“They’re all looking at me, I can’t  do it.”

I thought I would share a common problem/excuse/paranoia with you often experienced by some of my female clients.

When giving clients programs I always include strength work, now in some circumstances this can mean mixing with men in the free-weights section of the gym.  I’m not oblivious to the fact that in some gyms men are quite a scary feature. They can be intimidating and I do not deny that. When I first started training by myself pre-trainer days I would either stick to the ladies only section or classes. I walked quickly past the weights areas and kept my head down at busy times (my gym was frequented by some big loud dudes). It was only when I did my PT course that I mixed with free weights and learned what to do properly and gained confidence.  When I started working at the gym I quickly got into the habit of frequenting the free weights section, in peak periods it was swarming with try-hards. All grouping around the same machine or bench for ages and egging each other on, checking themselves out in the mirrors and using far too many dumbbells than they actually needed. I found this extremely frustrating.

Having gone through it myself I understand my client’s fears. But the thing was the more I entered that area the more I became comfortable with it. The fact is I had just as much right to be there as they did and that is what I kept telling myself, I had a program to complete and I was going to do it.

When working at the gym I made a point to always take my female clients in this section, they felt more comfortable with me there and I wanted to make sure they had access to the best equipment and weights. Would they go there by themselves? Some of them no but I did successfully change a few minds.

A common excuse for not performing an exercise at the gym is “they’re all looking at me”. Now I will not insult your intelligence and lie to you, the fact is some people at the gym are watching you, even the trainers. However I will tell you this, most people are so caught up in themselves and what they’re doing they really don’t give a toss what you are doing and the ones that do should get a life.

At the end of the day do you really care what a stranger at the gym thinks of you? Who cares if you are using lighter weights than them or if they are doing more complicated exercises than you? The fact is you’re there improving your body and your health, pat on the back to you for doing it. That is all you should focus on. Focus on what you need to do and don’t let anybody make you feel like you don’t deserve to be there.

Power on ladies!