Joining a fitness class while being overweight....

Do any of you who are over weight by 50lbs or more attend any group fitness classes?  Ive thought about this, but everytime I seem to walk by and see a class going they are all abs of steel and could crack a nut with your butts.  I guess I do not ever really see heavy people in them.  What are your thoughts?

In my honest opinion,

If your goal is to slim down and overall fitness, it is not necessary to join anything.

How do I know? I went from about 170 lbs (I don't actually remember, might have been 185 lb) to 130 lbs without setting a foot into a gym. And, it took me about 1 1/2 years. That's so long! But, that's only because slimming down and getting fit was not what I had in mind at the time.

Exploration was.

Exploration of what? You may ask.

My city. I've realized (felt bad) that I've lived in my city for quite a long time, over 20 years, and yet. I haven't seen much of it.

Now, I didn't have a license or car. And still don't. (And I don't care, cause there are better(health and environmental wise) ways to travel)

But I had a bicycle which I haven't rode in many many ......, years.

Believe me, it beats walking. (until you get a flat tire, it rains, your brakes failing while going downhill, getting ticketed for forgetting to bring your light at night, and many other horrible things that could go wrong) But, it still beats walking.

Anyways.

I became more active and stayed more active, because I enjoyed it.

Over time I noticed that I weighed less than before. Honestly, that made me feel pretty good.

Don't weigh yourself constantly, the scale won't move much. Well, at least not in the beginning. (But that's beyond the scope of this post)

Just weigh yourself every few weeks, like two times a month.

After some time, I joined a local bicycle club. Well, after one season. I'm still a member. It's fun, and great exercise at the same time.

It was not until I was at about 145 lbs before I kind of took some interest in fat burning, calories, and fitness.

In the beginning of my "research", I read enough information from the web to keep me confused for days.

While still not totally clear on the suject, I started calculating my daily need calories. And kept track of my calories. And started eating food that is a bit more healthier. Now, I eat fast food only when I have no choice. Like when I severely in need of energy.

That's the one disadavantage, that I find, about making your body into a calorie burner. You "must" carry some food with you at "all times".

Well, after that, I slimmed down to 132 lbs within about two months.

And even though, I've decided to not slim down anymore. My body continues to do its thing. Now I'm at 130 lbs. And seems like it's staying around there. I'm also much more clear on the subject now.

Ok, remember I said that I kept to the cycling because I enjoyed it?

I too have considered joining a gym or fitness club. But for me,

1. expensive

2. was too uncomfortable to be seen (let's just say being a male and having some extra fat in the chest area does not add to confidence)

3. and many more reasons

The way I see it about gyms, is if you are not really comfortable being there, you may ultimately fail to stay.

But of course, there are advantages in joining a gym or club.

1. You get guidance from ?professionals?.

2. Have a whole bunch of machines that you can use.

3. And many other goodies.

Don't forget fitness clubs are businesses too, and some or most may try to pressure you into joining and sell you a bunch of services that you may or may not use.

Sorry for the long post

Hm...,

I re-read your post and I think I misunderstood what the post was about.

I guess that long post didn't answer anything.

Anyways.

All I will say about overweight people in finess classes. Is that It's great to see them making a healthy change in their life.

I go to the gym and work out about 45 min a day...but i was more curious as to those who are heavy and trying to lose if they had joined any classes and if they felt what i felt or if after they started they liked it or what exactly they thought of it. 

As far as the scale goes...i weigh myself EVERY morning as soon as i get out of the shower.  That way, I know if im doing something right or if what I ate the day before really caught up with me ect.  I would hate to go two weeks to see that what i was doing was not working at all!!  If i ate too much, the scale is going to show it!  And it keeps me motivating to watch it go down a little more each and every day, and keeps me aware of what is going in my mouth!

I know exactly what you mean.  I picked the gym I belong to  because it is for women only, and the members are all ages and sizes.  Very few wear the latest and greatest  gym fashions so I do not feel I have to buy new gym clothes.  

I use my gym mostly for cardio.  Besides the exercise benefits, I like having to routinely get out of the house, and get to know the other people at the gym.

My main reason for not participating in a class is because I tried one last July (when I joined) and couldn't keep up with it.    It did not help that everyone else seem to know what they were doing, and I was learning as I went along. 

I hired a trainer at the gym who was able to create exercise routines for my fitness level.  On 2 other days, I do weight training at home.  Since I have the equipment (ball, some hand weights, fitness band) at home, I don't feel a need to go to the gym.  I use many exercise routines on this site.  I also avoid feeling self conscience at the gym doing exercises.  I dread someone will come over and tell me to change weights or correct my form. 

Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, I will not renew my package with my trainer.  I am toying with the idea of trying a class again since I have gotten a little stronger.  My brain tells me other people in the class probably have started out my size and have gotten thin and in shape.  But my emotions tell me otherwise.    I have gotten some good advice that making friends with other people in the class,  will help motivate me to go.

I don't belong to a gym - but I take a couple classes at the local comm college and in my cardio classes there are men and women of all ages and body types.  The high schoolers are usually there to get more training than the school offers their athletes - but us "old folks" are there for the exercise.  There are some who are skinny but most of us have at least 15 lbs to lose and some well over 50lbs. 

In the weight class its more young guys but there are a few of us who are there for the toning up.  There was this one lady who was probably in her 70's who said she comes because of the "eye candy" LOL 

Hi!

I started going to fitness classes at my gym when I was 40 pounds overweight. At first it was a little intimidating, but the instructors were very encouraging. They gave alternative exercises to do to accomodate all levels. I think it definitely depends on the gym- mine is a little more laid back and you see people of all types instead of only the "abs of steel" type, but nevertheless: those abs of steel people had to start somewhere! Give it a try and see how it feels to you.

 

Do what ever it takes to win. My friend chris lost 160 pounds. He came to our gym and felt pretty awkward. So he bought an ipod, loaded the music up and stuck to his game plan. Last week he was taken off his insulin, cholestorol and blood pressure meds. It took chris 1 1/2 years to make the drop. He drinks tons of water and is one of the reasons I am kicking my own butt and trying to get those nasty unwanted pounds gone.
good luck
m

I think that classes are great, especially for people who aren't totally familiar with the gym and don't have a trainer or personal work out routine.  The instuctor will help you get your form right and you will be pushed to do exercises that you may be too apprehensive or unsure of to do on your own.  I go to weight classes at my gym because I don't trust myself to do a real workout in the weight room, if I'm alone  I just lie down to do situps and hang out on the mat, flopping around.  It doesn't matter how big or small you are, classes are a great way to get started and keep your workout exciting and your weight loss moving!

And, if everyone in there is abs-of-steel-crack-a-nut-with-your-butt fit it must work, right?

Thank you guys!  I love going to the gym it is definitely a habit of mine now which is awesome!  I feel great when im done and look forward to it when I go.  Haha speaking of eye candy...I like going on the elliptical machines for 30-45 minutes and the machines over look the basketball court which generally has many good eye candy candidates running around below.  The joys of skins vs shirts!

Mike, I do the same thing with the MP3 player...i have found that some good tunes makes a WORLDS of a difference.  And it keeps me from getting board or worrying about the other people around me!

I think with any fitness class it's good to start with a beginning level class and work your way up to the harder level classes, also be aware that you won't learn everything the first day or even the first few months.  I'm still not in the absolutely healthy BMI classification, but I have a blast in activity based classes.

At the age of 54 and 70 lbs overweight, I joined a fitness class.  A hard one.  I felt like the proverbial fat kid in the gym class.  I couldn't do half of what everyone else was doing.  I came home and collapsed, unable to move for hours at first.  I kept doing it though.  I have since lost 25 pounds and can now keep up pretty well.  It was tough, but well worth it. 

Go for it!

I HIGHLY recommend group fitness.. esp for the new gym member or one that needs that motivation to work hard...there is a reason that membership loyalty lies heavily in the people that are regular group fitness participants. Group fitness is motivating, and can create great friendships between the members. It will push you when otherwise you might give up but it will never intimidate.  It can help you learn proper form and educate you on many diff levels of fitness...without having to pay a personal trainer.  You may not get the one on one that you would get with a PT but it definitely can come close. The most intimidating part of group fitness is watching a class from the outside...once you walk in...you'll wonder why you didn't sooner. Please don't feel intimidated by your size or the sizes in the class. Hopefully, your gym has more than one type of class..perhaps the class you were looking at is a more advanced class? Either way, I strongly recommend you give it a try.

I have at least 50 more to lose and I LOVE the group fitness classes at my gym!  I do Body Pump, step, Zumba (tried spin but it wasn't for me).  People are more accepting than you think.  Plus, after you have gone a few times, they hold you accountable to show up.