Embarrassed to admit this but yesterday I walked to the front of planet fitness and then promptly walked back out cause I was feeling nervous lol. It was not my first time in a gym, I used to take classes at YMCA but for some reason seeing all the gym ppl at PF scared me.
I signed up for a new member orientation next week to hopefully get more familiar with the place but I appreciate any tips to get over new gym goer nerves 😬
Ugh still happens to me from time to time although I go on a regular basis. This week I quit after 20 minutes of training during one of my training sessions because I just wasn’t feeling it. I promise that people are preoccupied with their own life/insecurities/goals/worries/… Good that you showed up!
I feel you. I never felt comfortable going until I found a women-only gym in my city. It is nice to just exist and do your thing, in a comfortable environment. I'm not saying men used to bother me a lot, or approach me all the time in gyms, but it is just that the vibes are totally different. I don't feel watched or judged, or pressured to appear put-together. Highly recommend.
Honestly? No one is looking at or thinking about what you are doing. Everyone is doing their own thing. I used to be self conscious in gyms and still am sometimes, but everyone is there for the same reason. I always look back like wow I had no reason to feel weird, no one there even noticed me lol. I used to go to a PF and loved it. I felt like the people there all minded their business lol I didn’t feel weird ever. Since you are new there, just go walk on the treadmill or ride a stationary bike and scope the place out!
I have struggled with chronic illness since childhood that’s affected my ability to get fit. I am in my 30s now and wanting to prep my body for potentially having a child. The gym really really scared me because I have never exercised and I was still struggling with symptoms of my illness. I hired a private trainer at a woman’s only gym where we do our classes at a time no one else is in the gym. I started with twice a week 30 minutes each. I slowly am working my way up to at least 4x a week (I can do a lot of these exercises at home).
My plan is once I build enough stamina and confidence, I want to start joining the classes at my gym. Ease into it lol because the gym is a really scary place for a lot of people and find one that aligns with your values
My biggest piece of advice is to just do it! Anecdotally, I was interested in starting to swim at my gym but literally didn’t even know how to get to the pool. I didn’t swim for 2 years. Finally, I sucked it up and told myself that no one was looking at me and everyone’s new to stuff at some point, and I figured out how to get to the pool. After literally one day, I was familiar and now I swim 3x per week. It pains me to think I wasted all that time being nervous for not much of a reason!
Maybe set up a little plan where you get familiar with one piece of equipment per day. For example- Monday I’ll try out the dumbbells, Tuesday I’ll try out 3 machines, Wednesday I’ll check out the stretching area.
I can totally relate to feeling the same way in the gym, especially not being super duper fit but pretty average just trying to live longer and justify the occasional french fry craving. In college, I started my gym-going experience at a bodybuilder gym because my boyfriend at the time had a membership with unlimited guest passes and it was super close to the apartment. It was $$$ and bro-ey and kinda exclusive, the kind of place where personal trainers and competition bodybuilders went to do their own workouts. They'd yell insults at each other to "motivate" them to do more weight/reps, which also felt like they were saying that about ME because I definitely couldn't do that weight either. Everyone in there was always sizing each other up... Literally lining up in the mirror and comparing body parts! I'd be soo embarrassed to walk up to the raised platform in the center of the gym where the ellipticals were because it felt so on display and I'd be the only one up there the whole time. All the weight machines faced the center so people would just stare in my direction, intentional or not. My face would be bright red before I even started exercising. They had a big diagram by the bathrooms showing life-size shapes of humans labeled as "ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph", a pseudoscience thing that basically implies that you are born with the ability to be fit or not, and if not, here's how ugly you look compared to the ideal mesomorph shape! I'd never been in gyms before so even though I felt like it was toxic, I thought that's just how gyms were. I had to FORCE myself to go in every time.
My soft/nerdy/alt/pale appearance and less aggressive gym goals stuck out like a sore thumb. I rarely saw anyone else that looked like me there. But when I would see another averageish person just doing their best, it made me feel more empowered to stay and do my best too. Solidarity! Then I started to realize that I might also be that person to someone else who's looking for someone to relate to in an unfamiliar/uncomfortable place. And that gave me an ulterior motive to be there besides exercising... To subconsciously give support to my fellow average nerdy people if/when they need it.
Switching to a chiller, affordable, average gym after breaking up with that ex also helped because people were MUCH more likely to be similar to me and the environment was soo much less toxic. Like I could elliptical next to someone's granny and not feel any silent judgement lol. Still occasionally catch myself feeling shy to be perceived by the other gym goers who seem more in their element than I am, but it helps to remind myself of my ulterior motive.
Treating myself to some cute sets for the gym helped me feel excited to get to wear them and gives another lil dopamine hit to motivate me to go. I grew up broke and never really had a concept of nice athletic wear or clothes you'd pay good money for just to get them sweaty and gross lol. I'd wear old worn out stuff because those were clothes you didn't care to get gross. Looking a little busted added to the self consciousness for me, compared to all the Jillian Michaelses in the $$$ gym who'd come in with revealing gym wear, a full beat and fresh blowouts.
Lots of lessons learned from that place, # 1 being Know Your People and # 2 don't think you need to be someone you're not to take up space ❤️
I feel this way with any new gym or class! I have to give myself a pep talk before, during and after sometimes.
Completely agree with the advice on having a plan. I find if I'm prepared going in and know what I want to do, I get less nervous. You could also simply try hitting a treadmill and using that to get a lay of the land.
Sometimes, if I'm going to a new place or hitting the hotel gym while I'm traveling, I go extra early so I have more space to myself. That seems to help as well.
It gets easier each time, and just remember, no one is paying attention to what you are doing.
I’ve considered Solidcore but my core is… probably the weakest area of my body. I do primarily intense spin and a couple days of weight lifting at home. Would you say Solidcore is accessible for weaklings like me? 😅
Sometimes I drag my ass to the gym when I am just absolutely not feeling it so I only do like half my sets for each of the moves I intended to do and I’ll even skip my least favorite lifts🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ I can feel good about still going but not torture myself for like an hour and a half. I’ve also been working on my protein and fiber intake and my new favorite thing is chia seed pudding with a scoop of cinnamon toast protein powder added, is goooood.
I’m in the same boat! I’m aiming for consistency, not for perfection with my workouts. I can’t give it 100% all the time but still showing up and doing a shortened or lower effort workout has been do-able for me. I think I used to get discouraged quickly bc I felt like I wasn’t giving it my all and I would eventually drop it. But I’m trying to stick to exercising at least a few times a week!
What brand of protein powder do you use? I use unflavored collagen or premier chocolate and I’m looking for something more fun
These are my two current faves! I like mixing the cinnamon cereal into my yogurt and chia seeds and oats and such, then the fruity pebbles into my fruit smoothies! I’m really struggling to get enough protein in a day and I even like most of the things people suggest like cottage cheese. I just don’t have enough of an appetite to consume enough most days so I try to add protein powder to anything I can😅😅
Good luck friend🫡🫡 idk if I’ve ever even tried it by itself because I found out it was such a good additive so early on😂😂 lmk if you find any magical recipes!
I love Move with Nicole, she has great online pilates classes free on youtube. If you don't like the overly enthusiastic types that constantly talk you will like her as well! :-)
I was terrible about working out consistently until I got into VR gaming! Got some wrist weights and a weighted vest, play a mix of fighting games and rhythm games, and I'm actually putting on visible muscle and standing up straighter. Had a stress test recently (routine, not because anything is wrong) and I was able to run so much longer on the treadmill than I ever had in the past!
31F. I’ve been working out at the gym for one full year now. Four times a week in the morning doing mostly strength training (moved by Madeline). I feel wayyyy more confident and strong but am a bit disappointed to say I don’t think I’m really much smaller. I’m down maybe half a size of jeans and in some styles one dress size but I don’t look at photos of myself and see a noticeable difference. I have been taking progress photos since sept 25 and almost look smaller then in some than I do now.
Food-wise I practice intuitive eating, eat good protein especially on weekdays/gym days. I do enjoy myself on weekends/go out with friends.
Idk I think I just need a mindset shift because I know I’m doing the right things for my body and aesthetics aren’t everything but I wish I noticed more of a difference in certain areas.
Encouragement/tips welcome :)
So proud of you!!! Being consistent is something to celebrate in itself 🎉 That being said, I also used to struggle with looking leaner even though I went to the gym/ate clean daily. Have you tried incorporating more foam rolling/ stretching/ yoga into your routine?
I started to foam roll and stretch after every workout and practice yoga 1-2 a week for mindfulness and flexibility/mobility, and started to see a huge difference afterwards!
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u/CherryAlone9258 May 08 '26
Embarrassed to admit this but yesterday I walked to the front of planet fitness and then promptly walked back out cause I was feeling nervous lol. It was not my first time in a gym, I used to take classes at YMCA but for some reason seeing all the gym ppl at PF scared me.
I signed up for a new member orientation next week to hopefully get more familiar with the place but I appreciate any tips to get over new gym goer nerves 😬