Hi, Rebecca! Welcome!! I just finished Stage 1, so I'm fairly new, too, but I wanted to make a few comments. I'm sure others who are more experienced will chime in!!
1. The barbell wasn't nearly as intimidating once I began to use it! I asked a couple of people if they would mind showing me the proper form just to make sure, but I haven't had a session with a PT yet. Most of the gym staff don't mind demonstrating proper form.
2. I'm barely 5'2" and I had the same concern about handling the long bar. I've gotten the hang of it pretty well but I've only done squats and deadlifts so far.
3. I haven't used a squatter as yet. The squat rack at our gym has a safety bar thingie so if I had trouble I'd be OK. Now that I'm getting into heavier weights, I've kind of hinted to my husband that he needs to join the gym so he can be my spotter. Deadlifts are OK without a spotter, I think because if worse came to worst you could just drop the bar. However, if you're going to drop it, you probably shouldn't be lifting that weight to begin with. I personally think complete control is important.
4. Our Y had a hall with mats in it that you could do other work and stretching, etc. If there is an empty classroom you could probably use that. I haven't seen many folks doing floor work or even stretching at my gym, but that hasn't stopped me. I do my stuff and don't sweat it. I did just find an empty classroom that is fantastic and will use that whenever classes aren't going on to do stuff like lunges and ball stuff. It's roomier, has lots of mirrors to check form, and is private!!
5. With HIIT, start small and work your way up. Don't overdo. There is a great explanation of how to start small in Stage 2. Can't remember exactly where in the book it is, but I plan to use that strategy.
Hope that helps! Pauline
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