How to Defeat Your Fear of the Gym

Yesterday I received the following DM on Instagram:

“I think a lot of my concerns are psychological rather than physical. I keep telling myself to lose X kilograms before joining a gym and starting strength training…because I’m afraid of looking like a fool.”

This message resonated with me because years ago, I was too scared to go into a gym.

I didn’t want to be the guy doing bench presses who could only lift the bar.

Or even worse, I didn’t want my ego to get the best of me by putting weight onto the bar I had no business lifting only to get stuck under it.

So I came up with a workaround. I bought a few kettlebells and started working out in my apartment.

I thought I’d build up a good base of strength first and then I’d start going to the gym.

Little did I know how wrong I was with my thinking.

Looking back I realize I had two things completely backwards.

#1 - People will watch me because I’m new

The biggest fear I had that stopped me from walking into a gym was also the dumbest one.

It’s so obviously wrong to me now but it seemed so right at the time.

If you’re a beginner, nobody cares about watching you. I know this from firsthand experience.

It might sound harsh but when I was just starting there was nothing I could do that was worth watching.

But now I have years under my belt.

I can do cool tricks like handstands and straddle planches.

I have a physique that people want.

And that’s the takeaway here: Because I look like I know what I’m doing people approach me in the gym to ask questions - something they never did when I first started working out.

People pay attention to people they aspire to be, not beginners.

So please, don’t let this fear stop you from signing up for a gym membership.

#2 - You can only get strong in a gym

Remember earlier when I said “I thought I’d build up a good base of strength first and then I’d start going to the gym”?

That was mostly ego talking. But it was also me believing you can only get strong in a gym. It’s not true.

Now if your goal is to become a professional bodybuilder, sure, you need to be lifting in a gym.

But more than likely you want go to the beach next summer and not be embarrassed when you take your shirt off.

Or you want to go back to the days when you wore t-shirts that were a size or two smaller than what you wear today.

Those are realistic and achievable goals and you don’t have to train like a professional to get there.