“Why the hell am I here?” a tiny voice in my head asked over and over again.

Plates and pre-workout shaker bottles were everywhere. The air had an unpleasant mix of unsavory smells — sweat, cheap cologne, and oxidized metal. It took all of fifteen minutes to retreat for the treadmills, only to have a friend notice and pull me back towards the tricep extension.

For eighteen years, I’d avoided weightlifting. But an unfortunate series of events led to this moment in an XSport Fitness.

As I struggled to push 25lbs without throwing the full force of my rail-thin frame behind it, I felt a growing sense of humiliation. This was my first “real” gym experience and I assumed everyone nearby thought “WTF is this kid doing!”.

Turns out gym anxiety is pretty common.

A nationwide survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by Fitrated found 65 percent of women and 36 percent of men avoid the gym out of fear of being judged. This apprehension was more likely among those who rated themselves less attractive, less in shape, or less experienced at the gym than others.

So, how do you go from an anxious, insecure individual who dreads weightlifting to someone who happily makes fitness a priority?

I’m 25 now, and a confident gym-goer. Although I didn’t instantly cure my gym anxiety, the day mentioned above ignited a lifetime desire to rewrite my fitness narrative. Through years of reflection, training, learning, and experimenting, I conquered my fitness fears and improved my self-image.

Here are a few of the strategies that worked best.

Write down the worst possible scenario

Taking control of your health is a massive mental and physical undertaking. The first step is to ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen?”

To get over your unique fitness fear, grab an index card and write down why fitness intimidates you. Maybe it’s stopping and catching your breath during a jog or failing midway through a rep.

This practice serves two purposes — visualizing the worst-case scenario (hopefully realizing it’s not so bad) and empowering yourself to move past it.

Trust me, after doing this, your gym anxiety will go from a ten to a two.

Be a sponge, ask questions, take notes

Yes, the internet is overflowing with self-anointed fitness influencers spewing out content. To cut through the BS, ignore people who look like they were Command+C’d out of a magazine. Remember, lighting, synthetic drugs, and intense dieting have skewed the “ideal” body type.

Still, there are plenty of natural, safe, knowledgeable experts out there.

I’ve found word of mouth to be most effective. Strike up a conversation with someone you admire and ask questions. Don’t be afraid to sit down with a personal trainer or nutritionist.

If you go the YouTube/Instagram route for information, do your homework. Is this person an expert through experience or education? Do others in the industry respect them? Is there a community of people who trust and support them?

Knowledge is 80% of the battle.

Focus on small, compounding achievements

Everyone with low self-esteem wants fitness to change their life. You daydream of abs on the bench or roaring applause as you cross the marathon finish line. To achieve these big, visible results, we often place ourselves under immense pressure and stress.

Instead of chasing massive outcomes, focus on smaller (often unnoticed) achievements.

“The glamorous achievement of a big and major goal is won in small and unglamorous increments.”

An overweight, out-of-shape dad with forty years of bad habits can’t simultaneously cut calories, triple their weekly runs, and build muscle — but he can swap his Monday soda with a water. And the next week, he might listen to a podcast while walking instead of sitting on the couch.

These tiny improvements slowly compound into a healthy lifestyle you can maintain and build upon.

Always have a plan

Most of my early gym anxiety came from a lack of planning. I’d walk into the gym and improvise, resulting in a wasted workout more often than not.

The easiest way to calm your mind and get into a rhythm is to plan your workouts in advance.

Personally, I started scheduling eight weeks’ worth of lifts, core, and cardio, laid out by day. It’s not a strict routine — but it keeps me honest and accountable.

Create physical barriers to prevent bad habits

Bad decisions compound at a faster rate than good habits. Why? Becuase they’re an easy gateway to something worse. Staying up late to watch a Netflix episode leads to other poor choices like sleep loss, snacking, and sedentary evenings.

In his book, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James Clear talks about increasing the steps it takes to indulge a bad habit.

“The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us.”

Let’s say Netflix is your obstacle. Remove it from all devices, set a time limit on your television, and put the remote in another toom. When you feel the urge to watch an episode over working out, you’ll have to bypass multiple psychical barriers to get to it.

Discipline is a decision. Help yourself make the right one.

Don’t cheat the system

Everyones want to hack their body with supplements. Pre-workout, post-workout, intra workout, BCAA’s, pump enhances — in my experience, these products give you a one percent boost. Not only are they highly addictive, but a lot of modern products use unknown filler ingredients and propriety blends.

If you want energy, drink a cup of coffee or a matcha.

If you need a “pump” drink beetroot powder, lots of water, and consume higher carbs.

The best results will come with a healthy diet. Eat whole foods, learn about your body’s needs by tracking macros, pay attention to labels, sleep more.

Supplements aren’t going to change your life — nutrition will.

When I was 18, I had an uncomfortable gym experience. In retrospect, it’s been a blessing in disguise.

First of all, I peeled back the curtain on my fear and realized it wasn’t a big deal. This practice allowed me to pursue fitness full-throttle without a subconscious unknown holding me back.

Second, I promise you, habits make a difference. From workout planning to incremental achievements to meal prepping, developing a process keeps you on track and improving.

And finally, knowledge and research will take you beyond the limits of your physical expectations. I’ve learned how to eat better, run faster, jump higher, and get stronger by finding trusted experts.

I hope these strategies bring a sense of calm and confidence to your fitness as they’ve done for me.

Try them. Adapt them. Build your own system. Let me know what you think.

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