Things one should know before joining a gym?

Wash your hair with anti-dandruff shampoo, even if you don't have dandruff. It kills certain bacteria that you can get from the mat.

keep your fingernails and toenails trimmed

reagan123 - Cut your finger nails and toe nails. Phone Post 3.0

 


vu. beat me to it.

 

BusterBluth - I will be looking to join a gym in the next month or two, and am wanting to see if there is any advice you all may have for a noob like myself...like how to conduct myself, good habits, appropriate attire etc.

I will discuss this with the trainers when I visit the gym, but I thought I'd take advantage of the knowledge here.

Didn't read through every response, so some of this may have been covered. As for how to behave, sounds simple but don't be a douche bag. If you walk in saying you want to learn, you'll be fine. If you go in thinking that you're already pretty good, have wrestled with your friends, and watch the UFC, so you think you can likely "beat" some of their guys...stop. First, you can't...and second, the purpose of training is not to "beat" the other guys. It's about learning, getting better etc not about "winning" a sparring session.

As a guy who used to have to work with some of the newer guys (because I spoke english and could roll/spar without feeling the need to kill people) my biggest pet peeve was when dudes came in trying to get crazy. We were near a fire station, and one of the instructors was fire fighter, so his douche bag firefighter friends would come in and start trying to "win" at grappling. Most were jacked 200 pound dudes, and they'd have no clue what they were doing, and would just try to muscle guys around and squeeze headlocks, grind forearms into cheekbones and dumb shit that would never actually sub a guy, but would lead to the occasional black eye or bloody nose. There is nothing more frustrating than grappling with a new guy who I'm going half speed with and he steps on my fucking face, or elbows me in the eye on accident.

Show up looking to learn. If you go in with the goal of beating your chest and subbing someone in week one, you'll likely do annoying shit that everyone hates, and dudes will either smash you to prove a point, or not want to work with you.

As for attire, again don't look like a douche bag. If you show up and check the place out and dudes in the beginner classes are wearing basic board shorts and a t-shirt or rash guard, don't show up in Bad Boy nut huggers and no shirt.

ALWAYS wear a mouth piece, no matter what the activity. Wearing it during warmups can help get you used to breathing with it, but my biggest point is to avoid drilling without one. I saw too many guys chip teeth or bite through tongues/lips because they were doing drills with no mouth piece.

IMO. you should look into how long the coaches have been working for that gym and their relationships with the main coach/gym owner...

I made the mistake of joining a new boxing gym without doing the proper research first, and I regretted it big time... the gym caught my eye because it was spacious and fantastic. they had two boxing rings, plenty of bags, cardio, and weight machines. I signed a one year contract... everything was fine for a couple of weeks; there was this one coach who started training me and I was learning a great deal.. then out of nowhere, the coach leaves... I continued to go to the gym and get tips from other coaches, the I realized more and more coaches would leave... it pissed me off because I wanted to get some one on one time with coaches, but I found myself just hitting the heavy bag, speed bag, and jump rope for an hour...

I wanted to know what was going on with the coaches. I caught wind that the main gym owner was a businessman and an ego maniac; many complained that he wouldn't pay his coaches and that's why they would leave... I stuck around for another month and decided the gym wasn't for me. the man ran out like 3 coaches in 2 months..

my friend actually still goes to that gym and he complains constantly. saying that there is in fact A NEW coach that is on the verge of leaving because of the way the owner is treating him.... its crazy to think, but don't let fancy equipment sell you... if there aren't any coaches to teach, you wont learn much even with that fancy equipment..

id rather be taught in a garage by a solid coach than to be in a big gym without guidance.

whooleeo - IMO. you should look into how long the coaches have been working for that gym and their relationships with the main coach/gym owner...

I made the mistake of joining a new boxing gym without doing the proper research first, and I regretted it big time... the gym caught my eye because it was spacious and fantastic. they had two boxing rings, plenty of bags, cardio, and weight machines. I signed a one year contract... everything was fine for a couple of weeks; there was this one coach who started training me and I was learning a great deal.. then out of nowhere, the coach leaves... I continued to go to the gym and get tips from other coaches, the I realized more and more coaches would leave... it pissed me off because I wanted to get some one on one time with coaches, but I found myself just hitting the heavy bag, speed bag, and jump rope for an hour...

I wanted to know what was going on with the coaches. I caught wind that the main gym owner was a businessman and an ego maniac; many complained that he wouldn't pay his coaches and that's why they would leave... I stuck around for another month and decided the gym wasn't for me. the man ran out like 3 coaches in 2 months..

my friend actually still goes to that gym and he complains constantly. saying that there is in fact A NEW coach that is on the verge of leaving because of the way the owner is treating him.... its crazy to think, but don't let fancy equipment sell you... if there aren't any coaches to teach, you wont learn much even with that fancy equipment..

id rather be taught in a garage by a solid coach than to be in a big gym without guidance.


That last line is really true.  I am learning in a small but adequate area, intimately from a good level black belt.  he literally will; meet me on weekends, solo, and jsut hang out and roll and go over stuff.  The impact that can have on your game, solid time w/ a good teacher at the entry level, is SO important.

Rickmassmma - 
BusterBluth - I will be looking to join a gym in the next month or two, and am wanting to see if there is any advice you all may have for a noob like myself...like how to conduct myself, good habits, appropriate attire etc.

I will discuss this with the trainers when I visit the gym, but I thought I'd take advantage of the knowledge here.

Didn't read through every response, so some of this may have been covered. As for how to behave, sounds simple but don't be a douche bag. If you walk in saying you want to learn, you'll be fine. If you go in thinking that you're already pretty good, have wrestled with your friends, and watch the UFC, so you think you can likely "beat" some of their guys...stop. First, you can't...and second, the purpose of training is not to "beat" the other guys. It's about learning, getting better etc not about "winning" a sparring session.

As a guy who used to have to work with some of the newer guys (because I spoke english and could roll/spar without feeling the need to kill people) my biggest pet peeve was when dudes came in trying to get crazy. We were near a fire station, and one of the instructors was fire fighter, so his douche bag firefighter friends would come in and start trying to "win" at grappling. Most were jacked 200 pound dudes, and they'd have no clue what they were doing, and would just try to muscle guys around and squeeze headlocks, grind forearms into cheekbones and dumb shit that would never actually sub a guy, but would lead to the occasional black eye or bloody nose. There is nothing more frustrating than grappling with a new guy who I'm going half speed with and he steps on my fucking face, or elbows me in the eye on accident.

Show up looking to learn. If you go in with the goal of beating your chest and subbing someone in week one, you'll likely do annoying shit that everyone hates, and dudes will either smash you to prove a point, or not want to work with you.

As for attire, again don't look like a douche bag. If you show up and check the place out and dudes in the beginner classes are wearing basic board shorts and a t-shirt or rash guard, don't show up in Bad Boy nut huggers and no shirt.

ALWAYS wear a mouth piece, no matter what the activity. Wearing it during warmups can help get you used to breathing with it, but my biggest point is to avoid drilling without one. I saw too many guys chip teeth or bite through tongues/lips because they were doing drills with no mouth piece.

Thanks for the great post.

What type of long pants might be acceptable? As I said before I have pretty hairy legs and feel like I should cover that up for the benefit of everyone else.

TFK Bro Lo El Cuñado -
Powerful DJH - Do:
Show up early and clean.
Clip finger n toe nails.
Shut up and listen.
Ask questions pertaining to technique at appropriate times
Be friendly and open to learn.

DONT:
-ask "what if" questions : there is a counter to everything, if you are being shown a technique just try to get what you're instructors are showing you instead of thinking about hypotheticals in that position, this is especially annoying in Bjj
- start a sentence with "I learned to do it like..." They're not interested in how u originally learned it. Repeat the technique shown
- go 100% with everyone: within a very short time you will find out who wants to go hard and who doesn't, respect that. I recommend you don't go your hardest, quick way to get mangled by more advanced students. Start off gushing your effort of what you feel from them or let them lead the dance so to speak. You'll quickly learn how to spar and with whom you want to
- ask about promotions or advancement, just keep going and they come
- try to brag or talk about your credentials, no one cares and you might come off as a douche
- don't be afraid to tap!! It's practice, nobody worth their salt counts taps. You'll catch your self doing it early on but try to stay away from it
-put it on someone too hard that has been there longer your first day: if you are beating on a student really bad or playing dirty (I came from wrestling and many things we do in wrestling are considered dirty in bjj) Most certainly you will get fed a shark a get your turn being the nail instead of the hammer. If your just walking in , virtually everyone is ahead of the game so respect that.
Overall have fun, don't put to much pressure on your self to grow, it will happen. Push yourself but also remember this is a service your paying for, if u don't like it, try another gym until you find the right fit. If it's not fun somethings wrong.
Good luck,keep us updated!! Phone Post 3.0
Great post. Vu Phone Post 3.0
Just the basics haha back atcha Phone Post 3.0

EvilGumby - 
flemingo - 
Saltine American - 
BusterBluth - Whats the problem with anti bacterial soaps like dial?
It kills the good bacteria as well as the bad. You want good skin flora maaan. Phone Post 3.0

If you remove all your normal flora from your skin it makes it easier for other bacteria to colonise or for some of your normally harmless flora to overpopulate an area (like staph)

100% NOT true. You are confusing this with healthy "gut" bacteria.

(Verified with numerous medical professionals before posting.)

You have normal flora on both your skin and your in various parts of you body. Bacterial infections arise from a). Foreign bacteria entering you system (eg. food poisoning) normal flora from one area getting into an area they normally shouldn't be in (Eg. urinary tract infections) or from overcolonisation of normal flora (eg staph infections) i'm doing a med science degree my last lecture was literally on this shit. Using anti bacterial soap removes your normal flora on your skin making it easier for non normal flora to colonize or for normal flora to overpopulate an area. Yes this can happen in your gut but it also happens with your skin and any other area where you have normal flora that are suddenly removed.

BusterBluth - 
flemingo - 
BusterBluth - Thanks, and is it generally accepted for a noob to attend open trainings?

Get over the "Spaz"(I hate that term but i can't think of a better way to describe it) stage and then go. You'll get beaten up a bit, but you'll be better for it.

Yeah, I hope to avoid that phase as best as possible., but I suppose everyone goes through it.

I'm quite wary of doing something stupid like eye poking etc.

Eye pokes happen it's more the thrashing around being tense yanking on any submission you're lucky to catch phase that's the problem. Once you learn to relax in bad positions and stay calm through a roll then feel free to rock up to the open mats.

Yeah, hopefully I can maintain enough composure to minimize that stage if at all possible.

Pay attention. Work hard. Wash your gear. Shower after class.

Dougie - 


Pay attention. Work hard. Wash your gear. Shower after class.


I've asked this before but I don't think anyone answered...


Do you wait til you get home to shower?

BusterBluth -
Dougie - 


Pay attention. Work hard. Wash your gear. Shower after class.


I've asked this before but I don't think anyone answered...


Do you wait til you get home to shower?
Both. Before and after,

if ur a man this should take 5 minutes.

If can't get a shower before just show up clean as possible, people don't want to roll with the smelly guy.

The shower after is much more important. Do that as soon as possible, nicer gyms might have showers there. This will prevent staph and skin ailments that happen on the mat. Like others have said get a bar of defense soap made specifically for that.

Just be clean and don't stink. Absolutely no fingernails whatsoever. If I get scratched I'm done with the person for the day, no excuses for that and can cause damage. Phone Post 3.0

^^^Thanks^^^

Although I must admit I don't like the idea of everyone seeing my wiener.

BusterBluth - Although I must admit I don't like the idea of everyone seeing my wiener.
You're Buster, not a never nude like Tobias. You can do it. Phone Post 3.0

Powerful DJH - 
BusterBluth - Although I must admit I don't like the idea of everyone seeing my wiener.
You're Buster, not a never nude like Tobias. You can do it. Phone Post 3.0

True, but it does mean my linus is "shaped like a lobster tail, but without it's shell."


Perhaps a pair of cutoffs are in my future after all.

BusterBluth - 
Rickmassmma - 
BusterBluth - I will be looking to join a gym in the next month or two, and am wanting to see if there is any advice you all may have for a noob like myself...like how to conduct myself, good habits, appropriate attire etc.

I will discuss this with the trainers when I visit the gym, but I thought I'd take advantage of the knowledge here.

Didn't read through every response, so some of this may have been covered. As for how to behave, sounds simple but don't be a douche bag. If you walk in saying you want to learn, you'll be fine. If you go in thinking that you're already pretty good, have wrestled with your friends, and watch the UFC, so you think you can likely "beat" some of their guys...stop. First, you can't...and second, the purpose of training is not to "beat" the other guys. It's about learning, getting better etc not about "winning" a sparring session.

As a guy who used to have to work with some of the newer guys (because I spoke english and could roll/spar without feeling the need to kill people) my biggest pet peeve was when dudes came in trying to get crazy. We were near a fire station, and one of the instructors was fire fighter, so his douche bag firefighter friends would come in and start trying to "win" at grappling. Most were jacked 200 pound dudes, and they'd have no clue what they were doing, and would just try to muscle guys around and squeeze headlocks, grind forearms into cheekbones and dumb shit that would never actually sub a guy, but would lead to the occasional black eye or bloody nose. There is nothing more frustrating than grappling with a new guy who I'm going half speed with and he steps on my fucking face, or elbows me in the eye on accident.

Show up looking to learn. If you go in with the goal of beating your chest and subbing someone in week one, you'll likely do annoying shit that everyone hates, and dudes will either smash you to prove a point, or not want to work with you.

As for attire, again don't look like a douche bag. If you show up and check the place out and dudes in the beginner classes are wearing basic board shorts and a t-shirt or rash guard, don't show up in Bad Boy nut huggers and no shirt.

ALWAYS wear a mouth piece, no matter what the activity. Wearing it during warmups can help get you used to breathing with it, but my biggest point is to avoid drilling without one. I saw too many guys chip teeth or bite through tongues/lips because they were doing drills with no mouth piece.

Thanks for the great post.

What type of long pants might be acceptable? As I said before I have pretty hairy legs and feel like I should cover that up for the benefit of everyone else.

Most dudes have hairy legs, I wouldn't worry about it, but if you insist, I'd probably wear some type of spandex under a pair of board shorts. If you're wearing baggy sweatpants, you'll be stepping on them and they'll also get sweaty and heavy.

Thanks...

Also, I've heard people complain about wearing shorts and getting limbs caught in them etc.

How would you dress if that became an issue?