Workout

B.:

is there a trainer where you work out who can assist you?

Warmly,

P., RLC, IBCLC

Since you are serious about achieving a big goal prior to a very important event, I recommend you spend the extra money and find a personal trainer to help you. That does not mean that you need to have a personal trainer from now until next September! But perhaps you can find a trainer for a six week session. The trainer will set you up at the appropriate weights/resistance/etc., based upon your health and abilities...and also help you learn how to decide when to increase weights/resistance so you can do it on your own as you build strength and endurance.

As for your friend...I would ask her to keep her counter-productive comments to herself. NO ONE should make fun of you for trying to get healthier! She must have her own self-esteem issues and is taking it out on you. Don't listen to anything she says. And as you workout on a regular schedule, you'll probably meet other workout buddies who will encourage you and keep you motivated!

Best of luck!

For a workout to be effective you need to "overload" your body. So for weights, this means lifting beyond what is easy. For cardiovascular, increasing intensity and/or time. You need to progressively increase about every 2-3 weeks to continue to see a training effect because your body will adapt to the new exercise and then it stops adapting unless you increase the intensity. With weights people usually use a "one repetition max" (meaning the max amt of weight you can lift just once) as a benchmark and then you'd want to do something like 3 sets of 7-8 of 80% of your 1-rep max. The next week increase this to 3 sets of 10, and the following week you'd increase the weight by a few pounds (because your 1-rep max will have increased). A single session with a personal trainer can be really helpful for you to figure out where you should have your weights set and how to do this progression in the best way. If you're trying to lose weight this is a great start but you also need to restrict calories by 500 per day to lose 1 lb per week. Best of luck!

Hi B.!

I'm glad to hear you are taking steps in the right direction to improve your health. I am a personal trainer - my husband and I own a gym together. We have helped people reach their goals for the last two years, so I'll share with you what we have found to work:

You don't get smaller in the gym - you get smaller in the kitchen. What this means is that the gym is a great place to get stronger, but you can't out exercise a bad diet. Know what I mean? You'll see the biggest improvements by making changes to what you're eating AND working out.

I'm REALLY glad to hear you're using weights. Most women are afraid of using weights for fear they'll get "too bulky". Take it from a lady who lifts weights 5 times a week - you simply don't have the hormones to get "bulky". Keep a workout log so you can track everything you're doing. Gradually increase the weights with each visit to the gym. Like someone else commented, your body needs to make an adaptation, and by lifting something heavier than you've lifted before, you'll force a new adaptation.

As for nutrition - here's where people look at me crazy. Try giving up grains and sugar. You'll see the weight melt away if you can start by eliminating those two things. Eat as much meat and vegetables as you want, raw nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch.

If you need clarification, please don't hesitate to send me a personal message. Best of luck!

J.
CrossFit Fire

If you just joined the gym, see if they have new member orientation. Most gyms do offer this and a trainer walks you through the equipment and can help you set up the correct weights based on what you want to accomplish. And don't feel bad if you feel you need to wrok up to higher weights. It is great that you have started working out. If your friend has been going for a while, she will of course be ahead of you.

You seem to have realistic goal as to the weight loss you want. I would recommend Weight Watcher or a Nutritionist to assist in your weight loss. Also I would have a meeting with a Personal Trainer. Every person is different and you have to do things correctly or it will be ineffective. More weights is not always better, you might need more reps. More weights builds more muscle, more reps does more definition. It depends on what you are doing with the 20 lb weights? I have two sets of hand weights, 4 & 7 lbs. And that is enough for what I need. Every person has their own limits. But you need to use the equipment correctly for it to be effective.

As for your friend. Is she a personal trainer? Does she have the training to tell someone that they are doing something right or wrong? Probably not. So let it in one ear and out the other. Also like someone said, constructive criticism is one thing, but that is not what she is doing.

Good luck and congratulations on your wedding.