Shy to Work out in Public?

penrbrown
penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this but show of hands!
How many are shy to workout if others can see?

I'm so, SO shy... Two years back I could go to the gym (and I was thirty pounds heavier!) and workout and it didn't bother me but these days I find myself feeling really, really uncomfortable if ANYONE is around when I'm working out. I'll only workout in my living room and I only run at night when no one can see me. Heh. I couldn't even do my workout if my roommate was home! And I'm 100% comfortable with her otherwise! How silly is that?

Anybody else shy about working out in public? Show of hands so I don't feel so ridonkulous?
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Replies

  • vahine03
    vahine03 Posts: 214 Member
    I am SHY to work out in public! I can't go anywhere to workout without a buddy. Usually those buddies look way better than me. :o Which would have been a nother reason why i wouldn't go. But because of their support and how they push me forward, i don't want to let them down. I'm out there...facing my fear of exercising in public. :P YOu're not alone! You're definitely not redonkulous!
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,832 Member
    I have yet to join a gym because I'm so shy to work out in public.. It sucks!
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    It does suck! They need gyms for shy people... and all the shy people could go and be shy together... and then they wouldn't go because they're too shy to be seen there even if they're surrounded by other shy people. Oh my head.
  • vahine03
    vahine03 Posts: 214 Member
    Haha that's funny. They wouldn't go even if their surrounded by shy people. :p That's would be me. I'm so self cautious and i compare myself to others. It's a major problem with me. I'm slowly gettin better.
  • STurbs33
    STurbs33 Posts: 134 Member
    I'm very shy and usually prefer to work out at home. However, my fitness goals have changed recently and now I need a gym to achieve them. I was so nervous the first few times. What helped me though was having my iPod on as soon as I left the change room. I'd get a good, motivating song on and just focus on what I was there to do. You kind of get lost in the song and your own mind and start not to notice everyone around you. Also, by the end of the workout, you'll be so happy you actually went for it instead of sitting back and debating whether or not you should. Hope that helps somewhat! :)
  • Get_Me_Fit
    Get_Me_Fit Posts: 42 Member
    Im really shy to workout too. i HATE working out in front of my family. I dont mind gyms because i feel like no one is noticing if im just doing my own thing. Im really shy about it, because im worried people stare at my fat..
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    I totally understand the shy part. When I first joined a gym I was sure everyone was watching me. I wanted to workout where nobody could watch. Over time, after forcing myself to go, it got easier. I still don't want people watching me, especially when I'm doing burpees (LOL), but I've gotten over the shyness part. I think part of it is going at the same time and getting use to the normal crowed.

    I also assume that most people are like myself and are paying more attention to their own workout than what other people are doing. There are obvious exceptions to this: the guys/gals who get in there and tare the place up with their super high intensity workouts. But with these people, you are in such awe at their athleticism, you just can't help it.

    Bottom line, you gotta to what is best for you. If you are too shy for the gym, and your workout is affected by this - either by skipping a workout or giving up all together - the best thing to do is workout at home where you are comfortable. In the end, the goal is a healthy body.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I wouldn't call myself shy about working out in public, but I am apprehensive to try some things when people are around...so I usually end up just going and doing something I already know how to do if too many people are around. Best way to get this out of your head...try a new class at the gym. Nothing like having absolutely no idea what you are doing to take you out of your comfort zone!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I used to be very self conscious about running during daylight hours and then it dawned on me that I was part of the landscape. It's the same in the gym, everyone else is there for the same reason you are - they may be in differing stages of their fitness quest but (unless your gym is a meat market) nobody's really paying attention to you.
  • pumalama
    pumalama Posts: 140 Member
    I am shy only for some exercises : the ridiculously low weights I have to do as part of my PT routine, some legs and gluts exercises, running on the road in day time.

    I used to be shy to go swimming because I am propelling myself forward without knowing any techniques. The lifeguard once asked me if I was ok because I was splashing some water while moving my arms. I answered very seriously, yes, sure, why? trying my best not to show that I knew exactly why she was asking...
  • blondejillie
    blondejillie Posts: 305 Member
    I won't even work out in the living room if my Mom (or other relatives) are visiting. Glad my dogs don't make me nervous or I'd never work out. :blushing:
  • Eaglesfanintn
    Eaglesfanintn Posts: 813 Member
    My trainer gives me workouts that are part running and part calisthenics. I feel so stupid stopping in what looks like the middle of a run to do burpees or situps or lunges. I do those workouts in the early am before the sun comes up.
    Oh, and I don't attempt pullups/chinups in public either...it's just too pitiful.
  • original_cake_face
    original_cake_face Posts: 131 Member
    It does suck! They need gyms for shy people... and all the shy people could go and be shy together... and then they wouldn't go because they're too shy to be seen there even if they're surrounded by other shy people. Oh my head.

    They could put all the machines in little cubicles. With sound proof walls. So no one could hear me huffing and puffing.
  • InvidiaXII
    InvidiaXII Posts: 315 Member
    I'm the opposite, used to be really shy about it, now I don't really care. Although I do still prefer to use the cardio machines in the "cinema room" at my gym-- it has a movie theatre size screen and they play movies constantly throughout the day... makes me a little less self-conscious because the room is fairly dark and everyone is staring at the screen.
  • Silver_Star
    Silver_Star Posts: 1,351 Member
    Both my hands in the air!!
    Im so afraid of people in the gym.. they seem to know how to do everything and i just cringe anytime anyone looks at me...especially if im sweaty or if i dont walk fast enough ( i have chicken legs . LOL )

    When i would go to the gym in asia i was always the fattest girl.. that did it for me....everyone was so trim and slender and i felt like a whale...so i never did get the confidence to go back...now i have a treadmill at home and i am slowly getting to love that thing!!

    i can wear WHATEVER i want, i can sweat buckets, have my hair done up in a strange way out of my face, i can stop and collapse on the couch when i need a break and i can do anything i dang well please and NO ONE will laugh at me!
  • jessicae1aine
    jessicae1aine Posts: 885
    Yes Ma'am! I hate working out in public, but it's worth it. My local gym happens to be a college gym - as in, quite literally belongs to the college - and it's all we've got, so it's typically fairly busy and still worth being around other people. I go in, get situated, turn on music, and attempt to avoid eye contact at all costs. (I also have Asperger's. This tends to make socialization at all difficult.)
  • bachooka
    bachooka Posts: 719 Member
    I used to be so shy to work out in public. I tried running last fall, and was doing a warrior challenge as well... I did it in a feild near a park and then kids and their parents would look at me like, "what the..?". It was okay. I just reminded myself that they will be staring for another reason when I am super fit and toned.
  • karenlw75
    karenlw75 Posts: 30 Member
    I also don't really like to work out in public. I do go to the gym, but prefer to go when it's not crowded. I haven't gotten the hang of all the machines yet, and when I'm fumbling with them I feel like everyone notices. I tried running outside in the dark for a bit a while back, but can't bring myself to do it again.
  • lmd172
    lmd172 Posts: 172
    i am so glad this is not so uncommon! i run with 2 of my besties and that is not all that bad, i do my cardio (step and body sculpt type class) in a big closed-off-from-view-room at the gym, but i'm adding weight lifting next week and i am terrified to get out there in front of everyone...he's going to have me use mostly free weights and there is just NO hiding out there....

    oh, and i sometimes do a dvd at home and would probably DIE if my daughter saw me! how horrible is that?!?!?

    **hangs head in shame**
  • VRoseDuda
    VRoseDuda Posts: 129 Member
    I like to work out in the gym because i keep going in case I see someone I know. BUT...I will NOT jog because I can't get the idea of my butt flopping up and down out of my mental vision. I only go on the track if it is about 5 am and there is no one really out there
  • pumalama
    pumalama Posts: 140 Member
    I'm the opposite, used to be really shy about it, now I don't really care. Although I do still prefer to use the cardio machines in the "cinema room" at my gym-- it has a movie theatre size screen and they play movies constantly throughout the day... makes me a little less self-conscious because the room is fairly dark and everyone is staring at the screen.

    wow, I'm impressed by your gym! I'd do 2 hrs of cardio to watch a good movie :)
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
    Hands up here!

    When I was smaller, well when I was fit and originally lost my weight, enough to not need to use the gym to actually lose the weight I would go and not care, when I started gaining the weight I purchased a cross trainer for at home and stuck to working out at home instead. I hate feeling judged, I will rarely eat out in public either.
  • shaelataylor
    shaelataylor Posts: 224 Member
    i am but i suck it up and do it anyway...and you know what? no one has said anything. people wave or nod as i jog past, but they dont act like its half as strange as i feel doing it :)
  • InvidiaXII
    InvidiaXII Posts: 315 Member
    I'm the opposite, used to be really shy about it, now I don't really care. Although I do still prefer to use the cardio machines in the "cinema room" at my gym-- it has a movie theatre size screen and they play movies constantly throughout the day... makes me a little less self-conscious because the room is fairly dark and everyone is staring at the screen.

    wow, I'm impressed by your gym! I'd do 2 hrs of cardio to watch a good movie :)

    I know, I loooooove my gym. I'm so spoiled, if I ever have to leave and join another gym I'm going to be all, "What do you mean you don't have a movie theatre?!?"
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    I WAS shy, but not any more.

    Although some days I read MFP forums and think maybe I should care, because it sounds like there are people who judge, but I'm over that. :P

    Now the only place I'm shy about working out is in the weights section of the gym when it's full of 20yr old buff boys.... they scare me.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    This is the honest truth! The more I go to the gym to workout, the more I realize and see that everyone has their own limits. Even the most fit looking people are not perfect athletes. Everybody works hard and everybody sweats and everybody gets exhausted and has things they are trying to accomplish yet struggle with. So try to go and not be hung up and shy. There is plenty that you can do that the next person can't. Even as in my case for a loooonng time it meant just showing up and trying :blushing:
  • Wherethebleepisourstork
    Wherethebleepisourstork Posts: 62
    Indeed, I am! I have a gym membership and haven't used it once, because the fear of working out with strangers scares me! I am scared of the judgments they have.... I need to get over it, I know!
  • Raivynsblood
    Raivynsblood Posts: 68 Member
    yea i wanna try the couch to 5k program, but the thought of running thru my neighborhood or a park is terrifying smh :grumble: :noway:
  • mittensofdoom
    mittensofdoom Posts: 69 Member
    I don't really care to work out at the gym either. I do videos at home.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    I don't work out in front of people because I work to the point of failure, and i don't want anyone to see me struggle. I don't even workout with my husband in the room. Partly though, that's because he's tried to give me unsolicited advice before, and I'm just not having it. I also don't want him to see me struggle, because he's such a gentleman and he always likes to help the lady with her heavy groceries or whatever, and I think his desire to take care of me has made me weak in more ways than one. I love him dearly, and trust him with everything I have, but I still must do my workouts alone.

    I used to go to a gym. Working out around strangers isn't as bad, because they don't give a flying *kitten* if I am huffing and puffing as long as I don't pass out. However, strangers make their own noises, smells, and weird looks, so I don't really want to be around them. The worst part of the gym was the parking lot. The second worst was the weight area where people drop stuff. I'm a scared little bunny who frightens easily. Then, we have the naked ladies in the locker room... and potential fungus.... ugh. No thanks.

    I will work out alone, at home, where I have a giant stash of clean clothes, a private shower, and PEACE AND QUIET.

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