So...I got a gym membership...

[Nygeel]

I'm not a man made of money but I don't think I'd be able to invest a lot into exercise equipment. Over time the cost of my gym membership might add up to the amount of money to buy equipment but I certainly don't have the space for it.

So, earlier today I decided to pay in the $10 to get a gym membership to a popular gym as seen on TV. One of the things that was really awesome was that when I signed up (did it online) I was able to put a different name in the member info vs the billing and mailing info. This is great if you're somebody who hasn't had a name change yet. I didn't get asked any questions and I didn't check out the locker room. A friend of mine uses the same gym and hasn't had any problems. So, it's pretty good.

The place I joined is practically 24/7 so I can go really late at night to avoid people. Makes things really easy. Anybody else have positive or negative stories regarding gym memberships, and dealing with locker rooms?

[Simon]

I know which gym you're alluding to and they're good. Wish we had one closer to where I live. I don't like changing in a locker room pre top so I will just go to the gym in the clothes I intend on working out in and leave without changing. I mean there is no way I'm showering there so what's the point of changing clothes? I just go home and shower.

[mangoslayer]

I dont use the locker rooms unless I swim, in which case i'll shower. I don't even take off my trunks though, i shower with them on and then wear them out once theyre dry. My boyfriend has gone in and changed with his binder on and hasn't had any problems. If anyone give you trouble, just say its a back support vest.
My only advice: prepare to see lots of old man penises.

[Paul]

/quote]

^^^I couldn't have said it better myself...

[Nygeel]

I was there for 2 hours today and did not see any old men.

[D0LL]

I'm so glad they put a PF across the street from my house a little over a year ago. Cheap as crap and there is literally NO excuse for me to not go! Haha! The reason I hadn't joined years ago is 'cuz the closest one was about 25 mins away in traffic.

I got the black card membership, originally for the red light, but now I'm using the tanning booths (because I don't want to be a pale dude). Worth the extra money a month/year if you want the extras.

I used to workout in my living room before this (when my friend was basically keeping me from joined because she wanted to be hot first before we joined--wtf??) The gym is definitely the way to go. You can only do so much at home unless you buy all the big stuff (I live in a townhouse, so that's not even an option). P90X got me a good ways, but as soon as I started going to the gym, the muscle gains were coming at least twice as fast. Now that my thyroid is "fixed", I'm gaining even faster.

You just can't get great results unless you're in an environment where you can add at least 5lbs to your weights every week.

Good luck in your workouts, and great idea about the signup! The workers there know me so well because I'm always going in and talking to them, so when I settle on a name, changing it won't be a hassle. But it's definitely easier to do it when you sign up! Smart thinking!

[Nygeel]

Right now I'm going every day (or night). My brother works a little past the gym so I will drop him off for work then go to the gym on the way home. Or I'll leave an hour or two before I normally would so I can get some time in. Last night I went from 11pm-1am. A lot of the bigger guys were there, but there was way less people than the other day when I went at around 4pm during the week. My only problem is I don't know if I'm doing enough. Right now I'm doing about 30 minutes of cardio and 3 sets of 10 til failure of whatever muscle groups I'm working on. The problem is that I'll finish my sets and think "I could go for another round." I'm just not getting tired.

[Bastian]

$10? Damn i'm jealous  Nygeel... my local gym is friggin $150 a month, which is one of the reasons I stopped going, the other was it was just too much dang effort to get into my binder just to go to the gym. So I settled for just doing weight training at home and doing my runs in my neighborhood, which still required binding but at least I was closer to home.

If I end up having the time (in between course work, riding my horse and practicing archery) I may have a go at the gym at my new university, since I don't have to bind now and feel more confident about how I look but my schedule will be the biggest judge.

In any case, good for you!!! Keep it up, they always say if you can do it for 30 days it will become routine and be set in your mind so just keep at it and soon it will just be natural to want to go to the gym at the end of the day. Sounds like you've got a good routine too. As far as your concerns with if your doing enough, you can always

a) get a trainer for a session or too, explain to them what changes you want and ask them to show you some workouts that target those areas, they will also guide you on how long and how many reps to go for

b) watch other's. If they seem friendly you can even go up to them and ask them to show you what they are doing, chances are they are just as self conscious and nervous about the gym as you may feel and will be happy to show you. If you don't have the confidence, or they don't seem like the kind of people who would appreciate you interrupting them then just watch them, what what they are doing and take note of how long they do it for, then look at their body. If they look how you want to look, try doing the exercise they were doing. Your body will let you know how much you can do, just remember to keep good posture and don't cheat during your reps.

I get that same feeling too (or did before surgery, right now I can't lift anything, grumble), you do ten reps, take a rest and then you're thinking "lets do ten more!" I've gained a good amount of muscle in my arms from doing only ten reps once of several different exercises over the past few months. Now I want to really start to gain more definition so i've up'd the reps and sets but I WAS gaining muscle. As long as you are working yourself with good posture and no pain, you will gain muscle so don't stress to much over 'how many' or 'how long'.

Again, good job!

[Cindy]

I hope ou don't mind me making a comment to you guys.

I'm a gym junkie and have transitioned in the same gym over the last 5 years. People have been totally accepting. The guys are really sweet to me and help out and everything. Locker rooms have never been a problem.

As for the workouts, don't drive yourself to exhaustion, it doesn't do any good.

For example I do 120 reps of tummy crunches with a 10 kg weight three times a week and I don't breathe heavily, but the muscles keep toned which is what I want.

Do book a session with a PT as was suggested, they are there just for that and they will design a circuit to tone you.

Also keep enjoying it. Gym memberships are classics for an initial enthusiasm and a rapid decline because it gets boring or too cold or too hot etc.

I play great music through my MP3 and really get into the mood of fun and enjoyment, when you reach a happy zone it is really easy to keep going.

Oh and please be careful of sunbeds, melanoma is a really nasty way to go, and UV exposure through sunbeds is a good way of starting it off.

Sorry again for jumping in.

Cindy

[Nygeel]

One of the problems with getting a trainer is that they have an on staff trainer who is there during somewhat normal hours and I tend to go really late at night to avoid a crowd. They do have a 30 minute circuit set up that people do that I think uses 10 machines.

What I do is I just lift until I get the shakes in that muscle group and stop (which is usually at around 10 reps) but after waiting a couple seconds I'm able to go again. I'm usually there for 1.5-2 hours and I go almost every day, or at least every other day.

With the membership I have, I don't have access to tanning beds, and I wouldn't be able to use one if I wanted to (family history of skin cancer and I burn easily).

[kaiju]

Nice on the gym membership! I'd like to join one to have access to more weights, but I don't have a good gym near me that's affordable, sadly. I have an app on my phone that's basically a free encyclopedia of different exercises you can do for certain parts of your body, with pictures(if you buy the full app you can get videos and other perks, but I'm cheap haha) that show you how to do the exercise.

[D0LL]

I ended up burning from two half sessions in the tanning beds. =___= I really am too pale, haha! ^^; I don't think you need to tan, I just feel like I need to, because my pale skin has never matched my black hair, and I feel like I just look out of place because of it.

Make sure you're working different body groups each day, otherwise you'll overwork the muscles and prolong healing. I have arm days and leg days (and I'll fit abs on whichever day I feel like it). I think calves and forearms can technically be worked every day, but since you have to work your other arm and leg muscles to work them, it's better to just keep them two completely separate days.

I'm building faster now that I'm switched to doing 2 sets of 4-6. So maybe try to adjust your plan (this way you work with much heavier weights while also spending less time on the machines). And your workouts should be around 45min-1hr long. I had trouble keeping in that time frame before, but now with less sets and reps, I'm in and out! It's so surreal to me. AND my gains are coming along quicker. Just a suggestion, but it works great for me!

Also, keep in mind that it may be your T helping your muscle recovery, and that's why you don't feel properly exhausted after a set. With the OxyElite Pro I'm taking, I've noticed even though I do my sets to failure, as soon as I finish my set and take a second, I feel like I just did nothing, and I don't feel sore at all the next day (or very slightly). No pain, no gain is just guidelines. As long as you're actually doing sets to failure (which is what it sounds like you're doing), then you should make great progress.

I also go late to avoid all the people. They legit get confused when we come in during the day. xD Since you may not be able to get a personal trainer so late, I'd suggest doing some research on whatever your workout goals are. Be your own personal trainer. That's what I've done, and while it takes a lot of time and research, I feel much more in control of my results and my workouts.

[Nygeel]

Truthfully, my goals are to lower my blood pressure. That's my main goal. Weight loss is okay but not needed.

[J.J.]

Nygeel

This is a great beginning strength work out. 
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224&page=1
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224&page=1
I have moved on to a different work out now but this is where I started.  In the past 6 months I have lost 60 lbs and gained a ton of strength.  YMMV (you said you didn't need to loose weight) and since I have no idea what your diet is like you might even gain weight from muscle growth. My other recommendation would be that you do your lifting before the cardio, so you don't start off tired.  That's just IMHO. 
Good luck! 

^{fixed url - Forum Admin}

[spacerace]

Do you think it is possible to swim laps in a gym in a binder and a rash guard? I have no experience with this, but that could be a good way to work out and lower your blood pressure.  edit: assuming your gym has a pool of course.

I would love to be able to swim laps, but I fear the rash guard would complicate it past the point of frustration.

[Nygeel]

The gym I go to uses machines, there isn't really any free weights so it's not a very helpful program. I'm also not the target audience for that program.

[Nygeel]

Do you think it is possible to swim laps in a gym in a binder and a rash guard? I have no experience with this, but that could be a good way to work out and lower your blood pressure.  edit: assuming your gym has a pool of course.

I would love to be able to swim laps, but I fear the rash guard would complicate it past the point of frustration.

There's no pool and I can't swim very well.

[notyouraverageguy]

My only problem is I don't know if I'm doing enough. Right now I'm doing about 30 minutes of cardio and 3 sets of 10 til failure of whatever muscle groups I'm working on. The problem is that I'll finish my sets and think "I could go for another round." I'm just not getting tired.

If you don't feel like its a good enough workout, like you're not feeling sore or a bit tired then you may want to change things up. Add more time to your cardio, or do a different type. Add more weight to your muscle exercises, or more reps or sets. One thing you could try is doing the exercises slowly, that also really helps to use your muscles more.

[KamTheMan]

Nygeel, if you don't feel like you're getting tired enough then up your weights or reps, move quickly in between sets/exercises without breaks for more cardio. If you don't feel like you're doing enough then just do more bro, make it difficult, research new challenging exercises, print out or write down and list of every exercise you want to do and really power through them. Make your heart pump. There's always a way to challenge yourself further. Good luck bro. I love seeing how much you've changed in the two years I've been frequenting this forum. You honestly looked so boss the last full body pic I saw of you, and you're just joining a gym? I can't wait to see what you look like by this time next year!

[Nygeel]

This is sort of what's going on when I work out. I start off with 30 minutes of cardio, get my heart up to 135-140bpm. I then work on whatever machines they have. What happens is I'll use a pretty heavy weight, do 10 reps. I feel myself shaking while I'm doing the last lift. But I wait 5 seconds and I'm ready for another set. It's the same thing over and over. I tend to do do three sets of 10. I don't feel sore after my workouts and the next day I'm recovered and can go work the same muscles again (I don't but I feel like I could).