Advice on Joining the Gym

kitinboots

I'm thinking of joining the gym in a month or 2 when I've made up for my recent holiday spending.
I was a member of a gym once before, and I remember when I signed up they showed me a few things to do and gave me a checklist so I could track my workouts, but I never really got into it.
The gym here is very small, and it happens to be in France, so I'm quite nervous about joining. I'm trying to get my boyfriend or a friend to join with me so I don't have to go alone, but I don't think anyone else is as motivated as me.
Sooo what to do? Just go in and run on the treadmill until I get comfortable there? I already run outside, I want to join the gym for my strength (and the outside pool)

chi18

Does your gym offer a free personal training session with your membership? I know most of the larger gyms here in the US do - so the trainer can show you a few exercise ideas to get you started with the different equipment. After that you can pay to work with them again if you want to. Are there guest passes available so that you can bring a friend one time? Do they offer fitness classes? Those will help you to try different things and possibly make some friends who already go to the gym and have similar interests.

kitinboots

I don't think so, but speaking to someone last night they suggested that an induction should be free, so someone would show me how to use all the machines, and it's not an unreasonable request to ask advice from the staff.
Guest passes are a good idea. I didn't think of that. In fact I think a 1 time pass is €10 so I can take a friend and see if I like it before signing up. I think they do fitness classes too, I'll have to check.
Thanks for your help.