Boost Your Confidence and Reach Your Fitness Goals

Working out at the gym can be a fun, life-changing place for many, but it can also be a really stressful, anxiety-inducing place for others. Those that are just starting their fitness journey are often unsure about what exercises they should be doing, much less being well-versed with the proper technique. Moreover, with bad apples filming these beginners without permission just for the sake of garnering likes and attention on social media, it makes the gym appear even less welcoming for these folks.

First off, you should know that the bad apples that like to embarrass others are a small minority because most gym goers are more focused on their own self-improvement, instead of being on the lookout for someone to pick on. Even then, if you do notice someone is filming others without permission or come across one of these videos at your gym, report it to the gym’s staff; these people are usually kicked out of these gyms without hesitation.

Being confident in your workouts can play a major role in helping you realize your fitness goals. And if you are just starting out with your workout journey, try not to be too hard on yourself when you struggle with the learning process because everyone goes through that phase — as they say, practice makes perfect.

Seek Help

It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out or if you’re Mr. Olympia — you need to check your ego at the gym. You should never feel embarrassed about asking others for help. In most gyms, you are likely to have a personal trainer or gym staff available, most of whom would be happy to help you learn how to use a certain machine, properly perform a certain lift, or teach you different variations that can help you reach your goals.

If you are looking for the gold standard to help you reach your fitness goals, hiring an educated and experienced personal trainer is it. Just going to any gym and hiring the first trainer you see can be risky, and so is going with a trainer just because he or she has an amazing physique. Ask a lot of questions to cut through the BS; and if the trainer is saying things that sound too good to be true, it probably is and he is just lying to you. Also, know that some certifications are complete scams, in which some are have recipients take an untimed and open book test that is done at home, so it’s really just testing the person’s Googling skills. A trainer with a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate can be rare, but that education can serve as a strong base of knowledge and understanding about fitness and nutrition.

Working with a personal trainer helps to make the workouts a regular event, similar to showing up at work. One of the reasons people struggle with reaching their fitness goals has a lot to with setting outlandish expectations, but when they are not feeling their best (i.e. feeling bloated or fatigued), they either proceed with their workouts and unable to perform as they would like, or choose to skip the workout altogether. A personal trainer can help adjust the workouts to deal with these circumstances and allow the individual to continue getting closer to his fitness goals.

Setting Goals

What is the reason that you want to start working out? For some people, it’s based on their doctor’s recommendations to lose weight or reduce their cholesterol, and for others it could just be purely for aesthetics. In short, there is not wrong reason to workout, but before you start, take a moment to write down what you hope to achieve. For example, if weight loss is the goal, be specific about how much weight you intend to lose and how much time you want to give yourself.

Setting a goal that is specific and realistic gives you something to aim to achieve. Famed golf instructor, the late Harvey Penick, made famous the phrase “Take dead aim”, which meant that he wanted his golfers to pick the specific spot for their shots to land, instead of a general area. Using the acronym S.M.A.R.T. (which is short for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) can serve as a good guide when you’re setting your fitness goals and it falls perfectly in line with taking dead aim.

If you are serious about reaching your fitness goals, you have to have a plan. One of my favorite sayings, which I got from strength & conditioning coach, Scott Caulfield, goes “a failure to plan is a plan to fail”. Essentially, if you go into the gym in your new workout gear and your specific goals set, but you don’t already know what exercises you want to do, that’s going to beat down your confidence levels before you even start! Having a good workout plan can save you from uncertainty, loads of time, and increase your potential gains. If you need help with this part, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or a trusted personal trainer at your gym.

Celebrate Your Victories

If your lack of confidence at the gym is making it difficult for you to reach your fitness goals, it might be because you haven’t been giving yourself enough credit for the work you’ve been doing. Allowing yourself to celebrate your victories provides a nice little boost to the self-esteem. Even if it’s something small, like adding another pair of 5-pound plates to the barbell, it’s an indication that you are improving, so it would be a shame if you didn’t give yourself some sort of credit for that accomplishment.

What makes celebrating your victories such an effective strategy to correcting your lack of confidence at the gym is that it’s a great way to add some positivity into your workout journey. While there is nothing wrong with demanding more out of yourself, if you are not careful, you can inadvertently make your fitness journey more stressful and less enjoyable, therefore, much less likely that you are going to follow through and reach your goals. Moreover, if you are already dealing with a lack of confidence when it comes to working out, the last thing you want to do is to further deplete your already limited self-esteem.

Celebrating your victories allows you to shift your focus away from your failures and limitations. Having previously tried and failed to lose weight or workout regularly, it can loom heavily on a person when giving it another go. When you take your mind off the negativity brought upon by your previous shortcomings and replace it with your current achievements, you are more likely to be further inclined to focus on the positives and seek to reach for more. While failures are still going to come, use them as a learning opportunity to get back to your winning ways, and this will inevitably boost your confidence in working out and reaching your fitness goals.

Conclusion

Failure is not the end of winning, but, rather, an opportunity to allow you to find a new way to approach things. Everybody has their ups and downs in their fitness journeys, and, for many of you, this can be a big contributor to your lack of confidence in working out. Every good personal trainer and athlete can tell you that some of their best learning moments came at the heels of their biggest failures, but instead of letting this stop them, they were able to use it for their benefits. If a lack of confidence is holding you back from living a more healthy life and workout consistently, I want you to understand that you are not alone and, more importantly, this can be corrected. By seeking help, setting goals, and celebrating your achievements, I promise you that you will be able to increase your confidence and find more success in your fitness journey because of that.

For more individualized help with reaching your fitness goals, Coach Julio is here to help you! Feel free to send your questions to julio@365physique.com