How to Overcome Gym Anxiety for First Timers

“What if people laugh at me when I’m there?”

“I don’t know how to use all the equipment.”

If any of these thoughts have crossed your mind, you’re not alone. Feeling nervous or anxious about going to the gym in common.  The good news is that it doesn’t always have to feel this way.  We’re breaking down six worries people face when beginning a gym routine and how to overcome these thoughts so you can focus on a healthier you!

I’m not sure if I’m ready to exercise.

If you haven’t exercised in a long time, have any known injuries, are overweight, or have a pre-existing condition that may affect your ability to exercise, it’s worth getting checked out by a doctor before starting a workout routine. He or she can advise you on how much you can push yourself or if you need to avoid certain types of exercises to ensure your health and safety.

I have good intentions but…

Before you head to the gym for the first time pinpoint your reason for going to the gym. I don’t mean something like “to be healthy” or “because I want to lose weight”, ask yourself “why do I want to be healthy?” or “why do I really want to lose weight?” Whatever that reason may be, you need to be completely honest with yourself. Maybe you want to look better or feel better. Or maybe regular exercise will help you manage a chronic health condition. At the end of the day, no matter what your reason, the important part is that you have one. Your reason is what’s going to motivate you to go to the gym when you’d rather skip it.

I don’t know what I’m doing!

One of the biggest fears people have is going in on the first day and not knowing how to use any of the equipment at the gym — but that’s something you have control over and it’s easier than you think to get acclimated.

Once you have decided on your reason for going to the gym, research a routine based on your goal. There are a lot of great beginner routines to try out online, here are some of my favorites:

Strength and Muscle building:

• Ice cream fitness

Cardio:

• Couch to 5k 
• 8 week beginner’s program

One note about researching routines:  find a program that will help you achieve your goal — and, after getting the green light from your doctor, start following it. There are some folks that get “analysis paralysis” and feel like they never know enough to start. At some point you have to just get in there and give it a try.

 I’ll feel self-conscious.

This is a very common fear.  First, I will say most people won’t do anything like that; they are so busy doing their own thing at the gym to notice. Unfortunately there are always going to be a small number of people that fit this persona. You can’t let this stop you from trying to reach your goal. A couple of things to try to ease your anxiety:

• Put on headphones as soon as you leave the locker room. Just block out everyone around you and just focus on your workout.
• Try finding a partner to work out with. It’s always nice to have someone around to motivate you at the gym and you can focus on what your partner is doing and ignore everyone else.
• As you slowly become a gym veteran don’t forget how you felt the first time you went to the gym: encourage others and always respect the effort someone is making to change themselves for the better.

 I don’t know the proper gym etiquette.

If you are worried about breaking some of the unwritten rules of the gym, here are a few basic rules of etiquette to remember:

• Wipe off any equipment that you sweat on.
• Put the weights back where you found them. There are a lot of folks that use various equipment and just leave them wherever they feel like, making others run around the gym looking for things. Also the amount of weight you leave on a machine might be way too much for someone else to move.
• If you are waiting to use a machine ask if you can pop on the equipment while they’re resting between sets or politely ask how them how many more sets they have so you can hop on after they’re finished. Don’t stand around looking at someone using a machine and make them feel uncomfortable.
• If you know someone is waiting for a machine/piece of equipment offer to let them do a quick set if you know that you are going to be a while.
• Don’t talk on your cell phone. If you need to take a call urgently then step out of the main area to do it. People are trying to focus at the gym.

It’ll be too hard.

I have seen a lot of people get discouraged after the first day. They say they could only run for a minute or they could only lift 5 pounds. That is still a success! The previous day you didn’t even go to the gym. Now you have made the first step in the right direction.

The Bottom Line

The journey to getting into shape takes time.  Stay positive, give it your best, and see what happens.

Good luck on your journey to better health!