Do You Need To Get In Shape Before Joining A Gym?
Q: I’m in terrible shape. Like, for real, I’m a fucking mess right now…and that’s putting it lightly! Yeah, I know, I should probably get my life in order. But how do you start exercising when you’re out of shape? Like, should I get in shape before joining a gym or should I just join a gym and get in shape there? Any help would be appreciated with my perfectly logical question!
A: Okay, to make sure that I have it straight, you don’t think you’re in good enough shape now to go to the gym. So instead of going to the place that’s intended for people to get into shape, you want to work out by yourself at home, which is the place where you more than likely got out of shape. Then once you get in shape in the place that made it conducive for you to get out of shape, you’ll go to the place where people go to get into shape so you can get into even more shape.
Do I have that correct?
If that’s right, then the only time that course of action is a good one is when the gym you’re looking to join has a minimum fitness requirement that all members have to pass before joining. In that situation where your ability to join a gym hinged on your appearance and how you fared on an assessment test of your strength and conditioning, then getting into shape outside of the gym would make sense. However, given that absolutely no gym on this fucking planet has such a policy because it severely limits the revenue base and makes for a pretty stupid business model, the much more logical path is to join a gym and begin your fitness journey there. By doing so, you can sooner take advantage of the various kinds of equipment at your disposal that you more than likely won’t have available at home, as well as the motivation that comes from being around others that are further along in their journey than you.
Oooooooooooooh, wait a minute here…
The last paragraph was closed with mention of one of the benefits of the gym being the people who are in better shape than you. And that right there is what this query is really about!
Reading between the lines, the reason why you don’t want to work out in public at the gym is for fear of being judged for not being as fit as more experienced gym-goers. That’s why you want to hold off until you get fitter so you’re not as embarrassed.
Apparently, you seem to think everyone at the gym is going to stop what they’re doing and look at you because you stick out as someone who doesn’t belong. That couldn’t be further from the truth, though. For one, the overwhelming majority of the people that populate any commercial gym have average bodies and abilities. So there’s no reason to be intimidated by the idea of being among a sea of people that are that much more advanced than you.
Because more people will be closer to your current level of fitness than to the upper echelon, you’ll easily blend in and won’t stand out. So unless you’re going out of your way to draw eyes to you, trust that no one will be paying you any mind at the gym, as most will be too involved in their own workout to pay attention to someone who’s just another person. Those that are not focused on their training will be preoccupied with something else in their life. Regardless, that feeling of all eyes on you is nothing more than a cognitive bias known as the spotlight effect, which is when you overestimate how much others are observing you. Essentially, most of the people in the gym won’t even know you’re there to laugh at or be judged by them because they’re too busy worrying about themselves to notice you.
Yes, that’s right…
You don’t stand out as much as you think you do, so what it comes down to is the gym being just like everywhere else in your life.
Yup, no one even knows you exist!
Now, does anyone else have a fitness or nutrition question of their own that they want to ask?
Glossary: commercial gym, exercise, equipment, fitness, gym, gym member, gym membership, gym-goer, journey, motivation, nutrition, work out
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