First time gym disaster
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This happened to me in Nike Training Club, and I am moderately in shape!
I think you did a great thing by trying...a wonderful thing.
Maybe it's best to start off at something here you can go your own pace and no pressure from anyone else watching. Like the treadmill or the elliptical. They are a great way to burn calories and go as long/short a time as you want!
Congrats on your achievement of going to the gym! It's hard to fight through depression and go anywhere, sometimes (I know for sure).0 -
Hello everyone,
I'm new here and I hope I'm doing this right!
Yesterday was my first time ever in a gym, I'm 22 years old and I've been struggling against depression and anxiety since I was 16. Almost five years ago my depression got worse, meaning I couldn't even get out of my house for the past 4 years, I just spent my days either lying in bed or sat behind my desk surfing the internet. One or two weeks ago I decided I finally needed to get up and do something, I decided it was time for me to get healthy and in shape again, I don't have/need to lose weight but to get my whole body healthier again. I apologise for the long introduction but it is relevant to what I'm going to write here.
The gym I go to offers those kind of courses/classes where there is an instructor doing some exercise and you need to copy what he/she does, while there is loud music playing in the background. A friend of mine decided to start this "adventure" with me and so we did.
Well, first lesson yesterday was a disaster to me and me only. I was so anxious I can't even explain. Everyone kept the rythm quite well (some very fast, others at their own pace) and I couldn't even do it at my own pace, I was just devastated after the first 10 minutes. Around that time my vision started going all black and that is when I was well aware I reached my limit, asked the instructor if it was okay to leave for a while and headed towards the locker room where I sat for a good 5 minutes drinking water and trying to get a hold of myself. After those five minutes I started feeling a bit better and was ready to go back. Once I was back in, the instructor kind of understood I was struggling a lot and gave me an even lighter weight to lift while doing the exercises and told me "When you feel too tired just do the exercise without using the weight" and so I did when it was too much for me, but after ten minutes I felt super bad again and started seeing black once more, I got out to the locker room again and couldn't come back because I didn't feel like I could make it. I was so ashamed of myself, I felt so out of shape and weak and I felt bad for leaving my friend alone doing the exercises when I was the one who first decided to go. I was on the verge of tears and my anxiety was at a super high level at that point, I managed to do roughly 20 minutes out of a whole hour session. Once we changed and got to the gym "lobby" we met the instructor, she was kind of nice and told me it was all anxiety on my part, not the fact that I was out of shape (not too sure about that, I mean for sure being out of shape played its part :P) and that I convinced myself I couldn't do it. She assured me that in 3 or 4 lessons I will be able to keep up with everyone else.
I felt like I was the first person ever this whole thing happened to, is it okay for the first time ever to be that bad? Am I really going to do it?
I'm sure everyone experience is different, still I do really need some comfort. I want to be strong and to be able to go there again but right now I feel like it is impossible for me to do it or to be ever able to keep up with everyone there.
Thanks again and sorry for the long thread.
To be honest I think shes actually giving you too much credit. After 3 or 4 lessons if you still cant keep up, dont worry about it. Having almost blacked out a few times due to the combination of anxiety and exertion I would say that you pushed yourself pretty hard.
Everyone's experience is different, but rest assured you arent the only one to experience anxiety going to a gym and working out with a bunch of strangers. Best advice I can give is "dont worry about anyone else but you". I know it seems kinda selfish, but you arent there competing with other people. You arent going to get a prize or a discount for doing more work than the other patrons. So compare yourself to just you. Focus on getting a little bit better every day, be consistent, and never quit.
ETA: When I say never quit I mean, dont stop going to the gym. Its okay to take a lot of breaks and stop when you feel you need to. Youll pick it up again tomorrow or the next day.0 -
The loud, throbbing music always makes me feel anxious and confused. Would a stretching class, or something quiet, be less stressful? At least, as a place to start?0
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I read your post and two things jumped out at me:
1. You got out of the house and went to the gym!
2. You exercised for TWENTY minutes!
For a first step into a healthier lifestyle, these are both huge steps in the right direction! I also think the instructor sounds great and very understanding.
Good for you! Focus on the positives and keep at it!
This! You should be proud of yourself! :flowerforyou:0 -
Oh my, you sound just like me! Although I do not suffer from depression, I cannot dance, I cannot follow routines in exercise classes, especially fast ones! I've never been able to either! It's embarrassing, stressful and I hate it. So.. I do other stuff, mostly alone. Not that I don't like being with other people, I just cant follow routines, especially if the instructor is facing me, so it's backwards.
So, instead of classes, I walk, run, swim, lift weights, garden, bike, hike, etc. Anything that doesn't force me to follow someone else's direction. It's not an issue anymore except when people want me to dance on a dance floor and I suppose if I cared that much, I'd take private dancing lessons and get over it.
I suggest that you find something else and get out of that class asap! Find a walking buddy or go check out the weight machines/free weights, exercise bikes, treadmills, etc., at your gym. Maybe take a spin class with your friend? Don't give up and keep looking until you find something! Good luck and I pray you find something you can enjoy and excel at.0 -
I dropped out of a ballroom dance class because of anxiety. We had been to several lessons that went okay but I was at the point where I should have been getting it and I wasn't. The instructor was working with me while my wife and all the other students were standing around watching me struggle. I got nauseous and had to leave. I finally told my wife that I was so physically uncomfortable that I was not going to be able to do it.
I've never been officially diagnosed but I have all the symptoms of social anxiety disorder and I don't catch on to choreography quickly at all. I recently took up Taekwondo and everything about it is choreography except the sparring. I was afraid that it was going to be the same story all over again. Instead, I took control and wrote cheat sheets about what move comes next. I watch videos of the forms on youtube and I practice the steps at 1/2 speed (or less) just to get them down. Heck, we always do the same warm-up / stretching exercises and I still don't know what order they go in after almost four months!
I hope you go back and try again. Don't use any weights and take it easy. Try to keep up with the group but don't put 100% effort into every move. Focus instead on learning the choreography. Ask the instructor if s/he has a video that you can study and practice at home. If the other students don't mind, you might even be able to video the class yourself.
After living a sedentary lifestyle for 4 years, you're not going to be in any kind of physical condition. You may not be over weight but you're likely quite out of shape. That's okay and is to be expected. An hour of intense aerobics is a lot, even for someone who is in shape. Don't beat yourself up. You can do it and you will do it if you stick with it.0 -
Going to the gym can be a very anxiety ridden experience.
When I was in college, I had to take 2 Physical Education classes to get my degree. A friend of mine and I decided to take an aerobics class. I consider myself to be someone who can at least hold a beat when I dance, but I'm telling you - I never felt so uncoordinated in my life during that class!!! I didn't know the moves, and couldn't keep up. I wasn't obese at that time, but I was a bit overweight.
Yes I was embarrassed. But to tell you the truth, as I looked around, there wasn't one person paying attention to me, just the instructor. She would call out that if you were having trouble keeping up, to just march in place, or step side to side until you were able to catch your breath or whatever - but not in a way to single anybody out. I was surprised that some other people did it too though!!
I planted myself in the back, and of course, it was right next to this chick who had been doing the class long enough that she "added a degree of difficulty" to the moves to make it a bit of a harder workout. She was very nice, and instead of feeling like crap around her, I chose to view it as: "That's what I want to be able to do someday....to be able to up the degree of difficulty to that point."
But the back of the room was where I needed to be so I didn't feel like I was "out in front" of everyone.
You can do this....it's all about finding ways to ease into it.0 -
I am terribly uncoordinated and clumsy with no rhythm. Following those classes pose a real challenge for me, especially if they're fast paced. I can understand it being discouraging. It really does get easier the more you do it, and regardless of whether your'e out of sync with everyone else, the goal is to get fitter and have fun. I just concentrate on those things and try to laugh it off when I nearly fall over for no apparent reason.
You might also want to start with something else in conjunction with your classes, like taking long walks to practice being out of the house and doing videos at home to get acquainted with the rhythms and moves.
Just remember, the only way it's ever going to get easier is to just do it. Push through the bad parts and you'll get to the good parts. If you give up, you'll never get there.0 -
Anxiety sucks... Huge applause for making this effort. How about trying yoga? That too is crazy hard, but maybe the breathing would help? Don't give up!0
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I can't keep up in those classes, either! I took a kickboxing class years ago, one time, and could never seem to figure out which way was which. It sucked! I'm just that uncoordinated. Maybe you can try going to the gym and just starting with something easy, like treadmills or elliptical, to get a little more comfortable in that environment. Then maybe start the class again.0
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I can't keep up in those classes, either! I took a kickboxing class years ago, one time, and could never seem to figure out which way was which. It sucked! I'm just that uncoordinated. Maybe you can try going to the gym and just starting with something easy, like treadmills or elliptical, to get a little more comfortable in that environment. Then maybe start the class again.
^^This.
I hate classes because (a) that whole repetition thing really bores me, and (b) I don't like being told what to do, and certainly not by someone shouting "go faster! go left! now, go right!" or whatever. I find it too aggressive in something that I want to give me pleasure.
For me, it's more important that I enjoy every minute of my exercise, and for me, walking is great exercise and keeps me in touch with nature (grass, trees, birds etc) even in a city, although I also like yoga as a way of improving my focus, stretching and working on areas of my body that are tight like shoulders, legs etc.0 -
That vision disappearing thing has happened to me first time I went to this gym after a year of not exercising.
I also have anxiety and stayed indoors for 2-3years.
I know whether you are underweight or over weight.. staying indoors takes a big toll on your health.
CONGRATS on going out and getting some kind of exercise in though!!! REALLY proud of you. I am just starting to try and leave my place and workout a bit this month. So i'm like.. really fresh and new and scared ! lol. I can relate. Please keep going.. try your best. If you don't want to do the classes then do the dvds at home.. but GET OUT. Take a walk once in a while.. I have to really work on this for myself lol. Take care
!! Hugsss 0 -
I can sympathize - I hate classes - I am the most uncoordinated thing ever! I too am one who goes left instead of right, down instead of up -but I when I did the classes I just tried to keep moving.
Also - I have LBP too. A few things I've learned to help......1) Stay extremely hydrated - not just at the gym, but all day before you go. 2) Eat something before you go - a favorite of mine - Peanut butter - the extra carbs help my blood sugar from dropping during a work out (another issue I have) and keep me from blacking out.
If you have been cleared by the doctor - then just keep going - you'll eventually catch on to the moves - I did after a while and at least was going the same way! and you will build up endurance and last longer. If you have to stay in the back and take breaks - so be it. You aren't alone - many of us have had the issue - and even the instructor has had it happen in her class as she gave you really good advice.
Give it time - and you'll be less anxious the more you go - and you'll get better at it too. :flowerforyou:0 -
anyone who thinks they are going to be remotely good at doing a fitness class that requires high energy turning and movement and dance moves or boxing moves after only 3-4 sessions is seriously kidding themselves.
So there are two options- do it A LOT- so you get uber familiar with it- which is easily a month or more and going more than once a week
OR dance like you seriously don't care... all out 100%
I go to our dance studio's zumba class not quiet once a week and I sometimes for only 20 minutes- (I work so sometimes I can't stay) and she adds new dances and new moves- and the stuff repeats- but I have no idea sometimes what we are doing- but I'm good at getting low and step touch or cross touch or whatever.... and I effing GO FOR IT.
Even if we change and I catch it 4 beats later?
so what- I was having a good time- laugh catch up and move on.
it's totally okay.0 -
You did VERY WELL! You were out of your comfort zone trying something new in front of strangers. That takes COURAGE. You did GREAT and didn't give up. That is TENACITY! I believe in you and have been in the same place. Don't give up. Become the member who learns, grows stronger and who encourages other newcomers NOT TO GIVE Up!0
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Huge props for going!! You had probably already built up tons of anxiety before even stepping in the door. I still get anxiety going to the gym and I've been going for quite some time. It takes a lot to work through that fear and just do it.
When I started zumba I would have mild panic attacks from the combination of claustrophobia and not being able to catch my breath, but the more I went the easier it got. If it's something that intrigued you in the first place you should keep going. You got through 20 minutes of it and that's HUGE!!!0 -
Again, thank you so so so much everyone for your support! I'll keep in mind every tip you're all giving me, I'll take it slower and I'll try and be more relaxed next times, not to mention I'll adjust my diet better.
Really there are no words to describe how much helpful you are.
I wish everyone all the best in your goals whatever they are!0 -
Hey, you got out there and spent 20 minutes giving it your best shot! That is not a disaster that is a TOTAL SUCCESS!!!
Doc says you're okay except for LBP, like others have said, make sure you eat and stay hydrated before classes, that will be helpful to you. Maybe talk to the instructor before class and let her know a) you're new, out of the box to all this b) last time you had a few moments that you were near blackout and c) are there any tips she can give you about how to handle the class to get through it (remember, it might take more than 3-4 classes so don't be discouraged if that goes by and you're still having trouble). I did this when I started Les Mills Combat because of an ankle injury (I can't do jumps and some other moves) and being asthmatic and socially awkward starting out at the gym was terrifying! Said instructor is now one of my best friends (and will call me if I don't show up, she's as invested in my health as I am).
Check out some of the other classes they have at your gym, you never know, that Tae Kwan Chi Fanny blaster class might actually lead you down an interesting path (almost 11 years ago I took a class called Bellydance Booty Camp.... three months after I started the class, I left the gym on the advise of the instructor, went to a bellydance studio and am now the lead dancer in the studio's dance troupe and a professional belly dancer.... me, who's embarrassed to be seen in public acting like anything but the serious professional.... I still have people who know me who can't believe that I bellydance, never mind that I'm a performer!)
As Super Trainer (this is my friend that I met through the gym) says: Find your Roar and let everybody hear it!0 -
First of all, yay you for going to a class!
Second of all this was your first time doing a class. There is NO need to be embarrassed over not being able to finish it or having to leave a couple of times because you weren't feeling well.
The first time I ever did a step class I was CLUELESS. So much to the point that the instructor came over to me and practically shared my step with me. And even after doing step for a few years there were STILL times where I was facing the complete opposite of every one else or going the wrong way.
Don't give up!!0
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