nishi_shinji recently posted an entry about how to prepare and motivate yourself to get to and keep going to the gym as one of the nerd-elite. (Well, she just said nerd. But in my mind she's definitely one of the elite :)
A Shy Nerd's Guide to Surviving the Gym is utterly fantastic to read whether you're thinking about going, already going, or couldn't give a fuck about the gym.
Especially as someone who just this last year really started to make an effort again to get back into shape and had these exact same concerns and worries going into it, it was lovely to see someone round all that up and go "Hey, look, it's not that bad." but do it in such a way where it doesn't feel like a pity party.
Seriously, check the post out. You won't be sorry you did.