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Gym Novice/How do I do this?

Blog Forums Exercise Gym Novice/How do I do this?

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  • #12814
    Mags
    Participant

    Hey everyone. My impression of the flavor at 180 degree health in regards to exercise has been to find something active you love doing, and not stress about it too much. As an extremely reserved person, I haven’t yet been able to find that activity, but am venturing into going to the gym with my roommates. Fees are included in our university tuition, and they only go about two days a week, for maybe thirty minutes each, nothing too stressful.
    I guess I’d just like to know, where does one start with a sustainable, brand new exercise routine? I’m going to have to learn from scratch how to use the equipment in there, as I have no experience. What would you focus on? Weights? Sprints? The dreaded cardio?

    #13135
    Human Torch
    Participant

    Been working out for 28 years and if I could pick any book to send myself back in time to when I was a beginner it would be “Huge in a Hurry” by Chad Waterbury. There’s no training to failure, in it which is very adrenal gland friendly.

    #13150
    David
    Moderator

    I think running is a great way to start, because it’s easy to do. You already know how to run (because everybody does) and you can build an athletic base before worrying about learning new techniques. In fact, I wrote a post in defense of cardio a few days ago in this forum, though it might not be popular among many posters here.

    I’d start very easy, mixing intervals of running and walking. You don’t want to run so hard that you’re out of breath, because that will drain you before you have a chance to build up some stamina. Eventually, if you run a regular basis, you’ll notice your body making subtle adaptations and you’ll be able to run farther and faster. You’ll also start feeling better through the day, and you’ll notice your legs getting stronger and more stable.

    Resistance training is an excellent addition to a cardio routine, but I think it’s secondary to cardio from a health perspective. I prefer compound exercises with free weights (squats, press, etc.), but weight machines are also good for a beginner, as well as body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and body weight squats.

    #13578
    dorisn
    Participant

    For me, I have better stamina doing weight lifting than cardio – don’t understand why. I used to do cardio almost daily then stopped and took up lifting. When I went hiking, I didn’t get as fatigued as fast – hiked faster for longer than in the past. Maybe my heart got stronger along with my other muscles or it didn’t matter the shape of my heart muscle as long as the other muscles were stronger or the strength of the other muscles more than made up for the heart muscle?

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