So I joined a Gym and need advice...

[MOSAT]

Just please don't be this person.

 

[Beer-man]

Get a trainer who is willing to teach you to teach yourself

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I did it- The scariest part was walking in there. I have a gym phobia, I have no idea why- maybe its the modesty thing. I feel like most workout clothes are one step above underwear, and while I probably don't look terrible, I'm very self conscious about it. Also a TOTALLY foreign environment. The two guys working at the gym- a former marine and another guy, were astounded that I'd never used any of the machines before. After I did some cardio- they decided (LOL- somebody needed to) that I would do legs today, so we did. It was kind of fun. Yoga Monday night, back at the gym on Tuesday. More cardio and we're doing arms. I think. I learned lots of interesting things- I did get tired of asking dumb questions. Anybody know what my target heart rate should be when doing cardio?

 

[audreyh1]

I did it- The scariest part was walking in there. I have a gym phobia, I have no idea why- maybe its the modesty thing. I feel like most workout clothes are one step above underwear, and while I probably don't look terrible, I'm very self conscious about it. Also a TOTALLY foreign environment. The two guys working at the gym- a former marine and another guy, were astounded that I'd never used any of the machines before. After I did some cardio- they decided (LOL- somebody needed to) that I would do legs today, so we did. It was kind of fun. Yoga Monday night, back at the gym on Tuesday. More cardio and we're doing arms. I think. I learned lots of interesting things- I did get tired of asking dumb questions. Anybody know what my target heart rate should be when doing cardio?

That depends on your age. And just starting out you probably don’t want to push it too hard. Maybe 55% of max for your age and not to go above 85%. You definitely don’t want to get out of breath.

Understanding your Target Heart Rate

It is recommended that you exercise within 55 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate for at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the best results from aerobic exercise. The MHR (roughly calculated as 220 minus your age) is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.

https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/heartrate

These targets can be refined as you gain fitness.

 

[Amethyst]

I used to be self-conscious when I started working out, but comfort quickly won out.

It is astounding how little anyone looks at anyone else in a gym, and I've used quite a few. Everyone is trying to get through their routine and get out.

I'm 62, and I wear running shorts and a supportive sports bra to the gym. Nobody even looks at me, unless I happen to be on a machine they want to use. One time, I used a hotel gym where the rule was you had to cover your midriff. Most places, nobody cares. Oh, yeah, there are sanitary wipes to clean off the machine when you are done. And I put my towel on every machine seat before using.

I know there are some "meat market" gyms, but I think you'd sense that the moment you walked in.

I did it- The scariest part was walking in there. I have a gym phobia, I have no idea why- maybe its the modesty thing. I feel like most workout clothes are one step above underwear, and while I probably don't look terrible, I'm very self conscious about it.

 

[Ronstar]

I did it- The scariest part was walking in there. I have a gym phobia, I have no idea why- maybe its the modesty thing. I feel like most workout clothes are one step above underwear, and while I probably don't look terrible, I'm very self conscious about it. Also a TOTALLY foreign environment. The two guys working at the gym- a former marine and another guy, were astounded that I'd never used any of the machines before. After I did some cardio- they decided (LOL- somebody needed to) that I would do legs today, so we did. It was kind of fun. Yoga Monday night, back at the gym on Tuesday. More cardio and we're doing arms. I think. I learned lots of interesting things- I did get tired of asking dumb questions. Anybody know what my target heart rate should be when doing cardio?

I’ve read that 220 minus age is maximum heart rate. Then multiply maximum heart times anywhere from .75 to .85 to get target heart rate. For me, .75 is 117 heart rate. 85 is 133 heart rate. Big difference. I have a tough time maintaining around 130 for a period of time.

Congrats on getting to the gym. Don’t be self conscious about your looks/ clothing in the gym. People are there to work out and generally aren’t concerned about how others look.

But as an aside - I used to work out at a gym 20-30 years ago. There was an attractive 20 something girl newbie who came in, warmed up, and then changed workout outfits mid workout. That caught the attention of some patrons. Then she ripped off about 20 pull-ups, and went through an extreme workout. Nobody paid attention to her after that.

 

[Bir48die]

I go to a fairly nice gym because it's a free perk at my place of employment. The last year or so, I've been thinking about whether I really want to *pay* for a gym membership after retirement. I decided the answer was, "no," so I started to look for gym classes that don't use a lot of expensive equipment. Rather, I've been focusing on classes that rely mostly on your own body weight for exercise.

The best classes for 'body weight' exercise are: Pilates (mat style), Yoga (many different styles), and "Core" workout classes. If you go to those classes for a year, you can usually remember your own routine and you can quit the gym membership. You might want to buy yourself a good jump rope too. Ever since I started jumping rope, I've had tons of energy for other things (jogging, dancing, etc.)

We searched once I retired for a reasonable place to work out. Have had memberships for 30 years. Found Crunch at $99 per year each so putting a pencil to it our cost per visit is a like a quarter. Love it.

 

[O2Bfree]

An added benefit of going to a gym regularly is that you may find some new people to socialize with. This seems especially true if you go in the morning when there tends to be many retired and SAHM/SAHD types who aren't always rushing to get to work or get home. Sometimes I spend as much time jawing as I do on weights or cardio. (I'm still working, but fortunately have flexible hours.)

 

[hopefullyoneday]

Quit the gym and get p90x. You can get it cheap from ebay or craigslist. It does cardio, yoga and weight training. I have been working out off and on for over 30 years and p90x has me in the best shape. Not much equipment needed and you can do it from home.

 

[deserat]

I think this guy is fairly smart - https://startingstrength.com - he advocates three main lifting exercises: squat, deadlift and bench press. %X% sets with increasing weight. Women should be lifting heavy weights, too, especially to help with bone loss prevention. I would get a trainer to teach you the exercises and then 3x weekly do the workout.

I would also augment with some HIIT - I do a spin class for 30 min 3x weekly.

 

[samcat]

I hope you didn't push it too much. Muscles release toxins when you have DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), a.k.a., sore muscles a day or so after lifting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly. Symptoms may include muscle pains, weakness, vomiting, and confusion.There may be tea-colored urine or an irregular heartbeat.Some of the muscle breakdown products, such as the protein myoglobin, are harmful to the kidneys and may lead to kidney failure.

I got Rhabdo two years ago. I had a colonoscopy on a Friday and then worked out the following week and ended up with a swollen arm for about three days. I diagnosed it myself by searching "swollen arm after bicep exercises" and it came up. I had a mild case but my arm sure hurt. I was out of town and did not go to the hospital as it started feeling better and my only symptom was the swollen sore arm but it was a wake up call. Unfortunately, when I got home, my doctor was out of town and the sub wouldn't prescribe a CK blood test without me coming into the office for an exam. I found an online lab where I could order my own blood test for $28 so I did that. The next morning by 8 am, I had a call from the lab that my CK levels were high and I needed to see a doctor right away. My doctor was then back and said since I was feeling better and the swelling was gone and my levels were not too high, I could get retested at the end of the week and by then they were normal. I think we determined that the colonoscopy made me dehydrated and then the exercises made it worse.

I was not happy with my trainer though. He pushed for me to come back a couple times that week before my blood test came back normal. I don't think he even knew what rhabdo was. Needless to say, I quit working out with him.

 

[samcat]

There are a lot of benefits to body weight exercises. Lunges, planks, bridges, squats. Lots of ideas online and lots of videos.

Also, working out in front of a mirror is not vanity. It is to ensure what you are doing looks correct!

 

[FireFool]

I go to a fairly nice gym because it's a free perk at my place of employment. The last year or so, I've been thinking about whether I really want to *pay* for a gym membership after retirement. I decided the answer was, "no," so I started to look for gym classes that don't use a lot of expensive equipment. Rather, I've been focusing on classes that rely mostly on your own body weight for exercise.

The best classes for 'body weight' exercise are: Pilates (mat style), Yoga (many different styles), and "Core" workout classes. If you go to those classes for a year, you can usually remember your own routine and you can quit the gym membership. You might want to buy yourself a good jump rope too. Ever since I started jumping rope, I've had tons of energy for other things (jogging, dancing, etc.)

Once you're 60 many state and community colleges have free tuition programs for taking classes. Take a class you're interested in and you automatically have access to the college's gym with usually top quality tax payer supplied gym equipment. The class could be a PE class like yoga.

 

[eytonxav]

I think this guy is fairly smart - https://startingstrength.com - he advocates three main lifting exercises: squat, deadlift and bench press. %X% sets with increasing weight. Women should be lifting heavy weights, too, especially to help with bone loss prevention. I would get a trainer to teach you the exercises and then 3x weekly do the workout.

I would also augment with some HIIT - I do a spin class for 30 min 3x weekly.

Mark Rippetoe is one of the best strength coaches in the county. Again, his focus is on compound lifts which will benefit you a lot more in the long run that some of the less effective things you see being done in many gyms. As to trainers, not all trainers are created equal. I see far too many allowing their clients to sling the weights around instead of slow deliberate movements with correct form. Time under tension is your friend. And has been mentioned do not under-estimate what can be done with body weight exercises alone (push-ups, squats, lunges, and planks).

 

[O2Bfree]

I was not happy with my trainer though. He pushed for me to come back a couple times that week before my blood test came back normal. I don't think he even knew what rhabdo was. Needless to say, I quit working out with him.

Yikes, that's scary! There are articles out there about the rise in rhabdo due to the Crossfit trend. You'd think that all trainers would be educated about this.

Animals can get rhabdo too. My brother and his wife had a Rottweiler that they kept caged during the day while they were at work. Apparently, the dog did not get much exercise. After some number of months, they decided they couldn't keep her anymore, and gave her to a friend who lived on a large piece of land outside town. First day there the new owner let her run outside to her heart's content. Over the next few days, the dog became quite ill, and the vet diagnosed her with rhabdo caused by severe muscle damage. Her kidneys were badly damaged and failing, and it was decided that the best thing to do was to put her down. So sad and preventable.

 

[LOL!]

I'm amused by all the advice to do hardcore stuff before doing the easy stuff like
1 push-up
1 10 second plank
1 walk around the block.
1 pick up a 5 pound dumbbell.
1 spin for 5 min.

You have the rest of your life to get better and stronger, so what's the rush? Set yourself a 5 year goal, not a 5 month goal.

When you get bored with the easy stuff, add reps and weight or change the routine. There is really no need to do the most efficient exercise possible especially if you hate it. Do something fun instead, so that it is easy for it to become routine.

 

[Rianne]

I have a new outlook regarding working out. All 4 of my brothers worked out several times/week, 2 of them were runners as well as weight lifters. They loved to share their strategies and different machines/weights/running techniques etc.

Fast forward today. Oldest brother had 4 (both hips twice) hip replacements. Severe shoulder issues. Next oldest brother, knee replacement and looking to a hip replacement. Has lots of joint/muscle pain, takes lots of muscle relaxers, ibuprofen.
Next oldest brother, hip replacement and severe back issues. Lots of medicines. Neck issues that are inching towards surgery. Joint pain.
Younger brother, hip replacement (early 50's). Joint pain and lots of ibuprofen.

My exercise is fast walking, pool treading in the deep end and light weight lifting. IMHO, you don't have to go overboard with workouts.

My DSI and DBI live in Italy, we visit often. The old people walk daily, carry their groceries, eat well but they do not work out. I'm speaking of the mountain folks who live well into their 90's. They walk, garden.

 

[Music Lover]

Compound exercises are more than just efficient...they also ensure entire muscle groups develop together and in balance. If you can safely do a squat with proper technique, that works all the muscles in your legs and your core. It eliminates the need to do separate and isolated leg exercises and other exercises for the core. Deadlifts will work your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, arms, back, and core and are considered by experts to be the best overall exercise that a person can do.

The only people who need to do isolated exercises like curls or calf raises are body builders looking to work on a spedific weakness.

 

[Music Lover]

I have a new outlook regarding working out. All 4 of my brothers worked out several times/week, 2 of them were runners as well as weight lifters. They loved to share their strategies and different machines/weights/running techniques etc.

Fast forward today. Oldest brother had 4 (both hips twice) hip replacements. Severe shoulder issues. Next oldest brother, knee replacement and looking to a hip replacement. Has lots of joint/muscle pain, takes lots of muscle relaxers, ibuprofen.
Next oldest brother, hip replacement and severe back issues. Lots of medicines. Neck issues that are inching towards surgery. Joint pain.
Younger brother, hip replacement (early 50's). Joint pain and lots of ibuprofen.

They must have been doing it wrong. People who lift using proper technique with the right amount of weight and reps don't get hurt from lifting.

I'm 56 and have never once had an injury in 40 years of lifting, and have no shoulder, knee, back, or hip problems. On the other hand, I know several weak people with ongoing back problems...a lot of them are due to carrying too much weight on a weak core.

 

[O2Bfree]

They must have been doing it wrong. People who lift using proper technique with the right amount of weight and reps don't get hurt from lifting.

I'm 56 and have never once had an injury in 40 years of lifting, and have no shoulder, knee, back, or hip problems. On the other hand, I know several weak people with ongoing back problems...a lot of them are due to carrying too much weight on a weak core.

That's always good to hear! I know many middle-aged weightlifters who don't seem to have problems.

There's probably a number of variables that affect joint health in weightlifters. Poor form and doing harmful lifts can no doubt cause problems.

The shape and mechanics of a lifter's bones and muscles can also cause issues. DH and I both had a curve at the tips of the acromion bones in our shoulders, causing impingements that led to problems mid-life. I wish I'd known that when I was younger. I never had any shoulder pain to indicate a problem, just a little unusual grinding when I rotated my arm a certain way. Also, one of my bicep tendons was frayed and on its way to breaking. I had no pain from that either, so I'm glad I got that grinding checked out!

But it's hard to imagine that years of heavy lifting don't take their toll on the cartilage. When my ortho surgeon pointed out that my shoulder cartilage had thin areas, he said, "We see this in weightlifters." Maybe some people have extra-tough or extra-thick cartilage and are better protected than others, or stop lifting before they notice a problem.

 

[Music Lover]

That's always good to hear! I know many middle-aged weightlifters who don't seem to have problems.

There's probably a number of variables that affect joint health in weightlifters. Poor form and doing harmful lifts can no doubt cause problems.

The shape and mechanics of a lifter's bones and muscles can also cause issues. DH and I both had a curve at the tips of the acromion bones in our shoulders, causing impingements that led to problems mid-life. I wish I'd known that when I was younger. I never had any shoulder pain to indicate a problem, just a little unusual grinding when I rotated my arm a certain way. Also, one of my bicep tendons was frayed and on its way to breaking. I had no pain from that either, so I'm glad I got that grinding checked out!

But it's hard to imagine that years of heavy lifting don't take their toll on the cartilage. When my ortho surgeon pointed out that my shoulder cartilage had thin areas, he said, "We see this in weightlifters." Maybe some people have extra-tough or extra-thick cartilage and are better protected than others, or stop lifting before they notice a problem.

I went a little heavier when I was younger, but never to the extreme. I attribute the lack of injuries to a combination of good genes, good form, proper weight, and also because any time I felt a twinge or that something may be off I immediately stopped rather than trying to push through it. I also suffer from a small amount of laziness so there were several regular "breaks" over the years which also probably helped.

 

[Nick12]

I haven't ever been fond of exercise- I have been a runner in the past, but now live where it isn't practical. I joined a Gym that is sort of on my way home from work as that's the only real time I have to do it thanks to the kids' schedules and my own. SO- I know how to use the cardio machines, and I plan to start with those. I'm not sure I've ever used the weight lifting stuff, but after reading Younger Next Year, I get that I need to. So here are the questions:

All I own or have ever owned (in athletic shoes) are running shoes. Is that fine or do I need "trainers" whatever that means. If I do need something different- tell me what I'm looking for please.

There are a million machines in there. They assured me they'd show me how to use them properly, but how do I know WHICH ONES are important? Any website references would be great, because I'm confused. There are so MANY. How do you tell?

The goal here is to be fitter. Don't need to lose weight, and don't want to be noticeably more muscular. I like goals- what should my goals be- i.e., how do you track progress here, and what should I expect?

I think I want a heart rate monitor- got any recommendations?

I have been a member of Planet Fitness (PF) for over 10 years. Monday to Friday there are FREE training sessions that any paying member can sign up for to work out with the PF trainer in 1 hour sessions. Sometimes there are only 1-3 members with the trainer. It’s crazy that some people pay $$$$ to get sone time with a personal trainer. My membership is $10 monthly to work out.

 

[imoldernu]

Stick to the machines... It's more fun.

 

[HFWR]

I understand the benefits of free weights, but I use machines, for convenience (no spotter needed) and speed (moving a pin is much quicker than changing plates). I am always aware of range of motion, and form, to maximize effort and avoid injury. I alternate every month or two between 3x12 and 5x5, and push about as much weight as I can and still get the rep count. I do chest press, seated row, shoulder press, and lat pulldowns. All these work the arms as well, so no isolated arm exercises. Don’t currently do legs, as I walk and bike, and also need down time/rest!

Remember to breathe...

 

[Ronstar]

I have a basement exercise room with bow flex, bow flex dumbbells and treadmill at home. And use the snowbird condo workout room with a few machines in az. No leg exercises. I have 4 different routines. 2 push 2 pull that I alternate for 4 workouts per week. Each routine has 3 exercises of 5 sets of 10 reps. Weight workouts are less than 30 minutes. Hiking and biking for legs 4 - 5 days a week. I put together my weight workouts from tips from 2 trainers that are friends of ours.