Being a gym member will be worthwhile if you have a reason and a goal. If you just join a gym because friends and family told you to do so, you might end up wasting your time and your money, without really accomplishing anything.
It All Starts With a Goal
Having a personal goal will largely determine what type of exercise routine you will engage in. There are many goals that you can choose from such as strengthening your muscles or your cardiovascular system, developing your biceps or your abs, or just simply reducing your weight. Each of these will require specific sets of workout routines to achieve the best results at the shortest possible time.
If you have just joined a gym such as Crunch Fitness, and you have no particular goal in your mind, it is best if you would try to use a general body workout which is designed to improve your general health, strength and stamina. Once you have achieved this preliminary goal, you can go on to achieving specific goals for specific parts of your body.
Workouts that Will Work For Everybody
If you are just starting your gym experience, it is very important that you try workouts that are not too difficult to perform, but will still be enough to develop in you the strength and stamina you will need to advance into more specific workout routines. The following workouts are also good for those who have already spent some time exercising in the gym.
- Endurance Workout
Jog or run a long distance at a moderate slow pace for 30 minutes. You can perform them in intervals, jogging for 15 minutes and running for 15 minutes. As you gain more strength, you can stretch the time to 60 minutes.
Doing this workout every time you are in the gym like Planet Fitness will surely increase your endurance for any physical thing that you may be forced to do as you perform your daily activities in your office or in your home. If you go to the gym every other day, you will produce more results.
- Weight Loss Workout
If you have unwanted fat that you want to lose, you need to do exercises that will burn the calories. Cardio workouts will be the best for this purpose. But remember that the calories that you will be able to burn will depend on your gender, weight, muscle density and the intensity of your workout.
If you are just starting out, try running or jogging for 30 seconds and then walking for 90 to 120 seconds. You can raise the intensity of your workouts in many ways such as jogging for 30 seconds and running for another 30 seconds. And then do intervals for the next 30 minutes.
Another effective way of increasing the intensity is by raising the incline by small increments every week until you reach your optimum level. But don’t overdo it because you might be risking your health instead of strengthening it.
- Endurance Training Using Weights
You can increase your endurance by doing repeated strenuous exercises, as if mimicking manual labor. Choose weights that will enable you to do 2 to 3 sets comprising of about 12 to 20 repetitions. You need to rest in between sets for about 30 seconds to give your muscles a breather.
When you are approaching your last repetitions, your muscles should already be growing weary. It should not take you longer than 90 seconds to complete a set.
- Lower Half Workouts With Weights
You also need to work on your thighs, calves and other lower parts of your body. Do some lunges and squats using dumbbells or a barbell, or you can use your body weight as resistance. Doing calf raises on the edge of an aerobic step will strengthen your lower legs. Using a leg extension or a leg curl machine will strengthen your thighs and hamstrings.
- Upper Half Workouts with Weights
You can strengthen the upper half of your body by using free weights, or upper-body strength training machines. Or you can use a combination of the two. This will strengthen your arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen and back. Perform bicep curls with dumbbells.
Do military push-ups to work on your arms and shoulders. Perform bench presses by lying on your back and working with a barbell to work on your chest. Reverse flies using two dumbbells, each in both hands will also strengthen your back. Your abdomen will be given a good workout with a bicycle move while lying on your back.
There are a lot more workouts that will strengthen your upper and lower body, as well as your arms and legs. The important thing is to join a gym like Anytime Fitness and be a registered member. Once you are in, the physical trainer will be able to recommend the right workouts for your body type and health condition.