By: Amelia-Rose Williams
The first time I went to the gym, I was quite literally shaking in my boots. I’ve always been body-conscious, my entire life, even though my body is consistent with the “standard” of beauty in our society. I’ve always resented the fact that I am skinny and admired women who have fuller bodies than I have.
While the years have gone by and I’m less self-conscious than I was back then, I still want to strengthen and nourish my body as best I can. So I started working on a workout routine and as motivated as I was, I was absolutely terrified of going into the gym.
That feeling like everyone has their eyes on me and the faint feeling of someone breathing down your neck, telling you, you have terrible form. I feel sick just thinking about it! That’s when I knew I had gym anxiety. However, how do we go about solving it?
When you are trying something new for the first time, it’s normal to be anxious that you aren’t going to be perfect at it. As a perfectionist, I struggle to try new things because I fear I won’t be perfect the first time. Ultimately, giving up and feeling let down that I wasn’t a master at it on my first try.
Old habits die slow and while in recent years I’ve gotten better at not fearing failure, it has become apparent to me that it is a problem. With consistent practice and repetition, trips to the gym, whether you start going with friends or your partner, you will begin to build the confidence to go by yourself or just see improvement.
As we all know, you won’t see results overnight when it comes to putting in the physical labor. It’s the same thing with building up your confidence. It takes time and that’s okay; nothing happens overnight. With practice and patience, the anxiety will settle and the confidence will emanate!