New Gym... New Stuff... HELP!

Christie23

So, my new gym opened today. And it's SOOOO exciting! I have gone from my poopie little apartment gym with a treadmill, an elliptical, a bike and a weight bench to a state of the art, TOP of the line gym with brand new machines that I don't even know the NAME of!!! I have been focusing mostly on cardio up until now, knowing when I purchased this membership months ago that the world of strength training would open up to me when I walked in. And, boy, has it!!! But... now what? What do I do with these things? I have a great understanding of the basic machines... but if you're out there and you're listening and you also belong to a huge gym, tell me what your favorite strength training methods / machines are.

jlizgar

I bet if you just asked one of the trainers or gym employees to show you how to use the machines, they would! In a lot of gyms that is part of the orientation process, you get a consult with a trainer and a walk through on all the equipment. Just ask! I was overwhealmed when I went to my gym for the 1st time, just switched to another gym and it has stuff the other didnt, but they were really nice about showing me how to use things so I didnt feel uncomfortable.

ChrissyM

I had a few sessions with a personal trainer to show me strength training and how to use the machines. Now I don't feel akward or out of place when I'm using the weights. I was really glad I did that too because now I have discovered how much I like strength training and seeing how tone I am getting.

ChristieisReady

Definitely ask the staff if in doubt! But I LOVE the leg-press, the seated "Rowing" pulls (not the cardio one, but the one with weights) and the classic bar-on-a-pully (technically back extensions). ALSO the ab-builders are often easier on your back than traditional crunches and so great for beginner-level ab work.