Gym anxiety is a real thing. I see it over & over again in beginners.
It looks something like this:
You join a gym because you want to get fit but don't know what to do when you get there. You freak out that everyone is watching you and that you’re definitely doing something wrong, thinking you’ll probably end up on a meme page. So you start going at odd times so that the gym is super quiet, psyching yourself up in the stretch area or the bathroom so that you can go and use a machine, realising it’s set up all wrong for you, panicking, making a beeline straight to the treadmill and hoping no one saw you look awkward.
Why do I know so clearly what this looks like? Because it was me, too.
Anxiety was something that ruled my life for a long time. It began more intensely when I started high school and these feelings of overwhelm & panic continued through my teenage years and into my twenties. I’d just accepted that it was a part of who I was at this point – “I’m just an anxious person” I’d say.
I always had this thought that some people were born confident and adaptable and that I was just not one of them. Which is completely untrue.
We attach meanings to our past that may or may not be true, but once it is true to us then we unconsciously act out in accordance with it. I had attached meaning to me starting high school in a new place with completely new people and feeling lost, to me not being able to adapt to any situation, make new friends or learn new skills. It sounds ridiculous when you write it out like that but bear with me.
As you can imagine when I joined a gym for the first time it played out very similar to the situation I painted above.
Now I want to share 2 things with you that I’ve learned that has honestly changed my life – I wish I had heard them earlier.
The first is this:
The physiological symptoms (the way it feels in your body) of excitement and nervousness are exactly the same, it purely comes down to the meaning we attach to them. I really want you to think about that for a minute. Imagine it. Your heart rate quickens. Your breathing accelerates. You can feel the adrenaline jitters. You imagine the future. You might get sweaty hands. Did you imagine that feeling as excitement or anxiety? Could you reframe it? For the past year every time I have felt anxious I have literally said to myself “I’m not anxious, I’m excited”. Believe me, you feel a bit silly, to begin with. You probably won’t believe yourself straight away. But keep saying it. Over and over. I promise it will help.
The last thing I want to leave you with is this:
Confidence comes from doing. People always want to wait until they feel confident to start something but anything new or unfamiliar is going to create some level of unease as you don’t know what to expect. The only way to build confidence in something is to start. How do you start when you don’t know what you’re doing? You find someone that does. And you let them teach you – you borrow their confidence until you have your own. So go, find yourself a coach or a mentor or even your friend that’s a gym pro and start! (If you need help, I know a girl ;) )
If I can, you can.