What to do/ how to act in gym.

FTS

Ive just joined a gym, my first one, have never been to a gym before. Im 200lbs and 5"9, so not exactly the type of person you really see in gyms. I was just wondering, as I am really nervous/apprehensive about starting to use the gym, what do I do when there?
Do I just go in and jump on the treadmill? Im there to lose weight, and dont want to look stupid wandering around, getting on a machine and people giving me funny looks as to why Im on it. What machines would I need to use?

ImGettinPaper

FTS wrote: »

Ive just joined a gym, my first one, have never been to a gym before. Im 200lbs and 5"9, so not exactly the type of person you really see in gyms. I was just wondering, as I am really nervous/apprehensive about starting to use the gym, what do I do when there?
Do I just go in and jump on the treadmill? Im there to lose weight, and dont want to look stupid wandering around, getting on a machine and people giving me funny looks as to why Im on it. What machines would I need to use?

Ask a fitness instructor/member of staff to show you around the machines and write you out a programme. Most good gyms provide this for free...

Dohnny Jepp

on your first day ask the receptionist/staff, about getting a routine made out for you. Then use what machines u are comfortable with untill u get your routine.

Have to say Gym people are some of the friendliest people u can meet. Most are extremely helpful and would go out of their way to give someone a hand!

So no need to be nervous

Sasquatch76

FTS wrote: »

Ive just joined a gym, my first one, have never been to a gym before. Im 200lbs and 5"9, so not exactly the type of person you really see in gyms. I was just wondering, as I am really nervous/apprehensive about starting to use the gym, what do I do when there?
Do I just go in and jump on the treadmill? Im there to lose weight, and dont want to look stupid wandering around, getting on a machine and people giving me funny looks as to why Im on it. What machines would I need to use?

I was worried when I first started going to the gym, being 340lbs at the time! But I never once got a dirty look/sneer/head shake or whatever. Most people there tended to be friendly, and the worst thing about the rest was that they kept themselves to themselves, ie just got on with their workout and left - hardly a damning character trait!

So don't worry about what other gym-goers will think. As ImGettinPaper and Dohnny say, the staff will help you out if you talk to them regarding a routine and instructing you on proper use of gym equipment. The only other tips I'd give to a n00b is to make sure you bring water and a towel. The towel is for wiping any sweat off machines after using them which is good gym etiquette, as is putting weights back after use etc

Doctor_Socks

Nothing to be worried about when you're going to the gym for the first time, everyone is usually friendly and are there for the same reason as you, that is to get fit, strong and feel good about themselves!

One thing I notice about people going for their first time is they feel intimidated in the free weights section by people lifting what seems like a couple of tonnes! Just remember, all these people had to start somewhere and they nearly always remember it too.

So to sum it up, just go and enjoy yourself, take note of what you're doing and strive to do better each week

Kaneda_

Do anything you want,act anyway you want,just try no to get into anynes way if there lifting.Its that simple.

cofy

Just remember that everyone in that gym had a first day too. I was a size 20 when I started in the gym, I thought I would feel very out of place there - not the case at all. My trainer showed me around got me started on a machine and left me to it - a guy on a machine beside me started cracking jokes, I laughed so much I nearly fell of the machine.

My advice is to smile and try to relax, the gym can be great fun. I ended up a size 10 -12 after a year. So keep your goal in mind but above all have fun.

Andromeda_111

Most people when they start in a gym think people are looking at them and they feel like a fish out of water. Don't worry because most people are concentrating too much on their own workout to think about the people around them (except the major posers ).

Not many people in gyms have the perfect body, and if they do I bet they didn't at some stage!

As suggested already, get a staff member to show you around. They will show you how to use various machines and this will give you a bit of confidence to use them next time on your own. Enjoy the burn:D

Tonto86

90% of people in your average gym don't got a clue wat they're doin!

You'll be grand

Tefral

I know for one when Im doing my workout I couldnt give a toss whats going on around me. Im concentrating on my own thing. Sure I might have a look around when im resting between sets but im not actually looking at anything.

The above poster is right, most people havent a clue anyway... alot of people are there to go through the motions.

The advice given already is sound, get a fitness instructor to make you out a programme and show you around. The more questions you ask at the start the quicker you will blend into the background.

gsxr1

Instructors are your friend. You may need to book their time. A quick call should find out.

As said , a friendly instructor will get you on the right path that suits YOUR needs.

Dont worry about people there. They really wont be looking . They will be engrossed in their own thang.

You will soon meet the same folk their and will more than likely befriend a few.


Good luck and keep it up .

Red_Wake

Tonto86 wrote: »

90% of people in your average gym don't got a clue wat they're doin!

You'll be grand

More than that.

Ask for a program based around the 4 main lifts - shoulder press, squats, deadlifts and bench press. These and some assistance work will build that all important fat burning muscle.

Don't bother with much cardio until you've lost a good bit of weight - it's not time efficient and it'll break your morale (you'll feel much better about yourself after lifting heavier than you expected weights than you would if you were shattered after 10 minutes on a treadmill).

Initially you'll feel a bit awkward, but the weights you lift will shoot up(especially squat & deadlift) in the first few weeks (beginners gains,etc) and you'll bloody love the ****.

Be sure to do plenty of leg weights(arguably more important for fat loss and muscle growth than upper body work), too many gym retards think that time on the treadmill frees them up from doing leg work.

Hanley

Red_Wake wrote: »

Don't bother with much cardio until you've lost a good bit of weight - it's not time efficient

That is absolutely terrible advice. Ish.

2 Miles From Narnia

Good advice above. I also recommend you take full advantage of whatever facilities there are - if there's a pool or sauna, use them and enjoy them, you'll have earned them after your workout and it can be an extra incentive to look forward to.

Mellor

Red_Wake wrote: »

Ask for a program based around the 4 main lifts - shoulder press, squats, deadlifts and bench press. These and some assistance work will build that all important fat burning muscle.

Don't bother with much cardio until you've lost a good bit of weight - it's not time efficient and it'll break your morale (you'll feel much better about yourself after lifting heavier than you expected weights than you would if you were shattered after 10 minutes on a treadmill).

If he is trying to loss weight then building muscle isn't his goal.
Muscle isn't "fat burning". It does have a higher contribution to BMR than fat, but this isn't a huge factor to a person trying to shigy weight.

Simply put, the benefit to lifting weights, for an over weight person, is the energy used during lifting, afterwards on recovery, and the tendency to retain lean mass. Not the tiny increase in BMR due to a any lean mass increase.

Cardio most likely has a higher level of energy expenditure in relation to time. So exactly is it not time efficient?
Do both. No reason not to.

ImGettinPaper

Mellor wrote: »

If he is trying to loss weight then building muscle isn't his goal.
Muscle isn't "fat burning". It does have a higher contribution to BMR than fat, but this isn't a huge factor to a person trying to shigy weight.

Simply put, the benefit to lifting weights, for an over weight person, is the energy used during lifting, afterwards on recovery, and the tendency to retain lean mass. Not the tiny increase in BMR due to a any lean mass increase.

Cardio most likely has a higher level of energy expenditure in relation to time. So exactly is it not time efficient?
Do both. No reason not to.

And on that note I would recommend you start off on a bike.

Jimmy Bottlehead

To the poster saying don't do cardio - rubbish.

I used to hate and avoid cardio as much as the next person, but I can honestly say a run outdoors feels absolutely FANTASTIC. Doing cardio in the gym feels like more of a chore, but to avoid it isn't really playing to all your fitness strengths.

It's excellent to be strong, muscular, and fit looking... but it's even better to be able to sprint for a bus too without dying after 50 yards.

Scholesy1981

Dont worry about people there. They really wont be looking . They will be engrossed in their own thang.

. . . . . . . especially the lads, theyll be too interested in purring over and licking themselves like chocolate in the mirror :pac:

Just ask the instructors for a programme and enjoy it, dont kill yourself out too much though otherwise you'll end up like the typical January newbies who only last a few weeks, who expect to just turn up and a after a few goes, Roberts your mothers brother, weight lost and if that doesnt happen get disgruntled and bail out. Be patient and enjoy it and you wont know yourself in a few weeks. We all had to start sometime and somewhere in there

Thud

Most gyms can be very intimidating at the start but after a few weeks you'll realise there are a lot of shapers and time waster and a few people actually there to work out.

Get an instructor to show you how to use equipment, don't copy other people as they can often be doing it wrong.

Make sure you wipe down the equipment after you use it, if you are resting/recovering for a longer than normal amount of time don't do in on the equipment/benches and if you bring your phone in for timekeeping or whatever reason take your phone calls outside

ImGettinPaper

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

To the poster saying don't do cardio - rubbish.

I used to hate and avoid cardio as much as the next person, but I can honestly say a run outdoors feels absolutely FANTASTIC. Doing cardio in the gym feels like more of a chore, but to avoid it isn't really playing to all your fitness strengths.

It's excellent to be strong, muscular, and fit looking... but it's even better to be able to sprint for a bus too without dying after 50 yards.

I'm pretty sure that running outdoors would be uncomfortable for the OP if he's feeling nervous going to the gym for the first time. Like I said OP, start off on the bike

Mack_1111

A lot of us have been in your position, I was 17.5 stone when I went back to the gym last Jan, down to 14 stone now and fairly lean, believe me I was very self conscious as I waddled in day one! You'll need to push yourself mentally and steer the course and believe me it's worth it. It's actually character building.

Once your there a while you realise that no one really notices you, in fact regular gym users will tell you that the people that annoy them most are the gym jocks that hog all the equipment for hours on end not the novices

Best of luck

Jimmy Bottlehead

ImGettinPaper wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that running outdoors would be uncomfortable for the OP if he's feeling nervous going to the gym for the first time. Like I said OP, start off on the bike

Well then we can agree to disagree - I'd find it easier running around a park, as if you get embarrassed around someone, you just run until they're out of sight. In the gym, cycling on the spot with the same people around... meh. Too boring and you sit in a puddle of sweat.

But at the end of the day, if the OP enjoys running outdoors, cycling indoors or skipping rope on the edge of a cliff, it doesn't matter - once it's consistent, that's what ACTUALLY matters.

ImGettinPaper

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Well then we can agree to disagree - I'd find it easier running around a park, as if you get embarrassed around someone, you just run until they're out of sight. In the gym, cycling on the spot with the same people around... meh. Too boring and you sit in a puddle of sweat.

But at the end of the day, if the OP enjoys running outdoors, cycling indoors or skipping rope on the edge of a cliff, it doesn't matter - once it's consistent, that's what ACTUALLY matters.

I'm speaking more so from a safety point of view. The OP has obviously never been on a treadmill which can be scary the first time and throw you off, sometimes literally :P
I'd start you off on the bike first OP until you get yourself settled in to your new environment. I doubt his new experience in the gym on a bike will be boring for the first few times, being that's it's a NEW experience and all that.

Swimming might be an option for you too OP.

Jimmy Bottlehead

ImGettinPaper wrote: »

I'm speaking more so from a safety point of view. The OP has obviously never been on a treadmill which can be scary the first time and throw you off, sometimes literally :P
I'd start you off on the bike first OP until you get yourself settled in to your new environment. I doubt his new experience in the gym on a bike will be boring for the first few times, being that's it's a NEW experience and all that.

Swimming might be an option for you too OP.

What are you on about treadmills for? I said outdoors running! And as for treadmills throwing people off, that can happen anyone, not that it happens often.

You're obsessed with wrapping people in cotton wool.

Sorry for dragging this off-topic (ish) OP, ImGettinPaper is now banned for a week, and I'm gonna leave this be for now.

TimeToShine

200lbs at 5'9 is tad heavy for running on a treadmill. if OP values his knees he would do swimming and/or elliptical instead of running, or more importantly just fix his diet. lifting weights will also help with weight loss. i dont know why people are discouraging him from lifting. it gives you motivation to go to the gym and he's not going to wake up a month later 20 lbs of muscle heavier. in my opinion it's hard to dedicate and motivate yourself to run but lifting can actually be enjoyable and therefore, in the long run, better for weight loss.

Mr Marri

TimeToShine wrote: »

200lbs at 5'9 is tad heavy for running on a treadmill.

Really, 200lbs is only 90kgs surely the treadies (and knees) are design for more than that?

Brian?

Mr Marri wrote: »

Really, 200lbs is only 90kgs surely the treadies (and knees) are design for more than that?

I sort of agree. I'm 115Kg, so that's about 235 pounds and run on threadmill no bother.

Red_Wake

Mellor wrote: »

If he is trying to loss weight then building muscle isn't his goal.
Muscle isn't "fat burning". It does have a higher contribution to BMR than fat, but this isn't a huge factor to a person trying to shigy weight.

Simply put, the benefit to lifting weights, for an over weight person, is the energy used during lifting, afterwards on recovery, and the tendency to retain lean mass. Not the tiny increase in BMR due to a any lean mass increase.

Cardio most likely has a higher level of energy expenditure in relation to time. So exactly is it not time efficient?
Do both. No reason not to.

Losing weight = losing fat as far as I'm concerned.

Nobody wants to shed weight predominantly from their muscles after all.

The benefit to lifting weights for fat loss is the increase in your metabolic rate mostly. Admittedly building muscle requires plenty of calories, but it's possible to lose weight while gaining muscle if you eat correctly, and are a beginner, which the OP is.

Cardio probably does consume more calories than weights while it is being performed but as it takes a longer time to recover from a good quality weights session (ie. one incorporating a "big four" lift which taxes the gymnast ), weightlifting will cause a sustained increase in the body's required energy consumption for a longer period of time, resulting in a larger overall increase in energy consumption.

Increasing base rate metabolism for a sustained length of time >> AIDS >>>>>>>> increased base rate for a short length of time.

3500 calories in a pound of body fat - are you really burning enough in your cardio to sustain long term fat loss and stick with it (I've found weights routines motivate me more - I can see the improvements easily, very important for a beginner who may be easily demotivated).

Why do you think bodybuilders only do a large amount of cardio when they're already at a very low body fat? Cardio is a good final push (and low intensity cardio can give a small boost to fat loss after a good weights session, tbf) but on it's own it's pissing in the wind.

I don't mean to deny the benefits of cardio, especially HIIT, but to write off weights for fat loss (weight loss is a ridiculous term IMO, the average person clearly only wants to lose fat) is stupid.

This post probably sounds a bit disjointed, I'm a bit all over the place atm.

Hanley

Red_Wake wrote: »

Losing weight = losing fat as far as I'm concerned.

Nobody wants to shed weight predominantly from their muscles after all.

The benefit to lifting weights for fat loss is the increase in your metabolic rate mostly. Admittedly building muscle requires plenty of calories, but it's possible to lose weight while gaining muscle if you eat correctly, and are a beginner, which the OP is.

Cardio probably does consume more calories than weights while it is being performed but as it takes a longer time to recover from a good quality weights session (ie. one incorporating a "big four" lift which taxes the gymnast ), weightlifting will cause a sustained increase in the body's required energy consumption for a longer period of time, resulting in a larger overall increase in energy consumption.

Increasing base rate metabolism for a sustained length of time >> AIDS >>>>>>>> increased base rate for a short length of time.

3500 calories in a pound of body fat - are you really burning enough in your cardio to sustain long term fat loss and stick with it (I've found weights routines motivate me more - I can see the improvements easily, very important for a beginner who may be easily demotivated).

Why do you think bodybuilders only do a large amount of cardio when they're already at a very low body fat? Cardio is a good final push (and low intensity cardio can give a small boost to fat loss after a good weights session, tbf) but on it's own it's pissing in the wind.

I don't mean to deny the benefits of cardio, especially HIIT, but to write off weights for fat loss (weight loss is a ridiculous term IMO, the average person clearly only wants to lose fat) is stupid.

This post probably sounds a bit disjointed, I'm a bit all over the place atm.

Uh huh...? You should have a look into the data around EPOC. It's actually a pretty marginal effect.

You're preaching to the choir with most of what you're saying, just be careful with making claims which sound great in theory but don't actually follow thru into the real world.

Red_Wake

Hanley wrote: »

Uh huh...? You should have a look into the data around EPOC. It's actually a pretty marginal effect.

You're preaching to the choir with most of what you're saying, just be careful with making claims which sound great in theory but don't actually follow thru into the real world.

I'd be referring more to the time taken for muscles to repair than EPOC, tbh.;)

Which parts would you specifically disagree with and why?

It's a genuine question, as I spent years doing only cardio, with little results, and a combination of heavy weights + light cardio gave great results, but when I could only do heavy weights for a long period, I felt my results weren't particularly effective.

Mind you, I think we're all neglecting to ask OP about his diet.

Hanley

Red_Wake wrote: »

I'd be referring more to the time taken for muscles to repair than EPOC, tbh.;)

"weightlifting will cause a sustained increase in the body's required energy consumption for a longer period of time, resulting in a larger overall increase in energy consumption."

Now to me, that sounds liek you're talking about EPOC. No?!

Which parts would you specifically disagree with and why?

Mostly where you neglected the impact of diet as a factor and focused only on weights and cardio!!

And the part where it sounds like you're talking about EPOC. I've read studies where it says it matters a lot (4-7% BMR increase over a 48 hour period PWO), and studies that say it really doesn't matter at all... And even at 4-7%, if we split the difference and say it's somewhere inbetween, for a dude with a BMR of 2,500kcal, that's less than an additional 150kcal daily, which really isn't much at all.

Bascially what I'm saying is that if someone is hoping EPOC is what makes or breaks their diet, they're probably not dieting very well in the first place.

It's a genuine question, as I spent years doing only cardio, with little results, and a combination of heavy weights + light cardio gave great results, but when I could only do heavy weights for a long period, I felt my results weren't particularly effective.

Mind you, I think we're all neglecting to ask OP about his diet.

This, mainly.

Dohnny Jepp

So OP, what you should learn from this thread is that gym folk are lovely helpful people, but don't debate with them or you won't have time for your workout!!!

TeddyTedson

Congrats on joining OP.

When I joined my first gym I had no idea what I was doing and thought everyone was looking at me and laughing.
You soon realise they're not. I never notice what others are doing in the gym. When I'm in between sets I'm more or less looking at nothing or seeing if what ever I'm going to do next is free to do.
Getting a program is a good way to get started I found, but soon progressed to researching online and doing my own thing.
I found in the beginning I had to force myself to go, but it didn't take long for me to start to really enjoy it.
I can't imagine not training a few days a week now.

Mellor

Red_Wake wrote:

I'd be referring more to the time taken for muscles to repair than EPOC, tbh

That's exactly what I said in the post below. You first post was very different to that.

Mellor wrote:

Red_Wake wrote:

Ask for a program based around the 4 main lifts - shoulder press, squats, deadlifts and bench press. These and some assistance work will build that all important fat burning muscle.

Simply put, the benefit to lifting weights, for an over weight person, is the energy used during lifting, afterwards on recovery, and the tendency to retain lean mass. Not the tiny increase in BMR due to a any lean mass increase.

also;

I don't mean to deny the benefits of cardio, especially HIIT, but to write off weights for fat loss (weight loss is a ridiculous term IMO, the average person clearly only wants to lose fat) is stupid.

You are arguing against points that were never made.

I clearly said that weights are beneficial and explained why. A similar explainationto what you since posted.
I said weights and cardio, and I stick that advice.

And i complete agree with your final point. The OP needs to psot his diet.
Debating the tiny differences in training is pointless for msot people, its diet that counts unless you are already at a low BF%