NEVER been to a Gym, Going Tomorrow. So scared, HELP PLEASE!

You will do fine! My first time @ the gym I weighed 282 lbs and could barely walk 5 minutes without getting out of breath. The trainer will ask you all kinds of questions (like what do you want to achieve) and will show you how to use the machines, etc,

Just remember that every journey begins withthe first step. This is yours. I started working out at the gym about a year ago. It was pretty nerve wracking the first few times, but everyone is in the same boat. Just remember to listen to your body. Pushing yoursefl is good, but making yourself so sore that you can't is not. After a few visits, you will be able to judge better what to do. Just try everything and find something that you like. Good Luck and have fun!!!

You are definitely not alone! When I first joined my gym, I was terrified, too! The first visit, a personal trainer showed me around and asked me to try certain machines (like the treadmill, and a couple of the weights machine) but he was there showing me what to do, so it was okay. After that, for months, I just did the treadmill, because that was where I felt safe. (It's pretty much just walking, you can do it!) It has taken me a year to get brave enough to try out the weights section of the gym, and that is only after three sessions with the personal trainer. It is sort of expensive, but totally worth it. I am getting more and more comfortable every time I go. I think people *do* look at other people in the gym, but it is mostly just curiosity, not like, "OMG, I'm waaaay skinnier than THAT person". But you just have to tell yourself that you paid your monthly fee just like everyone else and you have every right to be there, even if you don't have a clue about what you're doing.

Good luck!

Aw.. your going to do just fine! In no time you'll be rocking the equipment and your new body! Keep your head up and don't forget to take you favorite tunes to listen to!! This is the only thing that keeps me motivated through out my exercise routine! Enjoy you experience and congrats on your commitment! :flowerforyou:

Remember that at some point every single person in that gym had a first day. They weren't born knowing how to operate the machines, and they weren't born with super-fit bodies either - they got them from being at the gym! Also, most people you see in there will not notice you, as another poster said - a lot of people who are regular gym-goers really get into the zone and are so focused on their own reps and form they would barely register if a cow fell through the roof. And the ones that *do* notice you are most likely mentally applauding you for getting up and joining a gym, because they too know how hard it is to get started.

I'd sign up for a year to start out to make sure that it will fit your needs. Also, don't limit yourself to just the machines. Weights do wonders!

I signed up for MFP January 2 years ago & after reading a lot of success stories including the gym, by the end of January at 35 years old, I stepped foot into my first gym! To begin with I knew nothing...stayed on the recumbent bike because I felt I couldn't fall off of it! They set up a couple appointments to give me information! Febuary 14th that year was my first appointment with a personal trainer....I was so in shock that I didn't tell anyone what I had signed up for! But I stuck with it, seeing my trainer once a week & results soon followed! Then I became proud to tell people I was seeing a trainer! So fast forward 2 years, I still see a trainer & log with MFP...basically eat healthy & exercise (I love the gym now) & I'm down 145 lbs so far! I'm not done yet, but know I'll get there!

It's just like the first day of junior high school and walking into the cafeteria and wondering where you're going to sit ... until you get to the gym, and then suddenly the advantages of being an adult will become clear, because you will have a lifeline: the trainer. She/he will take you around and show you the machines and tell you the rules (which never happened in junior high, did it? You were left to figure it all out on your own).

Plus, the trainer will KNOW you are nervous. They work with people. They can tell. So you don't have to worry about trying to act cool. You can let your voice shake if you want. You can grin like a maniac if you want. The trainer will not take it as a sign of weakness (as a junior high school student would); the trainer will think "This one needs some extra encouragement." That is all that will happen, and that is good! Not bad!

For what it's worth, I started going to gyms when I was 18. I started lifting heavy when I was 25; I was the chick hissing in the corner as she swung iron bars stacked with iron plates up to her chin and down again. I'm now 51. I have been putting off joining the local gym for fourteen months because of the horror of that first walk up the sidewalk to the front door. On that first walk, smudges appear on my shirt, my shoelaces untie themselves, and a tiny green thing appears just inside my nostril. I'm ... so there with you, cowering in the corner. Imagine me beside you as we walk up that sidewalk together. Or, um, maybe a little behind you because ohGod ohGod ohGod.

Whether it's easier at the gym depends entirely on the mindset you get into. If you start regarding the gym as *your* place where you can test yourself and try new things, then it will be easier to push through the pain when you're there. If you always feel like an outsider and it continues to be difficult to just get along the sidewalk and up to the door, then you'll have used up a lot of your motivation just getting to the door, so quitting will feel like a relief.

And I have no suggestions for how to get into Mindset A rather than Mindset B. It depends so much on your personality, on the "vibe" of the gym, on the way you react to exercise ... for example, I have a high tolerance for pain and repetitiveness, and I like it when I get filthy and sweaty, so old-fashioned gyms with clanging weights and the occasional roared obscenity make it easier for me to relax and get in my own groove pretty quickly. Something tells me you would walk into a place like that, turn around, and walk the F out again!

So that's what the free lesson is for -- you're auditioning the gym. They're not auditioning you. You're seeing if you fit in. Trust your gut. Take a while to think about it after the lesson -- do you find yourself wishing you could go back? If you do, then walk back in and sign the contract.

Do NOT sign a contract right then under pressure, BTW. They'll give you all kinds of incentives but practice this line in the mirror before you go: "I promised my husband I'd come home and talk about it with him first." Or whatever is a bulletproof line for you.

http://ericamillard.com/?p=1566

It's not spam. It's titled "Dear new girl at the gym" and (though I'm a guy) It really touched home. When you first go you'll feel out of place, but you're there, you belong, you're starting on the same journey everyone else there is taking. Don't get discouraged because you're not as far along as they are. Keep going. They were all in your place at once.

hopefully, you can meet a gym buddy there. So many people are encouraging. Just do what you can and increase it daily, even if is only 1 minute.

Think of it as a job. You have to go to work, you have to go do your job. That's it.

You see all kinds of dress, at least where I go. In fact, there is an Mennonite lady you walks the track and she wears her cap and long dress with sneakers. I wear loose knit pants and a T-shirt. Some wear cute work out clothes. I can't imagine that anyone really cares. I women ran by me last night in the cutest exercise tank and matching leggings. It motivated me to want to work harder. It didn't make me self-conscious. I've never seen anyone that I thought, "wow, do they look dressed wrong."

One thing I forgot to mention that gym staff don't tell you. Some of these machines have built in fans! Look for a fan icon on the machine. I can go much faster with the fan on when using the stationary bike and although I walk the track and not a treadmill, I know some of them have fans, too.