Looking for a little help - What to expect from a Gym?

Hello boys and girls,


Erm, right. I'm sure there are a million or two of these threads made every week in here, so I thought I'd take a shot at it, too.


Pretty much, I'm mildly interested in joining a gym, as my brother has joined one the other day, and asked me if I'd be interested in going up with him. Generally speaking, I'm not a social person by any stretch of the imagination, but i've recently been prescribed stuff from my Doctor to help me out in such situations, so I'm considering actually giving it a go.


Anyway, onto my two real issues:

Upon entering a gym for the very first time, what the hell should I expect? Whilst I imagine everywhere is different, the place is pretty cheap (€35 per month, or so)so I'd imagine it'd merely be a case of joining up and then they leave you alone to go as you please? Or am I way off?! I dread the thoughts of going in (I'm horribly overweight, and not exactly the kind of person you'd expect to see in a gym!). I have never set foot in a gym before, and the only time I ever seen the interior of one was in the A-Team episodes featuring Hulk Hogan. Have no idea what the hell I'd be doing in there, but I really dont want to bother joining if ultimately I'll just be standing around confused with no direction at all.



Also, may I ask, can anyone give me any decent effective way to lose weight (inside or outside of a gym). I'm a pretty big guy and tend to just sit on my ass all day using the net (over the past three or four days I've spent about an hour or so cycling, but I doubt that's ultimately going to help me out). I'm looking for any particular exercises or things to do to help out (as diet is fairly obvious anyway, but I've no willpower at all, so I doubt I'd stick to a diet even if I did set myself one. I find I'll eat less and more healthily if I'm busy or have something to do).





Sorry for the mess of a thread, But i'm just not sure about any of this kinda stuff. Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer any insight here. Thank you.

Recovered

Hi!

For me, there's not much social about going to the gym, might say hi to some of the trainers I know but very rarely have a conversation with anyone in there.
(My iPod is a necessity when I go to the gym so I'm pretty much in my own world, can't go wrong with a good powerful playlist to keep you going! :P)

As to what to expect, it depends on your gym. In most gyms they'll get you to do a short fitness assessment and then help you set up a basic plan depending on your goals and show you around what you need to do.

After that, all you need to do is get in there and follow the plan you made.

As for the food, what you're eating is going to be the biggest factor in whether you see any results...
Don't diet, change your eating habits. If you eat small meals several times over the day of the right stuff (at the right times), you will most definitely see a change in the way you generally feel (ie more energy, not so drowsy).

If you manage to combine going to the gym with proper eating you will really be amazed by how fast you'll be progressing.

From reading your post it looks like it's taking you some courage to get in there, fair play! As far as I'm concerned everybody belongs in the gym and we all have to start somewhere so don't let your head stop you!

Good luck with your plan and let us know how you get on.