Congratulations on making one of the best decisions of your life. The decision to get in better shape. The decision to become better equipped to protect yourself and your family. The decision to make new friends and be part of something bigger than yourself. We are happy to have you as part of the team.
For some of you, this is a gigantic leap as you may not have done any physical activity or martial arts in some time, or perhaps ever. And that is totally fine. Regardless of where you are at in your journey, we are here for you to help in any way.
Joining a gym is the first step. Now you've got to do the most important part: show up and train. This sounds easy on paper. After all, you did the hard part and joined. But the world is full of people that have joined gyms and not showed up to train. Most gyms build there entire marketing platform on this notion, the notion of giving you lots of "incentives" to not train, like offering junk food and promising not to judge you.
Octagon is not your typical gym. We want you to train. We want you here because the more you are here the more improvements you will make. If you go AWOL, a fellow member will check in on you to see what's up. Peer pressure, but in a good way. I could write an entire book on the subject of motivation, but who wants to be preached at? Certainly not me, and I'm sure you don't want to either. So here are some words of advice from fellow members who have been your shoes, the shoes of a complete newbie, and have persevered over the years and become fitter, stronger, better people. I hope their words will help keep you focused on your journey.
"Hygiene, respect and an open mind will get you really far."-Chris L.
"Make it a priority. Make friends-they hold you accountable. Ask for help, the instructions want to help you but won’t push anything on you. Unless it’s burpees and Kimberly pushes burpees!"-Ginna C.
"Remind them, that everybody starts somewhere."-Mike R.
"Tell them it's okay to not roll at first and then to get in at their own pace. Main point keep coming back and don't compare your progress to others"-Allen J.
"Don't take yourself too seriously, ask questions, be open to learning new things and have fun"-Robert O.
"Get to know the other members. Ask their name and a little something about them. When you catch ur breath. And definitely must listen to disco"-Jimmie R.
"Make yourself go to class. It gets easier each time you go"
