I joined 24 Hour Fitness a few weeks ago, following a 25 day trial in October and a 7 day trial at Gold’s Gym which allowed me to compare the facilities and ensure that I was committed to working out before I committed to paying the enrollment/processing/membership fees. When I finally decided to join 24 Hour, I convinced the manager to give me their “best deal” which turned out to be an unadvertised coupon given to employees to sign-up their friends and family – $24 a month with no enrollment or processing fee!
I started out with a relatively modest (and thus achievable) goal, 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer 3-4 times a week. In the beginning, sometimes 20 minutes was all I could manage but as time went on I was able to increase to 30, then 40 without too much trouble. Occasionally I would do some work on the weight machines as I cooled down.
As with anything, with practice things get easier and as it gets easier it becomes more rewarding.
Lately I’ve taken to going twice a day. I currently aim for burning 300 calories in the morning (~25 minutes), and sometimes reach 400 before quitting. And then I try to do a full hour (with perhaps a few breathers along the way) and burn another 500-600 calories in the evening. So when it all comes together I burn 1,000 calories a day. If I can keep this pace up it means I burn an extra 7,000 calories a week = 2 lbs a week in weight loss! I should also see additional weight loss due to boosted metabolism, and even more weight loss if I can stay on a healthy eating program (which consists mainly of avoiding deserts, fatty foods, and eating too much when I dine out with friends).