Going to the Gym... over 40s

[Mudball]

So i like my steak and pints but the Dr (and Mrs) thinks i need to shed some/many pounds. I have been to a gym a few time, but never really stuck to it. So after the January rush at the gym, i decided to jump in.

I have taken to it, the same way as i did when i started my golf. I signed up to a personal trainer. Last week did my first session. By God, it was painful for the next few days. Also I realised I have been using the machines in the wrong way all this time. Yesterday went into Day 2 on my own. I did the things the PT told me. I was hopeless. I could not sleep well last night as i had too much energy, but I have woken up with more pain in new parts of my body. I have also realised that going to the gym is a bit like going to the driving range when you start golf.

1) The gym is full of big blokes who lift weights, throw balls and make noises - just like a driving range where people can drive miles
2) As my PT says, the big blokes work on their 'mirror muscles' (because it makes them look good) rather than all muscles.. Big drivers anyone
3) Unsolicited advice: Big blokes came around and told me that i am not doing this right and i will injure my <insert random muscle name> and also I should do <insert random exercise name>
4) Drive for show, putt for dough... you gotta take care small muscles, nutrition, diet and other un-glamorous things if you want to make any difference to your health.
5) Gym and Golf are both frustrating and rewarding
6) The Gym locker room is best avoided if you have a beer belly

Not sure how long my gym thing will last, but current aim is to drop 10 kg and get a bit fitter. Not looking to be a Schwarzenegger or a Tiger

 

[Orikoru]

I don't find the gym comparable to golf personally. Golf is fun. Recently cancelled my gym membership because I was getting nothing from it. Dragging myself there was an utter chore. Hope it goes better for you than me though!

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I fully get the gym-range comparison. When I raced the mountain bikes I would go to a gym(not that I enjoyed it) and even then having huge thighs and being able to move big weights with my legs I still had someone always trying to outdo me and show me how strong they were.
Now when I’m at the range, you can try and show me you can drive the ball out over the end fence, but aim only interested in keeping my ball straight and where I’m aiming.
I hate going to the range as much as I hated going to the gym

 

[chellie]

I'm a fairly new gym goer here as well.

Magnesium spray works wonders on the aches and pains
Big blokes will hog the machines and weights. Last few times it was in two areas as well. Luckily for me I can go to another gym if need be.
Luckily never had unsolicited advice.
I now have a new PT and when I see him I never know what I'm going to be doing. I have upper and lower body workouts which I do in between sessions. I'm also throwing more cardio into the mix as well.
Currently in a "discussion" with him over the calories he wants me to eat. I refused to drop to what he wants me to. I am trying to make sure I am eating enough protein and to cut down on my chocolate consumption.

Off to the gym now to go and do some stuff.

 

[Mudball]

I'm a fairly new gym goer here as well.

Magnesium spray works wonders on the aches and pains
Big blokes will hog the machines and weights. Last few times it was in two areas as well. Luckily for me I can go to another gym if need be.
Luckily never had unsolicited advice.
I now have a new PT and when I see him I never know what I'm going to be doing. I have upper and lower body workouts which I do in between sessions. I'm also throwing more cardio into the mix as well.
Currently in a "discussion" with him over the calories he wants me to eat. I refused to drop to what he wants me to. I am trying to make sure I am eating enough protein and to cut down on my chocolate consumption.

Off to the gym now to go and do some stuff.

Yeah, at this stage i find it difficult to get to the calories/food bit. Though i was late for office lunch and I ended up in the gym. Also skipped the bake day cakes in office yesterday!!.

i am a bit skeptic about sprays and superman fat burners. I dont plan any protein shakes - I have a sedatory office job, so cant see the point.

Its a bit like golf manufacturing selling more cavity in irons or bigger head or next snake oil for longer and straighter drives

 

[jim8flog]

Most of the gyms around here insist upon an induction course (with fee) to ensure that you use the equipment in the correct manner.

I let my gym membership lapse and when I wanted to rejoin they insisted on another induction session .

Funny thing is I went there on the advice of a doctor to help improve certain injuries I had. As I felt a lot better I started to do things I had given up years ago and ended up with injuries I did not have before going to the gym.

 

[AmandaJR]

I've always been a bit of a health and fitness "freak" and recently joined a new gym. I have my own set up at home but wanted access to some heavier weights and a treadmill. I'm loving it as it has areas where it's about functional exercise rather than pumping iron so have been trying some new stuff. Last week I was balancing on one leg on a bosu ball throwing a 5kg medicine ball into a trampette and catching it repeatedly - great fun

 

[pendodave]

So i like my steak and pints but the Dr (and Mrs) thinks i need to shed some/many pounds. I have been to a gym a few time, but never really stuck to it. So after the January rush at the gym, i decided to jump in.

I have taken to it, the same way as i did when i started my golf. I signed up to a personal trainer. Last week did my first session. By God, it was painful for the next few days. Also I realised I have been using the machines in the wrong way all this time. Yesterday went into Day 2 on my own. I did the things the PT told me. I was hopeless. I could not sleep well last night as i had too much energy, but I have woken up with more pain in new parts of my body. I have also realised that going to the gym is a bit like going to the driving range when you start golf.

1) The gym is full of big blokes who lift weights, throw balls and make noises - just like a driving range where people can drive miles
2) As my PT says, the big blokes work on their 'mirror muscles' (because it makes them look good) rather than all muscles.. Big drivers anyone
3) Unsolicited advice: Big blokes came around and told me that i am not doing this right and i will injure my <insert random muscle name> and also I should do <insert random exercise name>
4) Drive for show, putt for dough... you gotta take care small muscles, nutrition, diet and other un-glamorous things if you want to make any difference to your health.
5) Gym and Golf are both frustrating and rewarding
6) The Gym locker room is best avoided if you have a beer belly

Not sure how long my gym thing will last, but current aim is to drop 10 kg and get a bit fitter. Not looking to be a Schwarzenegger or a Tiger

Mr. Wolf is the main man for gym advice. Ironically, we seem to get much better pt advice on here than golf advice (bob excepted).
You might not want to hear it, but you're never gonna gym off a bad diet, or a lot of weight. You will just have to eat and drink less....

 

[Dibby]

The big blokes might also be people who know what they are doing, although for the most part, these guys keep to themselves unless approached or you are actually going to hurt yourself or someone else. Like the driving range, most people are actually preoccupied with what they are doing themselves to notice too much what is going on around them.

Protein shakes are just food. Primarily whey from milk. If you can eat the right blend of protein carbs and fats then all is good. Where shakes help are with convenience, say you want quick fuel after your session, it's less frowned upon to mix up and gulp down a shake than light a disposable BBQ in the locker room and throw some chicken on it!

 

[Mudball]

I've always been a bit of a health and fitness "freak" and recently joined a new gym. I have my own set up at home but wanted access to some heavier weights and a treadmill. I'm loving it as it has areas where it's about functional exercise rather than pumping iron so have been trying some new stuff. Last week I was balancing on one leg on a bosu ball throwing a 5kg medicine ball into a trampette and catching it repeatedly - great fun

I have no idea what that means... you could have very well written W zeszłym tygodniu balansowałem na jednej nodze na piłce Bosu, wrzucając do trampetki piłkę lekarską o masie 5 kg i wielokrotnie łapiąc

 

[AmandaJR]

I have no idea what that means... you could have very well written W zeszłym tygodniu balansowałem na jednej nodze na piłce Bosu, wrzucając do trampetki piłkę lekarską o masie 5 kg i wielokrotnie łapiąc

Something like this but with a small trampoline rather than a partner!

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/partner-workouts/9781465454140/image/pg154_2.jpg

 

[patricks148]

i started a S&C course thats aimed at improving flexibility for golf.... starting at 0 so can only get better

 

[Marshy77]

Try classes if they do them. Not been for 2 months but really got in to spin class. You tend to speak and meet people easier I find in classes and then see them in the gym. At the end of the day the majority of people in gyms are there to try and get fitter. The big guys don't put me off at all its there thing, leave them to it. Do your own thing.

 

[chellie]

Back from the gym. Sweaty cross trainer session for me.

 

[Mudball]

The big blokes might also be people who know what they are doing, although for the most part, these guys keep to themselves unless approached or you are actually going to hurt yourself or someone else. Like the driving range, most people are actually preoccupied with what they are doing themselves to notice too much what is going on around them.

Protein shakes are just food. Primarily whey from milk. If you can eat the right blend of protein carbs and fats then all is good. Where shakes help are with convenience, say you want quick fuel after your session, it's less frowned upon to mix up and gulp down a shake than light a disposable BBQ in the locker room and throw some chicken on it!

I am not rubbishing everything with one brush. I think my mind is probably tainted by the days of steroids and folks injecting themselves with stuff.
On the topic.. is there a real world view on protien / carb killer bars. Increasingly seeing Grenade Carb Killer and Nakd bars sitting alongside Chocolates at the petrol pump as an impulse buy

 

[chellie]

I've always been a bit of a health and fitness "freak" and recently joined a new gym. I have my own set up at home but wanted access to some heavier weights and a treadmill. I'm loving it as it has areas where it's about functional exercise rather than pumping iron so have been trying some new stuff. Last week I was balancing on one leg on a bosu ball throwing a 5kg medicine ball into a trampette and catching it repeatedly - great fun

I wondered what those were called. I've used it for balancing like a wobble board.

 

[chellie]

I am not rubbishing everything with one brush. I think my mind is probably tainted by the days of steroids and folks injecting themselves with stuff.
On the topic.. is there a real world view on protien / carb killer bars. Increasingly seeing Grenade Carb Killer and Nakd bars sitting alongside Chocolates at the petrol pump as an impulse buy

Better off with making a protein shake I think as the bars can be high in calories and sugar. I know the shake I will make is only 114 calories whereas a bar can be 200+

 

[Mudball]

Back from the gym. Sweaty cross trainer session for me.

i have a torn plantar fascia from my cricket days and therefore cant run anymore. So my PT put me on the cross trainer. His view was use the cross trainer to get to 'burn zone' which he calculates as

220 - Age = Max heart Rate... Burn zone = 70% of the Max Rate.

Or use the 'talk test'.... so in my case, my burn zone was almost 15% more than my calculated burn zone.


My routine was .... 10 mins of cross trainer at burn rate and then weight training on different equipments and finally finish with a 20 sec plank

 

[stefanovic]

Ask the big blokes if they can touch their toes without bending their legs.
Bet they can't.
I'd always go for flexibility over physical strength.
Athletes have difficulty, too.
The gym rats (those in the gym for hours) have nothing better to do, or they are avoiding something.

 

[patricks148]

Ask the big blokes if they can touch their toes without bending their legs.
Bet they can't.
I'd always go for flexibility over physical strength.
Athletes have difficulty, too.
The gym rats (those in the gym for hours) have nothing better to do, or they are avoiding something.

what ever floats your boat Ducky, but i wouldn't be going around in Gyms asking strange guys to touch their toes