So we ended 2018 super motivated and ready to tackle our 2019 fitness goals! However, starting exercising again after a break, or for the first time ever, can be a pretty daunting experience.
We’ve compiled a list of reasons why people are scared to start exercising, with tips and advice on how to tackle your fears.
1. Gym-timidation
When you’re new to the gym, its quite common to feel intimidated. You’ve walked past the window and seen the muscly guys and fit girls on the squat racks and treadmills, and you’re scared you won’t fit in.
The most important thing to remember is that EVERYONE STARTS SOMEWHERE. Those people you’re admiring haven’t always looked like that, and once upon a time, they’ll have been in the same position as you. 99% of the time gyms are supportive training environments and nobody will judge you for being a beginner. If anything, they’ll admire you all the more, for making the commitment to join.
2. You just don’t know where to start
As a beginner in the gym, you see the experts with their perfectly choreographed routines and wonder how on earth they learned to do that. The task of figuring out what you need to do to get in shape seems huge and pretty off-putting.
Now, you have two options.
Option 1 – research, research, research! There is loads of great information online about what exercises you can do to target certain areas of your body. You simply find them, put them together in a little work out plan (either on paper, in your phone, or in a handy work out app which we’ve blogged about before).
Option 2 – get a PT or attend a group session. We get people of all abilities attending our boot-camps, and we provide different exercise options to meet your needs. Boot-camps are great for beginners as we show you exactly what to do, and you copy! It can’t get much simpler than that. Alternatively, if you want some one to one advice, training and a plan creating to get you in shape, without having to scour the internet in search of help, we can do that too!
3. Embarrassed
Some of us get embarrassed to exercise, especially when its new to us. The most common reasons are either because we’re not ‘good’ at it or we’re not ‘body-confident’. Its often our perfectionist mind-set that prevents us from exercising. Because we don’t want to look overweight in the gym, have our wobbly bits jiggle whilst we run or simply look ‘weak’ when we lift our 3kg kettlebells next to the guy lifting 20kg ones.
Like the first point, you’ve got to start somewhere, and by remembering that, you’ve won half of the battle. In time you’ll feel 100% better in your gym gear and the embarrassment will slowly fade away. The truth is that the other gym-goers most likely don’t care that you have cellulite on your butt, or that your lifting smaller weights than them.
To combat feeling body conscious in the gym, our main recommendation is to wear something comfortable. You don’t need to be in full body lycra to have a successful work out! If you struggle with your technique, or feel you simply aren’t very ‘good’ at working out, we can help with your form and technique during all of our PT and boot-camp sessions.
Come and chat to us at Hamers360Fitness about any gym worries you may have. Our personal training and boot-camp sessions encourage a supportive exercising environment with 0 judgement and great energy. If you’re interested in taking part follow the link below!