3 days at Gym, and I'm not sure this is for me.

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I had a bad day yesterday and it really got me to thinking, CAN I do this alone next week? The only reason I am able to do it now is bc the trainer is standing there with me telling me how many of what to do and how to do them right. being left alone I am going to be so lost. Does anyone get in shape successfully at home with equipment? If so what do you have? I am tempted to just buy a treadmill, i already have a stationary bike at home. I was also very upset that I had gotten home later and missed so much time with my kids. I work full time so my time is very limited. Just overall bad bad day yesterday :-(

    You can get your fitness on pretty much anywhere...the gym is just a convenience because they have all of the equipment...but a gym is not necessary to rock your fitness. Really, it all comes down to the work you put in...if you're putting in the work at home you are going to have improvements in your fitness...if you're just sorta half assing it then you won't...same can be said for the gym...it's not a matter of where you are working out, it's a matter of putting in the work.

    I know a lot of people who practically have an entire small gym in their homes...which would be great if they actually used the stuff...but they don't...no work = no results. Again, it's about what work you are putting in, no where you're putting in the work. A gym is just a building.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    I had a bad day yesterday and it really got me to thinking, CAN I do this alone next week? The only reason I am able to do it now is bc the trainer is standing there with me telling me how many of what to do and how to do them right. being left alone I am going to be so lost. Does anyone get in shape successfully at home with equipment? If so what do you have? I am tempted to just buy a treadmill, i already have a stationary bike at home. I was also very upset that I had gotten home later and missed so much time with my kids. I work full time so my time is very limited. Just overall bad bad day yesterday :-(

    Trainer or not, if this is something you want for yourself, you WILL do it. Don't make excuses.

    Since you are confused and feel lost, I highly suggest purchasing The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises from Amazon. I LOVE it. It goes into detail about exercises for your chest, back, shoulders, arms, quads & calves, glutes & hamstrings, and core. It has pictures as well which is great for those who are visual learners. It also touches briefly on nutrition.

    I have a treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, and a bunch of weights and benches at home. It's totally do-able. The hardest part is getting started. Once you get started, you won't want to stop.
  • motivatethismom
    motivatethismom Posts: 42 Member
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    I must also add, that I have to do a contract after the free week is up. I am very scared to sign one and have them get my money every month if I don't go.
  • Negative_X
    Negative_X Posts: 296 Member
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    I had a bad day yesterday and it really got me to thinking, CAN I do this alone next week? The only reason I am able to do it now is bc the trainer is standing there with me telling me how many of what to do and how to do them right. being left alone I am going to be so lost. Does anyone get in shape successfully at home with equipment? If so what do you have? I am tempted to just buy a treadmill, i already have a stationary bike at home. I was also very upset that I had gotten home later and missed so much time with my kids. I work full time so my time is very limited. Just overall bad bad day yesterday :-(

    Home gym is where it's at.... so much easier and convenient in my opinion.

    Here's mine... I never have any reason to leave. :)

    http://negativex.net/gym_v2.jpg

    I say home gym it up!

    Whatever you do tho... don't give up! I have bad weeks all the time... but we push through them.
  • motivatethismom
    motivatethismom Posts: 42 Member
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    I had a bad day yesterday and it really got me to thinking, CAN I do this alone next week? The only reason I am able to do it now is bc the trainer is standing there with me telling me how many of what to do and how to do them right. being left alone I am going to be so lost. Does anyone get in shape successfully at home with equipment? If so what do you have? I am tempted to just buy a treadmill, i already have a stationary bike at home. I was also very upset that I had gotten home later and missed so much time with my kids. I work full time so my time is very limited. Just overall bad bad day yesterday :-(

    Home gym is where it's at.... so much easier and convenient in my opinion.

    Here's mine... I never have any reason to leave. :)

    http://negativex.net/gym_v2.jpg

    I say home gym it up!

    Whatever you do tho... don't give up! I have bad weeks all the time... but we push through them.

    Very nice, WOW!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I must also add, that I have to do a contract after the free week is up. I am very scared to sign one and have them get my money every month if I don't go.

    Are there any other gyms in your area? I don't personally do contract gyms....and frankly, all of the gyms in my town are now month to month...they put the contract joints out of business. I personally wouldn't do a contract, you never know when life is just going to happen.

    And like I said before, it's not where you put in the work...it's whether or not you're putting in the work. I wouldn't belong to a gym at all if I could get a power rack and Olympic floor in my house...alas, my house isn't that big and is full up at the moment with kids and whatnot.

    Edit: If you stick around, have the trainer jot down a program for you to follow...better yet, look into already well established programs like New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, Strong Lifts 5x5, or any number of routines that can be found on-line.

    The key really is to always be challenging yourself. With resistance training, this means adding resistance pretty regularly...progressive overload. With your cardio, it's all about going further and faster and improving your cardiovascular fitness and endurance.

    Remember that your weight control (losing, maintaining, gaining) is largely about your energy (calorie) consumption, not the exercise you do. Use your diet for weight control; exercise for fitness.
  • Kita328
    Kita328 Posts: 370 Member
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    am tempted to just buy a treadmill, i already have a stationary bike at home.

    Just saying...what has stopped you thus far from working out at home? If you have a bike why get a treadmill? Honestly, excuses are just that.

    That being said- of course working out at home has success- ANY working out will result in success. I just question if you are alone at home working out how is that better than alone working out at a gym? No one will be at home telling you if your form is right...or to do this or that. Maybe with a work out DVD but you could still be having horrible form and think your doing it perfectly.

    Food for thought.
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
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    It's hard when you have kids and work fulltime to fit in "me" time. I do it though because it's important to take care of myself. I work in the office Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and do cardio during my lunch break by walking/jogging 4.5 miles. I don't deal directly face to face with my clients, so coming back to my office a hot mess is okay :laugh: On Tuesday when i'm working from home I do some weights and squats and abs at home. On Fridays I work from home also, and take the kids to the kids center at the gym while I do an hour of body bump and 30 minutes of cardio.

    You just have to do what works for you. You can do it! :heart:
  • fittoday14
    fittoday14 Posts: 128
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    I do DVDs at home too. I love it because I can pause in between the workout video when I need to take a break and breathe or whatever. I also prefer walking outside. We have hills in our neighborhood and it's a real workout!
  • shoppingdiva2011
    shoppingdiva2011 Posts: 127 Member
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    I had a trainer once at a gym and it was a HORRIBLE experience. I would not recommend them to you. I left the gym ond time and almost threw up because they are like drill instructors. I think if you take it slow and easy and experience with different equipment on your own you will find the routine that works for. Good luck.
  • shoppingdiva2011
    shoppingdiva2011 Posts: 127 Member
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    By the way I also DVDs at home and I have an elliptical and bike in the basement. Add me to your friends.
  • kristennikco
    kristennikco Posts: 34
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    The worst thing you can do is use children as an excuse not to do something. Most don't want to do it because it isn't fun or it really really hurts at first. You get up super early but most of us do. Your kids go to bed at 1930 so there you have 30 minutes at night right after to do you. That's all you need if you give it your all. Because you are so ignorant to gym equipment, reps, etc, I would highly suggest you get a fitness DVD of some sort so you have a personal trainer at home, minues the contract. Also, you are home; with your kids. I work full time and have two children and always make those 25 minutes Shaun T requires of me before bedtime to do my Focus T25. Granted, I only have 14 lbs to lose but in the past week and a half, I went from 141 to 137.4 following him. What you need isn't guidance from us. You need to want it, you need motivation and most importantly, you need to quit making excuses. No one on these boards can do it for you. Where there's a will, there's a way.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    Lots of good advice...I just wanted to stress this...
    If you can work full time and raise kids you know how tough...
    THOSE are serious everyday challenges. If you can do those...you got this. (Of course, if you actually hate it, yes, you can be successful without the gym)
  • tavenne323
    tavenne323 Posts: 332 Member
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    I've actually had a hard time working out since I quit my gym. The hardest part about going to the gym was actually getting there. Once I was there I was super motivated to put in a good workout, lift stuff, run, bike, whatever. When I first joined I definitely ODed... I burned out because I was going almost every day of the week. Then I found that 3-4 times was plenty for me. On off days I would maybe go to a yoga class or do some at home yoga.

    I quit because I'm trying to save money for a 3-week vacation to Europe!! And with only 10 lbs to go I didn't think I'd have trouble. But now I'm up 2 lbs. I was planning on running in my apt building, TRX, and yoga. But I don't push myself enough at home. Hopefully once the snow starts melting I'll get back into running outside (something I enjoy) but for now I'm thinking I'll have to dust off those Jillian DVDs. I haven't done any of them since I was almost 260 lbs...be interesting to see how easy/hard they are now that I'm at 180 and stronger.
  • Jade0529
    Jade0529 Posts: 213 Member
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    Another idea for a workout, well it depends on your fitness level, for me it's hard - I climb stairs. I walk up and down 11 flights of stairs. you could do that at work or any tall public building you have near you that you can climb stairs.
  • Ele353
    Ele353 Posts: 5
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    Very true!!! The same thing used to happen to me. And also, the first few days you start going are the hardest. Once you get into the routine and you have a specific plan of what you have to do, and start getting used to the exercises, you start liking it. Specially when you start seeing the results, when what you're doing starts being easy and you need to kick it up a notch. Honestly, it's one of the best feelings in the world, when you realize that you CAN do it and that it's not as hard as you might have thought in the beginning.
  • fittoday14
    fittoday14 Posts: 128
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    The worst thing you can do is use children as an excuse to do something.

    That's true.

    My sister has 4 kids and still makes it to the gym. She makes a schedule 3 times a week: she calls to make an appointment for the baby and 3 yr old to be at the babysitting area and works out for at least 1.5 hrs. If the two older kids are there they do rock climbing or play basketball. I know it's expensive but maybe that's something you can do?
  • motivatethismom
    motivatethismom Posts: 42 Member
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    am tempted to just buy a treadmill, i already have a stationary bike at home.

    Just saying...what has stopped you thus far from working out at home? If you have a bike why get a treadmill? Honestly, excuses are just that.

    That being said- of course working out at home has success- ANY working out will result in success. I just question if you are alone at home working out how is that better than alone working out at a gym? No one will be at home telling you if your form is right...or to do this or that. Maybe with a work out DVD but you could still be having horrible form and think your doing it perfectly.

    Food for thought.


    Not an excuse. I wrote previously that I didn't feel like I got much out of the bike. I rode my bike 45 minutes sunday, treadmill 45 minutes Monday and just felt like I got more out of treadmill.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    You can get fit at home. You also can write down what your trainer told you to do.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Serious question...

    who did something ever for 3 days and was instantly comfortable and good at it- other than sleeping and eating?

    seriously.


    It takes a while to get used to things. 3 days is just not enough time.


    You are really uncomfortable because you don't know what you are doing- so not only are you in a strange enviornment... you are trying to do something outside your element. There are only two ways to deal with that.
    Educate yourself
    and make yourself at home.

    Knowledge takes away fear.

    Trainer is baby sitting you right now- but either you are going to have to commit to some training- or do some research on your own to help get over this hump.

    I would NOT abandon ship already.

    Working at home is it's own set of disadvantages- and magic 8 ball says you aren't going to do it at home- because if you could- you would have done it already.


    So work the trainer- see if you can get a session a week for a month or two- but no more- they would rather sell you 4 sessions for a month than NO sessions. You can always walk- bargain. You don't HAVE to take the pack they try to sell you for 6-12 months.

    not all of them are mean nasty drill instructors- but if you aren't liking the one you have- get a different one. You are paying THEM- you need to be happy with your trainer.

    Most people who have bad experiences- don't speak up and are not honest- they lie about their conditions (Oh- I work out 2-3 times a week already- when all they really do is go for a walk 3 times a week) OR they don't speak up about how they are feeling DURING
    or are just really expecting to be coddled and have poor expectations of what they are getting into.

    There isn't any reason to have a bad experience with a trainer unless he's rude. You can still get a good workout and not like the guy. But you have to be honest.



    Don't give up- you just started- there really isn't anyway to make a honest call about it after 3 days. It's completely illogical. You need to do more work!!! If working out and being fabulous was easy- everyone would do it- but they don't- you know why? because it's fricking hard! LOL don't give up- I promise- you can do it if you want to.

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