Going to the gym in Korea
thom2369
Posts: 271 Member
What are you experiences with going to the gym in Korea? Do you sign up for the typical Health Club? Take classes exercise at home? I find going to the health club alone somewhat intimidating and I always feel watched...even if that isn't the case. It just isn't very fun for me at all...
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I went to the gym for a few months here and struggled to overcome my social anxiety. I was doing starting strength and seeing great results from my weightlifting, but girls in Korea RARELY lift heavy so I was an anomaly. I had older men asking me endless questions and even parking themselves on a nearby bench just to watch my spectacle. None of them were outright aggressive or creepy; just curious. But even their curiosity was too much to handle, so I quit. I am also a bigger girl to begin with, so seeing a fat foreigner woman lifting heavy sets at the gym was like a whole new world to them. In the end I wasn't strong enough to ignore it. I want to go back but I'm now taking hip hop dance classes at a local dance academy with women-only classes. They're supportive and amazing and I feel much better about working out now. I started lifting heavy kettlebells at home in privacy to get my strength training fix.
I know plenty of foreigners who say "**** it!" and just go all out at the gym despite getting stared at, but I couldn't handle it. To each their own!
My gym as small and clean and the owner/trainer was super supportive of my lifting. it was the other patrons that drove me away.0
