12 Tips For Faking It At The Gym
The gym can be so intimidating especially if you are going for the first time or wanting to try out something new. These tips for the gym will help you to feel more comfortable as you build your strength both mentally and physically. To help you feel more confident in the gym, here are 12 tips for faking it at the gym!
1. Watch YouTube Videos
Whether you are wanting to learn a new machine or switch up your workout routine, consult the internet! We have access to the largest form of research, ever, so utilize this for your fitness goals and for tips for the gym.
Especially with YouTube, you can learn proper techniques, tips, and great knowledge about building your strength and endurance at the gym. For weightlifting and cardio tips and tricks, we love Sydney Cummings and Popsugar Fitness!
2. Ask for Help
All of your anxiety surrounding your journey at the gym is built up in your head, girl! Most likely, everyone else around you was in the same spot that you were in, so ask them for tips on how to nail your form or how to set up a machine.
For the most part, everyone is pretty nice and willing to help as they are there for the same reasons you are. Asking for tips for the gym is not limited to just the people around but ask other coaches or fitness junkies!
3. Watch People
This tip might come off as a little creepy, but it’s totally not in the name of fitness! Next time you are on the treadmill or at a different exercise machine, watch the people around you for some tips for the gym.
Take note of their form and technique for specific muscle groups and machines. Learn from their mistakes and from what they know and add it to your fitness routine!
4. Practice with Light Weights
At this point, maybe you have gotten the courage to go to the new machine, but you are still a little uncertain. Take it easy! Protect your body and start out slow and with light weights as you really nail down that form.
We can assure you that no one is taking note of the weights you are grabbing, so there is no shame in the game! Build up in your strength or your speed and then really hit it hard as you learn what you are doing!
5. Check Form in Mirrors
Despite popular belief, the mirrors at the gym are not only for selfies and Snapchat pictures! There are some exercises and holds that feel a little strange as you engage your muscles, but your form is actually correct.
Check to see what you are doing and if you are doing it correctly. Plus, this will help in your faking it as it makes you look very hardcore and focused while lifting or running!
6. Bring a Friend
We all have that friend that practically lives in the gym and eats her greens like we all should be. Invite her to your next gym sesh and ask for her help! If you are lifting, this friend can help spot and support you to protect yourself.
This is one of our favorite tips for the gym as you can have someone to talk to, and who will overall help you feel more comfortable at the gym if you have your bestie with you!
7. Fake it Til You Make it
Just like the title, the key is to fake it. No one knows (unless you tell them) that you do not know what you are doing at the gym, so just proceed as usual!
For the most part, everyone else is doing the same thing, so just put your head down, get your workout in and keep moving on!
8. Plan Ahead
Before you go to the gym, plan ahead on what you are going to do at the gym. For example, on Mondays, you do arms followed by a one-mile run, and on Tuesdays, you go to barre class, and so on!
This will help you to get to the gym in the first place but to also get in the gym and get to work. When you get there, you can go straight to your workout rather than wandering around trying to figure out what you are going to do!
9. Start Simple
Before you get to the macho part of working out, start simple! Master the basics of arms, legs, and the other muscle groups before you get too specific. Maybe before you move to super heavy weights, multiple miles on the tread, or different machines, take it over to the free area to practice and nail down everything you need to know!
10. Join Classes
Depending on your gym, some gyms will offer beginner classes that are led by coaches and instructors to teach you the basics. From here you can take everything that you have learned and apply it to your own independent routine.
Some people at the gym will also take their personal trainers with them to either be led in a workout by the trainer or taught how to do things while at the gym. Either way, asking questions will help you in the long run!
11. Don’t Go During Rush Hour(s)
Typically, the mornings and after 5pm are going to be packed at the gym. As you are getting more comfortable with yourself and your fitness routine, plan ahead and go when there are fewer people. Not only will you avoid the crowds but the machines will be free which gives you a better opportunity to practice and get better at faking it!
12. Stick in Your Headphones
When in doubt, just stick in your headphones and let the world fade away. At the end of the day, you going to the gym is about you and your fitness journey. Forget everyone and everything else that is distracting you at the gym and just focus on moving your body and feeling great afterward!
As mentioned before, everyone is feeling this exact way, so embrace it and focus on the movement and the art of doing so. This is also the universal language of “do not speak to me because I have headphones in” so that you can avoid any unnecessary comments or conversations during your workout!
These tips for the gym will help you fake it while working out while also keeping you strong! What was your favorite tip? What is something you wish you knew when you started working out?
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