I've been reading the forum post for the last week and made the plunge to register and join. Any advice I get here is better than what I gain by trial and error on my own, so I'm eager to push ahead and see what I can do with proper training.
I decided to join the gym going on 8 months and start getting back in shape after a long break from exercising, which was mainly running. At 40 years and not getting younger, it was time. I'm a smaller guy at 5'7", 130lbs, and with a body fat % of 12. I do 4-5 days/week with 30mins of cardio, mainly running on the treadmill and an hour of weights, machines and some free weights. I have gain some strength and a slightly better build. Some days I see visible gains, other days, I don't see that much change.