How many calories should I aim to burn at the gym?!

How many calories should I aim to burn at the gym?

I went to the gym today and worked on a few different things. I did SOME strength exercise (with my thighs) but most of what i did was cardio.

Asside from about 5 minutes of strength, I worked on an eleptical type machine for about 10 minutes. I burned 100 calories in that 10 minutes. I then went to the tredmil for 10 minutes (burned another 100 calories) and then to finish I went back on the eleptical for another 10 minutes and 100 caloires.

So in a 30 minute workout I burned 300 calories. Should I be aiming to burn more than that?

Burning calories during a workout should not be the main focus, but rather the intensity of the workout in order to raise the RMR (resting metabolic rate). This is where real bodyfat loss occurs. Try to work on increasing the intensity by increasing the length of the workout or decreasing the time it takes to go a certain distance (during cardio).

Weight lifting will also help tremendously in losing bodyfat as the more lean muscle tissue on the body the more calories are burned just to maintain the muscle mass. Plus, muscle is much more dense than fat so will give the appearance of thinness if the bodyfat percentage is low enough. Many women fear weight training in that they think it will make them big and bulky, but this is extremely difficult due to the relative lack of testosterone levels - even women bodybuilders find this a big challenge and only look that way through years of targeted weight training and dieting, along with possibly some pharmaceutical assistance. So, don't be afraid to hit the weights! Also, weights should always be done first in a workout.

The only way bodyfat will be burned, or used for energy, is if the diet and exercise routines are in a good balance. Exercise only provides the stimulus for fat burning, but it's the diet that determines what is lost and how fast. This means that enough calories should be eaten per day, and often enough, for the body to release fat stores for energy rather than using food energy, or worse yet, muscle proteins for energy. If the caloric intake goes below BMR, or basal metabolic rate, then the body will think it's in starvation and will do everything it can to retain bodyfat but will use everything else for energy, including muscle tissue. So, the idea should be to get enough calories for the body to feel ok about releasing bodyfat for energy, but not so much food that it will store the extra calories as bodyfat.

So often, healthy diet is neglected in the goal for bodyfat loss, or the thought that simply denying the body calories will help lose bodyfat. It's great that you're exercising, so taking it to the next level will involve manipulating the body's natural tendencies and functions to remove the bodyfat. Good luck!