Gym anxiety: 8 ways to overcome gymtimidation!

Does the thought of going to the gym make your stomach churn and your palms sweaty? Does exercising in front of other people make you feel uncomfortable and lead to an onset of intense anxiety? If so, rest assured that you are not alone.

Table of Contents

• What is gym anxiety?
• How it started
• From gymtimidation to sweating with a smile!
• A humbling experience
• Small steps, big changes
• 8 tips to help you overcome gym anxiety and gymtimidation.

According to the PureGym UK Fitness report it turns out that gym anxiety, also known as gymtimidation is one of the biggest barriers preventing people from joining a gym in the UK! The report found that 30% of non-gym members do not have a gym membership because they find gyms intimidating.

However, what I found interesting was that out of both gym members and non-gym members, 56% of individuals overall reported that going to the gym was an intimidating experience. As I read these statistics, I couldn’t help but wonder – if gymtimidation is this common, why aren’t we talking about it and what can we do to overcome it?

What is gym anxiety?

Gym anxiety, also known as gymtimidation is an overwhelming fear and feeling of anxiety towards the gym and exercising in public. While everyone’s experience of gym anxiety may differ, people with this form of anxiety tend to feel uncomfortable exercising in front of other people due to the fear being judged. There are also other factors that can cause people to develop gym anxiety such as feeling self-conscious about their appearance, a lack of fitness knowledge as well as the general uncertainty of not knowing what to expect within the environment of a gym.

While it can be discouraging, all is not lost! It is possible to overcome gymtimidation and I am living proof of it! Let me explain…

How it started

There was a time in my life when I hated my weight and was so self-conscious but no matter how badly I wanted to train, the thought of stepping into a gym made my stomach churn! I really wanted to give it a go but didn’t have a clue where to start.

I remember when I was at my heaviest, I was searching for support and encouragement online looking for anything that could support and motivate me. I would come across personal trainers and fitness experts promoting messages like ‘you’re not getting the results you want because you don’t want it bad enough’ or the classic ‘nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels’. I always understood the points they were trying to make but this DID NOT inspire, encourage, or motivate me. In fact, it did the opposite.

I’ve never been a lazy person, nor have I ever been afraid of hard work. The gym was just a whole new world to me, and I feared it. I can’t stress this enough – gym anxiety is a real thing!

Eventually, with some support from my friends, I managed to pluck up the courage to join a local leisure centre and started attending a few times a week. I would play it safe and stick to three machines – the cross trainer, the treadmill and if I were feeling particularly brave, the exercise bike. They were easy enough to use and while I still felt uncomfortable, I felt better knowing that I had at least made a start.

I knew nothing about fitness back then and I’m no expert now but what I did know was that if I ever wanted to reach the level of fitness I was trying to achieve, I needed to do more than just the basics. I tried, but every time I attempted to go anywhere near the free weights or the serious machines, I got tense and just froze. But when I met Julius, everything changed!

From gymtimidation to sweating with a smile!

Back in 2015, I met a wonderful personal trainer called Julius and little did I know the impact he was about to have on my life. I had met many personal trainers before him and have met many since, but something about this guy just seemed different.

It was clear that Julius genuinely cared about helping people. He was open and honest, and I could tell that being a personal trainer meant more to him than just making people look good. He wanted people to feel good. His desire to help others improve their self-esteem and realise their full potential shone through. So, I took his details and attended a free training session with him not knowing what to expect.

While Julius was amazing, he was based in one of the busiest and most popular gyms in my area. I remember walking in for my first session with my heart in my mouth! I was terrified. I had never been to a gym this big, nor had I ever used the majority of the machines there and I knew so many of the members! It was overwhelming to say the very least.

I couldn’t bring myself to train with him in the main gym with everyone else because the gymtimidation was real! What I loved about Julius though was that he noticed the little things. He knew how much courage it had taken for me to book this session, let alone show up. He tried his hardest to encourage me to try the machines, but I just couldn’t face it. I wasn’t ready. So, we compromised and used the empty studio instead.

With patience and consistency on both parts (honestly, he had the patience of a saint!), I continued training with him and started to see results after about four weeks. The thing is, once you start seeing results it becomes addictive and slowly I began to fall in love with fitness. Before I knew it, we were training in the main gym during peak hours in front of other people and it was a massive achievement for both of us. For the first time in a long time I felt proud of myself and had this newfound confidence I’d never felt before. I found myself wanting to train by myself and was able to do so correctly which was a huge win!

A humbling experience

However, as I approached the final year of my degree, I started spending less time at the gym until I stopped attending completely. It was difficult trying to balance a full-time job while meeting deadlines for my assignments. I returned to the gym after a 12-month break and I thought I was going to turn up, kill my work out and leave feeling on top of the world! Unfortunately, that was not the case, and I was greeted by gym anxiety once again! 

There were so many unfamiliar faces since my last session, and I remember the gym being packed! My stomach was doing summersaults before I even attempted to do anything. Eventually, I managed to get back into the groove of things but when I finally plucked up the courage to use one of the machines, I was faced with my biggest gym fear…someone approaching me to give me advice as I was using a machine incorrectly.

It was my first session back and I was already flooded with gym anxiety, so at this point I just wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole! Don’t get me wrong, this guy was an absolute gem, but I felt shame! 

At that moment I knew I had the decision to make. Either I put on my big girl pants, listen, and ask him to help me, or I can leave, go home, and save myself from the embarrassment. As much as I could barely look him in the face, I decided to face the fear head-on and see what he had to say and I’m so glad that I did. Here’s why… 

A few moments later someone else started using the same machine and guess what? They made the same mistake that I made. I sat on the mats observing from afar and that is when I realised something. I’ve been so worried about other people judging me but there are other gym members who don’t know what they are doing either and feel equally as uncomfortable as I do. This whole time in my head I thought it was just me.

His intention was not to embarrass me or anyone else. He genuinely wanted to help us both because he was concerned. If he hadn’t correct me, I could have seriously injured myself. When this finally sunk in the embarrassment I had been feeling was suddenly replaced with the utmost respect for the fact that he dared to correct me.

I also realised that I was being ridiculous, putting way too much pressure on myself to remember everything and get things right. As the saying goes, if you don’t use it, you lose it! I hadn’t been to a gym for an entire year, of course, I was going to be a little rusty.

As awkward as it felt at the time, I knew I couldn’t let this discourage me. I’d worked too hard and I wasn’t going to let fear scare me off the gym once again. I finished my workout and pressed on with my fitness journey and accepted that I might not know everything, but I am capable of learning and will find my feet again.

Small steps, big changes

I can tell you that since I first met Julius in 2015, I’ve now lost approximately 2 stone and managed to keep the majority of the weight off! But I would be lying if I said I don’t struggle with the gym and my diet.

Some weeks I have it all together, some weeks I don’t, but the bottom line is I deserve to be able to use the gym like everyone else and feel safe there. I make a conscious effort to remind myself of this and continue to show up and do my best because at the end of the day, my best is all I can do.

Julius helped me realise my full potential. He believed in me and was patient, compassionate and supportive. He didn’t shame me, nor did he enable me. He pushed me but it was always within my limits and he held me accountable in a way that was supportive and encouraging. I am extremely grateful to have met him.

But when I read the findings in the Pure Gym UK fitness report, it made me think about my journey and I realised that there were other factors that have also helped me overcome gymtimidation and I want to share these with you because you deserve to be the healthiest and most confident version of yourself too.

8 tips to help you overcome gym anxiety and gymtimidation.

#1 – Take a tour of a gym and try a taster session before you commit to joining.

I can’t stress this enough…visit the gym you are interested in before you sign up and commit to membership! You have no idea if a gym is right for you until you look for yourself. Taking a tour of a gym you are interested in will also help alleviate any uncertainty – one of the biggest triggers of anxiety!

Free taster sessions are also a fantastic way to dip your toes in and I encourage you to book one if possible. Taster sessions allow you to observe the culture of the gym, check the machines and facilities available and give you some insight into the type of people who attend.

A gym may be close to you and have great parking and the best equipment, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right environment for you!

#2 – Introduce yourself to the personal trainers and be honest with them about how you feel.

For me this was the hardest step out of them all, but in my experience befriending the personal trainers in the gym played a key role in helping me defeat gymtimidation.

If the thought of speaking to strangers, especially personal trainers makes you feel uneasy too, I totally understand. I know it takes a lot to be vulnerable and admit when you are in over your head. However, the personal trainers are professionally trained and are the best people to guide you.

If you introduce yourself and explain that you are new and feeling a bit overwhelmed, most of the time they will go out of their way to assist you and ensure you have a pleasant experience. If they don’t then this is not the gym for you my friend, and it’s best you figure this out sooner rather than later.

#3 – Don’t go alone.

Going to an unfamiliar environment for the first time is scary enough, but going by yourself can make it even more daunting. I genuinely don’t think I would have been able to train with Julius if my friends hadn’t encouraged and accompanied me to that leisure centre.

Having a gym buddy can be a reliable source of motivation and encouragement. But a word of warning…you need to choose wisely! Ask someone you know and trust to come with you, even if it’s just for the first few sessions and I promise you it will make such a difference.

#4 – Hire a Personal Trainer.

It can be pricey and difficult to find the right person, but if you can invest in a personal trainer even for a few sessions I can’t recommend it enough. They will help you find your feet, learn the basics and provide a workout plan that will help you achieve your fitness goals.

Training with Julius was a financial commitment, but it was so worth it and if I didn’t train with him, I don’t know where I would be on my journey now. Remember, you are your greatest asset!

#5 – Avoid going during peak times.

This is by far one of the easiest ways to familiarise yourself with the gym but it requires a bit of planning initially. Attending during the quieter periods will make you feel more comfortable as there will be less noise, fewer queues, and fewer eyes!

When I first started training with Julius, the condition was that my sessions would have to take place after 9 pm to avoid the peak hours and familiar faces. It helped relieve the pressure of training and the fear of being judged. It gave me a chance to learn the basics before stepping out into the main gym so that when I did train in front of other people, I felt more confident in what I was doing.

mageIf you don’t know what time the gym gets busy, the staff should be able to advise. Alternatively, you can use the Popular Times function on google. If you’ve never seen this before, go onto google and search the name of the gym you want to attend. Scroll down slightly and you should find a chart similar to the one below that gives a breakdown of how busy places can get throughout the day.

#6 – Plan your workout before you leave.

We’ve all heard the phrase when you fail to plan you plan to fail. If you’re suffering from gym anxiety, going to the gym without a clear plan is a recipe for disaster because it can trigger your anxiety and make it difficult for you to focus.

A plan will give you more control over your gym experience and can help reduce the anxiety-provoking situation of not knowing what to do next. There is also something really satisfying about ticking off the exercises you’ve completed at the end of your session. You’ll end up walking out of the gym feeling accomplished which will really encourage you in your next session.

Of course, there will be times when you won’t be able to complete everything in your plan, but going in with something is better than nothing. If you need help, there are plenty of free workouts that you can download online and tons of free apps on the app store or google play that will inspire you. Best Apps 2023 is a good place to start if you don’t know where else to look.

#7 – Don’t compare yourself to other people.

Unbelievably, everyone has their weaknesses, and it can take months or in some cases, years of consistent training to meet your fitness goals. As I mentioned earlier, I have fallen off my fitness journey and I still struggle to remain consistent.

No matter how strong I may feel, I still can’t do a pull-up unassisted. I’m never going to give up, but I’ve accepted that I just can’t do them…yet! Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to other people or you’ll just end up feeling resentful and frustrated.

Remember why you are doing this. You’re on your own journey so follow the path that is carved out for you. You have no idea how long it took for other people to get to the point they are at now, or the things that they have had to overcome along the way.

#8 – Believe in yourself and keep going!

No matter how hard it gets, give it everything you’ve got and don’t quit because you will regret it, trust me!

Fear is a liar, and overcoming gym anxiety is only possible if you are prepared to step outside of your comfort zone slightly.

Familia, you deserve to use the gym and feel comfortable in there just like everyone else. It might take you a little bit longer to find your feet and the right environment, but there is a gym out there for you, and you will find it. Just be patient with yourself. You got this!