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Self conscious at the gym
Over the years I have heard a lot of reasons why people would rather train at home than in a gym. Now that my coaching program requires clients to be at a gym I am hearing the same excuse over and over “I don’t want to join the gym until I’ve lost enough weight to join”. Which don’t get me wrong I know where you’re coming from.
But it’s not like the gym entrance has a “You must be this thin to enter” sign.
And losing weight, to enter a gym so you can lose weight
Is pretty ass-backwards
The problem is that the gym can make people feel more self conscious than anywhere else
(except swimming pools!). And I get this, I’m self conscious in any new environment. I avoided coffee shops for 6 months because one time I ordered a coffee and the Barista asked me what I meant by that “Do you mean Americano? Or Latte? Or Espresso?”. “Erm a black coffee, and I want to then add some milk” I mumbled before going bright red. I didn’t know what I was doing and was very self conscious.
Just give me a fucking coffee!
So even though I’ve been in a gym 6 days a week for the last 7 years I get where people are coming from. But how do you banish that feeling?
1) Make sure you have a simple plan to follow, being competent at an exercise quickly banishes any insecurity
2) Turn up 5 days in a row in your first week, nothing destroys self-consciousness quicker than familiarity
3) Look around you, you will soon notice that nobody is really paying attention to you
Yeah I know that last one sounds a bit weak, but really, when most people are working out the only thing they are paying any attention to (for longer than 30 seconds) is themselves.
If a dude is bicep curling in front of a mirror a naked Natalie Portman could rock past him and he wouldn’t turn to look
I really hope this helps
Matt “naked who?” Smith
P.S. If you want to learn why I was getting a coffee (other than how awesome coffee is) then check out my WatchFit article on Black coffee for weight loss
P.P.S If for some reason you believe that Bulletproof Coffee is a good idea check out my article on the subject (and spit that bullshit drink out onto the floor whilst reading it)
About the Author Matt Smith
Matt Smith is the owner of Beer N Biceps. He has a degree in Sports Science, 10 years of experience working in the fitness industry, and has written for hundreds of fitness websites. He is a lover of good quality beer and believes that drinking in moderation can form part of a healthy lifestyle.