Being the schmuck at the gym

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Replies

  • iggyboo93
    iggyboo93 Posts: 524 Member
    I bring the written workouts that my trainer created for me. It doesn't matter what other people think about this. If they are paying attention to what you are doing, they aren't paying attention to their own workout and not accomplishing anything being at the gym.
  • GypsySoul_74
    GypsySoul_74 Posts: 152 Member
    now you listen :) NO ONE at the gym thinks of you as the "chubby girl looking like she is trying". they think of you as the badass girl who is getting it done. that's what i would think if i saw you. i would be giving you a mental high-five :)

    almost everyone i know who lifts carries their program with them either on a digital device or on paper when they first start something new, not just those who are new to lifting. and when i am in the gym and see someone lifting--especially another girl--i NEVER think "oh, she probably doesn't quite know what she's doing" or "oh, she doesn't belong"--i think "damn, that's really what i need to be doing, too! props to her for having the motivation to get out there and do it!"

    despite what we try to tell ourselves in our heads, the people around us generally want good things for us and hope to see us succeed. take that book with you to the gym. or take some of the suggestions others have thrown out there about how else to keep the information you need with you. when i did NROLW, i used these logs and really liked them: http://werkit.com/programs/nrol4w

    (sadly i did not continue past stage 1, but it wasn't because of the program--i LOVED the program. i was just irresponsible and let life-things get in the way. thinking of trying again!)

    however you do it, just get out there and do it. i am rooting for you and i know the people in your physical environment will be rooting for you. if all else fails and you really feel like you don't know what you're doing, smile and ask someone for help--even if you don't get "good" help, you will probably make a new fitness friend, which is never a bad thing. i really believe you will be SO glad you did NROLW!
  • halffull_pgh
    halffull_pgh Posts: 34
    Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback. I went to the gym on Friday, book in hand, and had a great workout. I was feeling a little dorky at first when I kept pulling my book out and flipping through to read and be sure I was doing the exercise properly until the fit/cut/totally hot guy next to me farted when he pulled into his dead lift. I smirked and started feeling like I had little to be embarrassed about.

    Feel free to add me if you have just started or have had a successful fitness journey. The support of MFP is very encouraging.
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    I considered the photo copies. Honestly I felt guilty wasting the paper. I suppose I should also assume it will only take me a few loops of this stage of the routine to know what I am doing and then I shouldn't need the book as a crutch.

    It boils down to the embarrassment of being the chubby girl at the gym looking like she is trying.

    Take a picture of the pages you need and put them on your phone.
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    Or find the E book and down load it
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    How about using some log sheets like these:

    http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/assets/downloads/nrol-blank-training-log-for-women.pdf

    Just add in details of the exercises and goal weights you intend to do then take it along to the gym. While you're working out all you have to do it tick off when you've hit your rep/weight goals or make shorts notes where you've had to make adjustments.


    Take the book with you too to refer to if you need to for specific exercises until you are confident with the moves.
  • Lochlyn_D
    Lochlyn_D Posts: 492 Member
    I considered the photo copies. Honestly I felt guilty wasting the paper. I suppose I should also assume it will only take me a few loops of this stage of the routine to know what I am doing and then I shouldn't need the book as a crutch.

    It boils down to the embarrassment of being the chubby girl at the gym looking like she is trying.

    No matter how many mixtakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn't even trying. - Tony Robbins.
  • iecreamheadaches
    iecreamheadaches Posts: 441 Member
    do what you want, if you need the book take it. If you whimp out and dont want to look like a doucher, go to a less douche-y gym?
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback. I went to the gym on Friday, book in hand, and had a great workout. I was feeling a little dorky at first when I kept pulling my book out and flipping through to read and be sure I was doing the exercise properly until the fit/cut/totally hot guy next to me farted when he pulled into his dead lift. I smirked and started feeling like I had little to be embarrassed about.

    Feel free to add me if you have just started or have had a successful fitness journey. The support of MFP is very encouraging.

    Ha, laugh it up now, but there's a good chance it will happen to you at some point. It's pretty hard to control during squats and deadlifts. But girls don't fart right? That's just not ladylike...
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  • pushyourself14
    pushyourself14 Posts: 275 Member
    Try to not care! Like the poster directly above me said, if they are lifting with any seriousness, they're definitely tracking their sets and reps. I am a hipocrate, though, because I lift weights at home partially due to the same sort of thing; intimidation (that, and my bench at home is a lot nearer to me than the gym :P)... Just zone them out and do your thing! :-)
  • vendygirl
    vendygirl Posts: 718 Member
    Bring what you need to get through the workout safely and effectively. You are in there doing it and referencing a book is nothing. I bring a little notebook with me that I am ALWAYS looking at for the workout for the day. I can barely remember if I did 1 or 2 sets sometimes.
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
    I brought my book for awhile and flipped through it before every exercise and retread a paragraph or two or referred to the pictures. I already read it a dozen times by then but it helped me feel more secure and sure. Yes, once I saw two dudes pointing in my direction as I was squatted down on the floor flipping through my book (not notebook, actual book). I have no idea what they were saying and wished I had gone up and just asked them. Truthfully though, it didn't matter. I was there for me. I was intimidated at first, especially when asking for my first spot, but it is one of those fake it until you make it situations.

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