A lot of people think that everyone else in the gym feels confident. I was visiting a different gym last week when a guy saw me using the SSB (safety squat bar, it’s the weird kind of “yoke” looking squat bar) and commented on it looking interesting and asked what it was for. We chatted a bit about it, and he told me he was just trying to get back into the gym. I never would have guessed that he was back in for his first day back if he hadn’t told me that.
Most people didn’t feel conflident when they started. I talk to folks sometimes who think they need to achieve something before they get to the gym so they’ll be ready.
Most people actually start working out feeling awkward as hell. It’s okay, if you’ve never done something before, you probably won’t look like a pro the first time you do it. People get worried they’ll do something wrong or that people will look at them. They get nervous that they’re “too out of shape.” They’re worried they’ll be the only beginner there. Some gyms make that feeling worse.
That’s part of why we care so much about making Power Plant actually feel welcoming to beginners instead of just saying we are. Confidence usually comes AFTER you start, not before.
You come in nervous. You learn some stuff. You realize nobody’s paying attention to you as much as you thought. You get through a workout. Then another. And eventually the thing that felt terrifying starts feeling normal.
That’s how confidence works most of the time, you build confidence as you build competence. And you build competence by starting out not knowing very much but learning as you go.
I think people also underestimate how many experienced gym people still feel awkward sometimes too. Most of us are just adults wandering around trying our best and pretending we know where things are.
You do not need to:
- lose weight before joining a gym
- “get in shape first”
- know what you’re doing
- feel confident
- become a different person first
You can literally just start scared. A lot of people do.
