Gym Newbie

denielle715

Advice?

Should I start out with cardio, like the treadmill, and work my way up?

I eventually want to start lifting, but have no clue where to start.

HELP!

ilex70

A treadmill is an easy place to start for sure.

And/or try some group fitness classes. You might find one you like.

What I liked about group fitness is that it gave me a set scheduled time to be in the gym and ready to work vs. maybe procrastinating and skipping the day entirely.

Does your gym offer a free orientation/PT hour? They may try to sell you stuff, but should also get you acquainted with the gym.

Burger2066

I second the group classes. If you're new to lifting, find a class that uses some weights and just talk to the instructor, explaining that you're new to the class and to lifting. Most (good) instructors love new people joining the class. They will likely keep a closer eye on you to adjust some of your form when needed. Depending on your gym, you can look into a free personal trainer session or paying for a couple of sessions. If you do the free session, ASK as many questions as you can about form during the session. Take advantage of it, a lot of people new to lifting are afraid to ask those questions during the free sessions.

selina884

Please do group classes!

Once you are in and the door closes - you are almost forced to stay right until the end (out of humility) and its a great way to stay motivated and push yourself further.

MarioLozano16

Check out Starting Strength or 5x5. They're both good lifting programs for newer people

HamsterManV2

What are your goals? Do you want to get strong? Do a beginner strength program. Do you want GPP (general physical preparedness)? Then a combination of lifting and cardio. etc. etc.

I suggest Strong Curves - it's a GPP program meant for women (with an emphasis on glutes), and it has 3 different weight training days. You can do a 20 minute run / interval training after the lifting aspect. More info can be found here.
Example Workouts, week 1 to 4, week 5 to 8

Markjames82

What's your goal? If you're joining to have somewhere to train cardio wise (long distance running etc) stick with treadmills. Maybe some classes to help with core and endurance?

If you want to get into lifting, just go for it!! Start light, just a bar and work on your form. Once you've got that nailed, start adding weight to it. I'd suggest a PT at some point to get a plan going.

hockeysniper8

@denielle715 Do you have history of any injuries? Health problems? Start with light cardio machines, then work up. Good start!!