NORMALISING GYMTIMIDATION

Let’s take a moment to address something everyone who has ever stepped into a gym has experienced — whether they admit it or not.

Even now — as a six-foot-four, twenty-stone man with fifteen years of training behind me — I still get the jitters walking into a new gym. It’s the same white-coat trepidation you might feel going to the doctor, or visiting your in-laws for Christmas. A fear of the unknown. A new environment, new people, new ways of doing things, and the nagging sense — imagined or otherwise — that someone is watching and judging.

The difference is that, unlike Christmas with the in-laws, gym nerves are something you can do something about.

The first step is working out what’s actually causing them.

Everyone’s fitness journey is personal. What unsettles you may be of no consequence to me, and something trivial in your eyes might have me quietly barfing into a bin.

That’s why there’s no single piece of advice that fixes gymtimidation for everyone. It isn’t a universal problem, so it doesn’t have a universal solution.

And anyone who tells you to “just ignore it because it doesn’t matter” should be kicked in the face. Because it does matter — it matters to you. Jason Manford summed this up perfectly on his Muddle Class tour when he pointed out that your problems are the most important problems in the world, because they are the ones that affect you directly.

Which also means the person best equipped to deal with them is you.

All gyms have an atmosphere the moment you walk through the door. Some feel welcoming, some feel chaotic, some feel like a branch of Wetherspoons after last orders. It’s important to remember that if something or someone is genuinely making you uncomfortable — persistent staring, overbearing behaviour, or feeling intimidated by a particular group — speak to a member of staff. They aren’t just there to wipe down benches and refill soap dispensers. They have a duty to provide a safe, comfortable space, and you have exactly the same right to use it as anyone else.

The same applies for filming. If the person adjacent to you feels it’s appropriate to set up the equivalent of a small outside broadcast unit to capture the one perfect set in their entire workout, you are well within your rights to ask not to be filmed. Gyms are private property, and your workout shouldn’t be collateral damage for someone else’s content schedule.

It’s also worth remembering that everyone starts somewhere. Every single person in that gym once didn’t know how to use a piece of equipment. And if we’re being honest, it can still take weeks — sometimes months — to feel comfortable on unfamiliar kit. If you’re unsure, ask. A PT, a member of staff, or even someone nearby. You will never be judged for asking for advice. In fact, most people don’t mind at all. It’s actually quite flattering to be asked to help your fellow gymgower - it lets you know your own hard work is paying off.

As for being judged — everyone feels it. And it’s odd because, without wishing to be rude, the vast majority of people around you couldn’t care less what you’re doing. Yes, there are cliques — every gym has them — but most people are far more concerned with their own technique, their own numbers, or whether they’ve remembered how many reps they’re on than with what you’re up to. And if someone is watching, chances are they’re checking their own form rather than critiquing yours. In a strange way, it might be a complement.

If it helps, focus inward. You’re there to better yourself, not anyone else. Turn the volume up on your headphones. Lock your gaze onto your reflection. Create that mind-muscle connection and let the rest fade into background noise. If you feel more comfortable in a corner, take the corner. There’s no shame in that.

The gym should be a place where effort is respected and discomfort is understood. Feeling intimidated doesn’t mean you don’t belong — it means you’re pushing yourself to do something new, something worthwhile.

So let’s normalise gymtimidation. Let’s stop pretending confidence is the entry requirement. Let’s celebrate the people who walk through the door despite wanting to turn straight back around.

Because progress doesn’t happen inside your comfort zone.

It happens the moment you step just beyond it.

And if you’re reading this thinking, that’s never happened to me, it might be worth asking whether you’re helping make the gym a welcoming place — or quietly making it harder for everyone else.