Should I go to the gym? And if so, what should I do?

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

The place I swim is offering a swim/gym membership at the moment which seems quite good value, but I have no idea whether to go for it, and if I do, what to do. There are no classes, but I think it has the 'normal' range of machines.

I have a funny fitness profile I think — I walk a lot, and do a performance sport that means I have strong legs and do bursts of intense exercise (like 90 seconds hard work then stop) and I used to play squash until the colleague I played with changed jobs. But I think I might be quite unfit in other ways — I can't do press ups for example, I just can't work out which muscles I need to use, or if I even have the muscles there...

I've never been to the gym, but think I'd like to try to get myself fitter across the board.

I tried running, but absolutely hated running on pavements, but that is at least partly because I'm self-conscious about bumping into people and it's usually dark and cold (and when it isn't dark and cold I'm allergic to pollen!) so running on a treadmill might not be so bad.

Or home videos? This is a bit of a ramble, but I basically have no idea what I'm best to do!

So if anybody went from being "sort of fit but not properly" to a more structured way of exercising it would be great to hear what you did.

The gym should offer some sort of induction where you're shown how to use the machines correctly and the trainer-type person who does this should be able to help you with work-out suggestions and goal-setting.

Some people find they hate the gym, personally I love the way it's so clean and comfortable and kind of scientific: I can see exactly what I've achieved in terms of distance covered, calories used, times etc.

I started trundling along on the treadmill and riding the bike-to-nowhere and enjoying indulging in daft daytime TV, these days I do these plus cross trainer, rowing and some weight/resistance stuff.

Thank you Jen, I like the sound of that. I'll go and have a chat to them and see how I get on.

I'm just a bit embarrassed because my friends have been really surprised that I don't go to the gym, but I suppose the gym will always be happy to get new people so it's in their interest to help you get going!

I love the gym (if you had told me a few years ago I would ever say that I would have thought you mad). I second the advice to get an induction session at the gym to learn how it all works and how to track your progress.

Two years into a much increased gym routine and my fitness has improved leaps and bounds. I am pretty strong but I still can't do a full press up or a pull up. The thing with those is to use proper technique from the get go, so if you happen to want to achieve a press up then ask the gym staff for advice. In an ideal world you would do incline press ups on a Smith machine (the gym person will know what I am on about, which you may not if you've not been to a gym).

I dont do jogging either mainly because of all the impact issues. I do cycle though which is great for burning calories ,aerobic fitness and leg strengthening. I go out early weekends to beet the traffic.