Why I'm Still Anxious To Enter A Gym

So I get anxious when I enter a gym...

The thing is, I've been a personal trainer for 5 years...

So, what's going on?

First things first, I don't get nervous when entering the gym I work at, PureGym Preston.

I've spent thousands of hours there over the past few years.

I'm used to it.

I know who people are and I know where everything is.

That's my realm...unless it's 6pm on a weekday.

Then I'm a little uncomfortable.

But that's more due to me being a crowd hating, loud noise despising introvert 😅

But when I enter a new gym,

I'm definitely nervous for the first week or so.

I think that's a natural response to going somewhere new and doing something different.

Don't get me wrong,

7 years ago, I wouldn't have gone to the gym.

If I did, then I would've been a nervous wreck for way more than just a week.

Thankfully I've managed to overcome the large majority of my anxiety.

But, I want to get back to why I get nervous when training at a new gym.

I think it has something to do with going to a location where people are trying to get better and look better.

The natural thought for an anxious person in that environment is,

"They're all so much better than me and they're all going to judge me".

Seriously, I'll walk into a new gym and puff my chest a little.

Walking past the bodybuilders like they'll judge me.

Even though I'm very happy with my physique and I actively don't want to be a big bodybuilder.

I'm an endurance runner and fighter, extra muscle would make me worse at what I do 🤣

But it's still a small insecurity.

Although, what do you think the bodybuilder would be thinking if they came to a running track or my fighting gym?

They'd be nervous as heck!

Of course they would, because they're in an unfamiliar environment with people who are better at running and fighting than they are.

And see, that's where our mistake is...

All of these influencers and fitness magazines make us think that the gyms only for body transformations and building muscle.

Surprise, they're not.

The gym can be a place where you come to blow off steam.

It can be a place where you rehabilitate an injury or your mobility.

It can be a tool for self development and overcoming your social anxiety.

When we shift our perspective from what we think the gym is for, to everything that it's actually for,

We'll start feeling more comfortable.

Why?

Because we can fit in there.

If we fit in the story we tell ourselves about the gym,

That feeling of being an imposter or somewhere you don't belong will gradually go.