You should be; it’s taken a lot of mental and practical preparation to get to this point, and it’s important that you make your experience a positive one. I’ve recommended that you start off with weights and include aerobic training later on, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you decide that you want to do the aerobic stuff first then that’s up to you.

The only thing you need to do now is get your gear ready the night before. If you’ve decided on a morning workout then have it ready next to the bed and have your work clothes packed to change into afterwards. If you plan on going to work first then have all of your exercise clothing and equipment packed.

If you are going just to lift weights and don’t need a shower afterwards, here is your checklist:

• Shoes
• Socks
• Shorts or track pants
• Shirt
• Water bottle (optional, but I find that intense lifting makes me thirsty and it wastes time having to always go to the water fountain)
• Notebook (also optional, but a good motivational tool for tracking progress – I keep track in my head)
• Deodorant / antiperspirant for applying afterwards (not optional unless you’re a total non-sweating freak)

If you are planning on an aerobic activity, you need some additional stuff:

• Extra underpants – you don’t want to go back to work in sweaty underpants, do you?
• Towel and any other toiletries you need not provided by your gym

Don’t forget your stuff. Put it in front of the door of your house or even in your car. One note is that you may wish to have your shoes in a separate bag if they are smelly – you don’t want them to stink up your clothes. I leave my shoes at work so I never have to worry about forgetting them.