New Gym Jitters

My mother purchased my first gym membership for me when I was 15. I wasn’t even able to drive. I either had to walk or hope my brother wanted to drive me and join me for a workout. 

It’s been over 21 years since then, and between moving and traveling, I’ve probably seen the inside of 40 - 50 gyms across the country and the world. And yet despite my years of experience, I still get the new gym jitters. 

It happened just again this past week after moving to Colorado.

The new gym jitters can be summed up as feeling like everyone is staring at you, the “new comer,” “the outsider,” judging what you’re doing, and that you’re in everyone’s way… all the time.

It reminds me every time just how judgey a gym can feel. And it makes me think every time about the real new comers and outsiders struggling to find their place.

The person walking through the gym doors for the first time ever. The person who is trying to get back into a routine after years of letting themselves go. The people who feel uncomfortable in their body before even walking in the door. 

If it takes a 20 year gym veteran who’s comfortable in their own skin a week or more to truly acclimatize and find a rhythm, how long does it take someone who’s never been in a gym before? Someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing? Who walks in the door feeling insecure? Is it a month? Months? A year? More?

It’s no wonder that the average person doesn’t want to walk into a gym in the first place, let alone come back.

It’s one of the reasons I like going to new gyms so often. It forces me to tone it all down a little bit. To consider everyone around me. To smile more. And to go out of my way to make everyone feel welcomed to join in on the fun.

And mostly, it keeps me humble and kind, because it keeps this observation front of mind.

Putting myself in new situations is one way I keep myself from getting too inflated.