Had my gym induction today...

Why are you already giving up?

Go at your own pace. You don't have to do what they have shown you. Go with the lowest weights and move up from there. Start with a few exercises and move up from there. I was like that when I first started a gym. Same with cardio, start slow and move your way up. I would give the gym another try.

Just start really slow...you can absolutely do this!! Start with just some light walking, or a machine that you feel comfortable with. As for the weights, do what you can handle, but be sure to push yourself too--you wanna get your heart rate going!

For a newcomer, I can see how the gym would be intimidating but the more you go back and push yourself to do so, you will start to enjoy your time there more & more. Just give it some time & soon it will be a routine!

you shouldn't feel low, you should feel proud!!! what you did today was scary and it took a lot of courage not only to show up, but to stay for the entire hour. when i first started my weight loss journey i was in such terrible shape that the most i could manage was 15 minutes of walking 2.5 mph on the treadmill, but i kept at it and now i can go for 60+ minutes on the elliptical. if all you can bring yourself to do right now is cardio then that's certainly better than nothing. but i think you're capable of quite a bit more than you think you are... don't sell yourself short! :happy:

Most instructors give you the weights that are heavy so they can see where your failure point (where you are struggling to get a set). I had to do the same thing when I stated, but once the instructor knew where I was strength wise, he would work from that point on and increase your reps, or weight.

Also why are you giving up so soon??? You have got to start somewhere.... Remember "no pain, not gain" You won't do great if you give up after one day...

I was 120 pounds over weight when I started working out. I just started walking n the treadmill ( 3.5 speed) with in a moth I was doing incline (Started at 6% and up it every 5-10 minutes by 1%) I would workout during the week 45 to 50 minutes and on the weekends at least an hour. I would also do long hikes with my friend for 2 hours on the weekend. It has been almost 7 months. I can now do some jogging and have lost almost 70 pounds. You do what you can everyday or you can take one day off a week but dont give up. If I can do it you can to. I am going to start doing weights soon but Cardio is what my doctor wanted me to start with. Don't give up, it hurts and is hard at first but it will get better,

You have been through the hardest and the worst part. I was a hiker for years, but never a gym person. I started last year at a local Y and found a class "Jump Start" also known as "Circuit Training" that was an excellent way to begin. The class mixed both cardio and weights, all exercises very easy to adapt to a range of abilities. Look for this. After success here I happily advanced to other more challenging classes. I was very surprised to learn that I liked the classes. I also spend a good amount of time on treadmills and such - I use and iPod and value the solitary experience.

It also sounds as if the gym you selected may not be well suited to your needs. Whoever was providing you with the induction should have chosen weights too light so that you feel a positive reinforcement/surprise. Very poor on their part. Look around the gym - is this a place that inspires you and a place where you feel comfortable? If not, explore other options. Your experience should not include tears.

If there are not appropriate classes, I would suggest that you limit yourself to cardio machines - bike, treadmill and elyptical for a while. What is the most important thing for you now is to become comfortable with the gym and exercise. Once you are, you wil likely to be eager to add weight training.

The best most effective exercise machine/routine is the one that you will do.

Go for it! It is better than the alternative.

Absolutely don't give up! I'd barely been to the gym more than a handful of times in my life, and am still only barely competent at cardio and strength exercises, but I keep forcing myself back 3-4 times each week. When I first signed up, I had the option to do a free "fitness evaluation". At first I was super hesitant, but after signing up with MFP and really decided to change, I went for it. And I hated it. It was murderously hard - I had to literally lever myself in and out of chairs for the next 3 days or something, and hobble around. And then I signed up to have the guy who'd given me the evaluation be my personal trainer for a while! I only see him once a week, but it makes a huge difference in so many ways. It's made me realize that I almost NEVER push myself as hard as I can when I work out alone, and has given me a better way to judge what a really good, intense work out should be like. It's a way to keep myself committed - I can't just decide I don't feel like going to the gym that day, and knowing I'm supposed to see him makes me more inclined to go all the other days, so that I'll be more prepared and won't feel like such a complete flop when I DO see him. He's shown me a ton of things that, even when our sessions are over or I don't see him any longer, I know I'll be able to do, and incorporate into my own routine. Having seen him enough, he knows my body, and we've talked about what I want to achieve, and he's been great in showing me exactly how to reach those goals - some of the stuff I'd been doing before, for example, was totally extraneous in terms of getting the results I wanted! And I think most importantly, and to speak to your feeling very down about your induction, it's taught me what I'm truly capable of in a really basic way. Whether or not I'm able to complete a certain number of sets, at a certain weight, or whatever, I know that I can always TRY and that I can't really expect anything worse than being sore for a few days! It always feels like something scary could happen, and I'm still scared each week, but every time I'm reminded that nothing DOES happen, and I've come to realize that what I'm scared of more than the exercise is my doubt in myself and my ability to do things...and so the only way to change that is keep at it and KNOW I can do those things! That was a little ramble-y, so I don't know if it makes sense, but absolutely keep going - change may take a while, but slow and steady wins the race!

First of all CONGRATULATIONS!!! You took the biggest step...just walking in the front door.
You can totally manage the rest. Your trainer never should have started you with heavy weights in the first place.
You can get an awesome workout using the basic 2 lb. weights starting out. This will show you how to use them CORRECTLY and get you comfortable in the gym.
I joined my gym 1 year ago.It was my first time ever in a gym in my life (I'm 54yrs old). I MADE my husband come with me cause I couldn't walk in alone. One year later I feel awesome and look amazing and am now getting certified to be a fitness trainer.
YOU CAN TOTALLY DO THIS!

Wow - I'm glad I posted, you have all really helped. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

A sort of supplementary question: with the strength stuff, is there a kind of lower limit below which it's pointless? In other words, if the instructor recommended I do two sets of 12 on each machine (I'm not sure of the terminology here, sorry), but I feel able to start with just one set of 6 (for example), is there any point in me doing that, or should I just do cardio until I get fit enough to do the full set?

Hope that makes sense - I guess what has been making me so low is feeling that I didn't even meet the instructor's baseline, like I was wasting his - and my - time. Logically I know that can't be the case, but it's how I felt.

everyone has a different baseline. its fine to start off with 1 set of 6 reps and progress from there when you are ready.

Wow - I'm glad I posted, you have all really helped. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

A sort of supplementary question: with the strength stuff, is there a kind of lower limit below which it's pointless? In other words, if the instructor recommended I do two sets of 12 on each machine (I'm not sure of the terminology here, sorry), but I feel able to start with just one set of 6 (for example), is there any point in me doing that, or should I just do cardio until I get fit enough to do the full set?

Hope that makes sense - I guess what has been making me so low is feeling that I didn't even meet the instructor's baseline, like I was wasting his - and my - time. Logically I know that can't be the case, but it's how I felt.

Whatever you can handle - start with it and work your way up. There's no "lowest limit". Every single bit you do is better than not doing anything.

Also, I think the instructor didn't set a baseline he was expecting you to meet. He must have been sort of testing out what you could and what you couldn't handle, in order to work up from there. You didn't disappoint him, it was just some kind of test of your overall fitness.

Wow - I'm glad I posted, you have all really helped. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

A sort of supplementary question: with the strength stuff, is there a kind of lower limit below which it's pointless? In other words, if the instructor recommended I do two sets of 12 on each machine (I'm not sure of the terminology here, sorry), but I feel able to start with just one set of 6 (for example), is there any point in me doing that, or should I just do cardio until I get fit enough to do the full set?

Hope that makes sense - I guess what has been making me so low is feeling that I didn't even meet the instructor's baseline, like I was wasting his - and my - time. Logically I know that can't be the case, but it's how I felt.

Start with just 6 if that's all you can do. If you stick with it, you'll find yourself able to do more and more. Pretty soon you'll be able to do all of the reps he said without a problem. At that point, up the weights.

Don't worry about his time. That's what he's paid for. And it's definitely not a waste of your time, unless you don't stick with it. Remember, you can't compare yourself to anyone else. At least you are up doing something! As I heard someone say, "Even at your slowest pace you are still lapping the person sitting on the couch!" So true. All of us have had to start somewhere. I'm going to have to essentially start again because I'm having stomach issues and can't keep enough calories down to be able to exercise. When they fix whatever the problem is (doc thinks it's gallstones), I will have to hit the gym again and I will probably have lost some of my progress. But there's nothing to do but just start again and do what I can to get back to where I was.

YOU CAN DO THIS! Hang in there.

I know you already got a load of replies but I just wanted to say that you did the right thing going back. Don't feel bad not doing what the instrustor gave you, start at your own comfort level and then slowly push yourself that bit harder. You've taken the 1st most important step, keep it up.

You will be delighted when you can increase the weights. THe key is to ask yourself is really pushing my body? If it feels like it isn't, up the weights. Push yourself, one step at a time. GOod on ye for going back. Brave and courageous.