Feel like an awkward moose at the gym?

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SamanthaD1218
SamanthaD1218 Posts: 304 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Because I sure do! I love my morning and afternoon walks to work (a mile each way, which I try to walk briskly), but I know I need to get back to the gym and do some serious cardio and add in some strength training. The only problem? I feel like an awkward flailing moose trying to use exercise machines.

Ever see that episode of Friends where Phoebe teaches Rachel how to run? Yeah, that's me.

I'm 99.9% sure that this weird anxiety is all in my head and no one actually cares what I look like at the gym (after all, I don't stare at other people when I'm there), but it has always been an issue for me. I feel so self-conscious and literally start to get panicky and will cut my workout short just to escape. I won't run outside for the same reason (that horrifies me even more), and I can't really work out in my apartment because I'm on the top floor and don't want to annoy the hell out of the nice woman below me.

So I know I need to stop whining and just do it, especially considering that I'm paying a monthly fee for it, but I could sure use some words of wisdom. I feel great when I actually drag myself there and get in a good workout, but getting over that weird initial panic is so hard for me! Does anyone else ever feel this way? Or should I be hiring a therapist...?
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Replies

  • LGS1974
    LGS1974 Posts: 26
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    If you actually are having an anxiety response and really need to get away then a bit of hypnotherapy isn't a bad idea.
  • annalicous
    annalicous Posts: 55 Member
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    Aww there is no need for you to feel awkward at the gym you look fantastic. I used to feel that way. Sometimes I still do until I get inside the gym. At the end of the day everyone is at the gym for the same reason and that is to work out.
  • SarahLouiseFlint
    SarahLouiseFlint Posts: 53
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    Don’t worry! I think what you feel is normal, I've been there too - feeling like people are watching you and judging you.
    I know people say, don’t worry about what other people think, but that is easier said than done.
    Once you start going regularly you just get over those feelings.

    I think, for me anyway, being fat and unfit at a place where everyone's thin and fit is what made me feel like I didn’t belong. But when you look around there are actually a load of people in the same position as you or even more unfit (and we're not judging them, so why would other people be judging us)
    Just get on with it and you'll soon start to get over it. Plus as you get fitter you'll feel like you belong there anyway.

    Or if you think it might help, get a personal training session to help you get to grips with some of the machines, so you feel more confident on them.
    :-)
  • metaphoria
    metaphoria Posts: 1,432 Member
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    It's a new experience, so I'd say it's a pretty normal response. Why not ask a trainer to walk you through a few basic lifts you want to learn. Get the form down with those and add another new exercise. Keep getting the form right and adding another until you have a full workout in place. Its hard to remember the correct technique/form for everything at once. If you build up your repertoire gradually, there is less to remember each time as the older ones become habit, and less chance of injury.

    And remember to wipe stuff down when you're done. :)
  • catholiclorimom
    catholiclorimom Posts: 15 Member
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    I just joined a gym and haven't gone in yet to exercise for your very reason, but I do have a plan to go on this Tues morning. 1. wear my exercise clothes so I don't have to change in the locker room. 2. Hop on the bike because I know how to use it and go for my pre-determined minutes. Bring earplugs to watch the TV (and block out everyone else). 3. and after my bike minutes I am going to go and ask a worker how to use one machine. Use it and then go! I will go back home to change. I guess this is like all hard things in life--break it down into small manageable steps. Whenever I see an overweight person working out (walking etc.) I say Good for them!!! and if you are there too with me, "Good for us!!!"
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    I had 'fat guy at the gym' syndrome when I started. I just kept reminding myself that everyone is focused on their own workout, and really didn't have time to be judging me. Besides, how would I ever feel better about myself if I didn't bite the bullet and get through this phase?

    And to anyone that does judge - screw 'em. You may be fat now, but you'll be skinny tomorrow. They'll always be judgmental pricks, and no workout in the world can help them.
  • roxylola
    roxylola Posts: 540 Member
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    Book a PT session, explain your concerns and get them to give you an idea of how the stuff works and what would be good for you.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    You don't need to worry about this at all. There is no way anyone thinks you look like an awkward moose. It's just how you feel. Getting yourself there is the hardest part. Just go there and do it and don't think about anyone else. Remember you are doing this for yourself. you experience the long term benefits long after the workout is over and no one even remembers who you are at the gym because they are focused on their own workouts.
  • sarahertzberger
    sarahertzberger Posts: 534 Member
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    I felt awkward at the beginning, but then I just realized I'm doing it for me not others, I would rather be doing something about my weight feeling awkward at the gym instead of feeling awkward about my weight EVERYWHERE. Plus, if no one pays any attention to me being hugely pregnant and working out, they aren't going to be paying any attention to you either, just remember you are doing this for YOU who cares what others are going to think, people are going to think things about you no matter what or where you are so whatever! Hope this helps you out, just remember, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!
  • staceyseeger
    staceyseeger Posts: 783 Member
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    I haven't felt this way in a long time, but I have many friends that do feel this way. I wanted to get them off the couch & feel comfortable exercising. Therefore, I opened my own "No-Judgment" gym at my house. They love it! :smile: :smile: :smile: And keep coming back for more! :drinker:
  • nordeast_yah
    nordeast_yah Posts: 38
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    Definitely, but not much to be done about it so I just go on with my work.
  • twinings_
    twinings_ Posts: 8 Member
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    I feel the same way - bringing a friend helps a lot :) I went with a friend for the first few months then after that felt comfortable enough to go on my own. I still get a little nervous sometimes, especially if the gym is busy, but just go for it :)
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    From time to time I do...but then most of the time I wonder what the hell other people are doing at the gym and it makes me feel like less people are looking at me.. Like the girls who put treadmill on max incline and hang on for dear life and the people using the weight machines and letting the weights crash down each rep. My favorite was a girl who tried EVERY SINGLE bike and couldn't get them to turn on before she realized that you have to start peddling to make it turn on.

    Always someone worse there :laugh: :happy:
  • msuvada79
    msuvada79 Posts: 2
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    This very thing stopped me from going to a gym for a long time. I'd get a guest pass from a place like Lifetime, and be totally freaked at how wonderful everyone else looked, and be too self concious even to try a simple treadmill there. So when a Zip Fitness opened near me, I went in, and loved it. It's not fancy, no classes, no frills. It has the basics, and a lot of people like me seem to populate it. I've been going now three days a week, and love it. No one is judging me, and I've actually made a few friends in the process. It took a lot to get over my overly accute self-awareness.

    Also, I avoid locker rooms by dressing for workouts before going. Just remember, you are doing it for yourself, and it does not matter what others think!
  • guroprincess
    guroprincess Posts: 140
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    If you actually are having an anxiety response and really need to get away then a bit of hypnotherapy isn't a bad idea.

    Great I'll just tell my therapist that someone on MFP has all the answers. :)

    OP and anyone else who is scared: no one is watching you. Everyone is so focused on their own workout that I doubt they even notice you're there. Realizing that no one in the world cares about how silly you look is pretty liberating.
  • Kate814
    Kate814 Posts: 145
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    It helps to realize most of the people there are feeling the same thing. If it's the machines that makes you feel awkward it can help to have someone show you the proper way to use/adjust them and proper form so you feel more confident doing everything. I'm a personal trainer and can still feel awkward at the gym, especially going to new ones where machines adjust differently than I'm used to... if I have to fumble for a minute it can be embarrassing, but just remember you're the only one who seems your embarrassment. If you pretend to know what you're doing, eventually you start to feel like you do.
  • BigCupOTea
    BigCupOTea Posts: 66
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    If you don't want to ask a PT, go up to a guy who looks like he knows what he is doing and ask nicely. Who could say no to a pretty face? Seriously, just ask people there it is an ego boost for them.
  • guroprincess
    guroprincess Posts: 140
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    From time to time I do...but then most of the time I wonder what the hell other people are doing at the gym and it makes me feel like less people are looking at me.. Like the girls who put treadmill on max incline and hang on for dear life and the people using the weight machines and letting the weights crash down each rep. My favorite was a girl who tried EVERY SINGLE bike and couldn't get them to turn on before she realized that you have to start peddling to make it turn on.

    Always someone worse there :laugh: :happy:

    Not sure this is a good thing to say to someone who is afraid they're being judged/watched at the gym.
  • SamanthaD1218
    SamanthaD1218 Posts: 304 Member
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    Lol THIS IS WHAT I'M AFRAID OF! I'm the awkward girl on all the bikes...
  • dp1228
    dp1228 Posts: 439 Member
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    Maybe you would feel better if you asked a trainer/worker at the gym to show you how to use the machines properly? It sounds like you panic because your not quite sure how to use them/what to do. That may subside if you feel like you know exactly what your doing. All gyms usually show new members how to use the machines if they are asked. You're not new but you can still ask :)

    I think once you gain that confidence with the machines you will feel like your blending in with everyone else (aka no one would be looking at you because you look like everyone else) and you can focus more on your actual workout. Eventually this may morph into you feeling like a complete bada** at the gym. I'm used to get really nervous when i went to new gyms but I feel experienced now and that has completely subsided.

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