First and foremost, I have to say I love love lovee the gym. This love is what makes me want to go almost every day and to push myself past my limits. I'm no longer scared to be in the weights section by myself or to ask a random person to film me. To get to this place of complete gym comfort is not easy AT ALL. In fact, I'm not even totally there yet lol. Going to the gym is as much of a mental exercise as it is physical and gym confidence can take some time to develop. (I think)
In my journey, these are some of the things that held me back and how I'm getting over them. I hope this helps someone else on their journey as well! This is going to be a short series of 5 consisting of:
Intimidation
What You Think Will Happen:
- Everyone is going to stare
- I suck at everything
- Everyone is going to be checking me out (cause I'm so fly)
What Actually Happens in the Gym:
- Nobody is going to stare at you, except for a few creepy people
- You might suck, I did when I started. I literally was so bad at everything but that's why they have trainers and you could always ask more experienced people for help
- Lol. See point one
When you walk into the gym you need to remember that you're there to achieve your goals and so is everyone else. Getting out of your head is the hardest part about lifting but once you can break the mental barriers you can take your training to the next level.
For example, when I went to the gym alone I would only go in the mornings because I was intimated by the lack of other girls and the overflow of super muscular dudes. Going alone is way harder than going with a group. You don't have your posse to back you up or crack jokes.
However, I soon tired of waking up at like 6am to get to the gym and then go to school. It took me a while to get to this point but now I can go anytime I want and still feel confident. Perhaps it is because I'm stronger now or maybe it's because when I realized that the gym is a community and you can meet some great people when you stop looking at them like they have five heads lol.
The Bar & I
People aren't the only thing that can be intimidating, weights can be too!
What You Think:
- It's too heavy
- I can't do it
- It's too heavy
What Actually Happens:
- I can do it, or at least one. That literally sums up all of the points.
When you see the weight, you might think that is way too much, I can't do that! But if you are progressing at a gradual pace then most likely you can do at least one and if you can't it is not the end of the world. It just means you have a goal to surpass this weight next time. Don't give up just because you can't do one thing. Don't let the weight beat you. You're the boss, so lift!
Next time you're contemplating whether or not to go lift, go with confidence and an attitude to learn and you will be just fine! Gym confidence takes time to build but keep striving towards it.
