Nervous about joining the gym

[katie]

I've been doing a bit of reading in preparation for when I start my new strength program. Coincidentally I've also been thinking about signing up to a gym (the $17 per week offer for a platinum FF membership expires in the next couple of days, so I have to decide soon) The alternative would be to set up a home gym.

I would either do Stronglifts (stronglifts.com) or Max-OT (http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/downloads/Max-OT.zip ) but that's not the real point of this post.

The actual point is, I've realised that I'm terrified of going to the gym and doing my stuff in front of people. Probably because I'm so weak (eg. I can only squat at 20kg so I'd have to use an empty bar, and I can't even chest press 20kg yet)

How would I get over this fear of the gym? Because every other time I've joined the gym, I've ended up staying clear of the weights room and just doing cardio + classes. Which is a bit of a waste of money.

Or should I give up on being able to train in a gym and train at home instead?

 

[BoyFromAus]

here are some pretty good points.

1...$17 a week... damn, that's a pretty good deal. You should take it

2. Gym builds mental strength (confidence) as well as physical strength

3. majority of people (let's just say 96%) mind their own business..

4. From your name, i'm assuming you're female. The 'lack of strength' complex is something males tend to have. And moreso, i've noticed the gym is an environment where people rather help / inspire others than laugh at others.

5. Whether a person is tall, small, skinny, fat, black, white, muslim, christian... gym is one of the few environments where we all have one thing in common.. personal improvement.

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Really it depends on your personality. You've mentioned fear a bit. But there are other things.

For example, I'm motivated by other people. That other people lift heavier makes me want to do better, that they lift lighter makes me feel good. Also, the atmosphere of the gym makes it easier to exercise. It's a bit like going to temple to pray, or the library to read. You can pray or read anywhere, but it just feels better doing it there. For me, same with the gym. So if I had the stuff at home, I wouldn't use it much; if I have the gym membership, I'll go.

But if you're really motivated on your own, maybe you don't need that.

As to the fear, I wouldn't be afraid. If you step into the free weights area at all to do more than little pink dumbells, you'll be one of the stronger women there. You're not going to stand out as weak, you're going to stand out as a woman.

Anyway, as BoyFromAus says, most people mind their own business. They also tend to ignore new people, since most people don't stay more than a few weeks. By the time you've been there a couple of months and are recognised as a regular, you'll be stronger. Plus, everyone except 17-21 year old males understand that it doesn't matter where you are, it matters where you've come from. That is, there's a difference between doing 10 pushups when you used to do 2, and doing 10 pushups when you used to do 50. People are impressed by improvements.

Also, $17pw for a gym is not a really good offer. I pay $54 a month at Clayton, and used to pay $42 a month at Oakleigh. Weren't you in Narre Warren? This joint will probably be cheaper.

 

[The Hulk]

Katie,

I don't see why you would have a problem being nervous in a public gym.
You've been going to a rock climbing gym for so long now, so what's the major difference?

Once you get used to the lifts, you will progress fast.

However, if you have the room at home, I would set up an awesome home gym instead.
But, as mentioned, depends on your personality.

 

[BoyFromAus]

54 a month?... damn, I wish I lived where you guys do.

I'm paying close to 90. But I suppose it's because my gym is in the heart of the city... need to change sometime soon

 

[PhillN]

I can only squat at 20kg so I'd have to use an empty bar, and I can't even chest press 20kg yet)

Alot of people say that.. Just think, you gotta start somewhere. At first i couldnt squat AT ALL not even 20kg. I was learning with an empty bar, now i can do 160kg (on the machine, still not confidet doing that on the bar)

 

[breebreerocks]

Kyle you must live in the land of cheap gyms! Even the crappy gyms in the country towns I am travelling through at the moment charge more than $17 a week. Have to say it does annoy me to pay $15 for a casual visit to a gym in Maitland that didn't even have clips for the barbells.

Katie, FF will give you either a free 3 day or one week trial. If the sales person says they can't, they are speaking crap and trying to get you to join on the spot. I know that they absolutley offer them and they have tried to pull the same story on other people I know.

Once you step into the weights area of the gym you will see that there are a lot of different people lifting lots of different weights. I lift heavier than some of the men at my gym. At the moment I am doing some really specific, isolation stuff to help improve my range of movement and look like a bit of a fruit loop, but I'm still not as loopy as the Eastern European crew with pony tails that grunt a lot and have t-rex arms from only training biceps and chest. Any how, point I'm making is that most people won't even notice what you are doing.

 

[Kyle Aaron]

The council-run gyms are all cheap. If katie's in Casey City Council, the one I linked to will almost certainly be cheap.

 

[katie]

Kyle, I'm in Sydney, I think you got me confused with someone else!

Thanks to all for the responses. I certainly have a lot to think about. I do climb at a rockclimbing gym but it just seems to have a lot less intimidation than a normal gym. It did take me a while to become good at rockclimbing though so I know it would take me a while to get stronger at a gym.

Maybe the difference between a climbing gym and a regular gym is that one generally goes on their own. With climbing, I go with my husband, sister, or friends. With a regular gym, I've always gone on my own and felt so self conscious while there.

anyway it's getting late so I'll hop on tomorrow and update with my thoughts.

 

[Morgan]

Katie, just give it a go!

You will surprise yourself with your strength gains, with your determination, you'll be the strongest chick in the gym before you know it.

Cheers.

 

[Zarkov]

You shouldn`t be nervous.Most chicks don`t lift weights and the ones who do,
strong or not,get a bit of respect from blokes - at least at my gym they do.
Chicks who spend an hour at a time wiggling their arses on a stepper get perved on,the weight lifting chicks get looked at in an entirely different way.
Just go for it.

 

[katie]

Thanks for the comments, all.

I missed out on a squat rack on ebay last night so I might take it as a sign that I should join a gym, lol.

I'll keep you guys updated with 1st impressions of the gym. I've never joined a Fitness First before and I don't want to re-join my old gym because the weights room was tiny (4m by 4m??) and chock full of guys. I guess I'll have to get used to working out near guys but for me, the further away the better... lol...

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Just don't let the boy's workout inspire you.

Monday: Chest, biceps
Tuesday: Chest, biceps
Wednesday: Chest, biceps
Thursday: Chest, biceps
Friday: drink beer
Saturday: eat KFC
Sunday: eat McDs

 

[Flea]

also.. I dont know if you can as to your work hours, but you could try going to the gym at off peak times.. I was the same way when i started training, because I was skinny as I felt like everyone was 'watching' me, so I started going at different times and ended up working out when the gym was less busy..

also you could just buy a few barbells and maybe a bench for home use until you get a little more confident and are lifting a little heaver..

in my own head tho when I see a chick lifting weights Its not the weight I notice its simply the fact that there is a chick actually lifting weights.. personally I think its so pointless going to the gym to run on a treadmill why would you pay good money to run on the spot.. so much nicer to go fora run out doors lol

but like the others said if everyone was 100% happy with them selfs they wouldnt even be at the gym in the first place..

 

[Tall_Tim]

Wanna hear about a cheap gym? The Fit 4 All near me will let you have access to their weights area for $30 per month. Because its primarily a kickboxing gym (well it used to be) there is not much equipment and the free weights area is tiny, but your only going to get what you pay for. Good equipment but not much of it, expect to wait your turn. There is also a World Gym and a FF as well as all the other gyms and women only places like curves. But unless you live out in the 'Riff (Penrith) its unlikely that your going to find a place cheaper than that unless you set up at home. This is not cheap either unless you get a few good deals on eBay or something. I was lucky and scored my setup from a repo auction. Adjustable bench, lat tower, leg curl, preacher, 6ft bar and 110kg weights for $80!! Of coarse Ive got a few more additions to it since such as a rope , EZ bar ,Dumbbells and a chin up bar and a few more weights after I bought it, but for $80 who can complain about an initial setup ay? Especially since weights are like $2.60 to $3.00 per kilo now...

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Especially since weights are like $2.60 to $3.00 per kilo now...

Near my place there's a railway line, and in a couple of places there are some old rusty tracks. I was thinking that if someone ever wants real Army-style training they'd have to grab one of those and run 30 metres with it. Okay they are 3 or 4m, making them 120 or 160kg, but there'd be two people per track, gotta teach them teamwork, yeah? Free equipment for a workout!

Most homes have got heavy things to lift. Especially if you're trying to keep food bills down... 5kg sack of spuds, 10kg sack of onions, 25kg sack of rice... squat off floor, lift over head, lower back down. Repeat 50 times.

 

[Morgan]

I can just see you on the first day of your new job

Kyle "Hey Boss, I have a good idea"
boss "Whats that Kyle?"
Kyle "We should remove the smith machine and replace it with sacks of onions"
boss "????"

 

[Kyle Aaron]

No, no - the onions are for home gyms!

For proper gyms, I would go army-style and have four foot wooden logs, medicine balls, and artillery shells filled with concrete.

And it'd be in the open air. Train in the open, rain, blazing sun or shine.

"You want a boot camp? I'll give you a boot camp!"

 

[katie]

hi all,

Right! I'm going to join a gym. Contrary to what I posted a few posts ago - I am going to rejoin my old gym - it was pretty cheap for a CBD gym and even had pump classes too (~ $500 per year to rejoin). I turned down FF's platinum $17 pw offer. They wanted to charge me for just about EVERYTHING. I asked them if I could start in 3 weeks time, and they said "this offer expires at the end of the month, so you'd need to pay to "hold" it for 2 weeks, ie. $10). And the timestops are $5 per week which I find highway robbery. Not to mention that there's a $70 admin fee and a discounted $15 something-or-other fee.

My old gym didn't have timestop fees, joining fees, etc etc and seems a much friendlier place to work out. I'm just going to have to brave that 4 x 4m weights room (it's not that bad, the weights room is actually much larger that that section has the free weights, and I'm probably exaggerating here, it's probably bigger than that)

Also to the person who suggested I go in off-peak hours - thank you!! I probably will do that as I have flexitime at work. that makes me feel heaps better about joining.

The thing is, I'm training like mad towards the City to Surf in Aug (want to run 14km < 100 mins) so ideally I would join up in August. I've set a reminder on my calendar to do this, because I can't wait to get in there and start lifting heavy!

Thanks everyone

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Glad you didn't join FF. Here's a Choice magazine article about people's troubles with gyms - most commonly FF and Fernwood. Their advice,

• Don’t succumb to high-pressure sales tactics. Take your time to look around, consider the membership options on offer, and check out other gyms.
• Don’t be swayed by special offers available for ‘today only’. Chances are, if you go back after you’ve thought about it, the offer will still stand.
• Ask questions before you sign anything. If they’re not interested in helping you during the money-extraction phase, they’re even less likely to want to help you achieve your health and fitness goals after you’ve joined.

The article talks a lot about what I've often experienced - they sign you up and then ignore you, and everyone else. This is especially so with the large commercial chains.