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gym/resistance training

Hi.

I'm a 25 yr old female, 5'6'' and about 160 pounds. I want to join a gym to tone up. I'm hesitating because I'm wondering if I join a gym now, am I going to have to go to the gym for the rest of my life? If I stop going to the gym in two years from now will I gain any weight I lose back and will all the muscle I gain turn to flab?

Thanks!

Hi discovery,

You’re looking at it as an all-or-nothing proposition and it’s not that way. First off, regular exercise is something we all ought to be doing for health and fitness for all of our lives. But you don’t need to go to a gym to do it. Second, the guidelines for exercise are 3-5 times per week of cardio for 20-60 minutes, and 2-3 days of resistance exercise, one set of 8-10 exercises that condition the major muscle groups, 8-12 repetitions of each exercise. Third, exercise is the single best predictor of keeping your weight off. If you plan on losing weight and keeping it off then you’ll need to do some amount of exercise, probably about 30-40 minutes of cardio, 3-5 days per week, and at least some resistance exercise to keep up muscle mass. Muscle mass is important for metabolism, strength, tone, and bone density, to name just a few benefits. But again, you don’t need to go to a gym to do it. Try to stop looking as exercise as some kind of pill you take to fix a problem, and then once it’s fixed, you stop taking it. Instead, look at it as something that will keep you healthy and fit, and that you can enjoy the benefits of fitness all your life. It’s a great feeling to stay fit and strong and do all the activities you like and want to do. Getting weak is no fun.

Take care, Rich