Hi dear Boos, As the New Year is coming and many people start the year with NY's resolutions, I observe that the gyms are full of over-confident people having no idea what to do and dropping in two weeks. Thus I'd like to give a little guide how to start going to gym if it is your NY's resolution and make it a habit ;) 1. Don't start going to gym from the beginning. Instead start back home with home exercises like pushups, squats, planks, etc. (there are videos e.g. on YouTube). There are many exercises to do with your own weight. The key is to get your body used to a more intense activity. I advise doing 20-30 minutes a day for two or three weeks and then hit the gym. 2. Don't lift heavy weights from the early beginning. Start with lighter ones and do more repetitions. Again, get your body slowly used to an intense physical activity. No one will judge you ;) if you are tired after the first serie, you do it wrong. You should last for two or more series (depends on what you do). When starting e.g. pushups back home, it's ni shame to start with five. Then add one every two days. You can make it ;) 3. Stretching. Before and after workout. You will avoid muscles pain later. 4. If you don't know how to work on a certain machine, observe other people. Eventually ask someone (e.g. the dude/dudette at the reception). 5. Have a dedicated towel for a gym, and dedicated sides "skin" and "machine". The entire point of them is to avoid getting in touch with the sweat of people before you and not letting your own sweat for people after you. 6. Consider a trainer at the beginning. They might help you with how to train and what to do based on your needs. They will also show you how to workout without getting hurt :) they aren't that expensive and imo it is a good investment ;) 7. How often to hit a gym? Weekly one time is a bare minimum, two times recommended, three times optimum, four times maximum. Always dedicate at least one day off between workouts. If you do three or four times a week, do one day e.g. hands, the other legs... to give more recovery time for the part of body that got worked out last time ;) 8. If you want to use proteins, my trainer doesn't recommend protein bars, as there are things you should avoid. He gives me a protein shakes instead after every workout (20g of proteing for 300 ml of water). Protein is good for post-workout recovery of muscles. 9. If starting, do fitness, i.e. make a "round" of exercises and/or machines, one series from each, that last approx. 10-15 minutes, do a break, and repeat. The point is to get your body used to workout. Later you might change for a power training dedicated to muscles - you do one exercise/machine with multiple series intensively, then you go to another one. 10. An ideal time in the gym depends how you feel, but I recommend 1h-1h30 for beginners. Dedicate first 20-30 minutes to stretch and initial exercises (e.g. bodyweight exercises) before moving to machines for the main part of 40-60 minutes. Your body starts burning calories after 20-30 minutes or so, so the initial phase should be light and then hit the calories burners ;) 11. Don't overdo it. Especially when you start after a long break or start from scratch, don't go to your limits. You gonna either hurt yourself, or get tired quickly and you'll drop the gym. I hope these recommendationa helped and that you'll have a lot of fun in the gym :) bye