Despite the many health benefits of lifting weights, many women still avoid lifting weights. Just take a look at the free weight area in the gym one day and odds are that you will see a lot of men there but few to no women. Why is this? If you are anything like I was one year ago then you may be suffering from gymtimidation.
What is gymtimidation? It’s that fear of looking silly or stupid when at the gym because you don’t know what you are doing or you think fitter people are judging you.
When I began lifting weights a year ago, I severely suffered from gymtimidation. One year later and I still get gymtimidation at times. Gymtimidation is a natural feeling that everyone feels at some point or another. However, this shouldn’t stop you from lifting weights! For one, the idea that people are judging you is false. Most of the time, no one is looking at you at the gym because everyone is too focused on what they are doing and how they look (trust me, I’ve done some pretty embarrassing things at the gym before and no one noticed!). So don’t worry about that. When it comes to feeling like you look silly or stupid because you don’t know what you are doing, there is one simple solution to that: take the time to learn how to use the equipment! You won’t feel stupid for not knowing what you are doing if you take the time to learn how to properly perform certain moves or use certain machines. This is SO important! Besides the fact that you won’t look stupid, you will also prevent injuries! It is easy to injure yourself if you don’t take the time to learn how to use the equipment properly. So please, take the time to know what you are doing. You will thank yourself!
How can one learn how to use the equipment properly? Well, there are several options available.
Ask the gym staff.
The first option is simply asking the staff at the gym if they can show you how to use a piece of equipment. It is their job to know how to use this equipment and to help others to use it properly so they are a great source for information! This is a good option for those who may have taken a weightlifting class in high school but need a refresher.
Attend a fitness center orientation.
If you don’t know the difference between a leg press machine and a leg extension machine, you may want to attend a fitness center orientation. This is a great way to know where all the equipment is and to ask questions about specific machines.
Look at the instructions on the machine.
Unless you are in the free weights or at a squat rack, the majority of the equipment at the gym has instructions with pictures about how to use the equipment and about what muscles the machine works. Most of the time, one can figure out how to use a machine just by looking at the instructions on the machine.
Google it or use YouTube.
Google is a wonderful resource! If you encounter a machine that you can’t understand from the instructions and you don’t want to/can’t ask the fitness center staff for help, then simply google “how to use a leg press” and there will be instructions with pictures! But sometimes instructions with pictures aren’t enough. Sometimes you need to watch someone perform the move. In that case, go to YouTube! You can use the same search technique and then watch a video that will walk you through how to use the equipment in a step-by-step format. One YouTuber who I find to be really helpful is Scott Herman. When I first started lifting weights, his videos were a huge help for me since it covered the moves in more detail than the instructions on the machines or a Google search could provide.
Use bodybuilding.com or another app.
For those of you who know your basic weight lifting techniques (deadlifts, tricep dips, rows, etc), bodybuilding.com can be a wonderful resource to learn more complex moves and to develop a routine. For example, I am currently doing the Jamie Eason LiveFit Trainer. While at the gym I will track my workout using the BodySpace app which allows me to read instructions on each move, watch a video of it, and to track the amount of weight I’m lifting and the number of reps I am doing. The app and the program tell me exactly what I should be doing every day. There are other programs which can be suited to your own fitness goals and to your own level of experience with weightlifting. Just find what works for you! If bodybuilding.com is too advanced for you, there are other simpler apps such as Nike+ Training Club, Fitness Buddy, Sworkit, and Skimble Workout Trainer.
It is really easy to get over gymtimidation and to start weightlifting if you take the time to learn the basics of weightlifting. Believe me, once you start seeing results, you won’t ever want to stop lifting weights!