Need advice please. Starting up my workout routine again.

Good morning everyone,

I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years. I
used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
(sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it. Any
suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
results asap.

Any
advice offered would be greatly appreciated!


Thank you,


FitAt43

FitAt43 wrote:
> Good morning everyone,
>
> I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years. I
> used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
> small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
> (sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it. Any
> suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
> would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
> just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
> many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
> I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
> results asap.
>
> Any
> advice offered would be greatly appreciated!
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
> FitAt43

what are the workout guidelines in the manual that came with the
machine.

this is actually the misc.fitness.weights group...emphasis being on the
weights. we use weights here, not cheap bowflex-like knockoff
machines.

i would see if there's a forum dedicated to that machine, because the
advice i would give you is this: sell the machine and get a membership
to a gym.

On 15 Oct 2006 05:37:22 -0700, "FitAt43" <kelly63nc@gmail.com> wrote:

>Good morning everyone,
>
>I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years. I
>used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
>small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
>(sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it. Any
>suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
>would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
>just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
>many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
>I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
>results asap.
>
> Any
>advice offered would be greatly appreciated!
>
>
>Thank you,
>
>
>FitAt43
It looks like the Schwinn Force Home Gym is made by Bowflex (according
to the Amazon link that came up.) I don't know what a Bowflex costs
but it looks like this is more reasonably priced.

You've noticed, and will probably continue to notice, that MFW has
more than a few members that don't care much for home-gym type
machines and let their feelings toward such machines get in the way of
providing useful advice and making the connection that the poster is
trying to take a step in the right direction toward physical fitness.

Joining a gym is useful advice ... but, as you live in a small town
without a gym, it won't work for you. And driving too far to go to a
gym in the next city doesn't work well for too many.

Many here will suggest you buy a set of free weights and they'll point
out that there's a lot that can be done with dumbbells and a bench.
Dumbbells can be purchased as you need them so you don't have to make
a big, initial investment.

But let's work with what you have. It's a start.

As kmunch points out the Home Gym probably came with a book outlining
some exercises. That's a good place to turn.

Start out -- well, start out by seeing your doctor and making sure you
are healthy enough to start working out. (How's that disclaimer go?)

Start out slowly with light weight to get used to the motions the Home
Gym requires. This should also keep you from getting too sore. When
you get used to working out the likelihood of you getting
uncomfortably sore will diminish.

Start out with 3 or 4 sets of an exercise and do 8 to 12 reps. Use a
weight that is a lot lighter than you think you can handle -- again to
get used to the motion and to get your muscles used to working out.
Increase resistance as you are comfortable the first couple of times
you work out, but still don't push yourself too hard.

Take two or three weeks (maybe a month) to ease into your routine and
get used to working out. There's no hurry to push too hard too soon.
It sounds like you want to lose weight and, hopefully, you have years
of training ahead of you. (Not that it will take years to lose the
weight -- and congrats on stopping it nipping this in the bud at 30
pounds instead of 50 -- it's just that resistance training is a good
thing to keep up over the years.)

[What's great about MFW is that, despite the fact you can't always
count on all the members to jump in with friendly advice right off the
bat, you can count on them to point out any of the flaws in my
suggestions and bring to light what a f*cking moron I am for saying
anything that I've suggested and then go on to correct me. In this
way, you get what you need (ultimately, useful advice), and MFW gets
what they need (to get a little bit of bitching out of its collective
system.)

At some point you need to start adding weight that is a challenge. You
don't want to spend months and months lifting the same X pounds and
call it your workout. When the weight gets too easy to handle, add
some more.

There are people here that can give you more specific information --
how resistance training is about more than just muscles ... how your
connective tissue comes into play and something having to do with your
neurological system -- but I'm not one of those people. (My strengths
would be that I'm polite and I try to keep typos to a minimum.)

As you become used to working out you'll be able to add resistance
more rapidly (as your body permits) without having to worry too much
about serious soreness. (When I started lifting again, four or five
years ago (in my early 40s), I didn't do any squatting. About two
years ago I decided to add squats and started out with the bar and
worked up to 95 pounds that first day. I figured it was light enough
to start with but heavy enough that it would make me pay attention to
what I was doing. The next day (maybe the day after) I was
surprisingly sore. For the next 'squatting' session or several I did
body weight squats and worked up to 65 pounds.)

The whole post in nutshell:

See your doctor.

Refer to the Home Machine book.

Start out slow and easy.

Stick with it.

I am polite but not really the most knowledgeable person. As little as
I know about working out, I know even less about dogs, guns and,
generally, what a woman might be thinking at any given moment. Based
on what people tell me I am a delight to be around after I get a beer
or two in me.

FitAt43 wrote:
> Good morning everyone,
>
> I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years. I
> used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
> small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
> (sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it. Any
> suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
> would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
> just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
> many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
> I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
> results asap.
>
> Any
> advice offered would be greatly appreciated!

Who are the other members of your household? Will any of them work out
with you?

I'm not sure why you fear DOMS so much. That seems counter-productive,
as well as useless. You had a five year layoff, now take your licks for it!

Dally

"FitAt43" <kelly63nc@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1160915842.477413.215720@b28g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Good morning everyone,
>
> I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years.
> I
> used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
> small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
> (sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it.
> Any
> suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
> would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
> just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
> many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
> I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
> results asap.
>
> Any
> advice offered would be greatly appreciated!

Practice common sense and learn to trust yourself when it comes to how
much to lift. Start easy, build up gradually, take time off when you
feel the need without fearing you won't ever start again. Any exercise
is better than none.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

<d wells> wrote in message
news:05e4j21um5rvkohio4t5ur3np4kqnufimr@4ax.com...
> I know about working out, I know even less about dogs, guns and,
> generally, what a woman might be thinking at any given moment. Based
> on what people tell me I am a delight to be around after I get a beer
> or two in me.

I think I like you :-) And I thought your post was very helpful.

I used to read here a lot, and I remember that a large segment of the group
can be rather, well, abrasive. But I also have learned a hell of a lot from
this group and its wonderful FAQs. (One thing that I learned in this group
is an appropriate term for the morons who come up to me in the gym and tell
me how I shouldn't be doing whatever I'm doing because, in essence, I'm
female. The word is "fucktard." It takes a kind of, um, abrasive kind of
bunch to give you good advice like that, and I'll always be grateful.)

I'm back here, sticking my head in the door, for some of the same reasons as
you, FitAt43. I got fat and out-of-shape. I have all sorts of excuses :-)
I'm probably just going to read and ask the occasional question, and I fully
expect to get shit from somebody every time I ask something, but, more
importantly, I also expect to pick up a lot of good tips and inspiration. I
hope you do, too, FitAt43 (man, that's hard to type). Good luck with your
fitness efforts.

ep
(49yo. I use free weights. :-) And I used to be able to deadlift my own
weight and then some, but I can barely deadlift a cat at the moment.)

d wells wrote:
> On 15 Oct 2006 05:37:22 -0700, "FitAt43" <kelly63nc@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Good morning everyone,
>>
>> I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5
>> years. I used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away
>> to a very small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a
>> Schwinn home gym (sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid
>> of overdoing it. Any suggestions on what kind of weight to start
>> with and how many reps would be greatly appreciated! I do remember
>> how to do the exercises. I just need some guidelines. I gained 30
>> lbs and I don't even know how many inches since I stopped lifting. I
>> don't want to lift so much that I'm too sore for a week to even move
>> and yet I want to start gettting results asap.
>>
>> Any
>> advice offered would be greatly appreciated!
>>
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>>
>> FitAt43
> It looks like the Schwinn Force Home Gym is made by Bowflex (according
> to the Amazon link that came up.) I don't know what a Bowflex costs
> but it looks like this is more reasonably priced.
>
> You've noticed, and will probably continue to notice, that MFW has
> more than a few members that don't care much for home-gym type
> machines and let their feelings toward such machines get in the way of
> providing useful advice and making the connection that the poster is
> trying to take a step in the right direction toward physical fitness.
>
> Joining a gym is useful advice ... but, as you live in a small town
> without a gym, it won't work for you. And driving too far to go to a
> gym in the next city doesn't work well for too many.
>
> Many here will suggest you buy a set of free weights and they'll point
> out that there's a lot that can be done with dumbbells and a bench.
> Dumbbells can be purchased as you need them so you don't have to make
> a big, initial investment.
>
> But let's work with what you have. It's a start.
>
> As kmunch points out the Home Gym probably came with a book outlining
> some exercises. That's a good place to turn.
>
> Start out -- well, start out by seeing your doctor and making sure you
> are healthy enough to start working out. (How's that disclaimer go?)
>
> Start out slowly with light weight to get used to the motions the Home
> Gym requires. This should also keep you from getting too sore. When
> you get used to working out the likelihood of you getting
> uncomfortably sore will diminish.
>
> Start out with 3 or 4 sets of an exercise and do 8 to 12 reps. Use a
> weight that is a lot lighter than you think you can handle -- again to
> get used to the motion and to get your muscles used to working out.
> Increase resistance as you are comfortable the first couple of times
> you work out, but still don't push yourself too hard.
>
> Take two or three weeks (maybe a month) to ease into your routine and
> get used to working out. There's no hurry to push too hard too soon.
> It sounds like you want to lose weight and, hopefully, you have years
> of training ahead of you. (Not that it will take years to lose the
> weight -- and congrats on stopping it nipping this in the bud at 30
> pounds instead of 50 -- it's just that resistance training is a good
> thing to keep up over the years.)
>
> [What's great about MFW is that, despite the fact you can't always
> count on all the members to jump in with friendly advice right off the
> bat, you can count on them to point out any of the flaws in my
> suggestions and bring to light what a f*cking moron I am for saying
> anything that I've suggested and then go on to correct me. In this
> way, you get what you need (ultimately, useful advice), and MFW gets
> what they need (to get a little bit of bitching out of its collective
> system.)
>
> At some point you need to start adding weight that is a challenge. You
> don't want to spend months and months lifting the same X pounds and
> call it your workout. When the weight gets too easy to handle, add
> some more.

Same here:
http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Force-.../dp/B000F5NKYS

> There are people here that can give you more specific information --
> how resistance training is about more than just muscles ... how your
> connective tissue comes into play and something having to do with your
> neurological system -- but I'm not one of those people. (My strengths
> would be that I'm polite and I try to keep typos to a minimum.)
>
> As you become used to working out you'll be able to add resistance
> more rapidly (as your body permits) without having to worry too much
> about serious soreness. (When I started lifting again, four or five
> years ago (in my early 40s), I didn't do any squatting. About two
> years ago I decided to add squats and started out with the bar and
> worked up to 95 pounds that first day. I figured it was light enough
> to start with but heavy enough that it would make me pay attention to
> what I was doing. The next day (maybe the day after) I was
> surprisingly sore. For the next 'squatting' session or several I did
> body weight squats and worked up to 65 pounds.)
>
> The whole post in nutshell:
>
> See your doctor.
>
> Refer to the Home Machine book.
>
> Start out slow and easy.
>
> Stick with it.
>
> I am polite but not really the most knowledgeable person. As little as
> I know about working out, I know even less about dogs, guns and,
> generally, what a woman might be thinking at any given moment. Based
> on what people tell me I am a delight to be around after I get a beer
> or two in me.



--
Bully
Protein bars: http://www.proteinbars.co.uk

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

d wrote:
> "FitAt43" wrote:
>
> >Good morning everyone,
> >
> >I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years. I
> >used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
> >small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
> >(sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it. Any
> >suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
> >would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
> >just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
> >many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
> >I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
> >results asap.
> >
> > Any advice offered would be greatly appreciated!
> >
> >Thank you,
> >
> >FitAt43
> It looks like the Schwinn Force Home Gym is made by Bowflex (according
> to the Amazon link that came up.) I don't know what a Bowflex costs
> but it looks like this is more reasonably priced.
>
> You've noticed, and will probably continue to notice, that MFW has
> more than a few members that don't care much for home-gym type
> machines and let their feelings toward such machines get in the way of
> providing useful advice and making the connection that the poster is
> trying to take a step in the right direction toward physical fitness.
>
> Joining a gym is useful advice ... but, as you live in a small town
> without a gym, it won't work for you. And driving too far to go to a
> gym in the next city doesn't work well for too many.
>
> Many here will suggest you buy a set of free weights and they'll point
> out that there's a lot that can be done with dumbbells and a bench.
> Dumbbells can be purchased as you need them so you don't have to make
> a big, initial investment.
>
> But let's work with what you have. It's a start.
>
> As kmunch points out the Home Gym probably came with a book outlining
> some exercises. That's a good place to turn.
>
> Start out -- well, start out by seeing your doctor and making sure you
> are healthy enough to start working out. (How's that disclaimer go?)

Was that rhetorical?

The content of this post is provided for general information only and
is not intended in any way to substitute for professional medical
advice. This post is not intended to be relied upon for medical
diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or
other qualified health professional if you have any concern about your
health. To obtain medical advice, patients must consult a physician
one-on-one. Individuals are encouraged to develop a professional
relationship with physicians and other medical practitioners and
regularly consult with them and seek their advice.

Ta da!

> Start out slowly with light weight to get used to the motions the Home
> Gym requires. This should also keep you from getting too sore. When
> you get used to working out the likelihood of you getting
> uncomfortably sore will diminish.
>
> Start out with 3 or 4 sets of an exercise and do 8 to 12 reps. Use a
> weight that is a lot lighter than you think you can handle -- again to
> get used to the motion and to get your muscles used to working out.
> Increase resistance as you are comfortable the first couple of times
> you work out, but still don't push yourself too hard.
>
> Take two or three weeks (maybe a month) to ease into your routine and
> get used to working out. There's no hurry to push too hard too soon.
> It sounds like you want to lose weight and, hopefully, you have years
> of training ahead of you. (Not that it will take years to lose the
> weight -- and congrats on stopping it nipping this in the bud at 30
> pounds instead of 50 -- it's just that resistance training is a good
> thing to keep up over the years.)
>
> [What's great about MFW is that, despite the fact you can't always
> count on all the members to jump in with friendly advice right off the
> bat, you can count on them to point out any of the flaws in my
> suggestions and bring to light what a f*cking moron I am for saying
> anything that I've suggested and then go on to correct me. In this
> way, you get what you need (ultimately, useful advice), and MFW gets
> what they need (to get a little bit of bitching out of its collective
> system.)

Perceptive.

> At some point you need to start adding weight that is a challenge. You
> don't want to spend months and months lifting the same X pounds and
> call it your workout. When the weight gets too easy to handle, add
> some more.
>
> There are people here that can give you more specific information --
> how resistance training is about more than just muscles ... how your
> connective tissue comes into play and something having to do with your
> neurological system -- but I'm not one of those people. (My strengths
> would be that I'm polite and I try to keep typos to a minimum.)

Oh, I don't know. I kinda like typos. This post hasn't been so much fun
from that perspective. I could mention something about those two dashes
followed by a space you've littered throughout your post, but...

> As you become used to working out you'll be able to add resistance
> more rapidly (as your body permits) without having to worry too much
> about serious soreness. (When I started lifting again, four or five
> years ago (in my early 40s), I didn't do any squatting. About two
> years ago I decided to add squats and started out with the bar and
> worked up to 95 pounds that first day. I figured it was light enough
> to start with but heavy enough that it would make me pay attention to
> what I was doing. The next day (maybe the day after) I was
> surprisingly sore. For the next 'squatting' session or several I did
> body weight squats and worked up to 65 pounds.)
>
> The whole post in nutshell:
>
> See your doctor.
>
> Refer to the Home Machine book.
>
> Start out slow and easy.
>
> Stick with it.
>
> I am polite but not really the most knowledgeable person. As little as
> I know about working out, I know even less about dogs, guns and,
> generally, what a woman might be thinking at any given moment. Based
> on what people tell me I am a delight to be around after I get a beer
> or two in me.

Was that your introduction?

If so, kudos.

--
Curt

"Steve Freides" <steve@fridayscomputer.com> writes:

> "FitAt43" <kelly63nc@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1160915842.477413.215720@b28g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>> Good morning everyone,
>>
>> I am a 43 y/o female who has been very inactive for the past 5 years.
>> I
>> used to workout with a personal trainer until I moved away to a very
>> small town where there is no gym! I finally bought a Schwinn home gym
>> (sort of like Bowflex but cheaper) and I am afraid of overdoing it.
>> Any
>> suggestions on what kind of weight to start with and how many reps
>> would be greatly appreciated! I do remember how to do the exercises. I
>> just need some guidelines. I gained 30 lbs and I don't even know how
>> many inches since I stopped lifting. I don't want to lift so much that
>> I'm too sore for a week to even move and yet I want to start gettting
>> results asap.
>>
>> Any
>> advice offered would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Practice common sense and learn to trust yourself when it comes to
> how much to lift. Start easy, build up gradually, take time off
> when you feel the need without fearing you won't ever start again.
> Any exercise is better than none.

This is solid advice. The real keys for long term success are making
exercise a habit, and not getting hurt. Feel free to start light.

Jason

On 15 Oct 2006 12:15:17 -0700, "Curt James" <curtjames@gmail.com>
wrote:

>d wrote:
>> "FitAt43" wrote:
>>
>> >Good morning everyone,

>>
>> Start out -- well, start out by seeing your doctor and making sure you
>> are healthy enough to start working out. (How's that disclaimer go?)
>
>Was that rhetorical?
>
>The content of this post is provided for general information only and
>is not intended in any way to substitute for professional medical
>advice. This post is not intended to be relied upon for medical
>diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or
>other qualified health professional if you have any concern about your
>health. To obtain medical advice, patients must consult a physician
>one-on-one. Individuals are encouraged to develop a professional
>relationship with physicians and other medical practitioners and
>regularly consult with them and seek their advice.
>
>Ta da!

Very nice. I think, now, we're all covered from a legal standpoint.


** a bunch of stuff snipped out **

>> There are people here that can give you more specific information --
>> how resistance training is about more than just muscles ... how your
>> connective tissue comes into play and something having to do with your
>> neurological system -- but I'm not one of those people. (My strengths
>> would be that I'm polite and I try to keep typos to a minimum.)
>
>Oh, I don't know. I kinda like typos. This post hasn't been so much fun
>from that perspective. I could mention something about those two dashes
>followed by a space you've littered throughout your post, but...
>
In high school English we were told to use the dashes to set off text
that needed, what, extra attention or something (it was a long time
ago). Later in life a coworker told me to add the space before and
after to make text easier to read. As I got older I just started
using the " -- " far too much ... that, and the ellipsis.

** snip again **

>>
>> I am polite but not really the most knowledgeable person. As little as
>> I know about working out, I know even less about dogs, guns and,
>> generally, what a woman might be thinking at any given moment. Based
>> on what people tell me I am a delight to be around after I get a beer
>> or two in me.
>
>Was that your introduction?
>
>If so, kudos.
>

Oh, I was here a long while ago. Well, it looks like my last post was
over a year ago, and I never did post much; as I said before, I don't
know much about anything and though I am a delight to be around after
a beer or two, my typing just goes to hell at that point. I still
lurked after that until the signal-to-noise ratio became more than I
could bear. I dropped back in a couple of weeks ago to see if the big
noisemaker was still around -- I won't mention names as I notice he
hasn't posted in a while and I don't want to jinx the group.

It is comforting to see that a lot of the regulars still post.

MFW is like a grumpy uncle. Always surly ... often helpful.

> >Oh, I don't know. I kinda like typos. This post hasn't been so much fun
> >from that perspective. I could mention something about those two dashes
> >followed by a space you've littered throughout your post, but...
> >
> In high school English we were told to use the dashes to set off text
> that needed, what, extra attention or something (it was a long time
> ago). Later in life a coworker told me to add the space before and
> after to make text easier to read. As I got older I just started
> using the " -- " far too much ... that, and the ellipsis.

that's cool. you're in good company with the ellipses, though--arthur
jones jam-packed his writings with those. he used them more as a way
to convey a sense of conversation.