3. Don’t let fear of what others think of you stop you from doing what you want to do. Once you get onto the gym floor, after a cursory glance at you, all you’ll notice is the overwhelming majority of folks are simply looking at themselves. You’ll have to do this too – you need to make sure your form is correct, and you can’t do that without a mirror. Fear is a liar – you imagine all sorts of weird and wonderful scenarios that never eventuate. Challenge your fears by doing what scares you.
Avoiding the gym because you’re worried about what people think of you doesn’t solve anything. Avoiding a situation only makes it harder – every avoidance gives rise to even more fears. So just go train. Meet someone there if you have to. Or fill your head with your favourite tunes to keep yourself distracted. But go – because the best way to improve your confidence is to have a win! And you win when you do the difficult things or challenge yourself to do what you fear. You absolutely can do this. I recommend tricking yourself into it if you have to. Promise yourself you’ll go and if you don’t feel better within 15 minutes of training, you’ll leave. You’ll stay (I promise the hardest part is sometimes just getting there).
4. Follow your training plan – using your workout app – keep yourself busy by tracking what you’re doing. You don’t have to make eye contact or engage with anyone then if you don’t want to. Keep your headphones in and your phone nearby so you have something else to focus on apart from your immediate environment. As you get more and more confident, you won’t need to do this.
Be aware of how awesome you feel after you complete your session. This is what you focus on when you’re trying to step onto the gym floor. You know you’ll feel great afterwards, and you’ll have an achievement under your belt (a psychological motivator)! Your brain loves it when you accomplish something so it rewards you with lots of feel-good rewards like dopamine.
Remember: Everyone who goes to the gym was once a beginner. I bet when you go, you won’t be the only one there who is just starting. Remind yourself that people don’t go to the gym because they are fit, they go to get fit – same as you. A lot of the fears concerning gym intimidation are really in your head. Training takes concentration and commitment, leaving very little time to spend the whole period there looking around and judging people.
5. And lastly, think back to a time where you had to overcome something really difficult and challenging. What skills did you use? What was your game plan? How did you overcome your problem and what did you learn about yourself? What skills from that situation can you use to help you get comfortable at your new gym?
Give yourself credit. You are a remarkable, resilient individual who has focused on making a lasting positive change. Remember that!
Do you have any other tips? What do you think the best change you could make would be?
