Don’t be this person.
Like I said last week, going to the gym for a newbie can be like being the new kid at school. You don’t know anyone, you don’t know the social structure and what the hell is that machine by the door?
There’s a lot of trepidation about joining a new gym, but that can be overcome. The thing about being the newbie is that you’re free to mess up and blame it on ignorance. Trip over your shoelace? Eh, no biggie. Get behind in the steps at Zumba. You’re in the back, no one’s paying attention.
Newbies, like the rest of us, have freedom to define their workouts according to their needs. A story in the Daily Mail siting a story in Cosmopolitan Body gives the usual reasons people don’t want to go: too lazy or the gym is too busy. The responses that bothered me most were “think the regulars dominate it” ( 12% women, 10% men) and “think they’re not fit enough to join” (15% women, 4% men). Women are struggling with a the great #FOWO (fear of working out)
Women who feel embarrassed when exercising outnumber men by two to one, with other people noticing them and feeling unfit deemed the main reasons for feeling uncomfortable.
—Daily Mail article
I understand it. I was there in the beginning. The gym can be a daunting place and new things can be scary. But fear is a flimsy excuse for not doing the things you want, especially if those things are good for you. Who cares if some jacked-up shmoe looks at you sideways because you went for the 20-pound dumbbells when you should be picking of the 3-pounders? Screw that dink. You live and you learn. No one should be paying that much attention to you in the first place unless you know them.
Also, no one is ever “fit enough” for gym. That’s why we’re all there. Everyone is working on improvement. People are at the gym to get some type of result, be it to maintain, lose or even gain. As I’ve said before on this blog, we’re all works in progress. Think of it this way: the weight loss journey is a crowded highway full of single drivers. We’re all going to the same place, but you’re doing it as an individual. Because of that, most people at the gym are too focused on what they have to do to let your little slip ups get them down.
While on this individual journey, don’t forget to stop and ask for directions. Talk to the trainers. At commercial gyms like an Equinox or Bally’s, trainers can be like Tuesday afternoon salespeople at Macy’s. He’s bored or he’s talking to his co-workers because he has nothing to do. The next paid client doesn’t come in for another hour. That’s plenty of time to ask him about proper form for a lunge or three exercises to do to work on your upper back. Now look at you. You’ve made a new friend!
If all of the trainers are busy, you can ask one of the veteran gym rats. When you’re working out, you’re building endorphins and therefore super excited to help. You can also glance (don’t leer) around the gym at what others are doing. People watch.
The weight-loss process is trial and error. You will hit a couple bumps in the road on your way to your goal, but you’ll get there with dedication and effort. Do what works for you and you’ll be happier.
I'm Skinny, Now What? 