Attention Fitness Instructors Out There... I Need Basic Instruction Help, please.?

Question

I joined a fully outfitted gym yesterday. I do have 4 free sessions with a personal fitness instructor but would rather utilize them for when I am a little closer to my fitness goal. My main question is, I really don't know how many reps I should be doing to start off with. At this stage in the game, I am looking to take off inches of fat and flab and not necessarily look like a pumped up muscle queen. My main areas of concern are the bat wings under my upper arms, my inner thighs, and my stomach. I used many of the weight machines (did 2 reps of 10 - keeping the weight between 25 and 35 pounds per machine) and ended walking a mile on the treadmill, at an incline of 3. I tried keeping my heart rate around 150. I am 44. Am 5'5" and weigh 225 with a medium frame.

Any serious constructive help would be greatly appreciated from people who are genuine and know what they are talking about.

Many thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I guarantee no matter what you do at that gym, you will NOT look like a "pumped up muscle queen."

Your so called queens take a large number of supplements that you probably won't be able to find so easily. You're starting at a good weight. Just keep doing your 25-35 and slowly increase it as you get more comfortable.

Answer 2

Lower weights and more reps tone. Higher weight and less reps build. You will not turn into a muscle freak. Trust me. I'm 15 198 lbs. I have to use the weight room at school for training for track. Push to what feels just more then comfortable and try to up it either each week or once it feels completely comfortable add wieght. Trust me on the not bulking up... Even if you build some muscel which you would hardly notice if you did.. That's good. Good luck and wish me luck on my weight loss adventure.

Answer 3

I recommend seeing one of the trainers at least once.  Let them set you up on a good routine, show you the different machines, and help you get familiar with them.  After that, you're on your own.  You can use the rest of your freebies to 'check in' with your training every few months to help monitor yourself and make adjustments.

Just one thing though...make sure you change your routine up every 4-6 weeks.  Muscles begin to memorize routines which will force you into a plateau.  It takes about 2 weeks for your muscles to learn a new routine, and another 2-4 before they get bored.  By that time, you can change up your routine, add something new, and make your muscles start over again.  The changes challenge your muscles to work harder, which in turn help you to lose weight quicker.  Good luck!!