The first time that I set foot in a gym, I was a high school senior, desperate for a bikini-ready body. My mom has always been a gym rat, so she instilled the importance of health into my veins. Spring break was a short two months away, and I was bound and determined to show the other patrons of the carnival cruise that I was an in-shape babe. I was ready to pump some iron.
I entered my hometown gym, Level Health & Fitness, with a positive attitude and a smile on my face. I was excited to become a consistent member. Five seconds into the door and the smile dropped to a frown, when the realization set in that I hated working out. I made my way to familiar territory, the treadmill, and began my mile run with the level set to 7.0. I was ready. Seconds later, I was joined by an old man, who went on the machine next to me and started walking. My confidence was boosted. I was running faster than this old man – pathetic, but still encouraging.
Once I finished my run, my dripping sweaty self moved onto my next favorite machine, the stair stepper. Seconds later, a man with muscles the size of my face stepped onto the machine next to me. My motivation instantly dropped to zero. I felt incomparable to him, in every way possible. I looked around and saw many more men just like him. I avoided the free weights, weight machines and every other confusing looking contraption that the men of Level gym used. I feared that if I entered this territory, I would look stupid and weak. I was experiencing some severe symptoms of gymtimidation.
The following week, my mom attended the gym with me. She walked over to the leg press machine with the grace of an angel and quickly did her reps without even batting a scared eyelash. It was an empowering moment; she was only focused on herself and bettering her own personal fitness routine. From that day forward, I vowed to believe in myself.
Now when I workout, I see people of all ages and genders lifting weights and building muscle. Girls aren’t afraid to build-up their triceps and biceps and guys can be seen doing cardio on an elliptical.
The best thing about working out is that just showing up proves that you care enough to better your health. You don’t have to be the fittest one in the room or the skinniest girl on the treadmill. You just have to be willing to work hard for the results that you want to achieve. So, don’t be intimidated by the jacked dudes, muscle-heads or pre-workout junkies, they are there for the same reasons as you. They care enough to better themselves and that’s what makes a gym a pretty empowering place.
Now let’s get our sweat on, ladies!