Help me devise a begginers workout plan. Cardio + Strength

[akshatp]

Okay, so I am into my 30s, and not much of an exerciser. (Okay never been to a gym before. )

The apartment bldg we moved into (last year) has a great gym with all new Nautilus equipment at my disposal for use at no charge. FINALLY, this week I started going to the gym to start some kind of fitness program, but have just been mulling around on the cardio equipment to get used to going to the gym.

I want to start a proper program where I can lose some belly flab, strengthen my abs a bit, and gain some arm and leg strength.

Note I am not trying to get "ripped" or "built" just more healthy looking. I am not overweight-- 6'0" tall, around 175 lbs, and I dont particulary eat according to any diet. I have a pretty fast metabolism as it is (otherwise I would be a fat pig) so I'd like to stick to what I eat now, which isnt all bad but isnt all good either.

What should I do? How do I start? I am lost!

The equipment we have in the gym is as follows:

CARDIO:
Treadmill
Stationery Bike
Elliptical
Steppers (Stair Machine)

WEIGHT TRAINING (Nautilus Machines)
Pull up Zero Gravity Machine Chin Dip
Ab Machine
Hip Abduction
Leg Press/Leg Curl
Rotary Torso
Bicep Curl
Tricep Extension
other stuff i cant name

And then Free weights (dumbells) and a big Bench Press thing with bar/weights

Thats what I can remember off the top of my head, but they have pretty much everything. What I need is some sort of plan that I can start with that combines some cardio and some training, which will help lose my developing gut and make me healthier. (I'd like to be able to go to the beach and not think twice about taking off my shirt)

I recently quit smoking, and assume my heart needs some repair to get back to better health.

My few trips to the gym on the cardio machines werent too bad, although my shins felt some pain if I ran for extended periods on the treadmill.

 

[darkxshade]

As a beginner, I would suggest a full body workout 3 times a week for weight training. I'd skip the fully assisted machines and go straight to free weights or cables, etc. But since you've never been to the gym I would recommend that you learn proper form and technique rather than going straight into meat of it. It's more important to practice your range of motion and the movements correctly so that you don't get hurt 2 months in and end your exercise regiment before it started.

With that said, and others might disagree, I think you should start your first week with really light weights so you can get a feel for it and gradually increase them as you gain more confidence in the weights you lift as well as building stability so that you don't drop them on yourself. Focus on compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups to make your workout effective.

Your typical full body workout would consist of about 5-6 exercises:

Bench Press
Pull ups
Squats
Deadlifts
Rows
and finally a Abs workout.

For your first week go for a weight that's light enough that you can do at least 10 of and do 3 sets of each of the exercises. Again, practice the movements. Once you feel you're ready for the real deal then go for 3 sets of 8-10 reps of a weight you can do at most 12 reps of. Since you want to work on your strength, what you want to do is get to a point where you're confident enough to lift really heavy weights. You'll then be doing 4x6 or 5x5 of your 6 rep max.

As far as cardio goes, it's not my expertise. Some do HIIT twice a week in the days between the full body workouts with 2 rest days. Others like to do 30 mins of cardio right after weight lifting. Then there are those who like to run in the morning 5 times a week or at night. Do whatever you feel is more comfortable, just don't skimp out on cardio completely.

Personally I lift weights during lunch 3 times a week when I do fullbody or 4 times a week when I do splits. I change up this pattern so my body doesn't get used to a specific routine. I wouldn't worry about that at your stage. As for cardio, I do whatevers convenient for me at a given day. In a typical week on avg, I run 2-3 times in the morning/night, 2 HIIT sessions usually after work, 2x 45min swimming(learning) and I bike on the weekends or play sports.