it), stretching, weights circuit (I've been focusing on abs lately), and warm-down on a cardio machine (usually the treadmill).

MaryEllen - This sticky explains the reasons behind not using the adductor/abductor
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81247

Personally, I believe machines should be used very rarely and more towards free weights. Lunges, squats, dead lifts, etc are much more effective leg exercises.

Thanks for clarifying.