Normal Person Questions About the Gym

Have a go at everything, ask about anything you're unsure of.

Variety is important. Not just for weight loss, but so you won't get bored doing the same thing every time. If they have any trainers at your new gym, you might ask for some pointers. I know at my gym, when I first started, they do an assessment of your overall fitness and what you should work on for optimal results. Most of all, have fun. Losing weight and getting healthy can be a long and tedious battle if you're not enjoying what you're doing. Good luck!

Every gym has a `specialist` gym bunny there, why not just go in and ask at the reception area if someone can give you an induction based on what you want to tone/build up...it can feel a bit intimidating to ask, but it is probably going to help in the long run?

I think I am normal!

I agree with what others have said; cardio and weights together will deliver results.

I built my programme from nerd fitness, this is a really useful article:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/15/how-to-build-your-own-workout-routine/

But, that said, when starting off - see what takes your fancy. You stick to what you enjoy far easier than forcing yourself to do stuff.

As a person who is still obese and working on it here's my advice.

Do both endurance and strength training. They both compliment one another.

For endurance look at Couch to 5k. Now it's a running programme but you don't have to run. In fact you can use it to at first teach you how to walk faster and build up your endurance. Then once you've done it do it again and up your speed. If you don't want to run you can do it on a stationary bike.
Classes are good. If there's something you like. Don't panic about classes. People are far too busy being worn out by the workout they're getting to worry about you. They're also good if you want to meet new people.
For strength. Stronglifts 5x5 might be good. It gives you basic compound body movements to build up your strength. Again look around at weight lifting programmes, they'll give you the best idea of the best moves. That or New Rules of Lifting (I'm using that) but that's a whole programme on it's own.

I would suggest going online and looking for things you'd like to achieve and seeing if there are any free downloadable programmes available. My gym has a section on their website with programmes you can do for different fitness goals. I'd suggest reading everything. Start with all the pinned threads on here and work from there. Read everything, take nothing as gospel. Question it all, read both sides and then make up your own mind.

Good luck!

I second the Stronglift 5x5 program. Just stick to it and see what happens. I am not one to "rest" very often, so I usually do about ten minutes cardio on my lifting days mon,wed,fri and about 20-30 mins cardio all other days with the occasional rest day thrown in there.

Lifting on my week days only takes about 15 minutes or so, by the way.

Does any "normal person" have any routines they can share? When I say "normal person", I mean someone who isn't already a health nut with a 6 pack and trains for marathons. Just someone who is in a similar position as me who has had success.

I agree that variety is good - on many levels. Your body will adapt if you don't change things up, and it will become more difficult to achieve your goal.

I don't know if you are an app user, but there are some great fitness apps out there that help you plan a routine, and mix things up. Jeffit is a good one - even has animations for the moves. There's a ton of them out there -alot of free ones

If your gym is not one that has a trainer on staff that offers an assessment, it might be a good idea to hire a personal trainer for 1-2 sessions, just to get you started. If that isn't possible, just make sure that you are hitting every muscle group. If you want to divide into upper body one day and lower body the next, or do a full body workout in one session, either way is okay.

I personally do cardio 4 times per week- mixing it up between treadmill, bike and elliptical. Then I strength train 2x per week. In my opinion, it's better to do both - because each has very different, but important, benefits. By building the muscle you will increase your metabolism, therefore burning more calories, and we all know cardio is all about the burn! Just don't be afraid of the variety - it's your friend!