I know, it’s not a real word, but it’s a not-real word that should be: gymtimidation. If you grew up without participating in sports, then you probably know what I’m talking about: the anxiety of going to the gym and realizing that you have no idea what to do/how to move/how to even start. For me, it’s the adult equivalent of walking around the track in my high school gym class to avoid whatever activity all the other kids were doing that required coordination or specialized knowledge. Just ugh.
I was talking to an acquaintance who goes to the same gym as me. She wanted to know which class I liked the best or whether I go for cardio and was surprised when I told her I go to lift weights. Her eyes got big and she said “in the middle where everyone can see you?!” I immediately understood her perspective because I remember the first time I signed up for the gym. Let’s just say that my gymtimidation was so bad that it took me ~6 months of procrastinating and working out at home before I managed to walk in, use my grown up words, and give them my credit card. Even now, there are still times that I walk into a new gym (or even my regular gym at a different time of day) and feel a little bit of gymtimidation.
So, now that we’ve identified one of the bad feels that can keep you from implementing a sustainable workout program, let’s talk about what can cause gymtimidation. For me, it’s more about not knowing the customs and characters of the land that I’ve decided to inhabit. But, here’s the thing: when I find myself in any new situation I feel a similar level of anxiety: trying to figure out whether it’s seat myself/wait to be seated at a new restaurant, second guessing that I’m in the right spot when I need an Uber pickup from a strange airport, pretty much any roundabout I get to drive…the basic challenges of doing new things in life. All that is to say, I decided a long time ago to treat gymtimidation as a normal part of my experience versus something that has the power to stop me from living my best life.
You may have a different reason why the gym feels intimidating, whether it’s a perceived lack of knowledge, not feeling fit, or just feeling judged. Those are all valid reasons for the feeling of gymtimidation, but I encourage you to think through where else in life you face and overcome similar challenges and decide whether it’s logical to allow the gym to be any different. The gym and fitness have the same properties as the other areas of life where you successfully navigate new things on a regular basis, you just have to recognize that the challenge looks slightly different than what you’re used to.
The good news is the gym is a microcosm of the rest of the world – most people are so hyper focused on themselves that you drop to a plane of existence where you’re nearly invisible. The other good news is that knowledge can be gained, you just need the resources. Both of these plus a little experience will largely inoculate you against the feeling of gymtimidation; you’ll then be able to put the feeling back into perspective as a normal, human response when faced with a novel task or experience.