250lbs, is it worth joining a gym?

[purplekylie22]

As the title really, is it worth me trying to join a gym? I was thinking PureGym since its cheap. But I have very low exercise limits at the minute. I can do like 10 minutes on the cross trainer :/ I walk everywhere at home and so I really need to start doing more, I'm just scared I will be too fat to use anything and people will laugh and I will leave after 5 minutes because I'm all red and cant breathe and then its pointless to join a gym... Am I crazy for even considering it?

 

[xgeorgix]

You don't necessarily need to join the gym just go for walks stead but certainly don't feel embarrassed about going to the gym! I was so unfit when I started but it soon Improves I just started slowly on the bike a little bit on the cross trainer and walking on the treadmill. I'm still not super fit but I'm getting there! Good luck x

 

[losingit]

I have seen people at the gym who weigh 300lbs and more... on the whole i think most people at gyms are encouraging as they see you are making positive efforts to change your life, and some of them will have been where you are at right now so know what it's like, although there are lots of fit people at the gym, they all had to start somewhere .

Keep an eye on your local newspaper and/or lookup a gym near you and see if they have any 'free' taster passes, my local gym do a 2 day free pass so you can get an idea of if you will like it or not and get a measure of what the average gym-goer there is like, friend or foe, hehe.

As far as only doing short periods of time goes - that's OK too, you are paying them, not them paying you to be there ;-). If you can only do 10 minutes then that's just fine, and with most gyms you pay monthly anyway so can go as frequently as you like, maybe do 10 or 20 minutes a day instead of a big long 1 hour session each week. At the beginning stages you will find your stamina grows very fast if you just keep plugging away at it.

 

[rachaeld82]

I have seen people at the gym who weigh 300lbs and more... on the whole i think most people at gyms are encouraging as they see you are making positive efforts to change your life, and some of them will have been where you are at right now so know what it's like, although there are lots of fit people at the gym, they all had to start somewhere .

Keep an eye on your local newspaper and/or lookup a gym near you and see if they have any 'free' taster passes, my local gym do a 2 day free pass so you can get an idea of if you will like it or not and get a measure of what the average gym-goer there is like, friend or foe, hehe.

As far as only doing short periods of time goes - that's OK too, you are paying them, not them paying you to be there ;-). If you can only do 10 minutes then that's just fine, and with most gyms you pay monthly anyway so can go as frequently as you like, maybe do 10 or 20 minutes a day instead of a big long 1 hour session each week. At the beginning stages you will find your stamina grows very fast if you just keep plugging away at it.

I totally agree with this - even if you are overweight, the fact that you are at the gym and making an effort to get fit is a good thing, and I don't see how people could look on you badly for that. I'd say go for it, even if you can only do short bits of exercise to start with, you will be able to build it up over time.

Also, have you thought about extending your walks, or tying a walk/ jog routine? It would be cheaper than the gym, and you could do that until you felt more confident going into a gym.

 

[purplekylie22]

Hi Rachel, Yes thank you! I'm doing that at the minute, I haven't had a working car for the past 3-4 months so it has really made a difference, I walked urm... Briskly for 70 minutes tonight, A few months ago that would've been 20 minutes and I would be out of breath! The only Gym i have near me is Curves and they seem to do Circuits or something and I'm certain Im not ready for that. The Pure Gym I would like to join is in town but I have decided at the minute I probably cant afford it. I can do the gym no problem but its £6 there and back, to do that a few times a week will cost more that the gym monthly sub Even a Bus pass if £60 per month. I'm not working at the minute.

Looking for a good sports bra to do the Biggest Loser work out DVD, I tried it at the weekend but just a few jumps and my boobs were stinging from being flung around I have also inquired about a *Gentle Exercise* class being run at our community center so hopefully they should help
Thanks everyone I appreciate the advice.

 

[hells2012sw]

Have you a local council leisure centre or anything? often they don't advertise but are often reasonable.

I use the gym a lot, I'm only a couple of stone lighter than you and my fitness has improved so much over the past couple of months. I have a circuit which is 5 mins row/5mins bike/5mins xtrainer etc from my personal trainer and I just go as hard as I can on as high a resistance as I can for those minutes.

The 30 day shred is a good DVD too. Also people rave about kettleworx and I incorporate some in my plan too

 

[purplekylie22]

We do have a council Leisure Center but again its in town, I'm in the country a bit so we really don't have much here Our Council run facilities in Aberdeen are actually more expensive than Pure Gym which is odd! But again the Travel costs will kill me. In a way I am actually quite lucky since I have a cross-trainer at home (got it cheap from ebay a few years ago) that with my DVD's maybe this gentle exercise class and my walks will hopefully get my fitness up so I can eventually try Curves. I was thinking about trying this Couch to 5K app, to see if I can start jogging. Time will see I guess

 

[Jenny809]

A good sports bra is a MUST! I got one in m&s, they can be pricey but you really need one. If money is a little tight, workout dvds are great. I've got the biggest loser and davina, both are really good. You can also do a number of exercises at home, run up and down the stairs 5 times. Get some tins of beans and do a few arm exercises whilst watching tv, crunches, star jumps. Write out a little program, just 10 exercises a day to start and slowly increase. You'll be surprised how quick you can improve!

Good luck and you can do it

Sent from my HTC Desire S using MiniMins

 

[hells2012sw]

I actually have a home workout too, i think the key with doing stuff at home is still to push yourself etc, as it's always easier to pause the DVD or not put 100% in, but if you're doing something several times a week you should feel the difference in your stamina quickly.

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