Working out in a gym can feel overwhelming. You have a mass of equipment available to you, but you're not sure which pieces you should use. When choosing what to work out in the gym, consider first what you enjoy doing and second what your goals are. If you hate biking, you won't want to spend lots of time on an exercise bike, and if you want to gain strength, but you never hit the weights, you probably won't have success. You want to choose workouts that you will stick with and that will help you meet your goals.
Types of Exercise
Most exercise can fit into one of three categories, or a combination thereof: cardio, strength training and flexibility training. To remain healthy, you need a good balance of all three types of exercise, all of which you can perform at the gym. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests performing cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes, on most days of the week, plus performing strength training exercises at least twice a week. While the ACSM doesn't have flexibility recommendations, it's a good idea to spend five to 10 minutes after every workout stretching out your muscles to help you maintain your range of motion. Plan on setting up your gym routine so that, at a very minimum, you meet the recommended exercise guidelines.
Cardio Exercise
Most gyms offer a number of pieces of cardio equipment. Any of them can help you attain a healthy lifestyle, but you want to choose an exercise that you will enjoy and that you will stick with. Treadmills and elliptical trainers work well because you already know how to walk and jog, so all you have to do is hop on the machine and work at a pace that will increase your heart rate sufficiently. If you find treadmills boring, try a recumbent bike or a stair stepper. If you gym offers group exercise classes, options such as cardio kickboxing, aerobic dance or step classes will all function as a cardiovascular exercise.
Strength Training
If you're only going to strength train twice a week, plan on setting up your exercises on non-consecutive days. You will want to perform a full-body routine consisting of eight or more exercises that target every major muscle group. If you're new to strength training, most gyms offer a series of selectorized weight equipment designed to hit every major muscle group. These machines will include options such as a leg press, chest press, seated row, leg extension and curl, biceps curl, shoulder press and triceps pressdown. Start your routine, and as you develop confidence, you can begin adding free weight exercises to your strength training routine to mix things up.
Round Out Routine
In addition to your basic cardio and strength training routine, MayoClinic.com emphasizes the importance of performing core strength exercises and balance exercises for total fitness. You can work your core at the gym by performing sit ups, plank exercises and twisting exercises that target your obliques. Similarly, you can improve your balance by performing dumbbell exercises while balancing on a single leg or performing exercises using balance tools that include stability balls, BOSU balls or stability discs.
Remember, at the end of each gym routine, set aside roughly five to 10 minutes to finish stretching out the muscles that you worked. Most gyms offer a stretching area with mats and open space, or you can attend a yoga class that will help you improve your flexibility.
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