Alright for those of you who work out. The wife got us a gym membership today. I am starting if a few days. Any advice? I have not been in a gym since I 18. I have a feeling at 31 I won't recover as quick.

You're gonna be sore just looking at the stuff lol. If you do cardio do it after your work out.

make sure you warm up...at least 5 min on treadmill then stretch some...start with lower weight and maximize your form instead of trying the high weight/bad form...or especially tons of reps with poor form aka crossfit...but I also hit up the wet steam room after then a shower...

Warm-up before your work out if you are going to lift.
Do not stretch before you lift weights. Stretch after.
Do your cardio on the days in between your weight lifting days.
Skip the froo froo exercises like arm curls, tricep kickbacks, etc... and focus on multi-joint compound exercises like Squats, Bench and Bent over rows on one day and Deadlifts, Overhead press and Chin ups another day.
Start out light and make sure you have good form and perform each exercise through the full range of motion. There are many good examples of the big exercises on Youtube.

Here's a good article and a nice routine on minimalist weight training:

http://www.straightforwardfatloss.com/minimalist-strength-weight-training-guide/

For Cardio, some form of HIIT training is the most productive in the least amount of time. This is basically a cycle of high intensity burst of exertion like sprinting for a short period cycled with a short period of active rest like walking. I get on the elliptical and do this for about 15 minutes for my cardio. 1 minute of warm-up, then intervals of 30 seconds of as fast as I can go and 30 seconds of kind of cruising until 14 minutes is up and then I cool down for a minute.

The reason I do what I do is that I like efficiency and I don't like to waste a lot of time in the gym. I like to get in there and get my workout done and do the maximum amount of good in the shortest amount of time. I work out first thing in the morning and that gives me the least amount of excuses not to do it later in the day.

Keep it fun! Mix up your routines. Never skip a Monday

push ups, push ups, push ups, the best overall body workout you can do!

Take it SLOW........ You aren't 20 anymore.

I'm in about the same boat you are. I just got back into the gym about a month ago at 32.

Full Body workouts with compound movements like IrishGuy says above. Google Chad Waterbury Total Body Training. He has many good articles on designing your workout using compound movements.

I like that type of training because its easy to get in and out - a typical workout is easy to do in about 45 minutes 3 days a week. Then cardio fits in on the other days.

You will be sore the first week. If you do it right you will barely be able to sit up in bed. Don't quit it gets better and recovery time goes much faster the next few weeks.

x2

I think a lot of people make "working out" a lot harder than it has to be.

regular cardio, push-ups, sit-ups/crunches, maybe some pull-ups.

KISS - keep is simple, stupid.


***I'm no expert in fitness, looking at me would make that obvious, but in theory it's not difficult. The only hard part is making yourself actually do it and sticking with it.

You get one here?

I'm 38 and warm-ups/stretching are the key. I've been in the gym pretty consistently since my late teens/early 20s. Start off easy but steady increase as the weeks go by. Your body will let you know your limitations. I do not recommend HIIT training for beginners. I would go through the motions the first few weeks or months.
As for Crossfit. I WAS skeptical about it until I tried it. WOW is the only thing I can say. I am amazed every time I leave my class. I go at 5:00AM. We spend 15-20 minutes warming up (400-600 meter run or 400 meter row). During warm-ups we do drills to warm up joints in hips, shoulders, knees and etc. Once warm, we then do 5-10 minutes of stretching. Most work-outs only last 10-20 minutes but some have lasted 40 minutes. I'm dead tired and gassed EVERY time I leave that place. I'm only 6 or 7 weeks into the crossfit scene and I still hurt weekly,, not just sore. I've only been able to go 3 times a week. My muscles are just too sore to put in more time. Hopefully that will change soon. So far, I have not had any joint pain. Actually, I had an achy shoulder starting and since it is better with no pain. Occasionally we do power lifts (mostly legs with squats) but most of the time is relatively low weight, high reps.
I'm 6' and when I started I weighed 218lbs. Last time I checked I was at 204lbs. I have not changed my eating habits. One thing for sure, crossfit has hammered my ego. While lifting in regular gym I could hold my own (benched 315, curled for sets with 120+, weighted dips and etc.). Not so much in the crossfit world. I struggle everyday just to keep up and most of the time I fail. I'm normally dead last at the end of work-out. Crossfit is not bad and you just have to try it.

Crossfit is a cult......it's also an orthopedic doctor's dream.

Agree w' all of the above & would add that all of those things can be done in the comfort of your home. Biggest thing is to do something and make it a part of your daily routine. Make time for it. You will if it's important to you.

Some recovery accelerators off the top of my head ...

- Soak in a hot tub of water, this will do all sorts of great things for your muscles
- Take lots of fish oil and other herbal anti-inflammatories, this will help you recover
- Make sure you are getting 0.75g to 1g protein per pound of body weight, this will help you rebuild
- Be sure to not skip complex carbs, they help you refuel

What exactly are you trying to achieve? There is a good bit of difference between getting strong/big or running/losing weight. How many days a week are you going to go. Also, diet is going to be the biggest key to whatever you are going after...2nd is consistency in the gym. Dont go bonkers on all the supplement crap either. Get your protein and nutrients from real food...and dont be afraid of carbs, your gonn need those to get you fueled.

I have lifted steadily for over 20 years. There are various programs you can do, it depends a lot on what YOUR goal is.

Do you want to bulk up, lose weight, cut up, or just get in a shape other than round. You can google all kinds of different strategies, depending on what you want.

Check out starting strength, 5x5, etc., and see if that would be fitting. Various forums deal with workouts, with bodybuilding.com, and T nation being 2 of the top of my head.

Good luck, on whatever you decide, just remember that if you want to see change, it will take time, and you have to stick with it. I see a lot of new people show up in the gym every January, and by February/March they are gone.

OK my take on this is to ask for a trainer to get you set up. Usually there is someone there to make sure you are doing things properly and that person can make suggestions for your workout.
A lot depends on what you want to accomplish. Are you going for a lot of weight lifting or general fitness? I do some cardio each time that I get to the gym, then depending on the schedule I work on the machines or swim, or do some more bike or walking.
Start out light. If you are sore you may be hitting it too hard at first.
Pain does not mean gain.
I started with a program set up by a trainer, who followed up with me every couple of weeks and changed what I did according to how I was progressing.
A good source of information is "My Fitness Pal" on the internet. It gives a lot of tips on getting the most out of exercise and also diet suggestions. Also a good site is " Map my Walk." These are Under Armor sites and you can score some good deals on workout clothes and equipment.
My workouts may not be as Macho as some on here suggest, but I am getting in better and better shape, don't get too sore from overdoing, and enjoy the workouts.
The best hint I can give you is to get in the habit of doing your workouts regularly. It is easy to say, I don't feel like doing that to day, and then the next day letting it slide.
Don't wait until you are over 60 to try to get back in shape like I did.
Good luck.

I started going back in November. I go almost every day. I do legs one day and arms the next. I can tell a difference and actually look forward to going. My only problem is watching people in front of me getting off a machine without wiping it down. I confronted a few of the younger ones. One actually told me "I'm not sweating". I hate doing cardio but enjoy the weights. I am going to try a to work a little cardio in in the future.

I have started back working out again, combining walks and trips to the gym with the wife. At the gym, I tend to just do 30 minutes on the treadmill and then ride one of the stationary bikes 20 minutes. Follow that up with as many inverted situps that I can do, which aint many, and finish up with about 20 minutes on Gravity Machine.

After the first two days, I could barely get out of bed, but it has gotten much better lately, I contribute that to turkey season opening up and a lot of walking.