Afraid to go to gym...

mcrowe1016

Before I start this rant, let me give full disclosure by saying that I am not the nicest person and have been known to judge.

So for anyone who is afraid to go the the gym because you don't want other people staring at you and laughing at how big you are or how clueless you might look using weights for the first time, I have one question for you: Why do you care what I think?

You have never met me, and from what you know about me so far, you probably don't even like me. So please don't let what goes through my mind stop you on your journey to fitness.

I am trying to better myself, and I have not judged at the gym in a long time. Even when I was meaner, I was/am known to make a fool of myself. I have fallen off a treadmill. I wear unflattering work out clothes and sweat A LOT. I also stretch after a run, and one of my stretches involves me bending over and showing my booty to anyone and everyone behind me. I also lip-sing on the treadmill if a really good song comes on. Feel free to judge me! I am having a great time, and urge everyone else going to the gym to have a great time.

So to push this point further: Go to the gym, and don't let anyone whose opinion shouldn't even matter to you ever stop you from doing what you want to do!

laneybird

Love it! So true!! I have a co-worker that insists she just can't go to the gym because people will see her... I've asked many times why does she care, she's not doing it for them.
Heck, when my 20yo Marine trainer comments on my transformation that's even more incentive to go lol

fastbelly

Love it! So true!! I have a co-worker that insists she just can't go to the gym because people will see her... I've asked many times why does she care, she's not doing it for them.
Heck, when my 20yo Marine trainer comments on my transformation that's even more incentive to go lol

I'd ask her why does she go to work? Is she invisible at work? People see her there too!!!!

On the OP I totally agree with the point, the opinion of people you don't know or care about about yourself should have no meaning at all.

EmilyAnn89

great post!!!!!! i think everyone judges at least once or twice, so don't feel bad

Hollie55

I fully agree. When I first started at the gym I was a bit uncomfy about other people seeing me but then I realised that no-one was really watching me anyway & people of all shapes, sizes, ages come to my gym. We have a lady who does body building & is in awesome shape to a group of elderly ladies who come in & do Zumba to!
I figure if you're watching me & don't like what you see then look somewhere else!

Artemis_Acorn

I have wasted LOTS of money on gym memberships 3 times in the past. All three times I quit going after a couple of visits. Not because I was 'scared, or worried about being judged, but because the people at the gym (the patrons, not the staff) were rude, hostile, passive aggressive and arrogant. Now, if I'm gonna spend money, it's going to be on equipment at home, where no-one snorts if I'm going 2 mph on the treadmill or rolls their eyes at me when I'm learning something new. I read a whole thread of rants the other day about how the regulars couldn't wait for the pathetic losers who only thought they wanted to get in shape thinned back out so they could get back to work. Well, those are the same type of people who drove me away from gyms and back to the privacy of my own home where I'm not subjected to snarky attitudes.

We give a lot of lip service to 'encouragement' and 'support' around here, but in my experience, that concept vaporizes when I'm sitting on your favorite exercise bike.

Life is too short to surround myself with people like that on purpose.

mcrowe1016

Have you tried a really cheap gym? Mine is a chain and the membership is $10 a month. Those seem to be a bit more laid back, and all of the people are really nice (even though I am not thin and don't look great when I go). I also hear lots of good things about women only gyms, but I have never been to one.

zeeeb

Yep, i don't care what you think, or anyone else for that matter... I'm not at the gym to socialise, nor am i there to impress anyone with my sexy wobbly sweaty ar$e or skimpy designer gym outfits. I am there to work out, get fit, lose weight, and have some me time.

When I first went to the gym, the guy who showed me around and done my first program, was obviously working there, to perve at hot chicks in tight clothes (which was not me). Anyway, I showed interest in getting PT sessions, and he never called me back, my program got "lost" and when i tried to get him to set up an appointment, he never contacted me back, clearly I wasn't one of the hot people that he wanted to work with, he didn't have any faith in my conviction and thought I was just a lazy fat cow, clearly not good enough for his fantastic services.

Anyway, I used that as motivation. I thought, you know what, fine, one of the other trainers can have my hard earned $$ and proceded to lose weight, get fit, tone up without the help of prince "I'm so hot right now". So, I thank him for treating me like a fat piece of crap, because it gave me more fire power to carry on and succeed despite the doubters.

The trainer I have now, says she knew from the moment i first spoke to her that I was determined, and she has full faith in me getting to my goals, she pushes me harder than I ever thought I could go, and she pushes me further than anyone ever has before. She's young, barely an adult, which I doubted would work to start with, but she is a slave driver and has done brilliant things. So, never judge a book by it's cover, you don't know what people are capable of.

mcrowe1016

My worst experience was at my school fitness center a few years ago. The school was shooting a promotional video in the gym, and the whole crew was just standing around for half an hour. I couldn't figure out why, until I got off the elliptical, and they started filming the minute I was out of the frame.

I was a little mortified, but, even though I have never forgotten, it has never bothered me too much. $h!t happens...

3shirts

It's like buying condoms. You worry about what the cashier is thinking but really they don't care and, in any case, it probably just means you are gonna have sex, why be embarrassed about that!
Same deal, other people are probably not in the least bit interested in your body/fitness and in any case, you are doing something about it.
The only people I tend to notice in the gym are people who are doing stupid weight they can't manage or rushing through sets like the worlds about to end, and I only notice them because they are clearly trying to show off.