joining a gym............. newbie

233

233

233

Soldato
Joined
21 Nov 2004
Posts
13,524
Location
Wishaw
late 30s typically unfit bloke with middle age spread and a fondness for unhealthy living,

decided i'm going to sign up to my local gym. now i've never been into a gym let alone been involved in any fitness other than a lot of cycling in my teens.

any tips/advice words of encouragment to share feel free please :)


not even sure what my aims are other than trim the flab a bit and keep the middle age spread in check before it sets in properly
 
Don't bother.
Find excuses to walk more, get of bus stops early or walk the whole way.
Go for walks on your lunch break and walk faster put effort in so your slightly out of breath.
 
It really does depend on what you want to achieve.

If its cut flab, your first port of call should be your kitchen.

What do you weight? What do you eat? How active are you? What are you goals? and what kind of fitness do you enjoy?
 
What would you do if you couldn't swim? Would you jump into the middle of a pool and hope it all goes well? or get some tuition, ease yourself in and let someone teach you techniques until you can swim alone and fly like a bird into the sunset.

Spend some money with a PT
 
20 years ago were plenty cycle tracks
Assuming there's still as many or more now
Used to cycle to Lochwinnoch
And can do some water sports there too
Definitely better off outdoors than in a gym in my opinion
And the cycle tracks cut down the dangers of road cycling
 
YouTube is a great resource for learning.

My advice is do what you enjoy the most in the gym, you’ll stick with it then.

Weight lifting is where I’d focus if you have no preference. Research a basic program and getting cracking.

Joe Delaney just put out a video of his full body program with a free download. Could be worth checking out.

 
LiE said:
YouTube is a great resource for learning.

My advice is do what you enjoy the most in the gym, you’ll stick with it then.

Weight lifting is where I’d focus if you have no preference. Research a basic program and getting cracking.

Joe Delaney just put out a video of his full body program with a free download. Could be worth checking out.

Click to expand...

Joe is very advanced and I believe this routine is his own current 5 day a week program tailored towards where he is right now, which is ‘not going to get any bigger at this point so might as well split all my volume up in a way that I enjoy’ (aaah to be in his position).

Would recommend something that’s 3 days a week and has more basic linear progression... doesn’t have to be a 5x5 thing though.
 
Just to add some useful info now I'm not in a rush and on my phone.

The first and most important thing is doing what you enjoy. Zero point doing cardio training if you hate it, you won't stick at it. I love weight training since I start lifting at 18 years old, I'm 34 now.

Then you need to be consistent and start to dial in some things the more you get into it. Small steps. Day one you don't need to be on a crazy programme and following a difficult nutrition plan.

As you start to enjoy it more you'll want to naturally get better at what your doing and so that will drive other changes.

Weight training is what I would recommend, it will be better for body recomposition. Don't bother with cardio unless you are using it as a tool to control calories.
 
Well first step taken today

my induction and first ever gym session

just a 40 minute break in to get
Me started but

I’m still alive
I think i almost might have enjoyed myself
And it actually seemed a decent place to be


Plans being focusing on core strength on doctors advice due to a pre existing back problem building up slowly over the course of a couple of month and try and drop a few kg (seems woerd using kg rather than lbs and stone though

weifhed in today at 106.5kg doctor suggests I should ideally be 20 kilo under that

first target stick to a regular routine and chase sub 100kg

overall though glad I’ve made the first step and anyone else reading in the same boat take that leap and do something
 
233 said:
Well first step taken today

my induction and first ever gym session

just a 40 minute break in to get
Me started but

I’m still alive
I think i almost might have enjoyed myself
And it actually seemed a decent place to be


Plans being focusing on core strength on doctors advice due to a pre existing back problem building up slowly over the course of a couple of month and try and drop a few kg (seems woerd using kg rather than lbs and stone though

weifhed in today at 106.5kg doctor suggests I should ideally be 20 kilo under that

first target stick to a regular routine and chase sub 100kg

overall though glad I’ve made the first step and anyone else reading in the same boat take that leap and do something
Click to expand...
Good for you mate
Sometimes first steps
Hardest one to take
 
managed to get at least 1/2 hour in every day since joining, nothing too strenous but its nice being able to get in before or after work was in the gym after work at 6am yesterday half hour then home and dare i say it much better kip than i normally get.

only problem i've found is sore ankles when hittng the treadmill, might have to look at different footwear but so far so good :) still alive
 
233 said:
managed to get at least 1/2 hour in every day since joining, nothing too strenous but its nice being able to get in before or after work was in the gym after work at 6am yesterday half hour then home and dare i say it much better kip than i normally get.

only problem i've found is sore ankles when hittng the treadmill, might have to look at different footwear but so far so good :) still alive
Click to expand...
You're quite heavy (he says being another couple of kg heavier :o) and if you've been using the treadmill every time you've gone in your ankles/joints in general simply won't be used to it.

I'd mix it up with the bike or rower if you still want to get some cardio in but give your joints a rest.
 
233 said:
only problem i've found is sore ankles when hittng the treadmill, might have to look at different footwear but so far so good :) still alive
Click to expand...

My lower joints normally begin scream in pain as soon as I go beyond 2K, mainly ankles - now one a lot more since I almost broke it.. - as I'm a little over 90KG. I find cycling, cross-fit or rower to be a much better choice as there isn't the repetitive pounding on the joints with those. :)
 
I've found join my local council gym, about 27quid/month and taking 2 weekly circuits or body pump classes has benefited me greatly.
I wasn't unfit to begin with but doing this has drastically chanhed my fitness and shape.
I am lifting considerably more than most in the class but its more about the motivation to do an hour solid not stop training twice a week.

Hard core gym rats will say that classes are no good but going on your own to a gym is pretty pointless unless your someone with a biblical level of dedication.. The classes mean all you have to do is turn up and then you have no choice but to do the exercises your told.

Tldr.. Motivation is the key, only friends or classes for me are enough to motivate me to turn up.
 
Best thing you will find at a gym that makes the biggest difference...



..Friends

When i started a gym about 8 yrs back i did so alone, a few months later i was joined by a mate and soon after 3 or 4 more arrived.
I was there all the time and dropped 3 stone in 6 months plus adding a lot of build - got my BF down to 17% which for me was mental all because i spent so long there with pals.
 
well near enough 4 weeks in and still enjoying it,

general alertness i would say is up i'm sleeping better and generally feeling better about myself so a big big positive,
weights down almost a kilo and a half so far as well so a big step in the right direction too which i'm chuffed with


anyone sitting thinking about taking the plunge do it
 
I've been going to the gym for nearly a year now but wasn't happy with my progress but I was also too intimidated/nervous to go to try out the free weight section or how to really get a good workout so started using the same handful of machines that I felt comfortable with.

I had my second PT session on Thursday and I'm so happy I did it, I'm getting shown equipment I've never used and the machines I was using I'm getting shown how to ensure my posture is correct to maximise effectiveness on the muscles I'm supposed to be targeting as well and now getting a routine that covers everything means I'm leaving feeling much better.

Most PT's do a free trial and none of the ones I spoke to put any pressure on to sign up to anything.

Highly recommended from me but I can also understand why people wouldn't like it.
 
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