Do you fear going to the gym? Does it make you feel anxious or uncomfortable? Are you afraid to be yourself or feel intimidated by the other people at the gym? Do you wish you could overcome this anxiety so you can maximize your results at the gym and achieve your goals?
If this sounds like you, don’t panic — you’re not alone. Millions of people all around the world find it difficult to go to the gym due to fear or feeling uncomfortable. Instead, they stay at home and skip their daily exercise, which results in them skipping out on their personal fitness goals.
While this might feel normal and many people won’t consider it a problem, that’s not the case and it shouldn’t stop you from getting in shape or leading a happy, healthy, and prosperous lifestyle. In fact, there’s a real name for this in the medical community — it’s called gym anxiety.
So, What Is Gym Anxiety?
Gym phobia or anxiety, is something most of us will experience when you first start working out at a new gym — or if it’s your first time working out in general. Like anything in life, starting something new isn’t always the easiest thing and often welcomes some level of anxiety, or fear.
With that said, some of us experience a much more severe form of gym phobia — similar to social anxiety disorder. For those people, going to the gym is something they want or need to do, but something they can’t seem to get themselves to do — no matter how hard they try.
4 Main Causes of Gym Phobia
In general, there are four main psychological reasons why people experience gym phobia — the feeling of uncertainty, comparing yourself to others, being judged by others, and feeling like you don’t belong or fit in. To clearly understand these causes, let’s take a closer look at each one:
- Uncertainty – not knowing what to do when you get to the gym, whether it’s due to exercises, equipment, or interactions.
- Comparisons – instead of focusing on your own workout and own self goals, many people are too focused on everyone else at the gym.
- Being Judged – speaking of everyone else at the gym, many people fear being judged by those people and not living up to other people’s standards.
- Don’t Belong – feeling like you don’t belong, you’re not fit enough to be at the gym, you’re not wearing the right clothes, and not being comfortable in the gym.
Of course, those are only the four most common reasons why people experience gym phobia. There are plenty of others, but either way, it’s important to understand that it doesn’t make you any less of a person for feeling those things. Although it’s not normal, there are ways to help.
Tips for Overcoming Gym Anxiety
As frustrating and irritating having a gym phobia is, the good news is there are ways to move past it. No matter how much your gym phobia holds you back in life, you can overcome gym anxiety and eventually begin a successful journey in the health and fitness community.
Don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you hanging. We’re going to detail five major ways you can defeat your gym phobia and feel comfortable inside the gym — including building confidence, doing what you’re familiar with, focusing on yourself, joining a class, or hiring a personal trainer.
Let’s take a closer look!
Build Confidence Little By Little
Most people with a gym phobia don’t have a lot of confidence inside the gym, but that doesn’t have to be a life sentence. In fact, you’ll start to grow a little more confident each time you step foot in the gym and complete a goal you set for yourself — no matter how small that goal is.
The key here is you have to keep going and keep pushing yourself to new limits in the gym. You can start small, but challenge yourself to do a little more each time you go. That doesn’t mean spending hours inside the gym, though. In fact, you can spend as little as 30 minutes there!
Use Equipment & Machines You’re Familiar With
If you don’t know how to use the various equipment and machines found in the gym, you’ll struggle with confidence and will likely experience some level of anxiety. The solution here is simple — learn! You don’t have to know how to use something, but you have to want to learn.
Luckily, learning is very simple in the world today. There are a ton of people out there that don’t mind teaching you, but you can also search for video tutorials, research articles, and simply observe others do it. You can even download an app that helps walk you through it step by step.
You can also find a gym that help’s make understanding their equipment way easier! At Circuit Fitness we help you overcome this type of fitness anxiety by providing clear weekly work outs and detailed instructions on each machine on how to use it!
Focus On Your Workout, Not Everyone Else
We all have our own fitness goals. We all have our own workouts and exercises that we enjoy doing. We all want different things when stepping foot inside a gym. If you find yourself with a large amount of anxiety in the gym, focusing on yourself and not everyone else can really help.
The more you focus on those around you, the more intimidating the gym might seem and it’ll eventually get in your head. Instead, you want to rid yourself of that and zero in on what your goals are. Whether you’re walking on the treadmill or lifting weights, just zone out on yourself!
Join a Group Class With a Friend
Another great way of relieving yourself of anxiety when going to the gym is by going with a friend or joining a group class. It’ll help you get your feet wet without being alone and also gives you a trusted friend to ask for help when you don’t know what you’re doing or need a reliable spotter.
Exercising with people you know also makes your trip to the gym much more fun. You can easily get loose and have the best workout of your life by challenging each other to be their best. It’s a win-win for everyone involved!
Hire a Personal Trainer
Personal trainers specialize in helping others get the most out of their workout, whether they’re new to the gym or struggle with a gym phobia. They can give you expert and helpful advice, maintain your energy levels, and put you on a program that’s designed exclusively for you.
Let Us Help You Get Rid Of Your Gym Worries!
At Circuit Fitness in Las Vegas,
- We have high quality personal trainers that understand how to assist those with a gym phobia.
- We provide detailed free workout plans for anyone who uses are gym, so you don’t have to worry about what workouts you need to do.
- We have amazing membership options for those that really want additional assistance.
- We also offer our FREE DAY PASS for those that want to try it out without any risk or obligation!
If you’re interested, contact us today and we’ll set you up with the perfect match! We can’t wait to meet you!
Check out our blog on 6 Myths About Weight Loss!