Raise your hand if you’ve ever walked past a gym and thought” nah that’s not for me.” But the real reason why is not for a lack of interest but a lack of knowledge. You just wouldn’t know where to start..you’re not an athlete, or interested in being a beef cake, so why bother..walking is good enough right?!
Raise your hand if the idea of walking into a gym gives you cold sweats? Are you intimidated by the machines, by the people you imagine you’ll see in there, or the trainers who might push you beyond your limits?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that gyms give them anxiety, that they are afraid of being judged for not being fit enough, that they had a negative past experience and it makes them steer clear of fitness centres. I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong because I’ve been there. I used to go to a gym only to use the cardio machines (you just have to press ‘Start’ so easy peasy) and then use the mat for bodyweight exercises that I knew from doing Jillian Micheals videos in my living room. I also used to purposely not wear my glasses in the gym so that I couldn’t tell if anyone was looking at me (judging me). I completely avoided the entire weight room, all those crazy looking machines and big dudes; I exclusively used the colourful neoprene dumbbells and did not go near the squat rack. Needless to say, my progress was slow.
One day a trainer at my gym came up to me and asked if he could train me (for free), I usually came at 3 pm which was slow, so he didn’t have a client. He trained me for about 2 months, a few times a week. He taught me how to use almost every machine in the gym, how to set up the squat rack, how to lift heavy and know when and how to push my limits, he taught me proper posture and how to activate my muscles. Because of that trainer, I can walk into any gym with confidence and understand how to use every machine in the room. I learned how to welcome physical challenges and that lifting heavy wasn’t just for men. I understood that you have to start somewhere and it’s ok to not know how to do something, you just have to ask, because most trainers LOVE to share their knowledge and they LOVE it when people fall in love with fitness.
When it came time to set up a studio of our own, one of our first priorities was to create an environment that felt welcoming and to be coaches that people felt comfortable with. Of course we do strive for you to have a certain love/hate relationship with us (we wouldn’t be doing our job if you didn’t hate us a little). We also try to maintain a positive community spirit and work with people wherever they are at; no assumptions, no judgement; because the act of showing up is more than half the battle and for that we commend you!
So the next time you walk past a gym or a fitness studio, we hope you feel a little less intimidated and if you happen to be walking past Studio MoFitness, pop in and say hello!