If you decide to work out at the gym, getting there is half the battle. The second half is a properly built workout, which will help to work all muscle groups. The trainer will tell you about how to organize and do exercises in the gym correctly. He will also help you to create an effective training program.

Principles of composing a workout for weight loss

Surely you had to hear that the classes in the gym do not bring results. It’s all the fault of the wrong program of classes. The fact that many girls mistakenly believe that, spending most of the workout on a treadmill, they burn more calories.

In fact, the body quickly gets used to low-intensity cardio workouts (jogging, riding a stationary bike), as a result of which calories are burned exclusively during the exercise. This is not the case with strength training. After them, the metabolism remains elevated for some time, and calories continue to go faster even after the end of the workout.

But this does not mean that an effective training program should include only strength exercises. Effective gym classes for weight loss in the gym are made with the following principles in mind:

• The program should be designed for 2-3 workouts per week.
• Start the workout with a warm-up, which will help warm up the muscles and work the joints.
• The workout should include both strength and cardio exercises.
• Lose weight by doing circular workouts, supersets, and trisets.
• The program should include exercises for all muscle groups with an emphasis on problem areas.
• The class should end with intensive cardio (interval running or sprinting) and stretching.

If you do not go to the gym and want to know how to train properly at home, try to build your classes with the above principles in mind. As an intensive cardio exercise, jumping and jumping out of squats will do.

Ineffective exercises at the gym

Not all exercises performed at the gym are really beneficial. It is better to spend your energy on really effective exercises than to waste the following:

• Smith squats. Due to the fact that the bar moves in a single trajectory, the load on the leg muscles is significantly reduced. This exercise can be replaced by regular squats with a barbell with a smaller weight;
• abductor exercise. In fact, it does not help to get rid of fat on the inner thigh. Instead of this exercise, it is better to perform lunges with a barbell or without weights;
• Straightening the arms with a dumbbell along the body in an incline. Large weight of the projectile does not allow you to do many repetitions, and small weight will not help to pump up the triceps. It is better to replace this exercise with push-ups on uneven bars, which will help work all the muscles of the upper body;
• shadow fighting with weights. Using a large weight increases injury, and a small weight does not give the desired results. If you want to pump up your arms, you’re better off doing pull-ups;
• squats on a medicine ball. This version of performing this exercise only makes it injury prone. It is better to replace it with regular squats from the floor with your arms crossed over your shoulders.

If you have doubts about how to train and do any exercise, it is better to consult a trainer. Even if you have not paid for the services of an instructor, there is always a trainer on duty at the gym to whom you can turn. Incorrect performance of an exercise may result in serious injury.

Approximate training program

An effective training program in the gym looks something like this:

• Warm-up – allows you to prevent injuries. Lasts about 5-10 minutes.
• Torso twists – improve blood circulation and help work through the waist. During the workout, it is recommended to do 5-8 approaches with as many reps as possible.
• Squats with a barbell – to work the muscles of the legs and glutes.
• Bench press from prone position – works triceps, deltoids and pecs.
• Pull-ups to the chin area – to work the shoulder girdle.
• Rope curls – helps tighten the skin on the arms and make the shoulders more sculpted.
• Leg raises in a hanging position on the bar – works the abs and glutes.
• Dumbbell lunges – work the outer and inner thighs.
• Squats with dumbbells between legs (legs wide apart) – for glutes.
• Intense cardio load. It could be an interval run, a sprint, a run with acceleration. Duration of about 15-20 minutes.
• Stretching. It is necessary to relax all the muscles that were worked out during the workout.

Gym training and nutrition

Regular exercise at the gym in any case will help you strengthen your muscles, but weight loss will be more effective if you combine it with a balanced diet.

It is not about a diet – starvation is harmful, especially at high physical activity. However, overeating should also be excluded. Here are a few tips to stick to in your diet:

• Do not skip breakfast, because it triggers the intestines and energizes you for the whole day;
• Follow the principle 25-50-25 (25% of calories for breakfast and dinner, 50% for lunch);
• Have a protein meal 2-3 hours before training;
• consume more vegetable fiber;
• The body needs the right fats – Omega-3 and Omega-6, which you can get from fish;
• eat a full meal 1-1,5 hours after the workout;
• Drink plenty of water. The daily norm is 2-2.5 liters.

To make your exercises at the gym effective, combine power and cardio, work on all muscle groups and watch your exercise technique. Don’t forget to eat a balanced diet, which will help you improve your results and get you ready for the beach season faster.