How to start training when you don't want to walk through the gym door

A guide to getting comfortable in the gym

Dec 09, 2022

The gym can be intimidating, particularly when starting at a new facility or returning after a while out of the gym. Whilst we know deep down that no one else is worried about what we are doing, it’s normal to feel self-conscious during those first sessions.

If we don’t overcome these hesitancies to develop a routine early, it becomes easy to fall away from the program and stop going to the gym. This is common and explains why 40% of gym members train less than 10 times yearly.

I understand the intimidation. On the one hand, I’m probably the person people are intimidated by when they go in. But on the other hand, I still get that myself. I did an eight-week powerlifting training course in 2015 and was nervous about attending the first few sessions.

I wasn’t sure if my technique was up to their standard (it wasn’t, but that what why I was there) and didn’t want people who’d read my articles thinking I was less strong than they thought.

Even moving gyms at the end of 2021, it took a little while to get a lay of the land and feel comfortable in the new training environment. And I well and truly know that other people don’t care what I am doing.

So I wanted to share the guide I give clients looking to get more comfortable in the gym to make it a consistent part of their routine. I have a specific training program that implements this strategy, so if you’re trying to get more comfortable and don’t have a training plan, shoot me a message and I’ll send it through.

Phase one: accumulate time in the gym

This is the process of inoculation via accumulating time in the environment. But you need to be doing something - if you’re sitting on the couch near reception, then you probably won’t get more comfortable training in there.

The best way to accumulate time while keeping busy is using the cardio machines - treadmill, bike and elliptical. I recommend avoiding rowing machines or stairclimbers, to begin with, because it’s a lot harder to modulate heart rate on those machines, which will shorten your sessions.

Find your machine and take the time to set it up for you if you’re using the bike, so you’re comfortable and can maintain output. Start slowly and increase the pace gradually. If you’re nervous going into the gym, your heart rate is already going to be elevated, so take your time in building up so it doesn’t spike too much too quickly (hence why rowing and stairclimber aren’t ideal).

Aim to spend 20 minutes or more on the machine. If you get tired, drop the resistance or pace to allow yourself to recover. These sessions are about getting comfortable, not pushing your fitness threshold - you will do that later.

Once you settle into the tempo, you can look around and take in the environment. How long are people using the machines? What areas are busy? Who is in there? This is all useful information about the training environment. Knowing these things won’t change how you train in the future, but it fills in the gaps about the environment and removes the uncertainty your brain doesn’t like.

The most important thing about this phase isn’t the type of machine you use or how long you’re there for, it’s walking through the door. Any anxiety around training will usually stop you from going to the gym or turning around when you get there.

The more times you walk through the door, the easier it becomes. You’ll get to know the staff and develop a routine - park the car, walk into the gym (don’t think about it in the car), put your bag somewhere and then head to your machine and get started.

Phase two: use the resistance machines

Just like we need to add more stimulus to a muscle to grow, we must continue to build on the progress made in getting comfortable in the gym. Once you’ve been consistent with getting in and spending time on the cardio machine, it’s time to add more movements and explore the gym.

Start your session as usual - park up, walk in, drop the bags and hit the cardio machine. After you’ve done your 20 minutes or so, head over to the resistance training machines to incorporate some strength work into your routine.

Resistance training a couple of times per week is critical to health and wellbeing, so we must continue to expand the program. It’s easy to get comfortable in the cardio section and spend all your time there, but this can also make resistance training more intimidating the longer you put off using it.

Play around with a few machines to see how they feel. All machines should have a guide for their setup and use, but this isn’t always the case for old equipment. The most important thing is that you adjust the weight stack using the pin because even if you’ve got the perfect set-up, not much is going to be happening if you’ve got the whole stack loaded up.

If you don’t want to jump on machines and try them out, you can make a list before the session and watch videos on how to use each machine.

Phase three: bring in some free weights

So you’re familiar with the cardio and resistance machines and beginning to make some progress. Now it’s a great time to incorporate some free weight training into the routine. The transition from machines to free weights is generally much easier than cardio machines to resistance machines, so you might be doing this after just a few sessions on the resistance.

This can be an excellent time for a trainer to help you with technique on the major movements, especially if you haven’t done them before or recently. Of course, you can learn them yourself, just start light and adjust weights based on your strength.

The main movements are pushing and pulling (horizontally and vertically), squatting, hinge and core.

Here are some examples of each:

Horizontal push - push up, bench press
Horizontal pull - dumbbell row, seated row
Vertical push - dumbbell shoulder press
Vertical pull - lat pull down
Squat - squat and variations
Hinge - deadlift and variations
Core - plank, twists, etc

You can develop a simple program with a few movements.

Now your session might look like this: 20 mins of cardio, a few machines and then a couple of free weight exercises to finish up.

Longer-term, you will ideally do the free weight exercises earlier in the session when you feel fresher. But for now, the focus is on getting comfortable and having a range of movements in the plan. Once you reach that point, then you can make the change and implement a more structured and challenging resistance training program.

Summary

Getting comfortable in the gym is critical to facilitating adherence to a resistance training program. Not everyone wants a home gym, so it’s necessary to train in a commercial facility with other people.

Taking a few weeks or months to step through the process and develop a routine can be the difference between continuing to visit six months later rather than trailing on and off for a month and then giving up.

As I mentioned, I’ve got the program that I’ve used with many people and used to sell via the website. If you want a copy, send me an email and I’ll give you the PDF.

Q&A

Question: Do diet soft drinks trick your body into gaining fat and are they worse than regular soft drinks?

Answer

This is an interesting question and the short answer is no. This is a myth.

When we consume food or fluid, its carbohydrate content will eventually reach the bloodstream. This causes blood sugar to rise and insulin is released into the bloodstream. Insulin binds to cell receptors and allows them to take up sugar from the bloodstream and enter the cell, leading to reduced blood sugar levels and allowing them to be maintained in a tight range. On the other hand, if blood sugar gets too low, the body will break down stores and release them into the bloodstream.

The myth is that if we consume a diet soft drink, the body is ‘tricked’ by the sweetness and releases insulin into the bloodstream. Elevated insulin inhibits the breakdown and release of fatty acids, which sounds like a bad thing, but it makes sense to put a hold on breaking down energy when the body is already storing it. The theory goes that the body is tricked into elevating insulin, preventing body fat from being broken down.

The reality is this doesn’t happen. Because diet soft drinks don’t contain sugar, they don’t increase blood sugar, so insulin is not released. Aspartame and other sugars contained in diet soft drinks are demonstrated not to be insulinogenic, meaning they don’t cause insulin release.

Therefore, diet soft drinks do not trick the body into gaining body fat.

Whether they are worse than regular soft drinks is very subjective. Aspartame and other sweeteners are often said to be associated with poor health outcomes, but the current advice is they are safe for consumption. It’s a bit ironic when people say they don’t like the artificial sweetener content of diet soft drinks because it’s not like the regular version is free of artificial colours, sweeteners and additives.

Diet soft drinks can play a useful role in reducing energy intake from regular soft drinks. However, it’s best to stick to water as the primary fluid source.