Need advice with exercise classes please!

RosieQ19
RosieQ19 Posts: 13
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well with your exercise and healthy eating etc. :)

Basically the gym I go to has a number of exercise classes throughout the week. I want to lose 4 stone, and exercise wise I want to go to the gym and do classes at least 4 times a week. However I can be a very shy person so at the moment i've only been going to the gym on Thursday morning as it's Ladies Only and I find men intimidating to work out infront of because i'm very insecure (sorry :P). So the classes I want to go to mainly are Spin, Legs bums and tums, pilates, zumba, aerobics, aerotone, boxacise, there are many more. The main thing I'd like advice on though is how do I start going.. I feel really anxious because none of my friends live close and won't go with me and I want to do this on my own and be independent but feel nervous so should I just go for it? I think after I go to one i'll have the confidence to go to others.. Also what do you think is best, the gym or classes? or both combined? :)

Thanks for any advice, it will be appreciated and sorry if this is quite long :)

Replies

  • mitchiejo
    mitchiejo Posts: 179 Member
    I went by myself to some water aerobics and water zumba classes. Of course these were girl only classes. I say if you want to go just do it. You might make some friends in class.
  • annekka
    annekka Posts: 517 Member
    My advice: just go. I've very shy, too. I'm one who doesn't talk to anybody in class and just enjoys my spot at the back of the class. If anybody talks to you or if there are men and they known it's your first time they may just try to help you out. In general, many of the normal fitness classes don't appeal to men, so there will probably be very few if any. Most off the men I see who go to fitness classes go to spin, bodypump and bodycombat. That doesn't mean that they won't go to others, but those are the ones I see men at most often. Try to remember that once the class starts, everybody is just focusing on their form, the routine etc. they won't be looking at you.

    find a spot that you're comfortable in in the class. I like the back of the room because I can watch others and follow the routine, whereas if I was in the front I'd feel like I was expected to know the routine.
  • lalilalu
    lalilalu Posts: 102 Member
    I have recently started doing loads of classes at the gym, with great success. I would really recommend you try any and all of them. Prior to the classes I was doing cardio and weights in the gym 3-4 nights a week, and was constantly struggling to get through the workouts because I found them boring, and had a little voice in my head telling me to go home early, or try less. Now I go 5-6 nights a week if possible and wish that some of the classes went for longer.

    I can very clearly see the change in my body since changing my routine, and have finally started losing weight on the scales, which hasn't happened for quite a number of months.

    The other added benefit is that I've made some good friends at the gym. Before I didn't know anyone there, didn't ever talk to anyone, would just go, plug into my music, keep my head down and then head home. Now I know lots of people at the gym, love having a chat before and after classes and feel a real sense of community with the regulars and some instructors.

    I generally do Zumba and Body Combat, but depending on my schedule I also do some of the other classes as well. I really enjoy them both, some instructors more than others, but if it's a good class then I'm wrecked afterwards, but also feel like it went too quickly.

    Maybe do start going to the classes that are mainly women if it makes you more comfortable, and do just hide up the back corner, and as you gain the skills and confidence you will be more willing to try some of the other classes.
  • just4nessa
    just4nessa Posts: 459 Member
    Just pick a class and try it. If you don't like it, pick a different class.A good instructor will keep their eye on the newbies but most other students are focused on themselves, not what others are doing. And if you don't go back to that class, they'll never see you again so why would it matter? Try a few different classes to see what you like. If you enjoy the class and are comfortable with the instructor, you will benefit more than if you are taking a class just because you have a friend there. I was hesitant to go to to classes alone, but now I prefer going alone because I don't have to wait for anyone, adjust my schedule, or piggy-back on someone else's excuse to skip a class.
  • sbrownallison
    sbrownallison Posts: 314 Member
    I felt intimidated, too, at first, until I realized that no one gave a rip about what I was doing, they were watching the instructor and doing their own thing. I do stay at the back corner of the room, as I'm still not comfortable at the front. The classes I go to range from aerobic, to strength-training, steps, and RIPPED. I am a member of the YMCA club and we are a very diverse lot. I do get intimidated at some of the other gyms where there's a narrow-range of demographics (all young, or fit soldiers, or whatever). I like the friendships I've found in the classes but no one is pushy either. Try it, you'll like it. (I sometimes do treadmill or walk the track but I do find it very boring compared to the classes.) I go to the Y 4-5 times a week now to do classes.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Yeah dudes typically don't do classes. If you're worried about working out in front of a bunch of guys, don't be!

Categories