Gym Anxiety- Advice? Your experience

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  • karenann1684
    karenann1684 Posts: 1
    I first stepped foot in a gym when I was 17 years old (I'm 47 now). I was TERRIFIED!!! You see at the time I had social anxiety about anything new. Wouldn't even walk into a fast food restaurant by myself I was that scared. I remember driving round and round the gym parking lot just getting up the nerve to walk in. I wanted to exercise because I was having severe migraines and thought this would help me reduce my stress.

    What happened next surprised me. I ended up falling in love with the gym!! So weird right? I love it like I love the library or bookstores. You can do your own thing and NOBODY bothers you!!! Seriously!! Everyone body has earplugs in their ears and they don't even give you a second glance.

    These days I work out at home to dvd's only because it's more efficient (I have 3 kids and time is limited). I look forward to the day when I have more free time because if I did I'd live in the gym. :)

    My sincere advice is to face your fears and try it. You may just love it like I did.
  • chelseabuns88
    chelseabuns88 Posts: 77 Member

    What it all boils down to is that I am a competitive perfectionist and I don't like being the newbie or the worst at things. The idea of going to a gym and working out makes me 100X more nervous than giving a speech to hundreds of people or going to a big job interview. Those things are no big deal to me.

    Anyway yep. Gym anxiety. hehe

    100% this!

    I like everyone to think I know exactly what I'm doing and I'm terrified about making foolish mistakes. I've always been too hard on myself in this respect, instead of admitting I don't know EVERYTHING and getting help with it, I'd rather just avoid it altogether..

    With that said, in the past year I've done loads of things that've pushed me out of my comfort zone and I'm only better for it… And I wouldn't say I'm particularly unfit (compared with friends and family) it's more the motivation to exercise, I can just about complete a 10 minute work out at home before finding a suitable distraction!
  • krissy0474
    krissy0474 Posts: 8 Member
    I was exactly where you are right now, about a month and a half ago. I decided I wanted to make a change and I felt that I needed a personal trainer to get me started. Aside from going to the gym a few times with friends in the past, I had not gone to the gym - with any sense of dedication - at all in my 31 years. Late last year, I tried going to the gym by myself the first time - I managed 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill and then left because I thought I was being judged. Yes, I thought people were judging me for walking on the treadmill. That's when the personal trainer came into play. I wanted to achieve my goals and I was not going to let my anxiety get in the way, like it has in many other aspects of my life.

    IMO - if you are really new to working out and want to know how to do it right, I recommend getting a personal training session or two. (or 10, like me!) My trainer and I discussed what I like to do, what I don't like to do, what my health limitations are, what my goals are, etc. I don't know why, but when I have sessions with my trainer, it feels as though I'm the only one in the gym. I don't pay attention to what other people are thinking because my trainer keeps me occupied.

    After 8 sessions with her (twice a week), I decided that I was going to start going a few days on my own - with some of the programs she created for me. The first time I went, I did my warm-up, no problem. After that, the gym was busy and all the machines I was comfortable using were tied up. Cue anxiety. I stood there looking at each machine in a complete state of panic. Instead of leaving, like I normally would, I decided to go into a corner and do some mat work (crunches, etc.) By the time I was done, the gym was virtually empty. Ahh! I didn't want to leave, I kept waltzing from one machine to the next, doing more than my initial 60 minute workout goal.

    Since then, I've gone maybe about a half dozen times on my own and I am addicted. Some days have been better than others, but I make the effort regardless. I feel that each time I go, I am telling my anxiety to stuff it.

    I still have two more personal training sessions to go, but I have spaced them out. In a few months, I will get a few more sessions so that we can assess how far I've come and amp it up a bit, since I'm a newbie and might not know just how far I can push myself.

    Good luck! You can do it, you just have to battle through it.

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