You join a gym, set your sights on weight loss but find yourself wondering where to begin. There are two basic types of workouts that you can perform in a gym, cardiovascular exercise or strength training. If you wish to reach a healthy weight you should perform cardio exercise five to seven days a week for at least 30 minutes and two weekly sessions of strength-based training as well.
Weight-Loss Facts
Whether or not you will lose weight depends on how many calories you take in each day compared to the number of calories you burn. When you burn more calories each day, a deficit is created. Once this caloric deficit reaches 3,500 calories you will lose 1 lb. of weight. Your body burns calories with exercise and with your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. If you eat the same number of calories as your BMR, any calories you burn in the gym will contribute to your deficit.
Stationary Cardio Equipment
You can normally find treadmills, bikes, rowing machines, stairmasters, elliptical trainers and similar equipment at your gym. Using these machines will engage your heart and lungs, improve your stamina, train your muscles and also help you to burn calories. According to ShapeFit, running, using the elliptical trainer and cycling all burn at least 300 calories in 30 minutes for a 145-lb. person. Work at an intensity that makes you sweat, elevates your heart rate and feels challenging. You should be able to maintain the same pace for the entire workout without feeling overexerted.
Lifting Weights
Another large part of using a gym is the weight room. You can find weighted machines and free weights that can be used to build muscle tissue and tone your current muscle mass. There are two basic ways to use weightlifting workouts for weight loss. You can lift heavy weights and perform lower repetitions to build more muscle tissue or you can lift lighter weights and use higher repetitions to improve your muscular endurance. Building more muscle tissue may make you gain weight at first, but it helps to improve your metabolism and your body's ability to lose fat. Improving your muscular endurance will help to improve your muscular performance without packing on extra muscle mass.
Mixed Training
Some people like to mix and match cardio and strength exercises for a more versatile workout that isn't quite as boring. This type of training is known as circuit training. This allows you to work on your muscles, burn calories and improve your physique all at the same time. Pick six to 10 strength exercises and a form of cardio exercise. Each interval can last for a certain time frame, such as 30 to 90 seconds, or for a specific number of repetitions. Complete a strength exercise, follow with an interval of cardio exercise and repeat for 20 to 40 minutes.
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