Can you tell me your experience of joining a gym?

The best thing is to make a plan first. If you're just thinking that it might benice to go to the gym, you might not go. You need to add it into your routine. For example: I'll go to the gym every monday and thursday at such and such hour. Or I'll do the gym on monday and one pf their zumba classes on friday. Something like that. Adding a class (if they have one) could help becayse you get to know people and feel ovliged to turn up.

Worth checking if it's an expensive gym, do they have a 'free friend' day? Mine has Free Friend Fridays so often a friend joins me for a swim after work on a Friday. Changes it up a bit and I feel like I'm getting better value (she 'pays me back' with the odd favour occasionally).

Well I hope it works out for you I really do
I am autistic and my gym is genuinely the only place I can “be myself” everyone is so accepting and it Is where I am happiest for sure (so similar to you the routine is very important to me)
I am very lucky as my gym is in no way expensive I only pay around £30 a month, but I appreciate I am very lucky there
I really hope you enjoy it! I would say it can be a bit daunting at first, but give yourself 6 months of going at it and I think you will never look back 🙂

I joined a gym January 2019
best thing I ever did I practically live there now!
I did change gyms after lockdown cos my old gym did not reopen
but I go every evening after work, and weekend mornings I love it and made so many friends and we all enjoy the classes etc
like you op I had never set foot in a gym, was Petrified when I joined and again when I had to change
but I am now the fittest I have ever been and am late 30s and my social circle is much better because of it, and I feel SO good after a workout it is insane

My tips for the gym:

Do classes. Try to do at least 3 classes a week, and put them into your diary. Make it a routine.

Go to the gym before you do anything else. I have a demanding job with long hours, but mostly WFH. I sometimes think “Oh I’ll just do this task, write this report/ read this article” etc etc then I’ll go to the gym. That never works. I don’t go. And honestly, the time I take to go to the gym really doesn’t get in the way of my working productivity.

Have a routine - write it down. Then you don’t have to think. You just do it.

Just think in 5 minute slots, or 10 reps, or whatever. The joy of interval training, for example, is that you only need to do 1 minute, or 30 seconds or whatever, then rest/catch your breath/die, then do it again. For just a short interval.

the other thing that keeps me going to the gym is a fantastic PT. If you can afford it, it’s a really worthwhile investment. A good PT will teach you so much,and motivate you.

And really, just keep remembering how much better you feel after an hour of intensive exercise. It’s so so good for you, mentally and physically .

I used to be very athletic in my youth and twenties then had babies in my 30's and lost all motivation. When I was 51, fat and unfit I suddenly had the urge to get fit again. I joined a gym and have never looked back, I love it and look forward to going. I don't go mad, I don't ever force myself to go if I don't feel like it, so it's a pleasant experience for me. I've lost 3st and I have muscles again. 4 years on and I'm so happy I made that leap.

If you are a relative novice and also looking for a bit of socialization then the Local Authority gym would probably be best for you. The chains can be a soulless experience unless they are upmarket and undersubscribed and you are paying £££. You wont get pushed unless you pay extra for a personal trainer (still cheaper than private).

The worst experience I have witnessed was in a place frequented by skinny, white yummy mummies (one of those adjectives would inform on the name of the gym).
There was a Middle Eastern woman who signed up and the five regulars did not like the smell of her (natural) perfumed oils. They were openly ganging up on her, moving their mats away from her and ridiculing her during the sessions. They tried to get me to join in but I wasn't interested.

I stopped going soon afterwards due to covid starting. I hope that she did too (she wasn't friendly but she minded her own business which was fine as far as I am concerned). I could not believe that they were all proud mums of daughters and yet they were behaving like mean girls.

Its about routine, obviously! Are you likely to get into a pattern of going regularly?

I second this. It’s an lot easier once you settle into an established routine.

I joined my local authority gym (2mins walk away) about 15 years ago and still go 3 times a week (had previously been at another gym for about 10 years too!) My DD came home from uni nearly a year ago and joined and goes 4/5 times a week, usually after work.
Its about routine, obviously! Are you likely to get into a pattern of going regularly?

If we lived near a fancy gym with lovely cafe and hot tubs etc, I think I’d be there every day 😀

We go to David Lloyd which was a Virgin gym when we joined and my membership is similar. It's worth it if you use it. I do classes most days and my husband swims most days (and children use the kid's clubs too). We use it more than we would a cheaper gym because it's local to us and has very good facilities.

There are specific slots for the PT sessions, I can book a free one or add my name to a waiting list in case there is a cancellation. I tend to do one a week plus two or three classes.

You cannot just turn up and train on your own, you have to book a training session or a class. Some might see that as a disadvantage, but it suits me as I like training with other people and it means the place is never overcrowded.

The PT included was the first figure, not the £66.

I pay something similar. It includes all classes and a PT. I need the latter as I like to be pushed hard.

That's expensive.
Do you have any schemes through work you could get it cheaper on?
I think they do special offers sometimes - or is that the cheapest?
They never seem to waiver the joining fee even if you used to be a member and are rejoining.
The option to do different things really helps to not get bored.
Is now a bad time to join because of summer or is it better so you can exercise in air con!
If I signed up for a year I'd definitely go to get my moneys worth!

I'm currently a member of a really nice and expensive gym and I go more consistently than I have been to any in the past. My top tips;

• Join a gym that you like to spend time in. Sounds like you already have that covered. I've been to cheaper ones in the past and not enjoyed being there.

• Mix up what you do. Sometimes I just do weights, sometimes just cardio, sometimes both, sometimes a swim, sometimes a class.

• I always tell myself I only have to do 20 minutes. 9 times out of 10 I end up staying 45 minutes or an hour once I'm there, but if I said 'an hour' beforehand I'd find reasons not to have time. I've always got 20 minutes.