Gym-timidation - Be Your Own Beautiful
If you have EVER made a gym part of your weight loss/workout regiment, you have probably experienced it. That uncomfortable feeling when the ultra-fit people begin talking and you wonder if you are in another world. I call it gym-timidation. I know I have experienced it, and there have been many times I have wanted to quit because of it!
I vividly recall my 275 pound self hobbling around the gym where I quite frankly felt that I did not "belong." I was oversized on the equipment and out of breath, and he wants me to do what? As my transformation began, no one else really talked to me, and I felt like I was at one of those "by special invitation only" parties with my trainer. I felt like I didn't "deserve" to be there because I wasn't at the same "place" physically as 90% of those who walked through the door.
I was convinced that everyone was watching me struggle through the workouts, and I felt like I was being judged. Judged for not having the willpower to be at a healthy weight. Judged for not being perky enough, toned enough, tough enough, sweaty enough, strong enough, sexy enough, and yes, skinny enough. ENOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH!
Let me share with you some truths I learned that helped me fight the gym-timidation and eventually feel confident enough to not only walk in to ANY gym with my head held high, but to eventually become a trainer myself.
1. While there are DEFINITELY the elitists at the gym who think they are above the rest and I should somehow feel honored to train in the same place, they are still human. My worth is not tied to the number of supplements I take or the weight I can lift. Nor is theirs. Every body is different, and nothing is more powerful than a spirit who will NOT quit despite the difficulty.
2. Yes. People were watching, but the true athletes were doing so out of respect and admiration because I had the guts to walk in there and do my thing despite it all. I can remember the first time I used the "bog boy weights" and feeling empowered, believing that I did belong because one gentleman smiled at me. He had watched my transformation and knew I could handle it. Others told me that they kept going simply by thinking, well if THAT GIRL can do it, I have no excuses.
3. Most people in a gym setting are so "in" to their own routines that they don't even notice others. For the majority, the workout becomes the time to tune out and get to work. Including me. More time focused on doing my stuff and less on what others are doing.
4. If I think I am intimidated and I don't deserve to be there, then I am right. But when I think and FEEL like a superstar and that I have every right to work out hard, and DESERVE to be there, then I am also right. As I would watch some thinner athletes lift so effortlessly, I would think in my head, "Sweetheart, let me see you do that with 100 extra pounds on YOUR back. That was my reality. I am the same athlete inside, and I am just as strong as they are. Period.
5. I AM ENOUGH! Right now. As I am. Beautiful and strong come in many shapes, sizes, and abilities, The key is to acknowledge and admire them all. Wherever YOU are in your fitness journey - DON"T ever let your muscles get so "ripped" that your heart falls out.
Get over the gym-timidation and get on with your goals.....you are kind of a big deal!
I vividly recall my 275 pound self hobbling around the gym where I quite frankly felt that I did not "belong." I was oversized on the equipment and out of breath, and he wants me to do what? As my transformation began, no one else really talked to me, and I felt like I was at one of those "by special invitation only" parties with my trainer. I felt like I didn't "deserve" to be there because I wasn't at the same "place" physically as 90% of those who walked through the door.
I was convinced that everyone was watching me struggle through the workouts, and I felt like I was being judged. Judged for not having the willpower to be at a healthy weight. Judged for not being perky enough, toned enough, tough enough, sweaty enough, strong enough, sexy enough, and yes, skinny enough. ENOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH!
Let me share with you some truths I learned that helped me fight the gym-timidation and eventually feel confident enough to not only walk in to ANY gym with my head held high, but to eventually become a trainer myself.
1. While there are DEFINITELY the elitists at the gym who think they are above the rest and I should somehow feel honored to train in the same place, they are still human. My worth is not tied to the number of supplements I take or the weight I can lift. Nor is theirs. Every body is different, and nothing is more powerful than a spirit who will NOT quit despite the difficulty.
2. Yes. People were watching, but the true athletes were doing so out of respect and admiration because I had the guts to walk in there and do my thing despite it all. I can remember the first time I used the "bog boy weights" and feeling empowered, believing that I did belong because one gentleman smiled at me. He had watched my transformation and knew I could handle it. Others told me that they kept going simply by thinking, well if THAT GIRL can do it, I have no excuses.
3. Most people in a gym setting are so "in" to their own routines that they don't even notice others. For the majority, the workout becomes the time to tune out and get to work. Including me. More time focused on doing my stuff and less on what others are doing.
4. If I think I am intimidated and I don't deserve to be there, then I am right. But when I think and FEEL like a superstar and that I have every right to work out hard, and DESERVE to be there, then I am also right. As I would watch some thinner athletes lift so effortlessly, I would think in my head, "Sweetheart, let me see you do that with 100 extra pounds on YOUR back. That was my reality. I am the same athlete inside, and I am just as strong as they are. Period.
5. I AM ENOUGH! Right now. As I am. Beautiful and strong come in many shapes, sizes, and abilities, The key is to acknowledge and admire them all. Wherever YOU are in your fitness journey - DON"T ever let your muscles get so "ripped" that your heart falls out.
Get over the gym-timidation and get on with your goals.....you are kind of a big deal!
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