One of my clients who was crushing his gym routine recently fell completely off track. It’s summer. He’s been busy with the family.
It happens.
Other commitments pull your time away and you tell yourself you’ll get back to it next week, then something else comes up.
Before you know it, it’s been a month since your last workout. You’ve been ordering more takeaways and the snacks have crept back in because of the stress and busyness.
You’ve fallen off the wagon harder than an Uber driver hitting the brakes, and the thought of getting back into it feels overwhelming.
Maybe there’s some anxiety around walking back into that gym for the first time in a while.
Sound familiar?
This is exactly where my guy was recently. But now he’s fully back on the horse and pushing forward with building the 2.0 version of himself again.
In this article I’m gonna break down some simple (but powerful) steps you can use to overcome gym anxiety and confidently build yourself back up.
Whether you’re thinking about it for the first time or getting back into it after some time away.
Even The Most Experienced of Us Get Nervous About It
First thing to acknowledge is that feeling anxious about stepping into the unknown is completely normal.
After 5 years of training solo in my garage gym, I’m thinking of joining the local Everlast gym here on the east end of Glasgow.
And there’s definitely some nerves around it.
Even though I know what I’m doing and have decades of training experience, walking into a new environment and training in front of people for the first time in 5 years feels unfamiliar.
It’s just human nature to feel uncomfortable stepping into the unfamiliar.
It’s a hard-wired sensation that probably kept us safe in hunter-gatherer times from dangerous animals or rival tribes.
Acknowledge it, but don’t allow it to stop you.
Back when the Covid lock-downs started fading out I noticed how anxious I felt out in public, around lots of people, just catching up with my mate in Costa Coffee.
To fix that, I set weekly goals to go out and watch the Rangers game’s twice a week in a local pub where I didn’t know anyone. No, I wasn’t on the beers twice a week, I stuck to diet cokes and water. And it quickly made me feel more comfortable in busy places again.
Ok, maybe not every visit was coke and water.
It’s Never as Bad as You Think
Anxiety, worry, or stress is a physical sensation that our thoughts create.
It’s never actually doing the thing that’s the issue.
It’s our thoughts about doing the thing.
We tend to create worst-case scenarios about how we’ll look or how much effort it’s going to take to get back to where we were before.
But in reality, it’s never as bad or as hard as you imagine.
Sure, there’s always one or two judgmental pricks in any given gym, looking around and judging people for bad form or thinking they’re better than others. But that’s not a reflection of the gym community – that’s just something you get in every walk of life, and it’s the minority.
Most people in the gym are there to improve themselves and have a similar mindset to you. They want to live better and see other people around them doing well too.
If you’ve recently fallen out of routine and feel defeated about getting back to where you were?
All it takes is that first workout.
Stop comparing your current lack of routine to your peak routine from a month or two ago. Life happens to all of us. Being successful with your body and fitness isn’t about never falling off the horse – it’s about being ready and willing to wipe the slate clean and get back to it ASAP.
That’s what real consistency looks like.
And consistency trumps perfection (but only 100% of the time).
Making the Follow Through Simple and Easy
It’s one thing stepping into a new environment to train and making time for it every week.
It’s a whole different challenge to do that with long, complicated workouts full of skills you need to relearn.
So keep your first few weeks simple. Stick to a handful of basic, non-technical exercises that don’t have a steep learning curve. Ones you know and don’t take a lot of thought.
You add new movements into workouts when you’ve solidified your routine again.
I’d even recommend starting with just ONE exercise to make building the habit easy.
Literally get in, warm up, then hit one movement really hard and go home.
After a couple of weeks, add more back into your routine.
It doesn’t take long to feel comfortable, confident, and enjoy training in any new environment once you’ve had a few exposures to it.
The Dentist Appointment
At the end of the day, thinking too much creates anxiety and overwhelm.
You need to stop overthinking it and set a date for your first workout and gym visit.
Get your calendar out. Time block the date and time. Treat it like a dentist appointment that you normally wouldn’t miss. Pack your gym bag the night before. Plan your workout (or that one big exercise to train hard) so you’re clear on what to do and can get in and out with no fuss.
After that, all of the stories in your head about how hard it’ll be or how silly you might look will be…
At least not as bad as they were.
Then you just rinse and repeat. Before you know it, you’ll be back in a solid routine and feeling more confident as a regular gym-goer.
Not to mention – most importantly – feeling good about yourself again.
The man you want to be is waiting on the other side of that first workout.
Thanks for reading and I hope it helps.
Dean
PS – Ready To Build The 2.0 Version of Yourself?
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