Gym: Need help to get started
 

Hi,

I'm in Japan for more than 6 months now and ashamedly admit that I do not know more than 15/20 Japanese words. I recently joined a gym and realized that the only way to get to know about the equipments and usage is to get a personal trainer who can speak English. Now problem is: i. that's very costly- they charge 5000Yens/hr ii. still difficult to find an English speaking trainer.

Is there anybody who goes to Gotanda tipness and speaks English who can help me? Or anything else you can suggest to get me working out there?
I go there after 6:30 pm, once am back from work.

You don't need to hire a personal trainer if you just want to know how to use the machines. Machines are designed to be easy to use and minimize the risk of injury (on the other hand, most of them only allow to do isolation exercises). Most of them are pretty self-explanatory, if you're unsure you can look up on Internet.

If you've never worked out before, you should start with low weights to properly learn the movements. As long as you avoid jerky motions and control both the positive and negative phases (unlike many people do), you shouldn't have any problem.

If you need a full program, you can pay for a personal trainer...or you can save money and learn by reading books, looking up on Internet, asking questions on dedicated forums etc. It will take time to sort good information from bullshit, but you will learn a lot in the process (free weights vs machines, frequency of training, choice of exercises etc...). If you choose to do so, you should also learn about nutrition.

Think about it: do you prefer to follow instructions without understanding them, or know what you're doing and why you're doing it? There's no right answer, it just depends on your goals, motivation etc.

Why don't you do some simple research and put some simple questions/sentences together that you can ask someone there, in Japanese?

I'm sure if you made the effort to put together a few questions, someone would be willing to help!


Ganbatte (go for it!)

Thoroughly recommend doing a bit of online research and also asking any friends/workmates if you can? I wish you best of luck OP, let us know how it worked out.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I've already been googling and found some useful links:
Exercise for Beginners
Joining a Gym? How to Navigate the Gym
Also watched some instruction videso on youtube.
In fact I stumbled upon japanforum during that search :)

But I guess additionally I'll need to find somebody in the gym who can tell me if I'm doing something wrong during stretches etc. (feedback - that's the crucial thing one would miss when learning and trying out himself/herself. )
Stretching Exercises - Total Body Stretch - Exercise

or to help with the group classes
How to Navigate the Gym - Group Fitness Classes

gambarimasu!

Good luck! But most of all: have fun!!!

Learn Japanese? I mean, Christ, you've been there over six months!

I know, I should..my sign language has improved a lot during this period , though :)

:marusmile: