Hey all thanks for looking! I just joined a gym. Since the last time I spent any time in a gym was high school, I’m a little nervous. I plan on taking some classes to get into the swing of things. Have any of you taken Body Pump or Spinning classes? What can I expect?
A good spin class will absolutely kick your ass. Ease into it, and be sure to bring a towel and plenty of water. If the class is any good, you’ll sweat like you’ve never sweated before. Enjoy!
I highly recommend getting a personal trainer for a few sessions. It helped me a lot, and not just for the physical training part- she also showed me how to work all the damned machines! They are kinda complicated until you get to know them!
Congrats. I haven’t been to my gym in ages, but I’ve still lost 15 pounds, go figure. Maybe that’s how much my membership cost if you put it on a scale… 
This is really more an IMHO thing, so I’ll move it there.
Also, gyms vary widely – perhaps some more information about the kind of gym you joined will make the answers more satisfactory.
I second the Personal Trainer suggestion. Many gyms will provide one intro session for free, generally they want to make sure you know how to use the machines and don’t hurt yourself (liability, y’know). However, the Personal Trainer sessions will help you understand your goals and tailor your program. After all people go to gyms for different reasons, it might be losing weight, it might be toning and general fittness, or building muscles. All different, with different activities recommended.
Good luck!
OH! And to answer your question a little more directly as to what to expect, definitely pace yourself and ease into it. A common problem is someone joins a gym, gets all gung ho, and then the body rebels. Too much pain, or a cold of flu mysteriously shows up. You end up not going for a few weeks and losing any progress you might have made. So, again, pace yourself and even though I recommended a Personal Trainer, beware of their tendancy to push you too hard early on.
In general, it will differ in the following ways from “gym class”:
The trainers there are supposed to be working for you. They presume you are there to improve your health and will try to help you. It is not their place to “grade” you.
Activities are voluntary. There is no marginal sadist driving you all to perform to a fixed standard. If an instructor tries this, remember that YOU are paying that instructor. You are no longer a sub-citizen constrained to put up with this by virtue of being a minor required by local policy to take “gym”.
Casual (or not-so-casual) cruelty on the part of other participants is not to be tolerated and is extremely rare.
Middle-aged women with kids in tow who just chatter and take up valuable space?
Pretty boy jerkoffs who pretend to be putting in some hard work while just doing 5kg lat pulls?
Pretty girl idiots who don’t even pretend to be working, just sitting around on the goddamn machines?
A lot of other idiots who signed up without actually checking the gym facilities out first?
All right, who wants into the pool? I’ve got j_kat251 “works at a gym” and “hates his gyms policies” left open…
I joined a very small gym, in fact I’ve only seen three other people in there! Like most gyms I’ve been to, there’s a compulsory induction visit - it forms part of their insurance cover apparently, they’re duty bound to ensure that you know how to use each piece of equipment safely. During the session, I had a gym programme worked out for me based on what I’d told the instructor my aims were. The idea is that the programme and my progress are re-assessed after 18 visits, and at that point any necessary adjustments can be made.
As with any new form of exercise, don’t go at it like a ferret down a hole. Pace yourself, be sensible, if you start to struggle to keep up then stop and rest. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of some kind of exercise class like spinning and you want to take a break - you’ve paid for the privelige of being there.
Golly, I’ve joined two different gyms over the last two years and neither of them required me to know how to use all of the equipment before signing up. Instead they had me sign a contract which stated in part that I released them from any liability for injury from use of the facilities. The original contract stated I released them from liability for any injury anywhere on the property but I crossed that part out before I signed it. If I slip on their icy sidewalk, oh are they gonna pay!
Pace yourself! I’ve been learning this the hard way for years! Everytime I stop for a bit and then get back into working out I overdo it. I try and do extra wimpy workouts for the first 2 or 3 times- as in 25% effort. This stretches out the muscles and gets your body accustomed to the weights. More than that and I spend 3 days groaning because my body hurts.
But the most important thing to know about a gym: You are there to get better, not be good. Don’t compare yourself to others and beat yourself up if you can’t perform like they can.
-Tcat
Don’t push yourself too much at first. If you set unreasonable goals then you run the risk of burning out and quitting the program. I’d say ease into it with workouts 2-3 times a week. Then later on, you can add more.
Remember that exercising is a lifetime activity. You can’t go to the gym for a few months, get buff, and then stop. So there’s no need to go overboard with your workouts at first. Take it easy and ramp up slowly.
Also, go to the gym on a regular basis whether you feel like it or not. There are some people who love working out and they have it easy. For the rest of us, it’s something we have to make ourselves do. Not that it’s not enjoyable, but how often are you sitting on the couch and suddenly think, “I feel like sweating for an hour” when it doesn’t involve sex?
You may run into senior scrotal exposure, which has been discussed in other threads. I think the concensus is not to say anything and try not to stare.
No fewer than four times in my life, I have joined a gym and gotten all gung ho about it. I would hit it hard three, sometimes four times a week. I’ve had a couple of personal trainers. I even drank those disgusting protein shakes.
Each time, I would keep the pace for around four months, and see no progress whatsoever. Eventually I’d give up.
About a month ago, I started going again. Only this time, I said to myself “Screw the Ironman thing, I’m going to go twice a week and not kill myself.” Ironically, after a few weeks, I’m starting to get these eggs on my arms.
I’m convinced I was overtraining all those other times. I’d work some muscle group really hard, and then do it again before it had a chance to fully recover. Consequently, I was unable to benefit from my workouts.
Have you ever heard the expression “No pain, no gain?” Well it’s bullshit. Exercise should not hurt. Don’t decide you’re going to become Mr. Universe and start going crazy.
And for God’s sake, stay away from those protein shakes! Not to mention all those other “supplements”, if you know what I mean. I drank the shakes, but I was never stupid enough to use any of the other crap. There’s a few guys at every gym who you just know are on something weird, legal or not. They’re there every single day lifting 400 pounds with their left index fingers. They’re scary-looking, so nobody goes near them. You’ll know them when you see them. Avoid them. You don’t want what they’ve got.
You know that’s what I thought, but in my case not at all. Most of the people are in their own world and don’t even notice you.
I wish these fat hairy guys would cover themselves up a bit more in the locker room though, ugh.
You know those ads for Bally’s that show whole rooms full of beautiful, toned, sexy people doing massive amounts of exercise, with lots of high-tech decor and lights so the whole thing looks like a cross between a gym and a disco?
You’re not going to see that.
Sorry.