Hello everyone!
Since January is that time of year where people are trying to stick with their new year resolutions (I’m no exception), I thought I would share my thoughts around the first time that I joined a gym. For me, it was a scary step and I’m sure that there are others out there who could relate. Even though it was a while ago, I won’t ever forget that anxious feeling.
There was a point back in 2014 where I wasn’t feeling very well. It wasn’t sudden or anything like that, it was just a gradual thing. I began to notice that I was always feeling tired, my leg muscles were cramping every night and I was really weak. My eating habits weren’t that great either, so that didn’t help. I was still getting used to living out of home, paying off a big mortgage in my early 20’s and trying to work out how to juggle all the aspects in my life. In summary: I wasn’t happy with myself… but I wasn’t doing anything about it.
I’ve always had body image issues; they stem back to when I was a teenager (that’s another entire story in itself). But one day, I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognise myself. I have always been a naturally thin person (thanks mum!), so I never really worried about my weight until I saw that my jeans were way too tight and I could see rolls of skin where my flat stomach used to be.
That hit home really hard.
It’s difficult to come to terms with the fact that gaining weight is a part of life, especially if you don’t do anything to combat it. I was beginning to understand why people were so obsessed with losing weight with minimal effort. I began to look for a quick fix so I could avoid the gym altogether because I truly believed I was ‘time poor’ and only needed to lose a couple of kilos and then I’d be back to normal.
I was so wrong.
I tried eating less food, but living off 1,200 calories a day made me miserable and I barely had enough energy. Plus, it wasn’t sustainable in the long term.
I gave that up after about 2 months. Lol.
Then, I decided to try the I Quit Sugar 8 week program. I’m not going to mock this program because I did find it very useful in terms of looking for hidden sugars, and it made me realise how much of it I was consuming without even knowing. Plus, it completely cleared up my skin (that’s another story), and I felt like I had somewhat detoxed from a drug. In the form of cakes, biscuits and doughnuts.
However, although I ended up finishing the program, I didn’t stick with it. For one thing, it was really expensive. And it was near impossible to go out for dinner or parties because there was barely anything I could eat. So, naturally I reverted back to my old eating habits, but a bit more conscious about what I was putting into my body.
My third attempt of ‘quick fixing’ my weight problem was to track all the calories I was eating. This was actually really fun at the start because I was using my phone to record what I was actually eating, but in the end it was just so tedious that I gave it up. After the third time of trying to ‘fix’ my diet, I faced the harsh reality that I couldn’t lose weight by restricting what I was eating.
Enter Yoga.
My friend at the time had been bugging me for a while to go with her to a Vinyasa session, so I caved and dragged myself to the studio for a one off class… And I loved it. I joined up on the spot. After a while, I began to do Pilates classes on alternate days and began to feel heaps better. My mobility and flexibility increased and I was beginning to see the promise of a six pack. Coupled with my more conscious eating, I began to lose a little weight and gain some muscle.
Unfortunately, the classes became too expensive and my work demands were making it hard to get to classes on time. I eventually had to leave the studio. Then, I was back to square one again. That was, until I had a chat with a friend of mine who suggested that I start going to the gym.
At the time, I scoffed because I was nervous, but by then, I think I had done a very good job of avoiding the inevitable. I begged my friend to go with me and show me what I needed to do. I mean, I’d only seen people use exercise equipment in the movies. And they were buff AF and extremely intimidating. And I definitely didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Thankfully, my friend was more than happy to help me out.
In hindsight, I was very lucky that I had someone I knew introduce me to the gym equipment and essentially helped me get set up. It definitely helped alleviate some of the initial anxiety I was feeling before even entering the gym! But not everyone is that fortunate. I had such intrusive thoughts like:
- Should I turn around and walk out?
- What if I don’t fit in?
- Are they going to laugh at me when I get all sweaty?
- What do I do if they are mean to me?
- What if it’s busy and I can’t use the machines?
- How do I use the machines?
- Will they laugh at me using the machines?
- Do I know all the gym etiquette?
- Am I going to feel better about myself if I see someone who’s in better shape than me?
- Will they judge my clothes?
- Can I stick with this?
I don’t know why I had these thoughts, but they slowly started to disappear the more that I went to the gym. And during this time, my work implemented a ‘wellness program’, which incorporated lunchtime Yoga classes, so I jumped on that too.
At this point, I was losing weight, but I was keeping it off.
I even started to try other forms of exercise to see if I liked them or not. But after about a year, I was struck down with a back injury, then the flu and then just life things in general. The wellness program at work was suspended and then I literally found myself back at square one again.
But, I kept getting back on the bandwagon.
And I ended up joining another gym. But this one… well, it’s franchised and I noticed some huge differences.
Since I was previously at a council gym, the equipment was a bit outdated and had set opening and staffed hours. This meant that there were very few people to provide professional advice. Even the age group of the patrons are different. Much younger. I’ll admit, it was intimidating! But I realised very quickly that other people are not really interested in what you’re doing – most are there to train either by themselves, or with a friend.
It’s been years since I had those thoughts and experiences, and now I’m very at ease about going to the gym. I love the flexibility of going at any time I want, and I don’t care about how I look when I’m working out anymore. All I care about now is that I’m keeping active and trying to stay as healthy as I can 🙂
Have any of you guys experience gym joining anxiety? Do you have any tips for someone who’s on the cusp of joining a brand spanking new gym? Let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear what advice you’ve got on this topic.
Much Love,
Liseyworks 