Gym Anxiety: How To Overcome Your Fears & Tap Into Your Inner Fitness Baddie
After stepping through the doors of a new gym, you cautiously eye the bulky machines feeling awkward, lost, and shy in a room full of people. While you think of a game plan for your sweat sesh, you silently pray that everyone in the room is minding their muscles and paying no attention to yours.
The beginning of your fitness journey can be intimidating, as are most things when they are new to you. A survey of over 3,000 people conducted by My Protein found that almost 90% are worried about how others perceive them at the gym, and over 30% experience performance or appearance-based anxiety.
The first step to overcoming your fear of judgment is knowing that everybody belongs at the gym. Never allow anyone to make you feel otherwise. Next, understand that most people at the gym are there for a self-serving reason: to get fit, improve their mental health, find a community, or have other health and wellbeing-related intentions. They are primarily focused on themselves, not you.
Anxiety caused by working out in public can derail your goals, leaving you with an inconsistent stop-and-go routine and no progress. Here are our tips for overcoming gym shyness to help you stay centered and be a self-assured fitness baddie.
Research and create a plan you can stick with.
Thanks to the internet, there is a vast library of fitness information. Search for professional and science-based articles and videos on why and how to do different exercises and safely use machines. Then plan a personal program and save it as an easy-to-access list on your phone. Your programming should include specific exercises, how many reps and rounds of each, and which days you'll do them.
With a plan, you'll feel more at ease and won't have to figure it out on the fly. If you're still feeling queasy at the thought of working out in front of others, start at home to practice the movements.
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Get familiar with your gym's layout and policies.
Learn the lay of the land and find which spots in the gym help you stay in a flow, whether that's a quiet corner or a row of equipment that isn't front and center. Learning your gym's policies and general gym etiquette will also help you feel like a regular. If possible, train during off-peak hours when the gym is less crowded.
Wear an outfit you feel comfortable and confident in.
Don't break your budget, especially in this economy, but having a few cute, buttery soft, and nonrestrictive workout leggings and tops can boost your confidence and allow you to move freely.
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Listen to music or a podcast to stay in the zone.
Create a playlist of songs that keep you moving and make you feel powerful. Or throw on one of your favorite podcasts or an audiobook, and use that time to fire up your body and stimulate your mind.
Start with a personal trainer, gym buddy, or group class.
If going to the gym solo makes you uncomfortable, other options exist, such as teaming up with a friend or family member or working with a personal trainer to teach you exercises and correct your form. You can also sign up for a small beginner's class to level the playing field and maybe even make a new gym friend.
Taking various classes can also help you discover which activities you like best, whether Pilates, strength training, yoga, cycling, dance, boxing, or something else.
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Go at your own pace.
You're in the gym to create a sustainable fitness practice tailored for you, not to keep up with everyone else. If you're new to working out, avoid going from zero to 100 because you’ll risk getting burnt out or injured. Challenge yourself, but go at your own pace.
Remember your "why" and focus on your goals.
Folks at the gym were once beginners too. Instead of comparing yourself to people around you, use the presence of others to serve as motivation and turn that into discipline. Being consistent is a result of discipline, more so than unreliable motivation. Focus on your why to give you the strength to stay on track. The more you show up for yourself at the gym, the less daunting it will feel.
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why We'll Probably Never Hear Lupita Nyong'o Share Her Relationship With The World
Lupita Nyong'o is sharing a transparent look into her life after a recent breakup.
In a cover story for NET-A-PORTER, the A Quiet Place: Day One star shed light on the significant heartbreak she experienced following the end of her relationship with ex-boyfriend and TV host, Selema Masekela.
As a public figure, Nyong'o, 39, sought to divulge the news of the breakup in hopes of presenting a more authentic perspective on the pain that follows a separation.
"I was living in a lot of pain and heartbreak," she told the publication. "I looked at the environment of my social media and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always coming up roses. Surely there is a lesson for me to learn in this, and I just want to be real about it."
The Black Panther star went on to explain that her choice to be transparent with her fans about her breakup came from the certainty she felt after ending the relationship. “In my mind, when I shared my relationship status with the world, it was because I felt sure about it,” she said.
While she didn’t know how the news would land with her fans, she found relief in knowing she wasn’t alone in her experience.
“I knew how it could be interpreted; I knew it would have a life of its own,” she reflects. “But then I started to see the comments and people were being so loving and supportive. The ones that moved me the most were other people sharing their pain and their heartbreak.”
Nyong'o and Masekela went Instagram official in December 2022, publicly announcing their relationship in a couple's video. In October 2023, Nyong'o took to her personal Instagram account to share the news of her breakup in her caption, writing, "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust.”
She continued the vulnerable note, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, 'Whatever, my life is better this way.' But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
These days, Nyong'o tells NET-A-PORTER that she is prioritizing profound self-discovery that extends beyond her career. She notes having a deliberate and unhurried approach to understanding herself.
She also alludes to keeping her relationships private moving forward after noting it was "very, very sage" of her not to talk about her private life professionally in the days before her last relationship. "I'm going back to those days by the way," Nyong'o shares of her reinstated boundaries around her personal life.
Earlier this month, Nyong'o made headlines alongside her new boyfriend actor Joshua Jackson. Nyong'o and Jackson went through public splits from their respective SOs in October 2023, with the latter splitting from his long-time partner Jodie Turner-Smith following her divorce filing from the Dawson's Creek alum.
The pair have been spotted together as early as December 2023, but nothing screamed "couple" quite as loudly as their recent getaway to Mexico for Nyong'o's 41st birthday featuring passionate displays of affection.
"Our purpose in life is to love. And so you have to get back in it," she tells the outlet, seemingly alluding to her budding new romance.
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