Going to the Gym Alone: Overcome Your Fear

You’re going to the gym alone for the first time and feel your anxiety start to creep in. I know that feeling. You instantly feel like you don’t belong. You’re intimidated by everyone else who seems to know what they’re doing.

Friend, I know how you feel. I’ve been there, and trust me, anxiety at the gym is no fun.

I used to be terrified of going to the weights section where all the fit girls and buff dudes were, so I stayed in my little bubble – the cardio machines. It’s where I felt the most safe because I knew how to use a treadmill machine. But I got so tired of always doing cardio, and a part of me really wanted to do strength training.

I wanted to stop being afraid at going to the gym, since I always used to go with a friend. Fast forward to now, I’m a regular at the weights section, and I’ve come to really love strength training! It’s crazy when I look back to see how much my confidence has grown at the gym from when I started going.

If my story resonated with you, I want you to know that everyone starts somewhere! Even those Instagram fitness influencers you follow probably were just as nervous as you were going to the gym. You can tackle your gym anxiety, and I’m here to tell you how.

Here are my top 5 tips that helped me overcome gym anxiety – so keep reading!

This post is all about going to the gym alone and how to overcome your fear.

5 Practical Tips To Overcome Anxiety At The Gym

1. Create mini goals before going to the gym for the first time

This tip really depends on where you’re at right now in terms of going to the gym. Everyone’s fitness goals will look different.

So let’s say, for example, you struggle to even step foot in the gym because of your anxiety. A possible mini-goal that you could set for yourself could be going during non-peak hours at the gym. So try to find those times when it’s less crowded or maybe look into a gym that is smaller, if a big gym is too overwhelming.

On the other hand, if you do go to the gym, but maybe your anxiety stops you from trying different workout machines or exercises, my top tip is to set a small goal that seems doable but also a bit challenging.

For example, the next time before you go to the gym, focus on one workout machine that you want to try – whether it’s using the leg curl machine or chest press machine.

Because going to the gym can be very overwhelming at times, focusing on just one new exercise that you want to try, helps give you a better sense of direction. Over time, you’ll eventually feel more confident as you achieve your mini-goals at the gym!

I’ve found that mini goals have helped me tremendously because I can concentrate on one new exercise at a time every time I go to the gym. Eventually, I familiarized myself with most of the gym equipment because I took those baby steps! So start small and then gradually work your way up! But if you’re not confident in working a certain gym equipment and that’s your goal, this leads me to my next tip…

2. Watch workout tutorials to familiarize yourself

I find watching workout tutorials super helpful especially if you’re unfamiliar with how to use specific gym equipment. There’s a ton of gym tutorials on Youtube, from “how to do a bench press” to “how to use a seated row machine.” You’ll find everything on Youtube, and just know that these tutorial videos gets hundreds of thousands of views. So what does this mean?

It means that a ton of people want to learn something new, too, just like you. Nobody who tries a gym equipment for the first time knows exactly how to operate it until they learn how to.

And let’s say, one day you decide to give it a go and try using a Smith machine for the first time but you have no idea what to do. You start to get embarrassed and your anxiety kicks in. This is when I’d encourage you to whip out your phone and search up how to use a Smith machine while you’re there.

This article shares gym workouts specifically meant for beginners – I highly recommend giving it a read!

I know your anxiety might be in fight-or-flight mode and you just want to get out of there, but you just took the biggest step: trying something new.

This has happened to me countless of times when I would just stand at a machine because I didn’t know how to use it. When the instructions on the machine didn’t help either, I would search up tutorials on my phone. Even though I was panicking on the inside, I took my time. Since I was already there, I thought I might as well make the most of it.

So I want to emphasize, take your time to learn how to use the gym equipment. Once you figure out how to use it, familiarize yourself with it more, and before you know it, your confidence at the gym is going to shoot up because the most seemingly difficult part is over.

3. Wear clothes you feel confident in

It’s crazy to see how my gym wardrobe has changed once I chose to wear outfits that made me feel strong and empowered. I truly believe that what you wear on the outside can also affect how you feel on the inside!

Whatever gym wear that makes you feel good and confident, wear it! You don’t have to wait until you feel confident enough to wear something. I used to believe that, but now, I just wear the dang thing and rock it. Do it before you feel confident, and eventually that confidence will come!

My fitness wardrobe used to be filled with dark clothes because I didn’t want any colors that attracted attention. But when my confidence grew at the gym, I wanted to wear clothes that made me feel confident, too. Now the majority of my gym clothes are pastel-colored, bright, or colorful.

If you don’t have any gym clothes, I would highly encourage you to invest in one gym piece, whether that’s a sports bra or leggings. Choose whatever color, pattern, design you want. You’re doing this for yourself! You’re gonna rock it, my friend!

4. Choose a workout playlist that HYPES you up

I can’t even emphasize how important my workout playlist is to me. If the music I listen to doesn’t make me feel like a badass queen at the gym, then I’m going to find a playlist that does. I know how silly this sounds, but music is a great distraction to tune out from my surroundings and focus on my fitness goals.

I personally love listening to workout playlists on Spotify and sometimes, I’ll do some real good digging to find a playlist I really like. A good workout playlist will seriously hype you up and make you feel like you own what you’re doing.

Maybe you already have a really good workout playlist and this tip doesn’t apply, though, so good for you! If you are currently looking for a workout playlist, I highly encourage you to take your time to find a good one.

Trust me, a good workout playlist will boost your mood and energy especially when you don’t want to workout (speaking from experience).

5. Be kind to yourself (seriously!)

With that said, I think the biggest emphasis I want to make in this post is being kind to yourself. Going to the gym is not easy, especially if you’re going by yourself, which is me 99% of the time. And it can seem like a really daunting task. But I want you to remember, that in those times when you feel super anxious, embarrassed, or just awful at the gym, please give yourself some grace.

Let’s say you end up not even setting foot into the gym because your anxiety was so bad, it’s okay! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve parked outside the gym only to drive back home because I was so anxious. Let’s say you end up not knowing how to use a certain gym equipment and you feel like you look stupid, you don’t, I promise.

In that moment, I want you to tell yourself that it’s okay to not know and next time, you can come back again and try again.

It’s so important that we are kind to ourselves in anxiety-ridden situations because how we react really determines how we approach the situation the next time it happens.

If we beat ourselves up mentally for feeling like we’re being judged at the gym, then we’re not going to want to go back. Instead, we’ll try to avoid the gym because we’re afraid of what others might think because of what we tell ourselves – that we look stupid or incompetent or clueless.

So I challenge you to be kind to yourself in this process as you face your gym anxiety! You can do this!

My Final Thoughts

Just to quickly recap this post, here are my top 5 tips in summary:

Create mini goals before going to the gym
Watch workout tutorials to familiarize yourself
Wear clothes you feel confident in
Choose a workout playlist that hypes you up
Please be kind to yourself!

Thank you for reading this post! I really appreciate it. If you liked what you read, let me know which tip you found the most helpful by commenting below!

Going To The Gym Alone: Overcome Your Fear