Regime for a new starter at the gym

[kasavien]

Hi all

I signed up to a gym last night, and i'm going for my first session tonight. This is the first time i have been in a gym since school, so i don't really have an idea what i should be doing. I'm hoping i can get some help at the gym, but i was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers. By going to the gym i'm hoping to get rid of my belly and generally improve my strength and fitness, so a mixture of weights and cardio? would be good. Does anyone have an idea of a regime i could try out and for how long i should be doing each activity.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

[Theo]

If you have the time, do cardio in the morning at weights in the evening. If not, and you'll only be visiting the gym once a day, do your weights then your cardio.

If you want to lose your belly, don't expect a vast increase in strength. However, as a beginner you will notice some gains particularly at the beginning. If you're serious about losing the belly and your gym has a nutritionist, see them about a cutting diet. If not, post back here and we can give advice.

While cutting aim for either fasted, low intensity cardio for 40 minutes, 4-5 times a week. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, you're basically aiming to get your heart going and to where you're breaking a sweat (about 60-70% of your maximum heart rate). Google Fasted LISS for more info. Alternatively, do non-fasted high intensity cardio twice a week for 20 minutes, 2-3 times a week. Google "High Intensity Training" for more info.

For weights, the first couple of weeks you'll be feeling out what you can do etc. If you overwork yourself, you'll very likely lose interest quickly. So start slowly and work your way up. Take a notepad to write down what weights you can use in various exercises, and any gains etc.

I split up my days as follows:

Monday AM - Fasted LISS
Monday PM - Back/Biceps

Tuesday AM - Fasted LISS
Tuesday PM - nothing

Wednesday AM - Nothing
Wednesday PM - Legs/Shoulders

Thursday - Nothing at all

Friday AM - Fasted LISS
Tuesday PM - Chest/Triceps

Saturday AM - Fasted LISS
Saturday PM - nothing

Sunday - nothing! It's Sunday!

You needn't go to the gym for any longer than an hour and a half - including showers/changing. Your weights sessions should last between 50 minutes to an hour, preferably with 3-4 different exercises (1-2 per body part, depending on the body part). Aim for 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, with failure in the last set on each exercise. Take a one minute break between sets.

Do it right, and the fat will fall right off.

[kasavien]

Wow, thanks for the reply For some reason, google was not my friend, i looked for fasted LISS and didn't see anything useful, so if you could explain this that would be great. looking for high intensity training was more successful. Should i be going to the gym more than 3 times a week, as that was what i was planning on, and i can only really make it on the evenings, as i will be going on my way home from work. There's no chance i can go in the morning, because it takes me 1 and a half hours to get there and i like to be in before 8, yes that means i'm up at 6 . If its going to benefit me i could go more than 3 days a week, but i don't want to over do it and put myslef off.

Also I can pay an extra £20 for a personal trainer, to help me with a regime, is this worth it? I'm also not sure what i should be eating on a daily basis. Anymore advice is much appreciated.

Thanks

Andy