You've booked the visit. You've picked out the shoes. And then, two blocks from the gym, your stomach drops and you consider turning around. That's gym anxiety, and it's far more common than the confident people on the floor let on.
Gym anxiety: first, you're not weird
Almost everyone feels nervous walking into a new gym. You worry that you'll look like you don't know what you're doing, that people will watch, that you'll hold something up. The truth is that most people in a gym are thinking about their own workout, their own reflection, and their own phone.
CAMH, Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, says everyone feels anxiety sometimes, and everyday anxiety is usually brief and mild. If your anxiety is persistent, severe, or getting in the way of daily life, it's worth speaking to a professional, and CAMH's page on anxiety disorders explains how to find help. What follows is for the everyday kind: the nervous-stomach-at-the-door kind.
Before you go: take out the unknowns
Anxiety loves a blank. The more you can answer in advance, the less room it has.
- Tour first. Walk through without training. See the layout, meet someone, find the change rooms. Our tours exist for exactly this.
- Know where to be. Check the address, hours and how to get in. Brock is at 122 Brock Ave in Parkdale. Dundas is at 3519 Dundas St W in the West Junction.
- Write a plan. Three to five exercises on your phone. Walk in knowing what you're doing first.
- Pack the night before. Water, towel, shoes, headphones. One fewer thing to panic about.
Pick your timing
Going at the busiest hour is the hardest version of this. If you can, try a quieter time, like mid-morning, early afternoon, or later in the evening. Our Dundas gym is open 24/7, and Brock's open gym runs from 4am to midnight, so there's room to find your pace.
A quiet gym won't fix everything, but it takes the audience out of the equation while you find your feet.
Three tricks that really work
1. Start small on purpose. Your goal for the first visit isn't a great workout. It's walking in, doing twenty minutes, and walking out. You're collecting a win. The next visit gets easier because the first one is no longer a mystery.
2. Give your hands a job. Anxiety hates having nothing to do. Walk straight to a piece of equipment and start. A set of goblet squats or a few minutes on the bike is better than hovering near the entrance.
3. Use a script. If a part of the gym worries you, make a script. "Hey, can you show me how this works?" is a perfectly normal sentence. Staff and regulars would much rather help than watch you guess.
Choose a format that fits your nerves
Not everyone feels better in an open room. Some people feel more comfortable in a coached class, where there's a plan, a coach, and a group that's all doing the same thing.
Our small group personal training classes cap at 8 people. That means you're not lost in a crowd and you're not figuring it out alone. A coach tells you what to do, shows you how, and adjusts it to you. Gold Standard (Strength & Conditioning) and Golden Hour (Pilates full-body strength) are two good places to start, and our LGBTQ+ BeYou group class is a welcoming group class. Take a look at the classes page to see what's on.
If a group still feels like too much, personal training gives you a coach all to yourself.
Bring your whole self
We built Stay Gold to be inclusive and body-positive. Beginners are welcome, bodies of every shape and size are welcome, and nobody's counting. Our Brock gym is also dog-friendly, which turns out to be a very good anxiety reducer. It's hard to feel judged when a dog is happy to see you.
If you want a deeper look at what a first visit looks like, our beginners page walks through it, and our everyone page explains how we think about inclusion.
After the first visit
Do something nice for yourself. Seriously. Eat something good, tell a friend, text yourself a thumbs up. You did the hardest part.
Then book the next one before you go to bed. The second visit is always easier than the first.
What to do if it gets overwhelming mid-session
It happens. If your chest tightens or your head starts spinning, stop what you're doing. Put the weights down, take a few slow breaths, and sip some water. Walk for a minute. If you need to leave, leave, with no apology. Coming back tomorrow still counts.
If it keeps happening, or if it affects other parts of your life, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. That's not a failure. It's good information.
Quick answers
Is gym anxiety normal?
Yes. Many people feel nervous walking into a new gym, especially the first time. It usually fades quickly with a couple of visits.
How do I stop being nervous at the gym?
Remove the unknowns: tour first, plan your workout, go at a quiet time, and start small. Coached small classes can also help because there's a plan and a person guiding you.
What if I don't know what I'm doing?
That's the case for everyone at the start. Ask a coach, take a beginner-friendly class, or book personal training.
Will people judge me?
Most people are focused on their own workout. At Stay Gold, we're a body-positive, inclusive space, and beginners are always welcome.
Your first visit, made easier
Beginners are welcome here. Come for a tour and meet the space.