Imtimidation at the Gym

G

GreatDepression

New member
Any obese people know this feeling? I've been avoiding weight training altogether because of the extra insecurity I feel around handsome muscular men lifting weights. Staying on an elliptical is emotionally easier since I have my "personal space" that doesn't require me to share benches, weights or looks with others. I've been using an elliptical almost exclusively for half a year now and I worry that I am not getting a lot of benefit since my body has adjusted to that exercise. I tried using a stair machine but it was so exhausting and challenging. I was fatigued after only 15 minutes.
 
I already don't like being around people so going to the gym for me would be impossible. That's why I prefer walking outside.
 
The gym can be a great place to train, but it's also a place that attracts a lot of douchebags with a testosterone overdose. Pay them no mind. There are also more than enough understanding, kind and helpful people there.
 
When I was big - I started off by walking outside... I still do quite a lot of outdoor walking...

As I lost weight - I started doing different exercise classes... I didnt do any until I had lost some weight though...

Initially I found the idea of going to a gym as being quite intimidating so I went to a local adult education centre and did some fitness classes there... I found that people were friendly - although the majority of people were smaller than me...

I didnt actually do much in gyms until my weight looked quite average...

Now I happily go to gyms...

I can say that the gyms that I go to are frequented by a lot of friendly people... There are some quite large people in my classes... For instance - I encouraged my husband to come along too to my zumba classes - and he did and feels comfortable... His BMI is about 48... He is not the only large person in the class. It really does not matter if people skip out jumps or do their own thing - the main thing is that you keep moving to the music... One of the ladies has MS and swears that the exercise that she does retains her physical abilities...

I used to go to a class where one of ladies was both deaf and visually impaired... She was still able to do zumba... If she stood at centre front she could see the teacher and copy... She could feel the vibrations of the music... She was brilliant...

I have come to the conclusion that many of my concerns about gyms were basically invented in my mind - built from my own insecurities of having lived life as a large person...

When I was big I encountered more than my fair share of idiots who felt it their right to comment about my size - but to be fair that tended to happen in the street and not in a gym (I didnt go into gyms)... The people concerned where hardly prime specimens of fitness or intelligence for that matter...

There are idiots everywhere... You may find one in a gym - but you could also find nice helpful people... People may well be working there who are committed to helping other people become more fit and would get a real sense of achievement out of helping you...
 
Funnily only recently been thinking of rejoining gym.

Was in your shoes at my highest weight a few years back, and yes there's a lot of fitter/healthier people all around you, but then is that any difference to anywhere? Walk into a shop, walk into a cinema, etc etc. At least it's showing you're trying to sort it, not just leaving it.

Steve
 
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