How to Cope With Gym Anxiety

Gym anxiety is common when you first start working out somewhere new. If you're a student, you might also be afraid of gym class at school. On the other hand, for those with social anxiety disorder (SAD), fear about going to the gym or attending gym class can be so severe that it interferes with just getting through the day.

Imagine the thought of an upcoming gym session or physical education class leaving you so distraught that your stomach is in knots or you experience a panic attack. For some people with social anxiety, working out in public or going to a gym class could trigger their symptoms.

Signs and Symptoms of Gym Anxiety

While the experience of gym anxiety can be different for each person, it often involves feeling symptoms such as:

• Rapid heart rate
• Muscle tension
• Feelings of fear
• Excessive worry
• Chest tightness
• Shortness of breath

Avoidance behaviors are also common. People with gym anxiety may avoid the gym altogether or only be able to work out when few people are present.

What Triggers Gym Anxiety?

Many aspects of a typical gym or physical education class are intimidating enough for the average person. These could include:

• Changing in front of people
• Feeling intimidated by people who are in better shape
• Having trouble using equipment
• Feeling like people are staring at you
• Experiencing trouble attending group classes
• Having anxiety about sweating or other side effects of working out
• Worrying about making small talk
• Experiencing anxiety about using a public restroom
• Having poor body image
• Feeling uncomfortable with crowds or large groups of people

One study found that while many women were aware of the benefits of resistance training, many avoided it because of how they thought others would perceive them.

Some reasons that were commonly cited included:

• Feeling uncoordinated during exercise
• Feeling intimidated and uncomfortable
• Not knowing how to use equipment or what to do at the gym
• Worrying about body image and looking nonathletic
• Worrying about sweating in front of other people

Specific areas of the gym can be intimidating to some. One study found that women tend to avoid male-dominated areas of the gym (such as the weight room).

How to Cope With Gym Anxiety

Methods of coping with social anxiety at the gym fall into five broad categories: managing negative thoughts, building confidence, gradual exposure, getting help, and choosing alternatives.

Manage Thoughts

Therapy for social anxiety disorder involves managing the negative thought processes that keep your anxiety going. Use this method of examining the evidence that the thought is true or false to help you challenge the thought so you can then replace it with a more realistic and helpful thought to help cope in the following ways.

Your thoughts impact your emotions and behaviors, so if you have unhelpful or negative thoughts, it is going to make you feel worse. Challenging and changing those thoughts to be more positive or helpful can help make you feel better.

Build Confidence

Build your confidence about going to the gym in these four easy ways:

• Keep going. The more often you go to the gym, the easier it will get each time. The opposite is also true, and especially with anxiety—the more you avoid a situation the more anxiety-provoking it becomes.
• Research the gym equipment ahead of time so you feel less intimidated and are familiar with the purpose of each one. Or, go with a friend who already knows how to use it. Anxiety often stems from a fear of the unknown, so research or enlisting help from someone else can help you feel more comfortable (and less anxious!)
• Realize your confidence will grow the more you exercise and become more physically fit and active.
• Buy gym clothes that make you feel confident, that you like wearing, and that make exercise easier.

You can also start slowly exposing yourself to the situation to help ease anxiety and build confidence. Start by researching gyms and perhaps walking or driving past them. Next, try going into the gym and asking for a tour.

The goal is to expose yourself to the environment, the equipment, and the actual act of working out at the gym. Once you start to become more comfortable in the environment, you can then start using the equipment and taking classes. 

If it's the locker room that's triggering your gym anxiety, planning ahead can help. Instead of changing at the gym, arrive at your workout already dressed for your workout. Afterward, you might throw a jacket on over your gym clothes and head home to shower and change.

Gradual Exposure

Numerous studies have shown the effectiveness that exercise can have on alleviating anxiety. When you are first getting used to a new gym, be kind to yourself. Gradually expose yourself to new situations so that anxiety can subside and eventually your confidence will grow.

• Consider going at off-peak times at first, to avoid big crowds.
• Wear headphones and listen to music or audiobooks at first, to help manage your anxiety.
• Make a hierarchy of things to accomplish from small to big, and remove all expectations beyond the current stage you are at on this list.

Get Help

If you are still struggling to find your place, go to the gym with someone who already knows their way around, or sign up for sessions with a personal trainer to get a proper orientation. You might also try finding alternatives to the gym such as an app or home workout that you can do instead. Many classes and gyms are now streaming classes online.

Choose Alternatives

If you find that working out at the gym just doesn't suit you, think of other activities that you can do, such as working out at home. Other ideas include walking, running, cycling, or swimming. Anything that gets your body moving and your heart pumping can count as exercise!

Anxiety About Gym Class

Anxiety at the gym is not limited to adults. Many children and teenagers also suffer from social anxiety at the thought of taking part in a physical education class. Some of the triggers of this anxiety might include:

• Being self-conscious about your weight/changes in your body
• Worrying about making a mistake while playing on a team
• Getting picked last during team selections
• Being bullied by other students
• Lacking confidence in your physical ability

In this meeting, you can talk about alternatives such as one-on-one exercise programs or credit for exercise done in your home or at places outside the school. As a parent, you can help by practicing sports with your child that you know they will be doing soon in physical education class.

Also, talk to your teen about how it is okay—and even therapeutic—to laugh at yourself, and that trying is more important than being the best at a sport. Help your child/teen find physical activities that they truly enjoy to build confidence and a love for exercise.

Can Exercise Help With Anxiety?

With all the anxiety it causes, you may wonder if the gym or phys ed class is even worth it. The good news is that exercise can help relieve anxiety and may even help protect against future anxiety.

Exercise can be great for anxiety for several reasons. It can decrease stress hormones, improve confidence, and help create a buffer against stress.

A 2020 review found that physical activity can help protect against anxiety and that getting regular exercise can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms. Added benefits were shown for people with SAD who combined exercise with group cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Treatments for Gym Anxiety

Sometimes gym anxiety might be part of a more serious problem, such as social anxiety or another type of anxiety disorder. If feelings of anxiety are interfering with your ability to do the things you want to do in life (like going to the gym and working out), talk to your doctor or mental health professional.

Anxiety is a treatable condition. Your doctor may recommend therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Types of therapy that may be helpful include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This type of treatment may help you recognize the negative thought patterns that are making it hard to feel comfortable at the gym. Replacing such thoughts with ones that are most positive and realistic can help you feel more confident when you are at the gym.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): This approach focuses more on helping you accept uncomfortable thoughts and emotions. It also incorporates mindfulness, which can help you feel less anxious in the moment.
• Exposure therapy: Facing your fears can be critical to getting past them, which is what exposure therapy is all about. Taking baby steps, like imagining yourself at the gym, taking a tour of the gym, and eventually working your way to up taking a class, can help your gym anxiety gradually fade.

If this step seems too difficult, you could also start by reading self-help books on the topic to learn more about different available therapies, and eventually build your way up to receiving outside help.