I've finally joined

[sleepyshiftworker]

Realised it's cheaper for me to become a full member of the gym now I take my children swimming so often so here I am.... I've taken the plunge

I used to be very strong I was a firewoman man but I'm 2 stone heavier than I'd like to be and I feel very very weak and pathetic and I hate it. I'm soft all over. No definition, no strength and my joints all hurt any way.

Where do I start? I can't book a pt due to COVID and I want to get going.

I've used free weights etc before but seem to have forgotten everything. How do I train? Specific areas on set days? Legs / back / chest what?!

They should still give you an induction. For safety purposes. I'd ring and check.

@Northernsoullover there's an intro but I was a member at the gym 2 years ago so nothing has changed - they've said I don't need to do any thing

Are you in England? There's no problem with having a PT session at my gym.

I wouldn't worry about bro splits to start with. If I were you I'd train full body 3-4 times a week until you build up some strength.

Surprised that PTs aren't allowed. There are online coaches that will check your form via video but that's obviously not the ideal.

You could start off with one of the beginner strength programmes to master the compound moves and rebuild your base of strength again.

StrongLifts 5×5
Starting Strength

Legion athletics do a good breakdown of 12 stregth programmes which include the ones I've listed above and a couple of others which can be used for beginners:

The 12 Best Science-Based Strength Training Programs for Gaining Muscle and Strength

@StPaulsCathedral wow I downloaded the first you mentioned and did the first one at the gym tonight. It gave me the confidence to go over to the bar so thank you. I'm going to stick with doing that plan and see where that gets me. Thank you thank you