What do you find helps you the most at the gym?

Helps me out as in results or just staying there long enough to see results?

My iPOD and the TV's. I love the elliptical because I can get a good workout without pounding the pavement, followed by the treadmill and I set it on one of those workouts that do the hills and intervals and stuff.

Music, TV and watching the fit/thinner girls work out twice as hard as me. It makes me realize they got that way (fit & healthy) by doing what they do at the gym. It inspires me to work harder!

I definitely have to agree with Lizzie!

I love taking my ipod and putting some really awesome, fast music to get me going. I find that I zone into the music and just push through everything. I like to go to the gym when I'm pissed off too, it's such a stress release!

Sometimes before I get ready to work out I look at pictures that motivate me or people and kind of get myself pumped up. I'm doing this for me, but the THOUGHT of seeing an ex somewhere and looking smoking hot to really rub it in his face really gets me going!

I never thought about that before. I'll have to do that next time I head to the gym.

I must have my Ipod but I went to a gym that had the tv attached to the ET and did an extra 20 minutes.

yeah agreed with all the above posters. I have to have my ipod. i have certain playlists that pump me up, and I vary it so that I don't get bored

I like to plug in to the tv or my mp3 player. It keeps my mind off of how darn tiring it is to work on that machine. Then I do the abs class, and no one is good at that (even the thin people) so I feel better that i'm not the only one floundering about.

Yay confidence! Yay gym!

I'm not sure what you mean? Weight training has been the most helpful for changing my body. I've been going around thinking I was still obese but I'm not!! My bf% isn't as high as I thought it would be since I've been weight training.

If you mean just helpful stuff, I would say the pools. I am soo achy all the time even when I don't work out. I often have fevers because of chronic infections. Getting in warm water is HEAVENLY. Our new gym has a therapy pool. I am in love. I can go in there after a workout and stretch, relax whatever. I can also use it when I'm feeling like totally dirt to get some gentle movement and keep myself in the habit of moving even when working out isn't possible. So for me, water is definitely helpful.

Landonsbaby I'm sooo envious of your therapy pool! My gym has a small pool for aqua aerobics and a few other classes...that's it! Believe it or not I don't have the nerve to go to the gym on my own....I'm just so afraid of looking like a fool by not knowing how to use some of the equipment...i NEED to stop caring about what others think!

The mirrors.
This'll sound vain but:
a) on a fat day, they make me remember why I am there and why I am doing this - what working out means, and the good it does for me.
b) on good days, I can check out my muscles as they develop - this keeps me motivated and makes me feel unstoppable

music! or a magazine to flip through when jogging on the treadmill. as for items, I love the stairmaster, and rowing machine! the treadmill is becoming one of my favourites though.

My MP3 player stops me from feeling self conscious and conspicuous.

I go to the gym with my very motivated boyfriend who has already lost 60 pounds. When I don't want to go he encourages me, and when I'm there I feel like I have to work hard the whole time because he is. It also helps to watch TV to distract me while I work out.

I'm all about the cardio when I go to the gym. I love that my gym has individual tvs. I go when something I like will be on, watch the half an hour or hour program and then I'm done. I haven't been able to master the reading and working out thing.

I know a lot of people have already mentioned ipods and tv. I love my ipod and listen to music on it sometimes but usually I have a book on there. I rent books on CD from the library and then upload them into itunes and put them on my ipod. I like music, but a lot of times I spend so much time skipping around to find a song that I like, and it is distracting. With a book, I can just kinda get lost in the story.

Harry Potter is a great one to listen to, or anything by Cecelia Ahern. She wrote P.S. I Love You (the movie is based on her book), and her other books are really great too. She's from Ireland and all her books are set in Ireland, so they are all read by somebody with an Irish accent. Some people don't like that but I did.

Good luck!