Shy to go to go to the gym

Bel0602

I really want to go the the gym here on my universities campus but I feel shy! I never have been to a gym before. I always work out at home alone. But now since I moved out I don't have my own private "gym" anymore The thought of working out around a bunch of people makes me feel nervous haha. Any tips or suggestions? I go to a small liberal arts school so the gym here isn't very big. I'm not sure if it will be packed with people or not after dinner time.

Tennessee2019

I saw a sign today that said "Don't live to impress people that really couldn't care less about you. That's wasting your life." & that is the attitude that you need to have when you enter the gym.
You are not there to impress them & not everyone in there started off looking the way they do now. You are there to get in shape, healthy & enjoy doing it. So what if you are not "model material" the first time you walk through the door.
With my gym, I find that in the morning or around dinner time is the time to go because that is when most people are headed to work or home for dinner.

Good Luck.

elsyoommen

most gyms have some kind of orientation session or assessment type of service. Sometimes you pay for this and sometimes it is included in membership. I suggest you talk to the people at the gym (i.e. people who work there) about your lack of familiarity and they will tell you what they have. they will usually take you through the machines and show you stuff and tell you about etiquette - you can use this opportunity to ask questions like when are less busy times. they might also have some kind of program often for a small fee where they will do a full assessment of your fitness, fat% and give you suggestions - but you might not want to do that at this point. this helped me get over my initial shyness to even walk into a gym last month.

czechwolf52

I was in your same place earlier this year, I am very shy and always think that everyone's watching me. In March and April I was terrified to go to our school gym. I was about 15 pounds heavier than I currently am, but I knew that I needed to go. The gym at my school is very big, and there were a lot of people there, but I got over it. I like to go during the later hours on the weekend. Last night at 7 the gym was at most half way filled up. Go at a few different time to see when it's busy or empty. I find that putting on headphones really helps to block out everyone else and makes me really concentrate on my workout.

Bel0602

I invited a friend to go with me. Hopefully she'll help me feel less self conscious!