Gym Dos & Don'ts

Now the #1 excuse I hear people use for not wanting to go to the gym, especially women, is 'embarrassment'.

Whether that be with appearance, not knowing what your doing or fear of being judged by the 'regular' gym bunnies; then hopefully this post will help some of you forget those worries & lose those excuses!

Here are a few helpful Dos & Don'ts for the gym!

• Do make a rough plan before you go in. Even if it's just a very rough list of what equipment you're wanting to use so you know where to head & look for first when you walk in. So if you know you're wanting to use the treadmill for a quick warm up first then keep that in mind when you go in. This stops you standing there like a lost puppy & then starting to panic. Having a rough list gives you something to follow until you feel more at ease & comfortable with the equipment & layout of the gym.
• Maybe the most obvious Do is wear the right clothes! They don't have to be expensive at all, just things that you can easily move around in & feel comfortable wearing. Shorts/leggings/tracksuit bottoms/baggy tops etc. Just any old clothes you have that you are able to workout in, the gym isn't a catwalk remember! Don't walk in wearing skin tight lycra, hot pants & crop tops if you don't feel comfortable wearing them. If you feel self conscious & can't properly do an exercise for fear of a cheeky bum flash then you shouldn't be wearing it! You'll just look silly & stand out like a sore thumb; which you don't want!
• Do ask for help if you need it!! I can not stress this enough! So many people avoid the gym saying it's because they don't know what they're doing. How will you learn if you don't go in or ask? Don't be embarrassed, the gym instructors are there to help. It's their job to explain the equipment to you & give you any help you need. You should get an induction when you first start anyway so take full advantage of this to ask as many questions, tips & demonstrations as you want. Make sure you fully understand all the equipment in your gym so when you start you know exactly what you're doing. You'll look more silly trying to use a piece of equipment wrong & be more likely to get injured than if you simply just ask for some help! Don't be afraid :)
• Don't start going to the gym & expect results straight away. This just means you'll get disheartened & lose motivation so you give up when you don't see them. Before you start sit & write down what you want to see & achieve from going to the gym. Whether it be tone certain areas, lose weight or train in specific areas like for a marathon/sport. Write it down & give yourself a realistic time scale for it. A rough, healthy aim for weight loss is 1lbs a week, so if you want to lose 10 lbs then set yourself a 10 week time scale. If you do it sooner then great! If you maybe take a week longer then who cares, keep going & you'll eventually meet your goal! Winners don't give up!
• If you feel you need someone there to help push & motivate you then Do get a gym buddy! You'll have a friend there to give you a kick to keep going & it also means you're not the only 'new person.' Remember at school when you first started a class & you were automatically known as the 'new one' & you walked in feeling a bit lost for a while, not knowing what to do or have any friends yet? But it was all okay if there was another new person as well, so you both instantly bonded over being new & had someone to sit next to? Same applies here, having a gym buddy means you're not walking in on your own & you can both help each other out. However if this means you spend the time in the gym as a social gathering, don't actually workout & sit around on the equipment gossipping then DON'T. There is nothing more annoying than wanting to use a piece of equipment & having someone sat on it doing nothing. If you're not using it then move, go to a cafe or something if you just want a gossip & catch up with your friend. The gym is for working out. If your buddy isn't motivating, pushing & distracting you then ditch them or find someone else. You won't get your results otherwise! Sorry, mini rant there!
• Lastly, Do clean up after yourself. Simply wipe down the equipment after you've used it, not only is it hygienic but it's polite to for the next person using it after you. They wont appreciate it if you leave it covered in sweat! You wouldn't like it either so keep that in mind. However don't then leave the used paper towels lying around, put them in the bin! Also make sure to return any equipment back to where/how you found it. Leaving used weights lying around is not only dangerous, but looks messy & is very annoying for other gym users.

So there we go! As long as you remember to have a rough plan before you go, have a realistic time scale for your results, wear comfortable/appropriate clothes, ask for help, have a gym buddy if needed & clean up after yourself in the gym then you shouldn't be known as the dreaded:
'The Gym Weirdo'

 

Until next time

Love