How to Get Comfortable with the Gym

When I walk into a gym, the thought that often crosses my mind is, “Man, if I wasn't familiar with gyms, this could all be really intimidating."

And I bet, for tons of people who didn’t grow up working out, it is.

If I’d never been to a gym before, these are the things I’d want someone to tell me.

Watch it here or keep reading:

CLOTHING:

You absolutely do not have to look cute or trendy. Who cares if your outfit matches? Your main focus should be can I comfortably exercise in these clothes and do what I want to do?

Think of your bottoms. For me, when I wear certain shorts, I spend half my time trying to fix them because they ride up my inner thighs – super annoying. So, if I know I’m going to be doing cardio or something similar to walking, I’ll wear tights so that I know they won’t crawl.

However, if I’m going to be doing weights, I prefer shorts because I don’t like my bum being so “accentuated” around other people, especially if I’ll be doing a lot of bending over.

For workout tops, I try to wear items that don’t have a huge neck hole because each time I bend down to pick up a weight, or if I’m in a plank, my shirt’s going to sag and you’ll be able to see straight through. Not my cup of tea. Also, if you may be doing something upside down (think yoga poses), you could take an extra hair tie to tie your shirt or wear a more snug shirt that may not slip up when you’re upside down. You do what works for you.

THE OH-SO-INTIMIDATING EQUIPMENT:

1. Don’t pressure yourself to get started. Seriously. Spend your first week or two just observing. If you only know two items (the treadmill and the elliptical), chances are you’ll use those until you’re bored of them and then quit the gym.

Instead, go inside, walk around, sit on a piece of equipment, do some reps (reps = repetitions) on it (low weight or no weight), fiddle with the adjustments, read the description, and just get a feel for how it works.

While you’re sitting on it, watch other people exercise. When they leave that machine, go do what they did. Stay a while (as long as no one’s needing it). Do some reps on that one. Try to remember its name and what muscle it works.

2. Take a pen and paper. Or use your phone. When you find a machine you like or find one that works the muscles you want to work, write it down. You’ll be glad you did so that when your brain is jumbled with all the other gym equipment, you can still remember which one(s) you liked.

3. Take pics of the equipment. Yep, seriously. If you’re really wondering what these machines are or you’re trying to figure out how to plan your workout, take some photos of the different equipment pieces around the entire gym and study them at home. It may best to try to do this when the gym is mostly empty – just so you don’t have people upset about possibly being in your picture.

4. Go at their low-peak hours at first if you’re self-conscious and want to learn things without feeling uncomfortable. For your first couple of weeks, or even months, go at a time when the gym is quiet. Most gym employees can tell you when their slow times are. Try to go during that time so you can take your time with certain exercises and become familiar.

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS

1. Go during your favorite show. This is a good one and I would do it if I had a show I loved. You probably know what time it starts and most cardio areas have tvs, so you can run/jog/walk through your entire show and forget you’re even working out.

2. Do a quick mental check. What are some reasons that you may not do as much as you want at the gym? Maybe you’re concerned about what people will think.

I’ll tell you this – even though I know gyms well and know what I’m doing on the machines, I get concerned that people are watching me, too. 

Here are some of the things that run through my head and how I combat those thoughts: 

“I feel like I’m doing this one wrong and people are probably noticing.”
My mental adjustment: “I don’t have to already know these things. I can learn them while I’m here.” I stop and read the machine. Most all machines have an explanation on how to perform the exercise, a picture of how to position your body, and what muscle it works. 

“They’re probably thinking I shouldn’t be working out these muscle groups together.”
My mental adjustment: “So what? I’m doing what I want and if they want to come comment on it, then I’ll tell them that working out something is better than working out nothing.” 

“This is super light and I’m struggling. Kind of embarrassing.”
My mental adjustment: “Again, so what. This may be super light for some people but not for me and that’s not a bad thing. At least I’m doing it with correct form rather than trying to increase my weight to look stronger (and have bad form).”

Little secret? 90% of the time I think someone is watching me, they’re not. I see them out of my peripheral and it feels like they’re looking at me, but when I decide to actually look back at them, I realize they’re not even focused on me.

3. Make it easier to get out the house. I keep my headphones (1 wireless and 1 wired), my lifting gloves, and an extra hair tie in my car. I have a water bottle I like (aluminum with a straw) and I have my keys set up so that when I show up to the gym, I just quickly detach the car key and gym pass and hook them onto my water bottle. Try to streamline your “getting there” process.

4. Be okay with asking for help. Yes, most people will be wearing headphones and have a zoned-out look on their face (me included), but if you were to ask them for help with a machine, they’ll more than likely smile and say, “Yeah, for sure”, or they’ll laugh and say, “To be honest, I have no idea what I’m doing on these most of the time, so I may not be the best person to ask”.

If they do lend a hand, be mindful that you don’t pull them away from their own workout for too long. But honestly, know that people are actually a lot nicer than their workout face suggests. Try it just once and let me know what the response was.

WRAPPING UP

I truly, truly hope this helps you get a wee bit more confident in going to the gym. Don’t concern yourself with a workout plan in the beginning. Just go.

Do some weights, do some cardio, and get familiar with the feeling of being in there. You can get more detailed as time goes on, but for now, keep your goal attainable and just get there.

Remember, long or short, a workout is never a waste.

 -Venus