Student Soapbox: Feeling rather gym-timidated?

The gym: it’s supposed to be a place in which people can improve themselves, a place where people can exercise without braving the cold or dodging members of the public on a run or cycle. Everyone who goes to the gym does so to work out, so you’d think it’d be an environment that allows people to do their exercise in peace, because everyone is doing the same thing. It’s not. The gym is one of the most intimidating places you can go to, especially for those of us who aren’t athletically inclined but are striving to be so.

{{quote The gym is one of the most intimidating places for those of us who are not athletically inclined }}

Although the staff are friendly, and the facilities are good for the membership price, our campus gym is not well designed for people who are insecure. There is no privacy in the ladies changing rooms (unless you want to change in the cramped, mucky toilet), meaning that you have to display your bits to all or struggle to get ready under a towel. More secure (toned) people might tell others to ‘suck it up’; but how are those who are insecure supposed to gain self-confidence, when the place they go to to work on this makes them feel so vulnerable?

Getting a rounded work-out is also a challenge for those who are self-conscious, and again for women in particular. Some admit to feeling intimidated by groups of men hogging the weights. Using weights can be beneficial to everyone, but the stares a girl would get using them are unwelcome and can make a challenging workout feel even more uncomfortable. An all-female gym could be a solution, but ideally it would be pleasant to be able to work out in a mixed gender environment without being gawked at.

People also stare at others’ machines. Although a small number of people may be trying to copy effective techniques or absent-mindedly glancing, many will look at the stats on your machine and use them to compete with you or smirk at your work-out. When everyone has an individual goal and fitness level, what is the point of competing? People should get on with what they are doing, rather than watching the person next to them.

Aside from perhaps adding privacy to the changing rooms for those who require it, I doubt there is really much to be done about this situation. Sports have always been competitive so those who aren’t good at it may always feel inadequate. I suppose the unfit really do have to deal with it and just hope that the hard work pays off!