The hardest session anybody ever does is the first one, and almost none of the difficulty is physical. It is standing in the car park working out whether to go in. Nearly everyone who trains regularly did that once, and most of them will admit it if you ask.

Here is what happens, step by step.

Before you go: three decisions, none of them hard

  • What to wear. Anything you can move in and shoes you can stand up in. Not thongs, not work boots. Nobody has ever been judged for a plain t-shirt.
  • What to bring. A towel, a water bottle, and your phone if you want music. That is the whole list.
  • When to go. If you are nervous, go at a quiet time. Mid-morning and early afternoon are usually the quietest, and because 24 hour gym Home Hill access is included, so are the late evening hours.

Walking in

You scan in at the door. You put your bag down. There is somewhere for it, and if you cannot see where, ask or just leave it out of the walkway. Then you stand there for a second feeling like everybody is looking at you.

They are not. Everybody else in the room is counting reps, watching a rest timer or thinking about their own set.

Everyone in the room was new once.

What to do

For the first few weeks, your only job is to turn up regularly and get used to the movements. Not to optimise anything. Not to follow a programme from a magazine.

A perfectly good first session:

  • Five or ten minutes on a bike, treadmill or rower to warm up and settle your nerves
  • Two or three of the pin-loaded machines: they have pictures and instructions on them, and they guide the movement so you cannot do it badly wrong
  • Light weights, more reps, stopping well before failure
  • Home after half an hour

It will feel like it was not enough. It is enough for week one, and you will still be able to move the next day.

Rules nobody tells you, that everybody follows

  • Wipe the machine down when you finish with it
  • Put the weights back where they came from
  • Do not stand directly in front of the dumbbell rack (people need to get to it)
  • If someone is resting between sets on the thing you want, ask if you can work in. The answer is always yes
  • Headphones in is normal, and nobody takes it as rude

Nobody minds a beginner. What annoys regulars is gear left lying around, whoever left it.

Ask for a walk-through

Come in during staffed hours and tell Christian or Yvette, "I have never done this before, can you show me where things are." It takes five minutes and saves a lot of guessing.

If you want more than that, personal training Burdekin gives you a written programme and someone coaching your technique from the start.

How long before it feels normal?

About three weeks. The first session is the worst, the third is noticeably easier, and somewhere around the eighth or ninth you will walk in without thinking about it.

Come and have a look around first if you would rather. Ring 0457 067 391 and come in, walk the floor, and see the room before you decide anything. Or gym memberships Burdekin sets out what is included.