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Joining a gym - or not?

Hi all

I used to do a lot of running but gave up a year ago after problems with my achilles and knee. I do kettlercise twice a week which I love but I want to do more to increase my general fitness and strength. I am in the fortunate position of not needing to lose weight but I am in my mid 40s so at an age where muscle tone is not what it was!

I have never been inside a gym in my life - the thought of all those machines terrifies me - and money is quite tight so this would have to be carefully budgeted for.

I am not very good at exercising at home, I have a kettlebell and DVD that I was given at Christmas that I have never used!

So what would you recommend?
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Comments

  • pointsguy
    pointsguy Posts: 72 Forumite
    It seems you have made up your mind to go to the gym. You just want our confirmation.
  • warriorsq
    warriorsq Posts: 51 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Popped my calf muscle running back in April and decided I'd use my weights (that I'd never really used) while I was out. What I did was buy a decent weight bench and see a PT I knew was well trained for 4 weeks. He sorted out a routine for me and said to myself if I'm going to spend money on a bench and PT I'd make sure I stuck with it after returning to running. Two months down the road I'm still doing it and really enjoy it now
  • DD265
    DD265 Posts: 2,223 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    Have you thought about swimming?
  • YORKSHIRELASS
    YORKSHIRELASS Posts: 6,470 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    DD265 wrote: »
    Have you thought about swimming?

    Its quite embarrassing but I cant swim! I did try adult lessons a few years ago in our local pool but it was rubbish and after about 6 or 8 lessons I was making no progress so I admit that I gave up.

    I suppose I phrased my question badly. What would I get out of a gym? I really havent a clue. Do you need to pay extra for a personal trainer, not sure I could afford that. I suppose you need to be going fairly often to get the value out of a membership.

    Or maybe I should just make more of an effort to exercise at home and maybe do some cycling which I love but again I dont do as often as I could.
  • silverwhistle
    silverwhistle Posts: 4,003 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    So if you don't do enough cycling - which is an excellent exercise for you - do you think you would get enough value from gym membership? Can you integrate a bit of cycling into your life, like doing light shopping (milk, bread, bit of meat type stuff)? I do that and prepping wood for the burner, which provides my upper body exercise!

    Do a search of local parks, some of them might have a bit of apparatus or fitness circuit (cycle there, of course :-) ). But I would try again the challenge of learning to swim as it's such a good exercise and useful life skill. A different teacher or course might do the trick.
  • DD265
    DD265 Posts: 2,223 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    If you don't know what you're doing in a gym then it's going to be harder to see improvements and stay motivated to keep going.

    Some people can learn exercises from videos and books and that's brilliant but generally I would advise anybody to get started with a PT first before going it alone.

    I used to be a really good swimmer then stopped for about 15 years so these days I am at best mediocre. But I'm OK at breaststroke and backstroke, and I managed to do a whole length of the (quite short) pool in front crawl last week without swallowing more than 3 mouthfuls of water. It's taken almost a year to get back to this point. My issue these days is definitely confidence, but if I wasn't slowly making progress I'd definitely try a lesson or a few, and probably a float as well. :)
  • I just joined The Gym Group today, £16 per month, no contract, lots of machines
    , I'd recommend it to anyone especially anyone unsure as much less to lose. They usually do free day trials which would be a good place to start..
  • dawyldthing
    dawyldthing Posts: 3,438 Forumite
    It depends how much you will use it. I've had gym membership for must be 5 years now and kept paying knowing eventually seeing it trickle out my account meant Id go. I still go in dribs and drabs. One thing i like is I can drift into my own little world. I do think you have to build it into your routine to keep going and keep the motivation to keep going. Mines at the local leisure centre so the classes aren't bad either and are included and they included 5 1 to 1 sessions with a pt in there. To keep it fresh though you do need a pt I think, but at the leisure centre they do have days where they can help you tweak your routine.
    :T:T :beer: :beer::beer::beer: to the lil one :) :beer::beer::beer:
  • YORKSHIRELASS
    YORKSHIRELASS Posts: 6,470 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks all, some points there that are helpful, particularly around swimming. I really wish I could swim but I have to be honest the thought of doing group lessons again doesnt appeal, unless I could find someone who teaches 1-2-1.

    Maybe the answer is just to fit another exercise class in, because I know that works for me and I know I will stick at it. I am spending £8 a week on classes at the moment but I know I am getting real value out of that.

    My son is starting pre-season footie training soon at our local leisure centre and I have to hang about and wait for him as its not worth going home and coming back. I might go into the centre and talk to them to see what's on offer.
  • silverwhistle
    silverwhistle Posts: 4,003 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    My son is starting pre-season footie training soon at our local leisure centre and I have to hang about and wait for him as its not worth going home and coming back. I might go into the centre and talk to them to see what's on offer.

    That seems like a good idea, or the 1-2-1 swimming lessons. If your knee wasn't a problem I'd tell you to join a ladies football team.:D I'm cooling down after our second pre-season session and I'm a lot older than you! Mind you, similar knee problems and it's strapped up with kino tape, so maybe not such a good idea if you're not so fit any more!

    Incidentally I had problems with my achilles a few seasons ago which turned out to be an imbalance in my pelvic girdle, so that might be worth looking at too.
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