first time workin out in along time

ok went to ballys today for the first time in along time... any tips on beginning if ya havent worked out in like forever like you're a beginner... damn my muscle hurst like a son of a bitch. What is a good way to start slow like how many reps should a beginner do and should he work the muscles to failer for the first time or go slow and break the muscles in, get them use to the idea of being worked, before goin hard??

I would say your own signature statement has your answer.

I think you just answered your own question with the latter part of your thread. When you are starting back after a fairly lengthy layoff, you want to take it easy the first few workouts just to get use to working out again. Keep the reps in the double digits (10-12) and go close but not to failure. If you go heavy then you are more likely to encounter an injury because it's like re-training the muscles the first few times you workout. However this re-training will not take very long due to "muscle memory!" To put it in simple terms, the muscle(s) basically remember what they have done in the past. The amount of muscle memory a person has depends on a variety of things but primarily age. So just take it slow and easy the first few times back.

After a lay off I usually start back pretty slow. I try to get a little sore, but not too sore. I guess with me it's instinctive as to how many sets, reps and poundages. Obviously I do not go heavy, nor do I really goto failure for the first week or two.

After a long layoff, I always start back using an abbreviated routine performed in circuit fashion for about 2-4 weeks depending on how long it takes to knock the rust off.I'd do one exercise each for the legs/hips,shoulder girdle,back,abs.Usually about 3 sets of low-moderate reps with about a minute between each exercise.And I'd usually just work out twice per week since the entire body is being hit at once.This is the fastest way for me to build back up my training poundages and since it is performed like a circuit routine, I get a little bit of cardio as well.