Many men and women associate the gym primarily with losing weight and getting rid of fat. And most of them expect some kind of universal recipe that will suit everyone. However, such a program does not exist. But there is an individual approach with which you can create a personal program or complex for each person.
We will tell you in this article about some standards that each of you can use. And, most importantly, we will clearly show where to start when choosing individual programs for classes in the gym.
How realistic is it to lose weight in the gym?
Many women and men go to the gym in order to lose excess weight. Reducing the total amount of fat in the body by working out in the gym is only possible with a systematic approach.
Training should take place on schedule, 3-4 days a week. Beginners are recommended to use the services of a fitness trainer when getting acquainted with exercise equipment. A specialist will help you develop the correct technique for performing exercises, give useful tips and warn you about common mistakes. Those who are interested in how to lose weight in the gym need to understand that physical activity alone is not enough. A balanced low-carbohydrate diet is necessary. The diet and diet should be compiled individually for each person, taking into account his profession, age, weight, and lifestyle.
There is no point in copying popular celebrity diets. Each person is individual, and what suits one may harm another.
If you follow the training regimen and diet, you can get rid of 2-3 kg of fat per month without harm to your health.
Cardio after strength training
Spend 60% of your training time on cardio. If you want to lose weight, do cardio exercises after strength training. During resistance exercise, carbohydrates are primarily used. Therefore, when you switch to cardio, fat reserves will be burned.
Monitor the load during continuous movement. To get rid of extra pounds, you need to give your best, but monitor your heart rate - it should be within the fat burning zone (50-65% of the upper value). The calculations are simple: you need to subtract your age from 220 - this is the limit.
For weight loss, interval training is recommended: exercise at an intense pace for a minute, and then 1-2 minutes at a more relaxed pace. You can increase the time of intense training and reduce training at a recovery pace.
Expert advice:
If you don't have time to go to the gym, do a quick workout. Pick up a few multi-joint exercises and run them around in circles several times at high intensity.
How to approach the issue of exercise and duration of loads
For beginners, in order to lose weight, it is advisable to use circuit training in the first 2-4 weeks in the gym. They consist in the fact that in each lesson in light mode all large muscle groups are worked out: legs, buttocks, abdominals, chest, back and shoulders. The amount of work is 2-3 approaches, 15 repetitions in each of them. You need to rest between series for 60-120 seconds (depending on the level of athletic training). This technique will help increase fitness, prepare muscles, ligaments and internal organs for separate strength training.
To quickly lose weight and achieve harmony, you need to choose the right set of exercises. At the beginning of the training process, a girl or guy needs to exercise every other day. The duration of the lesson is 45-55 minutes.
Don't forget about your diet
It is impossible to lose weight by eating a cake every evening. You can not leave the gym for days and not lose weight. Do not forget about the most important principle of losing weight: the number of calories received per day should be less than the number spent. When choosing a diet, be sure to consult your doctor. Perhaps by starting to lose weight, you will only harm yourself. And if your doctor doesn’t mind, then switch to a healthy diet and gradually reduce your caloric intake. Yes, you will have to think about what you eat, but you won’t be able to do without it. Approximately calculate how many calories you consume per day. Then reduce this number a little.
After working out for two weeks, didn’t you notice a difference? This means that you should also cut back on the calories in your diet, but do it gradually. A sharp drop in calories will not do anything good for your body. Noticed weight loss? Great! So stay at the same level and continue training.
Training program
The lesson plan should solve 2 problems:
- Giving the body the sufficient level of stress necessary to start the fat burning process.
- Provide the rest necessary to restore muscles and the nervous system.
Both effects are achieved using a training program in which each muscle group is worked 2 times a week.
The main difference between women's training and men's training is the different intensity of training. It is more effective for the fair sex to do more repetitions with light weight. Men, on the contrary, should reduce the amount of work by increasing the working weight.
For girls
To start fat-burning processes in the body, a woman needs to train 3 times a week.
The set of exercises and training scheme look like this:
- Monday - squats with a barbell, rows of the upper block to the chest, lifting legs from a lying position.
- Wednesday - bench press on a horizontal bench, dumbbell raises to the sides from a sitting position, abdominal crunches.
- Friday - deadlift with a barbell, abduction of the arms in the Butterfly machine, bench press of the barbell from behind the head in a sitting position, abduction of the chest and knees for the abdominal muscles.
If you choose a barbell, weight loss will not take long. The number of repetitions in each approach is 12-15, the volume of work is 3-4 series with a rest of about 90 seconds between them. On days off from strength training, it is recommended to maintain a high level of physical activity through walks, sports games, and swimming.
For men
Men's fitness for weight loss has its own characteristics. Due to the fact that catabolism (the process of muscle tissue breakdown) during training occurs faster in guys than in girls, the duration of the session should not exceed 45 minutes. To complete the amount of work in this period of time, you should reduce the rest time between approaches to 1 minute and increase the working weight. The effective range of repetitions is 6-12, sets - 3-5.
The set of exercises is the same as for women. However, due to the fact that more weight is used, it is necessary to carefully monitor the technique. During barbell squats, lat pull-downs, and deadlifts, it is important to control your back position.
The spinal column should remain straight. Otherwise, hernias and other injuries are possible.
Principles of nutrition
In addition to physical activity, proper nutrition plays a huge role in losing weight. By following simple nutritional rules, you can increase the speed and effectiveness of the result by 70%. An unbalanced diet, full of calories and sugar, will hide beautiful forms under a layer of fat.
Basic principles of proper nutrition for weight loss:
- We remove sweets and flour products from the diet;
- We consume complex carbohydrates in the first half of the day;
- Do not exclude fats, add 1 - 2 tablespoons of unrefined oil (olive, flaxseed, pumpkin, sesame);
- Fruits are allowed until 16.00;
- Proteins and vegetables are allowed for dinner;
- We consume a lot of water, up to 2 liters per day;
- We don’t overeat at night; dinner is 3–4 hours before bedtime.
Example of a daily diet
- Breakfast: oatmeal with dried fruits, tea or coffee;
- Snack: 20 g of nuts, apple or banana;
- Lunch: rice with steamed vegetables;
- Afternoon snack: low-fat cottage cheese, kefir;
- Dinner: baked chicken fillet, vegetable salad with olive oil.
This is only an approximate weight loss nutrition program for girls; at the link you will find several menu options.
Fat burning set of exercises
Exercises in the gym for weight loss for girls are all, one way or another, of a fat-burning nature. Any set of fat-burning exercises should be aimed at working out problem areas.
The ideal complex is one that combines elements from different types of training. The greatest effectiveness can be achieved by using strength training or circuit training in combination or mixing with cardio exercises.
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For slimming legs
Another problem area is the legs and buttocks.
To train them in order to lose excess weight, you must perform the following exercises:
- Squats . Number of repetitions from 10 until failure. The back is straight, the knees do not protrude beyond the toes, the legs are shoulder-width apart. If you have sufficient training, weights are used.
- Lunges with weights . A step is taken forward, the leg lowers parallel. Number of repetitions – 15-20.
- Jumping from a squat position. Perform 8-15 times.
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Basic exercises for weight loss
Basic exercises in the gym are the first step to losing weight for girls. This is where you need to start to achieve your goals. In addition, basic exercises are necessary for beginners. They allow you to develop physical strength, build muscles, and prepare for more serious loads.
Any workout must begin with a warm-up. Failure to do so may result in injury. For girls, this is a light jog on a treadmill at a low pace for 5-10 minutes. For maximum effectiveness, you need to finish any activity in the same way.
Moreover, as a cool-down, professional athletes recommend sitting on an exercise bike and, depending on the level of physical fitness, pedaling for 10-30 minutes.
After this, you should go directly to a set of basic exercises that have a general strengthening effect. They spend a lot of energy, which, with proper nutrition, leads to intensive burning of fat deposits in the body.
The fundamental basic exercises are squats.
They allow you to actively develop the gluteal muscles, which are the largest in the human body and acquire the necessary elasticity after exercise. Squats also help achieve another important goal for girls - slender and toned legs.
It is necessary to briefly highlight the main requirements that must be met to achieve the desired result:
- Feet should be shoulder width apart.
- Elbows are pulled back.
- The back muscles should not be in a relaxed position; the back itself should be completely straight during the exercise.
- The squat itself should be done slowly.
- The knees should not stick forward more than the toes at the end point.
- Along with exhalation, the body should be returned to its original position.
Another important basic exercise is abdominal training. For girls, twisting and hanging leg raises are most suitable.
In the first case, lying on your back, you need to lift your upper body to your legs bent at the knees solely using the abdominal muscles. The back should not be straight, it should be twisted, only in this case the greatest work of the press occurs. At the end of the exercises, they return to their original position.
All movements are performed as smoothly as possible. If to train muscles you need to perform an exercise no more than 15-20 times per approach, with 4-5 approaches, then for effective fat burning and, accordingly, weight loss, it is better to do fewer approaches, but work until failure and burning pain in each one.
In the second case, you will need a Swedish wall. The girl hangs on straight arms and slowly raises her legs, bending them at the knees. At a minimum, this should be done until an angle of 90 degrees is reached, at a maximum to the chest. In this case, it is very important not to sway, otherwise the effect will be neutralized.
Push-ups are also considered basic exercises. Unlike men, girls are allowed to kneel when performing them.
It is also convenient to perform lunges in the gym. To do this, it is advisable to use weights, for example, light dumbbells weighing 1-2 kg. Among the basic exercises for more prepared girls is the barbell press. It must be performed on an inclined bench, and the weight is selected solely based on the characteristics of a particular person. In some cases, one bar is sufficient.
