So I’m new to the gym, decided this year I need to lose weight and get fitter to enjoy riding more.

However should I be doing a day at the gym so do my routine and then a day off to allow recovery to muscles e.t.c or is this a myth?

Depends on your routine, how much rest you get and how good your diet is. But… generally, yes.

Cheers 5th, I have found that there is a temptation to get over excited and go very day but don’t want to do damage.

Another question when would I start noticing changes in body shape fitness levels etc?

You’ll probably need to leave a day between sessions when you start, unless you’re very careful with the weights you’ll almost certainly be pretty stiff the next day.

If you want to go more often just make sure you alternate legs and upper body: if you do the latter on Friday (for example) there shouldn’t be a serious problem in going for a ride on Saturday. (Unless you’re doing DH or similar where you use your arms a lot more…)

Another question when would I start noticing changes in body shape fitness levels etc?

You probably won’t! It’s very gradual, the person who’ll notice is your mum when you go to visit her after a 2 month absence.

Another question when would I start noticing changes in body shape fitness levels etc?

In the first few months you’ll be mostly improving coordination and balance. Your lifts will go up quite rapidly but it won’t be because of much muscle growth.

You should see a noticeable difference after a year. Assuming your diet and training are reasonable.

I’m currently using trx and weights for legs. Do approximately 45mins to an hour with a 12 min cardio sesh to start. Diet is the biggest problem, although have made massive steps in regards eating breakfast, never used to. Reducing portion sizes which is killing me. Problem now is I eat breakfast and lunch but I’m starving by 5 so have dinner used to eat at 8ish and then hungry before bed! But I guess that’s just a retrain in exercise for my body!

No doubt this will end up in a diet arguments, but… protein. Useful to have in your diet when training and curbs your appetite.

If you prioritise and structure you can go on consecutive days, eg arms, legs, cardio, stretching and balance. Don’t overdo it but make use of the time… when I had a gym right next work I found I could pop in at lunch and do more in half an hour than other people managed in 2 hours of faffing around and sitting around at stations.

to allow recovery to muscles e.t.c or is this a myth?

A good adage is ‘exercise makes you weak, recovery makes you strong’

The exact ratio is unique to each individual and will vary with fitness, strength, age, type of exercise, diet, physiology etc.

You just have to figure it out for yourself by trial and error. As you get older you need more recovery…..

I need to lose weight and get fitter to enjoy riding more.

genuine question….. are you just going to the gym to lose weight for cycling, or to gain muscle, or just generally want to lift weights?

just thinking, its often said that to improve at something, do it more. so wouldnt just losing weight and cycling more be better for you than gym sessions?

Diet is the biggest problem, although have made massive steps in regards eating breakfast, never used to. Reducing portion sizes which is killing me. Problem now is I eat breakfast and lunch but I’m starving by 5 so have dinner used to eat at 8ish and then hungry before bed! But I guess that’s just a retrain in exercise for my body!

contentious issue on here sometimes but have you considered the 16:8 type thing or suchlike? im the same, smaller portion sizes dont suit me, so i miss breakfast and just have my calories within an 8 hr window (so a bigger dinner and tea). suits me great, you may not be the same.

Sadex, I guess I’m going for a number of reasons. I want to build core muscle etc for cycling, and yes more cycling is a better option, however not always possible to fit it in. Whereas an hour blast in the gym before work is doable. However I also want to tone up, firm up and build muscles as well, as I’m generally unhappy with the way my body looks.

As I said dieting is the main issue in terms of weight loss. The portion sizes are killing me, well maybe not but my god it can hurt to be hungry. I was thinking of protein shakes but it is an expense that I do t really need.

believe it or not mate, ive found protein shakes to be the cheapest form of protein, and theyre what i use.
to build muscle, youll need a certain amount of protein (i estimate my need to be at least 160g per day for instance). its always better to get your nutrients from proper food, but as i dont eat a lot of meat, i supplement with shakes. thats all they are, a ‘supplement’. if you get enough protein from meat etc, then theyre not needed.
they just suit me tho as i love the unflavoured stuff from myprotein.com. its the cheapest ive found (and cheaper than meat), and as its unflavoured it pretty much tastes the same as milk, so i use a shake on my cereal or porridge too. that way im getting more protein and it tastes the same, if not a bit creamier. yumyum 🙂

btw, have you considered the 16:8 way of eating? sort of ‘accept im hungry but so what its dinner in a couple of hours i can wait’ and then eat better portions for dinner and tea? tried logging your calories/macros in ‘myfitnesspal’?

cheers

If your new to the gym you should be doing 3 days a week 4 at a push but your body will need plenty of time to recover & get used to things.

What are you doing cardio,Weights or a bit of both & how long are you training for ?

You should be getting your protein from whole foods,meats/fish/some dairy & so on,Protein shakes are there to get protein in straight after a workout (whey isolate) or when you just can get enough protein in through meals.It does help with the slowing down of muscle breakdown & speeding up of synthesis but you shouldn’t kick the arse out of them.

Cheers !

& as a rule of thumb it’s ATLEAST 1kg of protein per kg of Bodyweight,Depending out your goals 🙂

& as a rule of thumb it’s ATLEAST 1kg of protein per kg of Bodyweight,Depending out your goals

So I’d need to eat 100kg of protein a day 😯

I’d better get started! 😉

I meant 1g per kg of BW 🙁

I’d love to watch you eat 100kg per kg of BW tho

I’d quite like to give it a go…

2days on 2days off is how I used to do it

day 1
legs, chest and triceps
day2
back, shoulders, arms, abs.

when I got bored of that I just used to go once a week and blat round everything in one go. it took about an hour and a half to do four sets of each.

squats
leg press
bench press
bent over rows
shoulder press
triceps
biceps
abs

other days I’d either be out on the bike, swimming, running or whatever. Being hungry is perfectly normal btw, unless you’re bodybuilding of course then you make sure you’re full up all the time 😉

At the mo I warm up say quarter of an hour on the cross trainer at level 9, then do bout half hour of trx exercises a planned routine and then cool down