Complete newbie wants to get fit..

[Chives]

Yeah. It can be a little overwhelming at first.

I think the most important thing to do is to get started with a good beginner routine and concentrate on getting your form and mobility sorted. Don't worry about increasing the weights too much as it's far more important that you lift correctly than lift heavy.

You can get yourself going pretty quickly this way and having actually done a bit of lifting (or whatever sport you decide to go for) you will have a better point of reference for understanding all the myriad information/guides out there and not find it all quite so much to take in.

Yeh definitely that is the plan

Just need to get and find a decent gym here and at University and then I should be set

Totally down to you but I reached the stage where for several years I wanted to 'do something to get fitter'. I didn't want to waste lots of time or money doing it as I previously was more active in my work, I just didn't have the time! We got a dog and the walks really made a difference, he's only a little westie so it's not long distances, but spending time with my missus walking the dog has improved our relationship (rather than sitting watching tv) as well as improved my overall fitness. It's not a 'chore' it's a nice time where we can enjoy each others company and have a laugh together.

Progressing onwards I (think) I've found my 'thing' with cycling my work commute - it's a journey I would be doing anyway and now I've gotten fitter it actually saves me time in the evenings (as the traffic is terrible, cycling through it is slow, but faster than taking the car!).

So depending on your lifestyle, or changing a part of it, may make a bigger difference to your general fitness. If you're anything like me (great at thinking, less at doing. I'm a great procrastinator!) then fitting in 'going to the gym' might have worked for a few weeks/months, but soon I would be skipping it to 'do other things' or 'not have the time to go'.

A routine (for me) was/is very important.

Yes I totally get what you are saying. Going to the gym or whatever else I do will make little difference if I don't make wider lifestyle changes. Need to improve my diet and try not to be like the typical student! I have freshers in a few weeks now which is essentially 2 weeks of getting drunk

Once that is done with I will sit down and work out what changes I need to make, and then how to go about doing it. I will no doubt come back here for advice.

Thank you everybody for the very helpful replies