Newbie Gym Attendee

tal202

Hi,

I'm starting the gym properly for the first time and had my initial personal trainer session on Saturday. I am in soooo much pain. The guy did a load of body conditioning exercises with me and I am seriously suffering, having never used the majority of these muscles before.

So, I was just wondering whether there were other people out there who have recently joined a gym and felt like sharing their experiences and suggestions or just for general support and chats. It seems hard to motivate yourself to return when you know you will be suffering so much two days later.

Or if there are any experienced gym goers out there who could recommend how to build up my fitness levels? I'm lucky because my gym has a pool and a lot of evening exercise classes which can be rare in Central London so all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Terry

kimbot

Hello,

I just joined the gym last week. I have been before, years ago, but I was never consistant. My body hurts like CRAZY! :mad: So you know i've been hearing "no pain, no gain" lately from my friends. I just try to work through the pain, knowing that its only temporary and after while, it won't hurt at all. Like you said, you've never used those muscles and this is their way of telling you they're waking up. Just stay focused and keep at it. Try to get rub downs or massages periodically to help. Good luck!

SimonLondon

Hi Terry,

The first few weeks are pretty hard as you're using muscles you haven't used in a very long time. All I can say is it will get much easier the more you do it. I could barely run 1/2k a few months ago but now 15k is easy and the next day I don't even feel as if I did anything, no muscle aches anywhere.

Your body will very quickly adapt and grow stronger so it's just a case of keeping it up as your body adjusts.

This was a good timed post as I'm starting to move from pure long distance runs to swaps between distance and high intensity. Yesterday on the treadmill I did high intensity and had the incline set to max and the speed on 8 so I had to jog. Even after all these months of exercise I just discovered 2 new muscles I never knew I had because I had such a high incline...hmmm...discovered isn't the word....more like I realised they were new when I couldn't get my socks or shoes on this morning because the tops of my legs were aching like hell :laugh:

The best advice I can give is each week ramp up the time or the speed or the distance. You need to constantly keep pushing yourself so your body doesn't get used to a set routine.

Azdak

First of all, your "trainer" is an *kitten*.

There is absolutely NO reason to work a new person that hard--it doesn't get you into shape any faster, doesn't teach you anything, doesn't promote good exercise habits, doesn't motivate you--it is basically the "trainer" being a self-indulgent jerk.

At this point, you need to work through the initial soreness. It will peak in 48 hrs and take about 5 days to completely resolve. You can exercise in the meantime--at this point, you can't hurt yourself any worse. Just work out at the level that you SHOULD have been told to work at in the first place.

If you have not been exercising, then you need to follow a period of "preconditioning" or preparing your body for exercise. The body is great at getting more fit--all you have to do at first is just A LITTLE MORE that what you have been doing -- so, if you haven't been doing much or anything at all, it doesn't take much effort to get you going. 20 or so minutes of cardio--maybe broken up into 2 or 3 different intervals--at a 50% effort, 6-10 strength exercises, 10-15 reps, again at a 50%-60% effort. You don't have to work to failure. That's more than enough to start the process and you don't have to beat yourself up to do it--yeah, you'll be a little stiff, but it should be minor.

Now after 2-4 weeks of "predconditioning" you will then need to ramp everything up in order to make continued progress. But by that time, your body will be ready to handle the extra load.

gailosborne

Hi,
Well done for getting started. I found it really intimidating joing a gym at first as I felt I was well out of my comfort zone but am now loving all the work I do at the gym. I have found people to be really friendly and helpful too.
I have a (completely excellent and very supportive) personal trainer and remember being quite sore at first after our weight bearing work, and still feel some soreness when we change the program but I would not say it was agony or extremely painful.
It has taken me about 7 months to get to a point of good general fitness and I can see an enormous difference in my body. I don't think you need to kill yourself just do a little bit more - lots of intervals (as described in the post before mine.) You will be amazed at how your body adapts. I am thrillled at how strong and full of energy I feel and know you will too if you stick with it!!
Best Wishes,
Gail