Treadmill Talk: Overcoming “Gymtimidation”

As the bitter wind beat against my face in the early light, I was forced to face the chilly reality of life in State College: January weather is not conducive to long morning runs.

From the moment I stepped outside and lost all feeling in my fingers and toes, I knew it was a lost cause. I went back to my dorm and stripped off my several layers of sweatshirts and running tights. I was admitting defeat, succumbing to my formidable winter foe. As conditional with the terms of my surrender, I was going to have to trade the freedom of the open road to the confines of a treadmill. For the first time, I was headed to the gym.

Sure, I had heard the stories about the intimidation women feel at the gym. But until I set foot in the White Building for myself and began the seemingly endless trek to the exercise machines, I had no idea of the overwhelming power of the “gymtimidation” phenomena. I was so uncomfortable in this world of weightlifting men and elliptical fiends that I locked all of my belongings in a locker, not bothering to learn the combination. Don’t even ask if I remembered the number of the locker into which I frantically jammed all of my belongings. The answer is no.

After spending ten minutes working up the courage even to set foot in the gym, I slowly entered through the glass double doors and discovered a whole new world. I was surrounded by insane machines that mirrored medieval torture devices. I overheard pieces of conversations the focused on “arm day” and “deadlift” as I searched frantically for a treadmill. After waiting in line for my chance to prove my gym prowess, I was scared to start the treadmill. The monotonous pounding of feet running at the 7.5 speed setting mimicked my anxious heart palpitations.

I am not alone in my experience with crippling “gymtimidation.” According to the article “Have You Ever Experienced ‘Gymtimidation?’” in Women’s Health, twice as many women as men feel their workout confidence plummet when the decide to go to the gym. 44% of women cite the weight room as the biggest anxiety inducer, while another 14% blame the unwanted glances of men on their hesitancy to workout. Yet the greatest percentage of women noted they are most intimidated by the idea of looking out of shape or appearing clueless around the gym equipment.

While my first trip to the gym and ensuing case of crippling “gymtimidation” was almost enough to turn me off from the gym forever, I was determined not to give up. As noted in the Dignity Health article “Gymtimidation: Why We Fear the Gym and 6 Tips to Overcome it,” there are a variety of strategies to make subsequent gym outings a success. Find a source of motivation to make trips to the gym more productive and manageable. Find a friend to go with and set workout goals. Create a playlist to eliminate unwanted distractions. Wear comfortable clothes, even if they don’t impress other gym goers.

Bring it on, White Building gym. The cold may have defeated this girl, but “gymtimidation” never will.

One thought on “Treadmill Talk: Overcoming “Gymtimidation”

  1. Kiki Daffan says:

    Hey Ava
    First off so proud that you didn’t just walk out of the white building on your first day that took some serious guts. I can totally relate to this post I refused to step foot in the gym like you braving the cold running, but the only reason I went was because my roommate was sick of seeing me coming back frozen from running outside when there was a perfectly good track in the IM building. So she convinced me to go, and I’m so glad she did because now I’m not freezing my butt off outside instead I’m running on the track in the IM building. You should definitely check out the IM building if you haven’t it’s so much nicer than white building. So while I loved your blog and the idea behind it I’m just not certain what your passion is from it? Is it girl power, the gym? I feel like maybe just make that part clear because right now you are passionate about so many things in this post I just can’t identify that one thing that you are really really passionate about. That being said overall really liked the whole set up of your blog and the organization of it, in general, it was super engaging and interesting to read. Happy writing! Can’t wait to see the rest of your blog!

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