Ok I finally got off my butt and joined 24 hour fitness.  I've been running about 3 times a week and doing some weights also.  Am I supposed to be this sore when I first start out?  It's amazing how cute the legs on some of them girls at the gym are?   That might sound bad but I call it motivation!

...but it feels so good when you stop![:D]

May sound like trite advice, but do be sure to work lots of stretching into your routine, both before and after.

The soreness is not as intense after a few weeks of working out. I am always sore for a day or two after working out.

soreness will diminish in intensity probably within the first two weeks.  Some soreness the day after a workout is normal and a sign of a good workout.
On the other hand, you could just get a REALLY shitty job like landscaping (hey that sounds familiar) and work in 100 degree heat all day and not have to worry about working out...  lol
stick with it, it's good for you!

Yes.  Muscles and tendons aren't accustomed to such stress if you are new to resistance training.

Make sure you stretch good BEFORE and AFTER your workouts.  It should reduce the soreness you feel later on.  Stretching between sets too is even better.

Man, I had a landscaping job while I was in school.  That was the best job I have had so far.  Now I just sit in front of a computer all day.  

As far as working out goes, if you have a buddy, try and get him to work out with you.  That way you can motivate each other.  

I started working out at the beginning of summer, after I aknowledged that I've been blessed with shitty genes - heart problems on both sides of the family and plenty of cancer on my mom's side. It's so bad my mom's doctor advises us "kids" to go through a serious health check before having kids, so they can do some preventive stuff. Those of you who are parents, imagine the feeling of knowing that you have a 80% chance of passing on breast cancer to your daughters. Mmmm, yeah, not so fun.

Anyway, got my ass into the gym, was plenty sore after the first time (takes two days for me before the soreness sets in). Usually go with two different guys, one during days - instead of lunch I go to the gym - and another during weekends (he's a cop and he's able to get away for an hour or two during weekend evenings.)

My weekend buddy is also a fitness instructor, and since there's usually onle him and I in the gym late at night, I get plenty of good advice regarding proper form, nutrition and so on.

One thing that helped me cut down on the soreness (aside from stretching) was that I started to take protein supplements. I saw quite a bit of growth in the first few weeks.

The key to my success so far is, as EdAvilaSr pointed out, intensity. When I'm in an excercise it's dead quiet in the gym, and the only thing that exists is the movement of weight. And there's a minimum of rest between sets and different excercises.

Now for a horror story: this past monday I went in to do back and abs. After I was done with most of the different exercises I only had suspended crunches left before I was due to hit the exercise bike for some cardio (since there's some excess weight that I want to get ridd of I usually end my workouts with cardio as I've used up all the carbs in my system for the weight training. The only energy left for use in my body is stored as fat.)

Anyway, I get onto the suspended cradle (or what you want to call it) and slowly start doing crunches. Now crunches is not one of my favorite excercises, so I don't do them as often as other muscle groups, but I usually do them till I can't take the burn anymore. So, much to my surprise, at the count of 8 or 9 I start feeling a burn. Now, the burn should not set in this early, but I do another crunch, and PAIN CITY!!!! From what I can tell I managed to inflict a minor tear to the right lower part of the Obliquus Rectus, about an inch and a half below the waistline.

Simple stuff like sitting down or getting into bed was associated with sharp stabbing pain that evening. Getting out of bed in the morning wasn't much fun either. [>(]

Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of the gym!

Yep. You're body's not used to working out, so you're going to go pretty sore after workouts for the first few times. I remember the first two weeks whenever I did legs I could barely walk the next two-three days. It gets better, and yes it get's enjoyable.

One of the things I truly love about my routine....up at 5am, in the gym by 6:45 (40 minute commute to the area where work/gym is)....not a lot of people there, but there are a NUMBER of hotties working out. And whoever invented the whole cario on the second level overlooking the lower level machines ought to be canonized. Nothing get's you into the treadmill like watching a tight, toned woman working out on the Butt Blaster....