Fear of going to a gym?

I prefer working out outside or at home. I used to be a total gym rat 5 days a week for a minimum of an hour. I would always compare how much weight I was lifting vs the guy next to me. How many reps could he do vs me. I ended up damaging my back and sciatic lifting too heavy to help my ego. So I had to rethink things and change how I looked at working out. So I quit the gym and bought minimal stuff to workout at home. Tractor tire flips are the only workout that I lift more than my body weight. Make the world your gym and your body the weight. My joints don't hurt at all and my overall health and strength have increased dramatically over the past couple years. My personal experience is that doing body weight exercises and real life movements create real useable real life strength. How many times is a load you are lifting perfectly balanced on a straight bar? Almost never. The best part about working out at home is you can get your entire family involved. Go for runs, hiking, mountain biking, or my families favorite is kayaking. Now your workout doesn't feel like a workout.

Lol forgot my reply. Start with just plain walking for now. Your body and muscles will adapt pretty quick, thats when its up to you to listen to your body and decide if you can move on to more strenuous activity, and it wont take long. Nobody at the gym cares about how you look. Everybody starts somewhere and in gymgoers minds they are probably even cheering for you. Dont let fear block you. Fear is the only obstacle here and its all in your head. Dont be your own worst enemy!

I use to use my HS gym alot, alot of fit people but no one ever said anything to make me feel bad. I now only work out at home and personally enjoy it more, esp since at this stage I don't need most of the gear a gym offers and I like the easy to follow laid out routine in p90x.

It's like a swimming pool. When you first get in the water is cold, but if you keep pushing yourself through it you will become acclimated and enjoy it.

I go to an all-women's gym. You walk in, all you see are perfect, and I do mean perfect, bodies. I'm 225lbs, I felt like crawling under a machine. But, I put it in my mind that the only way I'm going to get my own perfect body is to work out.

Take whatever classes they offer. I had never set foot in a gym until March and joined my local YMCA. I literally had no idea how to use an elliptical or weight machines. I don't know any body weight exercises. I never needed to workout to stay fit until a few years ago, so going was horrifying.

Then I decided if I was going to do it....throw myself in full force and get over it faster. I started showing up and taking 2 or 3 of whatever classes offered that day. The group atmosphere and need to learn the moves/keep up moves your focus from how dumb you think you look onto following the instructor and their moves.

You will run out of breath and need breaks in front of people who don't ...you will slip on your own sweat....you will feel silly dancing in a pool or attempting burpees that the 75 year old guy can do. But you'll realize that no one is looking at you. No one cares. Everyone else is focused on themselves, too.

And just like that....an hour has gone by and you made it! You didn't quit, die, or anything else. You may have struggled, but that's the idea. If it was easy, you wouldn't be gaining anything. And you burned 500 calories already! Then pick another and another. Go outside your comfort zone because just being there is already uncomfortable.

Even though I still suck at most of the classes. I'm not thinking about that anymore. I'm proud when I can add more weight to the barbell in BodyPump class. I'm thrilled when I remember Zumba moves. I feel achievement when I remember jab and roundhouse combos in BodyCombat. And when I eventually go back and hit the weight room or cardio machines...I feel confident because I'm betting most people there stay in their routines out of fear or pre conceived notions, while I've overcome it....gotten stronger...and learned so much about exercise and my body that the Gym is a fun, daily surprise instead of dreaded chore.

Tomorrow I'm trying Pilates and a Kettlebell class for the first time. Then I'm going to swim laps even though I HATE swimming AND pools. And I basically only know backstroke. So I'm going to backstroke my butt off.

I feel accomplished everyday now because I keep going outside of my comfort zone and nothing "terrible" has happened. It's best to address weakness and fears to their *theoretical* face. That's just how I personally got over my fears AND learned a ton about exercise as well as my particular strengths and weaknesses. Avoidance makes it remain a boogeyman that never existed.

And take the weekends off and spend them outdoors, with family, or recovering. Sleep in. Take a slow walk. By Sunday night, I'm dying to get back to the gym.

i had the physical symptoms of terror the first month or two i was in a weight room. it felt like the room had higher pressure in it than the corridor outside it, and it was trying to push me back out.

but, yeah. i wanted to do what i wanted to do and for my own thing that i wanted to do being in there was the only way of getting it done. having a plan, aka a programme i was following helped me immensely with that first little while. it gave me a reason for being in there and a thing i could focus on, so i didn't even have to look at the people around me for reference points if i didn't want to.

for you, gyms may not even be necessary. my own obsession was learning to do cool things with a barbell, and then doing them, so it needed a specific room with specific equipment in it. but if i hadn't been bitten by that bug i don't think i would care if the entire world lined up and told me to 'go to a gym'. i just wouldn't do it. outside of my interest zone, it just isn't my kind of thing.

but no matter what venue you choose, having a programme or project can be a great way to get you over that beginner hump. gl; it's really worth it.

I hate the gym. I hate random advice from strangers, or people looking at me like I'm an alien or something. I really enjoy heavy bag workouts so I built a boxing gym in my basement one item at a time buying them off kijiji or yard sales.

I started with just a heavy bag and now have added a weight bench, two speed bags, a coordination bag, a pull up bar, a dip station, a chin up bar I red-necked up from an old weight bar, and some cheap bars from Walmart. Most of my weights I bought a few at a time from the thrift stores in my city. I use some old computer speakers hooked up to a disc changer or my tablet for music.

Now the only people I deal with are my kids interrupting me over who gets the TV while I'm in the basement.

You need a plan, so you know what to do to- does your gym give you a free training session or fitness evaluation? Start there. Make a schedule for yourself to keep yourself accountable. Try out some classes if your gym has them - it takes the guesswork out. Don't think about other people watching you. Use headphones!

maillemaker wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is just me but I am desperate to lose weight and I want to start exercising.

Understand that exercise is not required to lose weight. It's certainly good for your health, but most of your weight loss caloric deficit is going to come from eating less, not exercising more.

In terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter how you achieve a caloric deficit. So if you don't like the discomfort of exercise, don't do it.

Yes, you don't need to exercise to lose weight. So if that is your only reason to go to a gym, you don't need to.

If you want to improve health, you can start slow. As others mentioned as well, I started with walking outside before moving into C25k. I think building up from walking really is a great way to start. I have been taking fitness classes as well- the very first time I went, I had to walk out of the room twice because I thought I was going to throw up lol. But after that, it went smoothly.

If you want to work out beyond just for weight loss, stick with it. People really are more focused on their own workouts. Good luck!

You don't need to join a gym to lose weight- It's doable without.

I know it's scary, but feel the fear and do it anyway.It gets much easier and after a while becomes like second nature. Put your headphones on and it's easier to tune everyone else out. I've honestly been exactly where you are. I walked in when I was at my heaviest around a UK 18-20. The best line I heard from someone was "if you're afraid of what they're thinking about you at the gym- then what would they be thinking of you at macdonalds?"

Your there to work on improving your fitness and everyone started from somewhere.The very muscular guys weren't born like that. It came from effort and even when I had lost around 30lbs- I still found my first week of c25k where we had to run for 1.30 mins hard! I honestly secretly cheer for people I see who are taking the time out to improve themselves.

I've been in crossfit classes where I was the biggest girl and everyone else looked like they could be models from a fitness magazine. But you need to go easy on yourself. I felt they would all be judging me, but the group and the trainer were all actually rather friendly and nice.

Lots of ppl feel the fear, even if they've been to a gym before. Today I went to check out a new gym and the last couple of weeks I've been a bit afraid because it's a brand new place. I don't know anyone, don't know the facility layout, what if the patrons were jerks? Etc etc. But I went in there and just focused on myself and my workout and it was great. Just do you!

Jamie, you are not alone. I was diagnosed as having what psychiatrist call Social Anxiety Disorder--it just means I'm not at all comfortable in places like gyms! I always feel "judged" by others. I've had to come to terms with it as a reality. So that means working out at home and outside are my only options. I've fallen off the wagon this winter and want to get back on (which is why I joined here). I don't know how old you are, but if you're over 30, do not dismiss using some sort of weight lifting. Men's body's respond to increased strength and begin to burn calories fairly easily. But like Gearhead 426 above, I also totally believe using your own body as the weight is the key. I tried it last time and found it was more invigorating than weights and seemed less of a chore than weights do. I got to move and feel myself getting out of breath (in a good, invigorating way) and it just made me feel alive! Walking is the best "aerobic" way to lose weight, so I plan to walk several days and to do body weight exercise twice a week (many recommend 3 times a week, but it's my plan and I'm calling the shots---not to mention I'm 63 years old and I think that's about all I can handle right now! Ha!) So don't feel that you are alone in this fear of the gym--you are not, my friend! I liked the way one of the employees at a gym explained it to me. He said, "Some people are "Mall" people and some people are "Library" people. The same applies to gyms. Some people work best in a group....other people work best alone".