Are you anxious about going to the Gym?

So you have made your fitness resolution and joined a gym. You should be feeling excited about starting your fitness journey but you are not. You feel anxious about going, what you will be wearing, how to do the workouts etc. Sound familiar? This gym anxiety, or ‘Gym-timidation’ plagues numerous gym beginners or even gym goers who join a new gym. This anxiety could potentially stop you from going to the gym and become a hurdle in your fitness.

So lets see why this happens:

1. You are afraid of being judged on your appearance/fitness. This is a common issue with a lot of gym newbies. Gyms can feel so intimidating with their powerful looking machines, macho trainers and other scary gym regulars crushing their workouts. You might feel anxious that you gym gear, especially your clothes dont look very swanky. This has been made worse by numerous influencers on social media putting up videos clothed in branded gym clothers, performing herculean workouts under the hawkeyed gaze of a personal trainer standing close by. Some people feel worried about being judged for their body shape, fitness level etc.
2. The machines and workouts look difficult: Picture this, you are just understanding the buttons on the treadmill and learning to walk holding the safety bar, when a uber fit gym goer on the machine next to you starts running with a thundering pace. Or you are wondering how to get up on that pull up machine when a black clad ninja looking person just hoists their entire body on the bar. Scary, right?
3. The trainers look intimidating: Having experienced the above two scenarios, you look around for that trainer for help. Chances are that after the 1st couple of induction training days, unless you take a personal trainer, you become invisible to the gym staff. Most gyms have floor trainers standing near the weights section with their arms crossed and you automatically hesitate in calling out to them. I would like to establish here that this is not a fact or I am not maligning gym trainers in any way. Its just that people who are anxious may perceive them in that way.

Having experienced all this, you may feel the initial exhilaration of working out vanishing away only to be relaced by a feeling dread and inferiority. And every time you think of going back, this discomfiting feeling returns.

So enough about what happens, is there some way by which you can get over this? Yes there are! Feeling intimidated or anxious is after all a psychological mindset and avoiding facing it will make it worse. Below I have listed down some methods by which you can get over or deal with your gym anxiety:

1. Understand that everyone was a beginner sometime and has probable gone through the same thing. Yes, that’s true even for those scary looking dudes with rippling biceps flinging away those thick battling ropes.
2. Remember the real reason you joined the gym: Did you join the gym to be win the gym goers approval? No you joined for becoming fitter and healthier. Everyone’s fitness journey is unique and the starting point may be different, but the end goal is generally the same.
3. No one is really watching you. The only person who is likely to be judging you is, well, YOU! Everyone else is probably focusing on their own workouts and their are little chances that they have even noticed you
4. If you feel very anxious or panicky, try simple relaxation techniques like deep breathing, or distracting for your negative thoughts by focusing on your workout instead.
5. If you have negative thoughts such as ” Everyone is watching me, or I dont look as fit as them”, try reframing that thought to something like, “Everyone is probably focusing on their workouts. They are too busy to watch or judge me”.
6. If you feel anxious to ask the trainers for help with your workout, remember, it is their job to guide you through the workouts, so you are entitled to their help. Also as the machines don’t come with a manual, it is all but natural that you will take some to master them.
7. It is not necessary to have branded and coordinated expensive gym clothes or gear. Don’t fall prey to consumerist tactics developed by the fashion industry to buy swanky athleisure wear. Your gym wear needs to be functional and comfortable, not to make a style statement.
8. If you feel lost with the machines, you can also try to read their names, and see online videos on how they are meant to be used. Although watching Youtube videos should not supersede asking a trainer for help, at least it boosts your confidence and then you can check with the trainer if you form right.
9. Make new friends at the gym. Just saying hello to the gym staff regularly helps break the ice and in some time you find them greeting you warmly.
10. Lastly, you could try going with a family member or a friend. Having someone with you makes it less alien and you will have a fitness pal to keep you on track.

I hope these tips help you in overcoming your gym related anxiety. If you continue to feel anxious or develop symptoms of an Anxiety or Panic Disorder, then please visit a Psychiatrist. To find out the difference between normal anxiety and an Anxiety disorder, read our article on this topic.

All the best for your fitness journey!