Terrified of the gym

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Replies

  • andiroot
    andiroot Posts: 43
    Wow - I've just read through all of these comments and I'm overwhelmed by the support. I went to the gym for the first time this morning (after a huge coffee) and it wasn't too bad! It's a new gym so everyone is new and looks a buit lost. I only went on the treadmill (in the furthest away corner!) but ran 3k and watched what was happening around me. I did get looked at (but I think becuase I have massive breasts which enjoy taking on a life of their won no mater what sports bra I wear.

    I'm going to run there each day this week and scope out what's happening then hopefully book a PT session with the one I decide looks the least scary :)

    Thanks so so much to everyone. I wil lsave this thread and read it when I am next scared. I have along way to go but I think I can do it. Also just came home and my partner gave me a big hug and said he was proud of me :)

    baby steps are the best way to do it and make it stick! i feel like you in a gym, in addition to big boobs and a ttoal lack of grace when it comes to anything athletic, i am heavily tattooed so everyone stares. i put in head phones, write down my workout before i go in and ignore the world. my gym actually has a movie theater with cardio machines so it helps to feel like i can be distracted and also to be in the dark. but starting off small and working up helps a lot!!

    also remember you are going to the gym because you love your body, not because you hate it.
  • mwiechel
    mwiechel Posts: 77 Member
    I've been going to the gym for 10 months now, and I still feel this way sometimes! My biggest problem is that I don't know what to do when I get to the gym. So I've started taking my workout videos (p90x, and ChaLEAN Extreme) to the gym with me. I set up my portable DVD player, or lap top and just do my thing. However, when I started going, I had friend to go with and that made me feel more comfortable. DO you have any friends you can go with and work out together?

    Just today, there were two women working out together and they kept laughing, and I swear they were laughing and talking about me! But of course I have no proof of that, and it is my own insecurities coming out. I tried to ignore them and push through my workout and get it done. On the flip side, there are people I see every time I go to the gym and we have become "gym friends" and they have become very encouraging to me and a friendly face while I am there.

    If you need an online buddy, I'd love to help support and encourage you through this, just friend me! YOU CAN DO THIS!
  • rfsatar
    rfsatar Posts: 599 Member
    It's amusng - the one day I had a later PT session and finished just as all the yummy-mummy brigade parked up their Chelsea Tractors outside my gym, I had to run the gauntlet of looks up and down ... and this was after having kicked myself in the butt and started back at the gym 3 days a week early mornings, so I had been coming for quite a while but had always left before the trendy mums and howling Tarquins arrived.

    My (inward) reaction? "Yeah look, bizatches... this is what happens when someone OWNS their life... jealous much?"

    I pay my money every month and have every damn right to be in THAT gym, on THAT machine and IN THAT THERE pool whenever I frickin' feel like it.

    That's what I tell myself when I have to do battle with those who want to swim in the exact same place every time, to those who want to use the cable machine, to those who eye up my kettle-bells for my strength session, to those who want THAT spot in front of the mirror when I am working out with my resistance bands.

    End of.
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
    I'm sure I would feel the same way! I am super spoiled with a complete home gym (thanks to hubby, he uses it too off and on) and it is a lifesaver and means I have NO excuses. I know not everyone has the $$ or space, but for toning and such, a small set of weights/resistance bands and workout dvds should be enough. There are plenty of things you can do in small spaces without a lot of equipment.
  • keatsgeckos
    keatsgeckos Posts: 15
    Great news. A good personal trainer will support you and make you work hard. I too am shy, but working with a personal trainer was exactly what I needed to not only work effectively with the equipment but also get over the hump of being intimidated. The more you go to the gym, the quicker you'll be a regular :)
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    Wow - I've just read through all of these comments and I'm overwhelmed by the support. I went to the gym for the first time this morning (after a huge coffee) and it wasn't too bad! It's a new gym so everyone is new and looks a buit lost. I only went on the treadmill (in the furthest away corner!) but ran 3k and watched what was happening around me. I did get looked at (but I think becuase I have massive breasts which enjoy taking on a life of their won no mater what sports bra I wear.

    I'm going to run there each day this week and scope out what's happening then hopefully book a PT session with the one I decide looks the least scary :)

    Thanks so so much to everyone. I wil lsave this thread and read it when I am next scared. I have along way to go but I think I can do it. Also just came home and my partner gave me a big hug and said he was proud of me :)

    That's brilliant! Well done :D

    I have a similar frontage issue (well all of me wobbles but they have a life of their own!) and I've found that a tight fitting compression vest like this: http://www.distance.co.uk/distance-web/images/products/detail_popup/887.jpg on top of my sports bra and under a normal t-shirt really helps.
  • ccdishman
    ccdishman Posts: 3
    Actually they don't I go everyday and workout with a room full of guys and if anything the respect what you are doing for yourself, not bashing, just get out there and do it for yourself, I am the biggest girl in the room and People never give me anything but a nod and sometimes a good job ;)

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