Top tips for nervous and beginner gym-goers

One of the ways you can avoid feeling overwhelmed when you step into the gym is doing a bit of research and planning beforehand. At the most basic level, this might involve looking up some of the common types of gym equipment and how to use them, and seeing if your gym has any advice or rules listed on its website. This can help familiarise you with the environment beforehand and ease some of the anxiety around making mistakes – as can taking part in an induction session if offered at your gym.

It’s also a good idea to come armed with a beginner-friendly workout plan to avoid the indecision of figuring out what to do first, and what you should be doing next. Knowing exactly what exercises you’ll be doing and for how long gives your gym session structure and maximises the effectiveness of your exercise. Fitness apps like Nike Training Club, Strong or Jefit can be useful in this regard, and most gyms offer the optional service of a personal trainer if that is within your means.

A busy gym that is full of people can feel oppressive, especially if you’re just getting started and feeling a bit self-conscious. With that in mind, you might feel more comfortable if you avoid the peak periods of early mornings before work and early evenings just after work. If your schedule permits, you’ll find gyms tend to be emptier between 10am and noon and later at night.

Scheduling your gym visits around the busy periods, whenever possible, will give you a bit more space to get to grips with the gym without having to worry about anyone else or waiting for your turn on specific machines.

Gym machines are great tools for beginners because they are easy to use and provide little room for error – unlike free weights, for example, which have quite a lot more technique involved and carry a significantly greater risk of injury.

Resistance machines are a great starting point because they are designed with the express purpose of guiding your movements, isolating certain muscle groups and reducing the likelihood of injury. Each machine is usually accompanied by instructions that show you how to use them and adjust the setting for your size and strength.

Once you have used gym machines to build your base strength and develop good form, you can then start thinking about learning how to use free weights. And whatever you’re using in the gym, you can always seek advice from staff members if you’re unsure what to do.

Having a good workout doesn’t mean pushing yourself to breaking point – the most important thing is to be consistent with your workouts without overdoing it. Getting to the gym for 20-30 minutes a few times a week is a much more effective and sustainable way of exercising than subjecting yourself to an hour of physical torment that will leave you exhausted, aching and dreading your next workout.

Short workouts built around a few simple exercises are quite enough to get your body going and give you a sense of accomplishment after each visit to the gym. Getting started in the gym is about forming good, lasting habits – and once you have built up your fitness you can start building up your routine as well.

Any time we enter a new situation or take up a new hobby, the sense that everyone is watching and judging your every move can be unnervingly acute – and this can feel even more pronounced in the gym, where the perception is that a lot of people are concerned about maintaining or improving their appearance.

The truth is that most people are too focused on their own workouts to be paying any attention to what you’re doing. Not only that, but gyms are full of people at a variety of different stages in their workout journey, and those who are further along are well aware of what it will have felt like when they were starting out.

Never forget that as long as you’re in the gym to keep feet and look after yourself, you belong there just as much as anybody else does.