On my way to a healthier me!

[Jaycee]

So... I signed up at the gym!

This is a big step for me, I haven't done much in the way of exercise... well...ever!

I am by no means overweight, but I am unfit and unhealthy. I eat crappy food, I don't exercise, so it's time to start doing something about that!

The gym scares me! I have no idea where to begin and what I should be doing.

So, for those of you who go to the gym, how did you start out? What did you do? What works for you?

[Mummy&Daddy2Be]

i've never joined a gym, but i just wanted to say woohoo! well done for taking the first step!!!! xo

[meow]

I need to start exercising and from what I've been researching I'll be starting with low intensity stuff for sure. I have adrenal fatigue so I'm not sure if that's an issue for you but it's important not to burn yourself out even more by exercising too hard. So yoga, swimming, pilates etc are good.

[peanutter]

I'll come back tonight when I get home from the gym.

[Jaycee]

I think I might start with a body balance class, by the sounds of it it's a mix of pilates, yoga and tai-chi.

Perhaps an aqua aerobics class too.

I really really want to do a spin class but I am no where near fit enough for that yet!

[Jaycee]

I'll come back tonight when I get home from the gym.

Lol, have fun, look forward to your post!

[LizLemon]

Good for you! I am seriously considering rejoining the gym but I am making myself lose a few kilos first to prove that I'm serious.

I would start with the classes, body balance is good. I loved body combat and body attack, but stay away from attack until you get a bit fitter as it's pretty high impact. Spin is the devil.

Beyond that maybe see if you can get some personal training sessions as that will give you an idea of stuff you can do on your own in the gym.

[little_O]

I always loved body jam...it is dance fitness.

The other thing I did was use a trainer for one session at least and get an exercise program up and running. Makes life so much easier at the gym each time and you know your working towards what you want to achieve, but just exercising blindly.

[Glass half full]

Yay, that's awesome! I rembember feeling so proud of myself the first time I ever joined the gym

I agree that classes are a great place to start, especially of you're not really sure what you should be doing. I love body balance! You can't go wrong with that one and always feel so relaxed afterwards, but you will really feel it the next day! Body combat is great too. Its based on kick-boxing (I think) and is a great cardio workout. I also like pump for strength training. I find doing weights pretty boring, but pump makes it so much fun.

Good luck with your journey to fitness, I hope you enjoy it

[ladybird11]

Body Balance is a beautiful class to start with - my next bet would be with Body Pump. Just let the instructor know before the class starts that you're brand new and they'll set you up with light weights and watch your technique throughout it (dont stress, it'll be worth it in the end).

These are the two class which will give you quick results and a toned body. Stick to pump x 2 each week and balance 1-2 each week too....Then cardio Aqua aerobics is always good fun too

[Jaycee]

I'm a bit scared of pump lees, not exactly sure why I think the weight intimidate me a little!

[LizLemon]

I second pump. It will give you the best results of all the classes. Just be prepared not to be able to walk for the first few days after your first class...

[peanutter]

Ok - I love the gym. It strips away all my well worn excuses (it's too hot, too cold, too rainy, too dark, too bumpy, too hilly, don't want to run with my water, don't want to be burned, don't want to get distracted, don't want to get hit by a car/cyclist/dog/marauding axe murderer, etc). And they have coffee, TVs and music!

I love classes - there are just so many to pick from. Last year when I was test running hobbies, I tried basically every class offered outside of work hours! Check out my blog, and go to July - I give a quick review of each of them - the lawyer wants a hobby blog.

I love doing my own thing - I try to get my program updated every 6 weeks to make sure I've got a good variety, am working different muscles, and staying challenged. I can do my weights and resistance training and some ab work and then cardio, or I can just do cardio if I've done weights before, and if I want to really ramp it up, I can throw in a couple of 10 minute boxing sessions in there, and really slaughter myself.

PT is super, but it adds up quickly cost wise, so I have done very few PT sessions. But if you have some extra cash, get it into you.

And don't worry about your size and the classes. There are small, medium and large, and you take it at your own pace. No one stares or thinks anything other than there's another person there working to get healthier, and that's a good thing. The trainers don't care either - as long as they can see you're working (and sometimes, that's doing a modified version so you can just keep moving and learning how to do the steps and actions) then that's enough.

Get a good balance that you're comfortable with (whether it's a few classes, or a class or two and some solo sessions) and introduce yourself to people you see there a bit ... it's good for your own accountability if nothing else

Figure out what you find fun. I love Body Step, Body Attack, Body Jam (though my gym doesn't do it any more ) and when I'm a bit crazy, Body Pump.

I tend to make sure I don't do weights two days in a row, but otherwise I do what I feel like. Aiming for 3 classes and 3 training weekly. If I'm on a bit of a high after a class, I'll do some cardio afterwards