Feeling well in the gym: that helps against Gym Anxiety

Gym Anxiety is a form of fear that affected people feel in the gym. You can find out why she appears and what you can do against her here.

You finally want to go to the gym again today and you are looking forward to punching out properly again. But when you want to go, a queasy feeling comes over. What if you are observed by other people and judged for your appearance? What if others see that you don’t do an exercise correctly? And what if it is simply too crowded again?

Have you ever had similar thoughts and feelings? Then you are not alone. Feelings of fear and shame that are related to the gym visit are also referred to as “Gym Anxiety” or “gymnastics”.

The good news: There are strategies that you can use to encounter the feelings of fear.

What triggers Gym Anxiety?

Gym Anxiety can comment in different ways. According to Medical News Today, she appears to some people when they are already in the gym and do sports. In others, it already arises with the mere thought of it.

The exact trigger for fear also differs: some are afraid of being condemned for their appearance. Others are fundamentally afraid of doing sports with other people or worrying about others could evaluate their skills.

Depending on what the Gym Anxiety refers to in individual cases, according to Healthline, there are different triggers who trigger the feeling of fear:

• You are a beginner: in. If you want to go to the gym for the first time, you may feel intimidated quickly. What if others realize that you are here for the first time? Are not everyone else much sportier than you?

• You don’t know exactly how to use and operate certain devices. This can affect both beginners: inside and advanced. Maybe you are standing in front of a new device or want to try a machine that you have always avoided. If you then notice that you don’t really know how to position yourself or how to set the right weights, you may feel intimidated and ashamed.

• You feel uncomfortable when you move in front of others. Then it is particularly the changing room that gives you discomfort.

• You are a person read in the gym as a female. Some areas in the gym are typically dominated by male -read people, such as the freelance area. Especially if you are the only non-male person to this area, you could feel uncomfortable or intimidated.

In addition to these triggers, there are also a number of other possible triggers. According to Medical News Today, some people feel uncomfortable if they sweat in front of others or worry about what they look like during a sporting exercise.

This is how you encounter the Gymxity fear

In order to cope with Gym Anxiety, it is fundamentally helpful if you get to the bottom of your fear. What exactly does you feel like you? What scares you? It is best to write down your personal triggers. So you make the fear more tangible and can identify it more closely if it threatens to overwhelm you.

In addition, you may notice that many fears do not refer to facts, but only to assumptions. What if other people are not so careful about your appearance or skills, but are primarily concerned with themselves?

Once you have found this, it can also be easier for it to notice the anxiety idea in the gym as such and to convert it into an confident inner monologue. Instead: “The person on the treadmill next to me now sees how little perseverance I have”, you can deliberately recall the sentence: “The person next to me is probably primarily concerned with their own workout and on their own Endurance focused ”.

6 tips against Gym Anxiety

To meet Gym Anxiety, the following tips can also help you:

• Start with an orientation tour: Take time before your first real training to explore the gym. Many studios offer an introduction in which the devices are shown to you and you can ask questions. So you can familiarize yourself with the atmosphere and find out where everything is before you start training.

• Set small, accessible goals: Instead of starting with intensive workouts immediately, start with simple exercises and short training sessions. So you gradually build up self -confidence and avoid overwhelming. For example, your goal could be to train only 15 to 20 minutes or to concentrate on a certain device.

• Train at quieter times: Avoid peak times when there are many people in the gym. Less hustle and bustle can help you feel more comfortable and better concentrate on your training.

• Find one: n training partner: In or trainer: In: To reduce your insecurity, you can go to the gym with an accompaniment. A: E trainer: In or an experienced person can show you certain exercises, explain devices and support you in your workout.

• Make a workout plan: Think about which exercises you want to do before you go to the gym. Then it is easier for you to concentrate on you and your workout.

• Breathe deeply: If you are overwhelmed by Gym Anxiety, take a moment break. If it is possible, the best way to close your eyes and breathe deep into the stomach. Hold your breath for a few seconds and slowly breathe out through your mouth. Take a few more deep breaths until you get calmer again. Breathing exercises can help you here.

Alternatives to the gym

Basically, the more often you go to the gym, the safer you become with your workout, the surrounding area and the other athletes: inside and the more your fear will probably decrease. But on some days it may be that the Gym Anxiety has grown too big before sport to face it. That is not bad at all. Encourage yourself to take small steps and show yourself that progress does not always go linear and belong to small relapses.

But so that you can do sports despite Gym Anxiety, it makes sense to think about alternatives to the gym:

• You can also do many exercises at home. You can also use your muscles with your own body weight. Alternatively, you can get aids such as dumbbells or fitness bands and use it for your home workouts. You can find inspiration for this here: Workout at home: 4 ideas for sport in your own four walls.
• Do you want to improve your endurance? You don’t have to go to the gym. Instead, you can also go a round in the park or forest jogging or ride a bike.

Does your Gym Anxiety not become smaller or even increases over time? This can also be due to the gym. In this case, try smaller studios in which you feel more comfortable. For female people read there are also women’s fitness studios in which male read people are not allowed to train.

With every type of Anxiety it can also be helpful to find professional help (such as in the form of psychotherapy).

Read more on utopia.de:

• Do sports in the morning or in the evening? What is better
• Sport in the heat: what works and what is not possible
• Sports every day: is it healthy?

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