I’ve joined a gym… now what?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Inspired by this thread (and dismayed by my current state of fitness, or lack thereof), I started looking at gyms and recreation centers near my house, near my work, and in between.

Some of them have very poor consumer ratings - Bally’s is the closest to my house and would be the absolutely most convenient choice, but the reviews are…discouraging.

Any suggestions or advice on picking out a good gym? And some of the membership fees are breathtakingly high (to me, anyway). What should I be considering as a reasonable monthly fee? Enrollment fee?

22

I’d avoid Bally’s. They are more of a cattle call than anything. I used to belong to them but left on my own and with my credit intact too (which apparently is quite the feat). They’ve tried to woo me back with $100 a year contract which is really cheap but not tempting enough.

I saw by your location that you’re in Denver which has a couple Lifetimes there. I’ve been a member there for 5 years now (it’s a local company for me) and have been very happy with the cleanliness, the machines, and even the classes are great. I love the fact that they have towel service too.

There are two downfalls though. One is the price, it’s definitely a high tier place. I pay a little over $50 a month but it’s worth it to me. (Lifetime has 4 levels of membership, bronze/gold/platinum/onyx. I get platinum for the price of gold due to a deal I got). It looks like all of the gyms in the Denver area are all gold level. But that also means that you can go to any gold or bronze club in the country on that membership.

The other downfall is the personal training they have there. I’ve had a couple sessions and left disappointed. (Got free sessions from referrals). The trainers knew what they were doing but also they have some standard things that they all do which just aren’t good. (Using the bozu ball for balance while doing squats/curls/etc is not safe.) My last session I flat out said that I would be doing nothing on a balance ball/bozu ball and the trainer complied, but that was where he was going.

The thing with joining a gym is that there are “Hidden” deals. Just because they offer a price and say “this is the enrollment fee/this is the monthly fee”, unless they have this printed for the public to see (on a website/board/etc) assume that this is like buying a car and make a deal.

Also, so it doesn’t seem like I’m a Lifetime salesperson, check out to see if there is a community or city club too. Some of these can be very reasonable.

23

Denver has a bunch of city-run rec centers. Any of them close enough?

My gym is my local city rec center. I love it. I’ve never once felt intimidated in the weight room (I’m one of the few females in there and the only fat person) because…well, dude, we’re at the rec center not Gold’s Gym. It’s hard to be intimidated when kids are playing foosball on the other side of the partition.

24

Going to strongly second this. I have quite a bit of knowledge of Bally, due to work experience. They’re essentially a financial-services company (selling three-year contracts) which just happens to have to run health clubs in order to make their core business operate. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’d also suggest looking at your local YMCA. They may actually be a little more expensive than what you’ll find with a for-profit health club, but I find the atmosphere there to be very relaxed, and the staff is great. I joined my local Y when they had a membership drive going (they have one going now, in fact), which meant that they waived the initial membership fee.

25

I don’t remember a time in my life NOT going to the gym. Go to the gym and ask them the exact same questions you just asked us. They’ll tell you how to use the machines and what not. Get a trainer.

26

Something to remember: even if it was very long ago, everyone once was brand new to the gym thing.

Some gyms offer free intro sessions with a trainer, which would be worth looking into.

Lifting in conjunction with cardio will get you in much better shape, and you’ll lose weight much faster. Even if you have no idea what’s what - go in, read the little instruction panels on the weight machines, and lift. You’d have to try really hard to hurt yourself on a machine, so relax.

If you plan on doing cardio, start slow - there’s no shame in it, and you can hurt yourself (or just turn yourself off to exercise) by trying to do too much too soon. Particularly if you’re overweight, you want to start with low-impact cardio - a pool would be great, but a stationary bike or elliptical is next best. Walking is another good start, but don’t try and dive right into a running routine. Another great low-impact machine is the indoor rower, but see if a staff member can show you how to position yourself - you can cause yourself some back trouble if you don’t.

27

And I guess I might as well offer my standard plug for simply starting to walk/jog/stretch/exercise on your own. Zero cost. Doesn’t matter whether you walk, run, bike, swim, dance, whatever - just get that carcass moving.

Some folk like to pay for gym membership for various reasons, and having paid might guilt you into keeping it up, but gyms bore me.

28

63-year-old gym rat reporting in, late as usual.

Don’t worry about people noticing you. Nobody will notice you. We may peripherally notice that someone is on that particular treadmill/weight machine/etc to our immediate left/right, but that’s about it. Trust me, we’re all just trying to exorcise our own particular demons at the gym.

I have to force myself to go to the gym every morning just like everyone else. What helps me is my wall calendar - every day I go to the gym I write “GYM” across the top half of that day’s block. It helps a lot to see that row of letters all over the month.

Clothes? Sure, there will be some Sweet Young Things (and Manly Young Things) wearing the latest in designwear, but the rest of us are all just wearing something to comfortably sweat in. I wear some sneakers I originally bought at Walmart for $15, black shorts that I originally bought for something like $6.99 apiece at K-Mart, white socks that I bought for something like $12/dozen at Costco, and (my own little piece of vanity) one of several gag black T-shirts that I originally bought at Thinkgeek (“Insufficient Memory” - “Keep out of Direct Sunlight” etc). All of the above are pretty ragged at this point, but hey I’m just gonna sweat in them so who cares?

Being male I know nothing about sports bras except that my wife wears them every time she goes to the gym and she wouldn’t think of wearing any other kind of bra there. Something to do with functionality over style.

(Oh, and while others prefer free weights, I prefer machines. My attitude is that machines pretty much force you into a strong/sturdy position where slipping and hurting yourself and/or the equipment is pretty much impossible. I use free weights, but only in those instances where my particular gym doesn’t have a machine that does the job. Wrist curls, for example.)

29

I just got back from the gym a little while ago, and even though it was busy, I couldn’t pick someone who was there out of a line up if you paid me. That’s pretty much how little people pay attention there, if that makes you feel any better.

30

My daughter is large and self-conscious about wearing shorts at the gym, so she wears sweats or black loose pants similar to yoga pants in style, but softer and baggier. And any large old T-shirt. And she loves when other big females come in.

31

Yes. Yes, there are. And this isn’t even something I considered before. There’s one within a five-minute drive of my house :slight_smile:

32

This is a good idea, especially if you outgrow a smaller no-frills club. My YMCA is more expensive than the 24 hour machines-only gym, but it’s great to have access to a pool, a hot tub, tons of classes, a larger selection of equipment, and a helpful staff. We also get free coaching, which is great for accountability.

But, the OP already signed up - so the important thing is, now, just to get into the habit of going and trying it. I liked my 24 hour gym at first because I could find times with practically noone there, which made it easier (for me) to try new equipment and not feel weird. A small local place is often deserted, say, on a Sunday afternoon, which makes it a good time to swing by and try that shoulder press you’ve been curious about, or whatever. My YMCA is very well attended in comparison, and I wouldn’t have tolerated that as well when I was a newbie.

33

This is wonderful advice. The key is making exercise part of your daily routine. And not an optional part. It’s just something you do like taking a shower in the morning or brushing your teeth at night.

I would also suggest you try a variety of different machines/techniques/exercises whatever until you find one that fits you. It’s much easier to make exercise part of your routine if you like what you’re doing. Slow, gradual improvements are less challenging to the natural sense of impatience if you’re doing something you like.

There are lots of different ways to exercise, especially if you’re mainly interested in just getting healthier. It doesn’t have to be a drag. Find something you like and make it part of your everyday life.

34

First off, I am one of those people who hates new people at the gym, active in the other thread. However, you genuinely sound like you want to change and have put thought into it. That alone differentiates you from the hoarding masses.

Lots of good advice in this thread. But nobody has mentioned…Talk to your Doctor! If you are very overweight s/he may have specific advice about exerting yourself and so forth. Always let your doctor know about your workout plan. My doctor is well aware that I worked out 5-6 days/week from preschool (no joke) till I graduated high school and then was a schlub through college, only to resume diligently working out the last few months of college. You may read things that “calories in, calories out” matter - and believe me it does - but for many people working out is the difference maker. For me and many others, working out actually curbs your appetite, helps you sleep, improves your sex life and mood, etc.

  1. Start slow, walking on the treadmill or going lightly on the elliptical. Don’t try weights without proper instruction.

  2. After a few months in which you can briskly walk for several miles, get a personal trainer. If you’re in a decent sized town you shouldn’t have a problem finding a decent one; you can try Craigslist if your gym doesn’t have personal trainers. They will help with technique and will decrease your chance of injury because they’ll give you customized workouts and stretches, teach you to lift weights (how you’ll shed pounds much faster) and how to do ab exercises.

  3. People don’t care what you look like. Honestly, they don’t. They’re in their own little world; just don’t get in their way

  4. Join sparkpeople or tell a friend so you’re accountable to someone.

Conversely, don’t eat shit food before or after because you will feel like you’re carrying a bowling ball when you work out or you’ll feel you want to puke afterwards. You should have a pretty good idea of what you should be eating - half a dinner plate of veggies, 1/4 of starch and 1/4 meat. And an 8-10" dinnerplate, not the giant 12" ones either. Start shopping in the perimeter of the store more than anything, only getting beans from the middle aisles.

Good luck!

I agree with everything here but the shoes. Cheap shoes can cause a host of joint and tendon issues. Get proper walking or exercise shoes from a reputable brand such as New Balance, Asics, etc. If you can, go to a specialized fitness store near you or investigate online shoes for more overweight people. When I was running (and over 150 pounds, which is a lot for a female runner) I had Saucony shoes that had more cushion than a regular off-the-rack pair. No more expensive, but I could feel the difference and was much less likely to hurt myself.

35

I’m a soon to be former fatty (just a few more lbs to go) who joined a gym a year and a half ago.

When I started, I could manage 10 minutes on the treadmill at a pretty slow speed. I thought people would notice that I was just there for a short time. Nobody did. I was nervous, too, but nobody even talked to me. I was most nervous changing and showering, but meh.

So start with what you can do and build on that. If it’s 10 min, then fine, make it 12 min next time and 15 min after that. When you feel like you can do more, try a class.

Get a trainer to show you weights. I wish I’d started weights earlier. I love them.

Get a GOOD sports bra and GOOD shoes. Other clothing is optional. Because I was Fatty McFat when I started, I had chub rub issues with my thighs and couldn’t wear shorts. I liked the 3/4 lycra pants and a big top - the pants kept things from giggling too much, the top hid a multitude of sins. The bra kept things where they belonged, too. I prefer working out in tight clothes because it gives me support, but I wear shorts and a loose shirt on top, or just shorts usually now.

I sweat like cow (and still do) so I wear a bandana or something to keep the sweat out of my eyes. Bring a towel!!

I have to go to the gym. I just have to. I’m out right now with bursitis for two weeks and I feel sluggish and craptastic. You can be this way, too. It just takes a bit. There’s no instant result.

I now when I’m not working and going to school full time do five or six days a week, with two of those being weights and the other two being spin classes or body combat. When I’m at uni and working, it drops to three days. I always go the morning I have final exams. It seems to put my brain on track.

It takes a lot of time to get to your goal, but it’s so worth it. Just go!

36

Uh oh, did we scare away the OP?

37

Click on her username, then select “view public profile” and look at the “statistics” page and its “find all posts by Manx” option. She’s been around; she just hasn’t replied to any of the suggestions yet.

38

That is a bit sad - I went to the gym today, too. I said hello to all the staff, I see them all at least once a week. I said hello to a few people I do classes with, and made eye contact and smiled at almost everyone else. After I finished I popped into the studio to see someone else from classes I do, just to say hi.

Maybe our gym is odd, but it is one of the friendliest places I go. We do notice new people, and try to make them feel at home. We want them to do well, come back, have fun. and get results. And for encouragement for larger new starters, some regulars point at me and say “see that bloke - he’s lost a hell of a lot of weight coming here. You can do it, too.” While I’m still not small, I’m a hell of a lot smaller and miles fitter than I was three years ago.

Si

39

Not at all! Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply - I’m going in on Saturday. I’ve got trainers with go-faster stripes, and trackkies and a tshirt (so no worries, Dinsdale, I’m appropriately covered up!) and very best of all, my girlfriend has also joined, so we can be nervous together.

Thanks everyone who said that they don’t pay attention to other people at the gym - I know that that’s true, but I don’t believe it, y’know? It feels like being an awkward teenage again, but I will do my best to ignore that and just see how I go.

Big thanks as well to the posters who mentioned sportsbras - I’ve got one of them now too, and it wouldn’t have crossed my mind otherwise. So much new kit, it’s almost making me excited about going… Now I just need to put it to good use!

40

It really is true; when I go to the gym, I have my iPod and I’m listening to podcasts or audiobooks. I don’t notice other people, they don’t notice me, we’re all good.

I love my gym. It’s very low-key. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single piece of slinky lycra there, everyone’s just in t-shirt and trackies, and the rock-hard gym bods are nowhere in evidence, we’re all real people with flabby bits. The staff are approachable and cheerful, but not pushy; outside of January, it’s never crowded at the times when I’m there. It’s also circuit-based - this doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s perfect for me. Bike for five or ten minutes, circuit for half an hour, alternating between weight machines and cardio stations. It’s very predictable, and I like that.