5 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Have Confidence at the Gym as a Beginner

Let’s be honest here, gym anxiety is REAL, especially when you are new to the fitness world. There’s nothing worse than finally deciding to live a healthier lifestyle by eating clean and going to the gym only to have all your fitness plans wrecked by a lack of confidence once you get there. The uncomfortable feeling of not knowing how to use machines or feeling like everyone there can immediately pick you out as a beginner can be unnerving to say the least. Trust me, any woman who has ever stepped foot in a gym before has probably felt the exact same way. So, let’s talk about some ways you can fight gym insecurities and feel confident in your skin whether you prefer home or gym workouts.

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I remember the first time I went to the gym as a college freshman. I felt like every single person in the gym could immediately lay eyes on me and know that I had no clue how to use the machines. I felt the need to read instructions and look at the pictures on the equipment just to know what to do, so I was positive at least one person was thinking, “This idiot has no idea what she’s doing!”

Please know that I grew up playing sports and exercising in the privacy of my own home, but I had never actually gone to the gym before. So, I had NO IDEA what I was doing. Eventually, I was able to find my way around the gym and become a “regular” so, I’ll share all my tips on how you can feel like you belong in the gym too.

1. Shop for some cute workout clothes and equipment.

One of the easiest ways to feel confident at the gym is by wearing clothes that make you feel good in your skin. Sometimes it can be as simple as wearing a cute outfit that gives you the boost of confidence you need or bringing your own resistance bands to the gym to look like a “regular”.

Of course you don’t need cute clothes to feel good about yourself. Personally, there have been times where I have made no effort in my appearance when I go to the gym and I am constantly distracted in the mirrors by how bad I look which only makes me feel more uncomfortable.

Just me? Ok, but you get the point. Whether it’s a baggy t-shirt and biker shorts or a cute crop top with leggings, wear whatever makes you feel most confident in your skin. You definitely won’t regret it.

Now that we have the cute outfit taken care of #priorities, let’s address the actual exercises.

2. Start with bodyweight or free weight exercises.

YouTube has some awesome workout videos that can get you familiar with a lot of the basic exercises as a beginner. Once you feel comfortable performing bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, pushups, etc. in the comfort of your own home, you can take these to the gym and feel good about performing them around other people.

Watching videos beforehand can be a really simple way to learn some exercises that allow you to complete an entire workout while using minimal equipment and alleviate any fear of not performing them correctly. As you feel more confident, progress to using free weights for exercises like bicep curls and lunges. Body weight and free weight exercises are simple but effective exercises that can help you build up confidence in the gym until you’re ready to use more equipment.

It can also be extremely helpful to watch yourself perform exercises in front of a mirror so that you can see your form and even judge for yourself whether you look like a natural or a total beginner. ;)

In all honesty, people tend to overcomplicate their workouts and feel like they constantly need to change it up. The simple exercises are just as effective and performing the same ones, while only changing how many reps, sets, or how much weight you are using, allows your body to adapt and build muscle. I go into this topic in depth in this post.

 3. Learn from other people.

One of the great things about working out around other people is that you can learn a lot from watching what exercises they do in their own workouts. Obviously, you don’t want to be weird about it but glance around as you take your rest breaks and observe what other people are doing.

This can be a great way to learn how to use some equipment you are unfamiliar with. Just be careful when you watch other people because I have seen a lot of exercises performed with the wrong form or even in a dangerous way that could set your body up for injury in the future. If you are unsure, you can always look up the exercises online later to see the proper way to do it.

Plus, if you are brave enough to ask someone, I’m sure they would be more than willing to share their workouts with you or even teach you how to do perform it yourself.

4. Go to the gym with a friend.

Some people, like myself, enjoy solo workouts and others would prefer going with friends, Either way, going to the gym with someone especially when you are starting out can be really helpful.

When I told you about the time I went to the gym as a college freshman, I don’t think I mentioned the fact that I was very inconsistent and only went when my friend went with me. Being inconsistent and not finding my groove left me without ever really learning how to build workouts or use any equipment.

It wasn’t until I started going to the gym with my boyfriend at the time, who is now my husband, that I really learned how to workout. He was able to show me the equipment and initially came up with my workouts. I would just copy whatever he did while using the amount of weight I could tolerate and he even enjoyed teaching me.

Needless to say, this was great experience for me and although I dreaded going to the gym at first, it ended up being fun and was so good for our relationship. Now, you don’t need a boyfriend to teach you everything. My point is, if you have a friend or someone you trust that can kinda teach you the ropes and make it fun, then you will eventually develop a love for exercise and the knowledge to make it a lifestyle.

5. Keep it simple.

And lastly, the most valuable piece of advice I can give you is to keep it as simple as possible and start with the basic exercises that everyone knows and loves. There is no “perfect exercise” to get lean and toned. As long as you are targeting the muscle correctly and increasing the load as it starts to get easier, you will see growth and improvements in strength. When you see people perform crazy exercises, it most likely means they are bored with their workouts and wanted to change it up. So don’t feel the pressure to do everything you see everyone else doing or feel like you aren’t doing enough.

So choose your favorite exercises and stick with those for a while. There’s always time in the future to change up your workouts. After all, this is a fitness lifestyle we are trying to create here!

If you loved this post, don’t forget to leave me a comment about which tip will help you the most with building confidence at the gym!