The fear of feeling stupid at the gym is REAL. Even for me!
I didn’t start a gym routine till I was 28 years old, my fat jeans had become my skinny jeans, and my 10 year high school reunion was 8 weeks away.
In other words, my fear of showing up in a body I hardly recognized finally outweighed my fears of:
“Looking stupid”
“Looking out of place”, and
“Looking weak.“
Truthfully, though, this part didn’t get me INSIDE the gym… it simply got me to ask for help.
I hired a coach to … Take over the “thinking” of working out – cuz let’s be honest… I really truly didn’t know what i was doing – and I did NOT want to feel stupid at the gym.
This person…
- Wrote my fitness program. It was 3 days a week of lifting with 2 more days of running.
- Showed me how to do each movement: Besides a bicep curl and a push up, I didn’t recognize any movement in the gym.
- Watched my form, helped me make adjustments, and told me where I should and shouldn’t be feeling things.
For the first time ever, I felt ACCOMPLISHED after a gym session.
I wasn’t worried about ‘other people’… because here’s what a GREAT program does:
# 1 – DROWNS OUT THE NOISE
The trainer who builds your program takes over the ‘thinking’ part of the work out, right? That means you don’t have to save random internet workouts or walk into the gym and sit on whatever machine is calling to you that day.
Instead of stressing about what movements to do, a good program will have you working through the 5 major movement patterns (push, pull, squat, hinge, and carry). There are endless ways to do each of these movement patterns, but the BEST program will direct your attention to mastering and getting strong in ONE variation at a time.
You won’t feel stupid at the gym. You’ll have a plan that you repeat, over and over again, getting more confident each round.
# 2 – NON-SCALE VICTORIES
A lot of people quit their fitness journeys because they aren’t seeing the success they want, where they want. AKA – the scale.
Coaches and trainers will tell you to become less scale obsessed. Uhm, okay, but like how else do I understand progress? If the scale isn’t going down, am I even doing it right??
Following a program gave me the time I needed to notice improvements in my balance, endurance, strength. There are so many other victories when you stop feeling stupid in the gym. You’ll get to watch the amount of weight you lift go up, the reps go up, and your endurance go up. The movements will feel more natural, and you might even be excited to try a new movement.
#3 – BITE SIZES “FOREVER”
Being “fit for life” is rad but it can easily feel endless or even pointless without clear benchmarks. What are you even working towards, other than weight loss? How much muscle do you want to pack on?
If you only do one program, one type of workout, you’ll end up bored and quitting. Knowing that each new program was a nudge harder than the last kept me interested in the challenge ahead without feeling frustrated by big jumps in my abilities. I got better and better, little by little.
HOW TO STOP FEELING STUPID AT THE GYM IN 2025
It’s 2025 yall… and nothing would make me more excited than to see you fall (back) in love with the gym.
If a gym routine is overwhelming or you’re doing random exercises without a plan…well YA NEED A PLAN babe. Enter…PEAK PHYSIQUE.
PEAK PHYSIQUE
Peak Physique is a 42 day in-studio program designed to focus your attention and speed up results! It’s available to sweatlocal All Access Members, and the results are going to be off the charts – if you participate and give it your all! Peak Physique is INCLUDED in All Access Memberships at sweatlocal!
You’ll commit to 24 workouts to build muscle, daily health and nutrition habits to boost your metabolism, and accountability with Coach Madisen and the whole Peak Physique group!
That means you’ll be following a plan proven to provide results. The real value is how confident you’ll feel at the end of the program – lean, in shape, and feeling great.
I might be biased, but there’s literally nothing better to get you feeling confident in the gym AND in your body than the Peak Physique program! Click here or the image below for more info and register today!
2 CLIENT TRANSFORMATIONS TO PROVE THAT YOU CAN STOP FEELING STUPID AT THE GYM, TOO
Visualization is HUGE for accomplishing your goals – so check out these 2 amazing clients who have blown their goals out of the water. They’ve been accountable in our Diet Rebellion program, and with the power of accountability, trusting the process, and coaching, they’ve achieved amazing results.
If they can do it, you can do it too.
1 – Amy Anton, and her progress with Diet Rebellion.
2 – Angelique Kudlack, and her progress in Diet Rebellion.
1 Quote to Motivate You to Stop Feeling Stupid at the Gym
Need some encouragement and tough love on sticking to your habits? click here to subscribe to the INSIGHTS newsletter from sweatlocal. You’ll get an email every week with motivation and resources – and absolutely no B.S.
