When most of us think of typical gym workouts, we tend to think of the standard old gym workout routine, where you lift some weights and do some cardio (not necessarily in that order). It never occurred to many of us that a good gym workout doesn’t have to follow the formula of the status quo. While there is nothing wrong with the “status quo” workout, you actually can get a great workout without touching a cardio machine or even weights, for that matter and still follow all of the weight loss tips you’ll find the experts writing.
One very effective gym workout plan that has lead thousands, if not millions of women to their weight loss and fitness goals is aerobics classes, which are typically offered by most gyms. These classes offer you a variety of exercises including; plyometric, cardiovascular, aerobic, calisthenic, isometric and isotonic as well as stretching. Many classes will also incorporate the use of dumbbells which means you still get a bit of weight lifting as well.
The goal in any good gym workout plan is to incorporate a healthy balance of resistance training, in whatever form it may take. It also includes a cardiovascular workout, which is better stated as a fat burn workout. The typical trainer or website out there will tell you, with a resistance program you want to keep your weight or resistance light and repetitions high for more of a tone. They also warn that women will bulk up when using higher weights with lower reps. I really feel that this is old fashion thinking and I strongly suggest you try it for yourself. I’m willing to bet you will be surprised, yourself. Give it a couple months working out like men do. I don’t mean doing one set then going to get a drink while checking out the girls. I mean a real workout, where the only break you get is changing machines or equipment, that’s it. You will rarely see anyone doing this because it is very difficult. You will find that you need to start off heavy and decrease in order to complete your sets, which is fine in the beginning.
As for the cardio, or fat burn workout, most of the gym cardio equipment, even the home gym machines, have a heart rate monitor built in so you can keep it in your fat burn zone. I like to work in some wind sprints as well which can be done on any machine you like for cardio. Sprint for 30 seconds when you first start out then push yourself; see how far you can make it at maximum effort. Regardless you will be melting fat, so it’s a win win!