Joined gym but no exercise plan

[NotMeNoNo]

I joined a local gym (national chain) in March. I'm 50+, unfit and a complete newbie to any exercise except a few Pilates classes. Aim is to generally get fitter/slow the middle aged decline.
I said I was a complete novice and would need a really clear exercise plan and check ins and was assured that would all be provided. I've had some introductory PT sessions but they were more of taster sessions than anything I could go away and work on. I've now been told the only way to get ongoing support and a written training plan is to sign up with one of the PTs for £££ a month, nearly 3x the basic membership.

Apart from feeling I understand their business model a bit better now I'm not exactly sure how to move forward.
Is this standard for gyms? We have to see out the year at this gym so I need to find a way to get the best value from it.

It just seems a bit all or nothing, I don't feel I need a PT standing next to me every session but probably support to start and a review every few weeks. What questions should I be asking them?

I go to total fitness and mine was similar. The app however has some workouts to try and on the wall in the gym there’s cards you can pick up that have workout plans on them. Does virgin have something similar that you might have missed?

I've now been told the only way to get ongoing support and a written training plan is to sign up with one of the PTs for £££ a month, nearly 3x the basic membership.

That is pretty standard. Most PTs are freelance - you should expect to pay them for their time and expertise.

What about doing lots of group exercise classes? You can learn a lot that way.

Or you could go through this section of MN and search for recommendations of online programmes.

But basically if you want a service & someone else's expertise, you should be prepared to pay for it.

The gym has loads of classes and online resources but they don't seem to start where I am. I literally can't do a push up I'm afraid.

Neither can I, and I go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. I can almost do one, but not quite.

But you won't get near doing a push up if you don't start somewhere! Most group class instructors will give variations - the standard, the adjusted, the advanced.

I also find if I make time to catch the instructor before a class, to say I'm new etc etc, they'll keep an eye on me. A good instructor will ask at the beginning of the class if anyone is new to the discipline, or the class, or to her/him as an instructor. And then they'll keep an eye on you. In pump one of the instructors at my gym gets new people to set up quite close to her, and then she gives good advice about the recommended weights etc.

The main thing is to start!

@GoodThinkingMax thanks for your advice. I'm not stupid, I do realise you have to pay for a service! However as a total newbie to how gyms work, and with lots of friends telling me that a gym will set up a starter programme and review it every couple of months (without saying that costs extra) I really thought that would be included in my £60 a month (as @ExtremelyDedicated said for example.) It's like booking to go to the hairdresser and finding out when you get there you have to pay extra for the stylist. I also said specifically when I signed up I would need help setting up an exercise programme, and in hindsight I got a rather woolly answer rather than "Sure, that costs £35 an hour".

I went in yesterday and spoke to the PT team leader, she also said it's fine to go to classes as a beginner, which is helpful and I'm going to see her next week to work out the right level of input and set up some sessions. Just a bit annoyed that it wasn't clear at the start, but never mind.

I'd definitely sign up to some classes. When I first joined our gym (in my late 50s) I avoided them because I am was very uncoordinated, as well as being overweight and unfit.

After a while of just using the gym, I plucked up the courage to do some classes. I have found all the instructors excellent and they all suggest different options for those who are new to exercise or who need low impact because of eg pregnancy or (in my case) dodgy knees or hips.

When I joined a private gym (costing nowhere near £60 a month!) I had an induction, and the trainer gave me a fairly generic programme. We had cards at the desk we could record our times etc.

That gym was lovely, but closed (death of the owner), so I went to a chain gym - FitnessFirst, so not the cheap "Anytime" type but not David Lloyd or Virgin - mid-range, but a really EXCELLENT facility. The deal at the time (there are always deals!) was 2 x 30 minute sessions with one of the PTs.

The DIFFERENCE that just those 2 short sessions made to my knowledge of training convinced me to sign up to regular weekly PT sessions. They were a lifeline during lockdowns.

So given that you're paying a high whack for your gym (I'd never pay that much!!) it might be a good investment for getting the most out of your subscription to book a couple of extra PT sessions to get you started.

From what you post here, your gym sounds a bit unfriendly - I'm sorry about that. At my gym, everyone is encouraged to attend classes whatever their level - instructors always ask if there's anyone new to the particular class, or to her/him as an instructor. But I'd encourage you to go! Everyone has to start somewhere - the important thing is to start.

I joined a gym for the first time in April, for similar reasons, 50+, really unfit, never exercised. My membership included a free introduction with one of the trainers who recommended the best workout for my goals and then showed me how to use the machines correctly. I've not paid attention to what they're called but I can note them down when I next go on Friday if you like. My programme is about starting from completely incapable and improving overall strength and wellbeing.

classes are the way the instructors will show option of the same excursive but with different level for basic to advanced

Thanks, honestly I'm a long way out of my comfort zone in this, but you are dead right the main thing is to start. It's a nice gym, really 🙂I just need to get in the flow of it.

A very wise yoga teacher once said to me “Getting to the mat is the achievement.”

I tell myself this - just start, and the rest is easy.

I can understand a £20 Pure Gym not doing it but for £60 a month I would expect a proper induction and a programme.

@NotMeNoNo , at my Virgin gym there were 3/4 instructors that were really good - I noticed a buzz after their classes and the same faces going and asked around. I then went to those classes regardless - ended up doing boxing which I would never have thought of but loved. Because they were good, they were able to run a class that genuinely suited most people who came, which isn't easy. Some of the others, the classes were pitched too easy, people didn't come back, they often got cancelled....So if you can, ask around, if you do a class you enjoy, ask the others what else they like.....I had a great time at this gym, learned masses, made friends and fitness-wise it really changed my life.

If you can’t do the PT 0, usually the gyms have free classes. I’d go along to some of those - as in most cases the people doing the class will help you out during it, helping with form etc and make sure you are getting the most out of it.

My gym is a bit different because you cannot train on your own. PT sessions and (small) classes are included in the subscription. It’s great if you like to be pushed hard.

Update: thanks again for help. Been to gym. Booked into a teatime circuit class after work. Signed up with one of the senior PTs for 3 months weekly sessions to get me some momentum, can drop back to ad hoc sessions later if I want to.
Tried to remember that being unfit costs more in the long run!