Joining the gym but very inexperienced

Afitbeginning

Hi all!

I'm joining the gym tomorrow but I'm very nervous. I very rarely work out and I'm hoping the gym will change that however I have absolutely no idea what to do.

I know how to use majority of the cardio machines but none of the weight machines, I'm not even sure what to do when I get to the gym. Do I just focus on one machine, or use them all?

Anyone able to give me some insight x

rdmartin677

Go to bodybuilding.com and follow a work out from there. Dont go too all out for the first few weeks. Do a 5 minute cardio warm up so you dont get hurt and stretch after you are done working out for the day.

bellaesprita000

Most gyms have personal trainers and encourage meeting with them, especially in the beginning. I agree with @rdmartin677 , make sure you stretch before and after each workout. I'd focus on cardio until you feel ready to do weight machines. If your anxious, focus on the leg ones. They're the most intuitive.

mmapags

Congrats on your great decision to start working on your fitness. There are multiple places you can find workouts. Google basic beginner full body gym routine. Ease in and don't overdo for the first couple of weeks.

cwolfman13

Find an established program that suits your goals...work said program. Willy nilly doing whatever is going to be extremely inefficient and is more likely than not to result in imbalances, etc.

I highly recommend New Rules of Lifting for Women as a good introduction to the weight room...the program is pretty decent though it gets a bit convoluted towards the end...but the read is really good for the inexperienced and it puts to bet a lot of the myths and other worries a lot of women have in regards to lifting free weights.

Regardless of what you choose, as a beginner I would suggest a full body program that you do 3x per week rather than a body split which is what people tend to gravitate towards.

lorrpb

Try some different classes

JimmyCarterI2T

Hey! I just sent you a personal message on tips for the gym

35dollars

Every gym I've ever been to has actually insisted on an induction where they show you how to use the machines - they want to do this for health/safety reasons so that you don't injure yourself and sue them - if they offer an induction, take advantage of that.

If you intend to use free weights, it would be worth your while getting an instructor to show you correct form for the most common major exercises that people get wrong - squats, deadlifts, bent-over row, maybe bench press and overhead press - you might have to pay for a session to get this, but much much better to get your form right from the start than to try to correct it later (or to give yourself back problems from incorrect lifting)

Have a look at the excellent Which Lifting Programme is best for you thread on here, which has pointers to several beginner programmes.

SCoil123

I would encourage you to have someone from the gym show you how to use everything safely and properly. Most gyms will do this free for all new members. A lot of gyms also offer one starter session with one of their trainers which is a great place to start.