I swear you're all going to get sick of me in this forum. *L*

I just joined the Y (employee membership discount, yay!) but I am totally new to the gym and all that it entails. I have no idea what to do in terms of a workout routine, and to make matters even more confusing, I haven't done any kind of weight training in about eight years.

So I'm looking to incorporate the following gym equipment into my workout: treadmill, elliptical, and recumbent bike, plus weight training (I prefer machines over free weights; yes, I know that free weights are probably "better" for me, but I have a tendency to injure myself with free weights. I'm a klutz, you see.)

I'm not a beginner to exercise; I've always been a walker, and a fast one. I'm currently walking 60-90 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week and usually average about 5 miles a day. So I don't have to start at the very beginning in terms of exercise, but I'm still confused.

So I'm hoping that someone here will have some suggestions, you know? Keeping in mind that the policy at the Y here is that you have to sign up for each piece of cardio equipment, and you can only use it for 20 minutes at a time, with no "double booking" (although you can do a "circuit" and therefore use each machine more than once, if you know what I mean by that.)

Help? Any suggestions would be great. I don't want to go overboard right off the bat, but I'm really clueless.

Edited to add: Holy wow, I have no idea what happened to the title of this post. o_O Where did that extra "to" come from at the end of "beginner"? *L* Sorry!

No worries I fixed ...

My suggestion would be to add more intensity to your workouts, hills, HIIT, do the circuit on all the machines...

Do the machines, but I will say that the more you use free weights the less klutzy you will be because you will be working your core and that is what is usually off when someone is klutzy... Just start slow with lower weights and higher reps...

Good luck...

If you just joined, there should be a free orientation session with a trainer. Use it! It's totally worth it. He or she can give you an idea of what to do and help you plan the best workout possible.

Find things that you like the best. So try everything, see how it feels and how you feel afterward, and go from there

I agree with Ilene, add more intensity. If you like walking, consider doing the c25k program at www.coolrunning.com.
Also, something that I've started getting into lately is kettle bells! They are so cool! On Youtube you can find some excellent beginner tips and routines. Its the only weights I do now, other than circuit training, but that's all calisthenics.

Anyhow..let us know what you end up doing for routines!