Talk to me about going to a gym when overweight, shy and clueless

[PlaymobilPirate]

I'd like to lose weight and start feeling better about myself. Everyone on here seems to go to the gym and I'd like to start. Theres a one 5 minutes walk from me - a big chain one. I have no clue though and would find an induction cringey as I'm so unfit!

Oh honestly, don't worry

The cardio machines are straight forward anyway

The weights machines are more complex to use and I didn't find the gym induction useful to be honest.

It's free so no harm but PT lessons will teach you how to use the machine properly, how much weight to put, how to position your body etc.

You may like to take headphones or audio book to keep you amused once you get the hang of things. Classes also popular.

Ps if you go sign up now you'll have it a bit quieter before 1 Jan hits and everyone rushes their for resolutions

everybody who starts at a gym was unfit at some point. Just book an induction, the trainers won't care how unfit you are, its their job.
Don't worry about expensive kit, I get most of mine from Sainsbury's or M&S. The only thing I really splash out in is a good sports bra as I run and need everything under control.
Don't worry about what other people might be thinking, everyone is either too busy doing their own thing (or worrying what other people think of them) At my gym, a hotel chain, there are people of all shapes and sizes, ages, people with disabilities. No one cares what anyone looks like or is doing, except the small group of men preoccupied with comparing each other's biceps and they stay in the weights area and everyone else ignores them.
Just go, try things out, go to some classes if they run them.
Alternatively a lot of church/community halls have keep fit classes, thats how I started out.
I probably would be seen as a gym bunny, but I'm 54 and still a couple of stone overweight.
Have fun

i started 3 months ago, was 17st and size 20/22. was totally shitting myself but i picked a quiet time to start and now no fucks are given! am down to just over 15st and size 18 now and find it rather relaxing. i usually go with my best mate but do go on my own. head phones on, music blasting and away i go.
do it, you wont regret it

I wouldn’t rely on exercise to lose weight, of course do it to feel good and energised, but exercise alone won’t make you lose weight.

Food and diet is how you’ll lose weight.

Nobody cares about you. Honestly.
Other gym goers don't give a shit who is doing what next to them!

Once you know that, it gets a lot easier.

PTs are in the job to make people fitter/stronger/faster. It's not a job for the money! Your achievements and success are theirs.

Pp are correct - in Jan it will be rammed (only for a month or two though!) so take the plunge now and you will be ahead of the game!

Ps. I was, and am massively overweight. I still get in the Lycra and go, because I enjoy it. The only things people have said are heartfelt congratulations when I beat a PB!

Induction usually mandatory - it's a health and safety/insurance thing to make sure everyone knows how to use all the machines correctly. No one will bat an eye. Gym staff are very used to people who want to lose weight/get fit/recover from injury or surgery. Every single person in the gym had to go for the first time at some point.

I joined not that long ago and I felt the same as you but honestly it was the best thing I ever did.
I still dont know how to use all the machines but I've picked up a lot from YouTube videos as well ad asking people they were happy to show me.
You wont regret it honestly

I really liked Les Mills classes. Body Pump was a great introduction to weights. Look at Kayla It's ines app, but don't bother with the generic program as you'll see very little difference unless your diet is very good. Go for Power, or on her app is Kelsey Wells program. Lifting weights is what you need to do to see major change in your body. The problem most people have is an hour on the treadmill is bloody dull so people give up after a couple of weeks. Once you get into the swing of lifting weights etc the variety is huge, and it doesn't get boring. As you get stronger you will really start to enjoy it, trust me! I now follow Alexia Clark program and its fantastic but not for beginners. Go on Instagram and follow them all for ideas in the gym!

If it's a Pure Gym top tip : the elliptical machines start working when you have started moving them. When I first went I thought none of them were turns on cos they didn't have anything on the wee screens. But go for it - and do an induction the PTs are very good and will walk you round stuff. Mind you I've not got enough courage yet to have a go on any of the weight machines I just stick to the cardio ones

PT here.

Go to the induction. They are usually mandatory anyway, although some places will let you skip them if you sign a waiver. They aren't there as a test of your fitness but to show you how the kit works. Also a good way to get to know some of the team so you know who to go to if you do need help/forgotten how something works et.

Find out if any of the PTs have offers on or whether a basic programme is included in your membership just so you have something to follow with structure to get you used to it and get you into the swing of things.

Deffo recommended maybe having a few visits between now and New year before the place is rammed for January.

Have you thought about just exercising at home, if you are self-conscious about going to the gym? I use Instructor Live - you have to pay an annual fee but it’s loads less than gym membership (I think it’s £25 or £50). And you can do it whatever the weather, any time, get straight in your own shower after.

There is also a tonne of stuff o the NHS website which is all free: here

OP, I was similar to you a year ago. Desperately unfit, overweight, over fifty and not comfortable with other people. I realised that I had to do something or my long term health would really suffer.

I was lucky enough to find a small local gym that had been ideal. There are a number of things about it that work for me. The main thing is that as part of my subscription I get a session with a PT once a month. He gives me a program that balances all the different parts of the body and keeps me challenged as I progress. I've gone from almost being 'in rehab' to intermediate, and it's very satisfying to see how much fitter I am. The gym also doesn't have much in the way of machines. It makes much more use of 'free equipment', which is somehow less intimidating. The last thing that helped was setting myself a routine of three sessions a week at the same time and sticking to it, rather than just going to the gym when I had a bit of spare time, which would never have worked.
The right mindset is also important. I told myself that if I didn't want to end up dead or irreversibly damaged, I would need to do this and keep it up for the rest of my life. I might not actually enjoy going to the gym but I do alleviate that I've really achieved something good.

The only thing that hadn't worked is that I've not lost a lot of weight, but that's because I like my food too much .

P. S. Good luck