I just joined a fitness club and need some workout suggestions.?

Question

I am 80 lbs overweight and 35 yrs old and unfortunately very out of shape. I walked 2 miles today and swam several laps. I was exhausted and felt like I had a good workout. How many times a week should I work out and how many miles would you suggest I walk? Also what machines should I use and what is the best time to work out each day? Any advice or workout tips are welcome!

Answer 1

GREAT for you !!! These are questions that you should be asking at your total fitness club...surely they have trainers there to answer such questions and help you get on the right track. They can help you choose machines to work out on and how to use the machines. Each person should walk 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day (roughly it's 4 miles) and I've heard higher amounts if you want to loose weight. But this like all exercise should be done gradually. If you hit it to hard at first you could injure yourself and also you can burn yourself out mentally and not want to continue. Being healthy and fit is a lifestlye it's not a 6 week "diet". Here is the site I went to ... it's got tons of great tips for walking, exercise and healthy living! Check it out....it's all totally free! Good luck to you !!
http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/walkoflife.htm

Answer 2

There is no one answer to this question. Any exercise at all will be beneficial. The key to continued success is to stay motivated, stick to it, and keep the intensity up. Your body will tell you when you've worked hard.

After walking two miles and swimming "several" laps for a while, you'll find that you aren't as tired and sore after doing it. That means you're getting in better shape and you need to do alter the workout to increase the intensity. You can do things like increase your pace, the time you spend, or switch to a different type of exercise.

Instead of looking for a hard and fast rule, let your body tell you what it's getting out of your exercise program, and alter it accordingly.

Answer 3

The fitness club should, for a variety of reasons, give you a fitness coach. They don't want you to hurt yourself, or hurt others, or hurt the equipment. And, if you're not getting results, you'll stop coming. Let that coach tell you where to start.

Obviously, we all start somewhere, and you can't start w/ a 90-minute intense spinning or treadmill workout -- but you'll get there over the next 12 months.

You also need to seek some diet counseling. Weight Watchers is one group that helps people learn to eat better.

Obviously you know that you can't just drop pounds and then stop exercising, spending your nites on the couch eating chips... right??? RIGHT??? This is a life-long deal, and you need to find foods that fill you up that don't put on the pounds, as well as exercises that you like to do (for me it's cycling and running).

Answer 4

If you are 80lbs overweight you should focus mostly on cardio and leave the weights to 5 to 10% of your workout time. Stick to the treadmill, swimming is great. oliptical and stairmaster. Just find a minimum amount of time you can last in a machine and try shorten the time every week. you can figure out at your own pace once you lose weight then focus on toning up. And if you have the time you should go every other day.

Answer 5

I can suggest for you my favorite workout regimen (which has helped me lose a good amount of weight in a short amount of time)

1. 15 minutes on treadmill (walk at least 4 mph or jog 5-6 mph until you increase your endurance; then increase your speed and your time to 20 minutes)
2. 15 minutes on the elliptical (its easy on your knees and burns a lot of calories!)
3. 20-30 minutes on the bike (at level 6-8 until you're strong enough to go higher)
4. 5-10 minutes on the stairstepper.

You can mix and match as you like, but try to get at least 45-50 minutes of cardio each time you go to the gym. Also, you should work out 4-5 days a week if possible to get the best results.

GOOD LUCK!