So now that I'm back down at school I think i'm going to join a Gold's Gym thats not very far from me.. I'd really like to start to get in shape for the summer time and such. Except I've never belonged to a gym and have no idea what to expect and everything. I mainly want to start running and doing free weights. I'm already on a diet, and I'm not over weight but I'm not exactly where I want to be either.. Anyways, my main concern for not joining is that I'm going to look stupid since I've never been to a real gym before. I know this may seem like a silly reason to not join but it is a reason I'm struggling with. Anyone that belongs to gym got some insight on what goes on? Thanks, -Chris.

it is kind of embarrassing at times when you go to work out during peak hours and you feel like everyone's watching. i would suggest to schedule yourself to go when there are fewer people working out (like late in the evening just before closing or something). also, try to have a friend join you, it makes time fly by.

This post has been edited by azian_advanced: Jan 9, 2009 - 6:04 PM

Thanks for the input, I'm going to try to get my roommate to join with me.. We both have the same class schedule so it'll be easy to find times to go together.


Also, does anyone have any good training exercises to work abs? I know theres tons of different things for them.. However I'll mainly be focusing on cardio because i'd like to drop 15 pounds by April.

This post has been edited by cnelson: Jan 9, 2009 - 6:11 PM

if you go, let me know how much it cost.

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Yeah, you do feel like a bit of a dick at first, but that passes . I also gym with a friend which helps a lot. Sets of 20 crunches are good for abs, although the problem with abs is that you have to burn lots of fat off your stomach before they'll actually show up, so be prepared to do a decent amount of cardio .

Men's Health (both the magazine and the website) has some good tips as to workouts and diet as well as general guy stuff, I've found.

Thanks.. and the golds gym by me is, if you sign up for a year its 55$ the first month and 30$ every other month, which for myrtle beach i think is pretty good prices. Because the other local gym wanted 129$ to sign up and 42$ a month.

thats a very good price. Over in Cali u'd be paying maybe double that. So you're in college? If your college has a gym i'd enroll there. They should offer weight training classes that teach you the machines and different workouts for different goals.

As for getting abs, I started playing basketball before my workouts to get warmed up and compete this school year and that made the difference

I actually prefer going to the gym by myself... More because having someone tag along with me would slow me down, not that I do extreme intense workouts, but I just dont like waiting on someone lol I don't really care what people think of me at the gym... We're all there for the same reason - to get in shape, keep in shape... Besides I'll never see half those people again or ever talk to them...

But my gym is so small, low-key, and laid back no one is really cares... You see all kinds of walks of life in that gym from really old people (who I've seen attached to oxygen tanks a couple times... lol), heavier people, pregnant women, your typical body builders, middle/high schoolers, and so on... The owner even has his dog wandering around lol

a good way to get in shape is to join a team sport, or play in a recreational all-round league because you have fun doing it unlike working out where you actually have to 'work' to get results and isn't fun most of the time.
for working on your abs, depending on your strength, doing squats with 60 lbs weight will get you better results (and less strain on your back) than doing crunches imo.

This post has been edited by azian_advanced: Jan 10, 2009 - 3:10 PM

You should check with your school. Mine has a free gym for all students.

Just be careful of signing anything. Most gyms have "sales people" to try and get you into a contract for as long as they can.

Well yeah its for a year contract.. but thats fine with me. I'll make sure i read the fine print. And theres no gym at my school, I go to The Golf Academy of the Carolinas and its tiny. As for joining a sport, I would however I need to be really careful of injury.. If I can't golf It wouldn't be good, I figure if I join a gym I know the limits I can push myself.. I could def. do 60lbs squats, how many reps and sets tho? I use to power lift my freshmen year in high school, so I have an idea of how to do everything.

wow thats pretty expensive

i used to go to la fitness and it was 30/month with no contract and no sign up fee, just pay month to month

bally's has a special right now, $20/month with no sign up fee

i dont go anymore, not since i would see guys going to the bathroom, peeing in the urinals without taking their workout gloves off, not washing their hands, then going back to the gym equipment like nothing happened.

just cant shake the thought of other people's gonad sweat on everything there

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THANKS FOR THAT LOVELY IMAGE

Man.. well if I had a bally's or la fittness I would check them out, however none are close to me. There is only a handful of gyms in Myrtle Beach and, even less are open to the public. So to comparison of other gyms around the area its cheap. I see your from cali. I would assume that you have gyms are every corner, hence why you probably have such lower prices.

Gyms are a complete rip off. And yeah, I belong to one. I'm with Snap Fitness. They're actually the best ones I've been a member of. Only $35/month, no contract (month to month) with something like a $50 startup fee...not sure.

For abs, if you've got a yoga ball, there are tons of stuff to do. I know, you're a dude and afraid of using a yoga ball...well get over it! lol I had to. It works awesome. Anything using the yoga ball, more often than not, works your abs/core more mainly because depending on the workout, you're trying to balance yourself while doing whatever you're doing. If I knew what some of the machines/equipment was called that I use I'd let you know...I'll have to find out.

Men's Health is actually really good. They had something in there a while ago about UFC workouts...couldn't do 'em! Sooo hard. But it's a good hurt.

Snap Fitness is 24 hours so I usually go when noone's there. I'd love to have a gym buddy but being that I just moved to a new area, no luck there! I like going when it's empty mainly b/c I don't like crazy gym rats...they are a bit more dickish and love to hog the equipment. No me gusta.

...you're not a "January Joiner", are you? lol

This post has been edited by m0dd3d1: Jan 12, 2009 - 11:32 PM

Aw dont be insecure about working out, hell when i first started working out id always think to myself "Well sh*t most of the people here are fat or old and fat so I cant be looking too terribly bad " .

As far as workout routines or specific exercises are concerned one book that i thought was pretty useful was the Mens Health and Fitness power lifting book (I cant remember the exact name of it). I like it due to the fact that it puts a strong emphasis on rarely doing isolation exercises. Just find what works best for you, stick with it for a few weeks then switch to something completely different so you dont get bored.

What kind of diet are you on and what are you trying to achieve? (like weight loss, bulk up, be able to fight your way out of your school work- an ever closing jail cell of never ending paperwork and torturous sleep deprivation)

Ha, well I joined. I got the 7 day v.i.p membership for now, however when that is up, I will be joining for good. As for what I'm trying to achieve;

Some years ago, in 8th grade I weighed over 240 pounds. I went on weight watchers, and lost nearly 50 pounds. I was around 195ish. I was happy, and of course high school came and it was all good. I swore I would never gain the weight back.. WRONG. Senior year I got on a scale in November. (Just a little over a year ago) It read 225.8 . A number I will never forget. I felt that everything I worked so hard for was gone, and it was. I sat and cried, like a little baby. My girlfriend who I had been with for over a year, kept telling me I looked fine, etc, etc. I knew inside that crying about wasn't going to get anything done.

On my 18th birthday I made a decision to change my life. Relying on what weight watchers taught me, I was able to lose 65 pounds. I was down to 165. Although this weight was near impossible for me to maintain. I decided it would be easier to stay around 170ish. Now for the past couple months that's what I've been. However, with the holiday season, and college, and drinking every other night. I gained about 10 of it back, not the end of the world. Except this time I really won't ever go back, I would kill myself before gaining all that weight back. So i rejoined weight watchers last week, joined a gym this week. I'm ready to become fully committed to my goals. What are my goals?

By April;
weigh 165 or less.
have 10% or less bodyfat. (right now I have about 15%)
get 'v' shape hips. (ladies dig em) (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/brenda29.htm)

So combined with tons of cardio, ab workouts, and general strength training I hope I will be able to accomplish the following. I'll be going to thy gym nearly 6 days a week, to do cardio alone, lifting 3 of those days, and doing abs 5 of those days.

I will keep everyone updated on my progress. Thanks for listening. -Chris.

Dont worry about other people, just go there and worry about your workout... a few days into it you will blend right in. If you dont know how to use a machine, ask an employee so u dont hurt yourself or drop something and look stupid.

also, your abs are fairly small muscles so any standard ab workout will help (crunches, any ab machine, leg raises etc...)

but in order for your abs to show through you will need to follow a good diet. Dont go starving yourself, just dont eat junk food and try to lean more lean meats and also, eat more (and smaller) Meals throughout the day. This will help keep your body burn through excess calories quicker.

Like they said in earlier posts, consult magazines, pro-blogs or a doctor to get you on the proper diet for you personally.

and more importantly, STAY CONSISTENT! or you wont go anywhere with it.

Good Luck

as someone who started going to the school gym 2 weeks ago,

go at offpeak hours. i went to the weight room at 930pm and it was packed, took forever to finish. people hoarding dumbbells and chillin and chatting on the machines/benches...ugh.