Will you be hitting the gym this January?
January is the month that most people will be thinking about hitting the gym, but what's stopping people? New research shows that fear is hindering us from getting fit at our local gym.
‘Gymtimidation’ is thriving in Britain and it’s women who are the most self-conscious. Nearly twice as many women as men feel embarrassed when exercising with the most off-putting thing being other people noticing them and feeling unfit, according to the findings from the latest survey for Cosmopolitan Body, Cosmopolitan’s health and fitness spin-off magazine.
Men’s biggest fears are not knowing what they are doing and worrying what other guys think of them – two out of ten state that the judgement of other men in the gym is the most off-putting experience. However, not a single guy cares whether women are judging them or not.
Women are concerned about what both sexes think – 14% are intimidated by the thought that men are judging them for what they can (or can’t) do and 10% by other women.
Lack of self-confidence even stretches to communicating with other gym-goers. Just under half the men surveyed have no qualms in asking people how long they’ll be using a certain piece of equipment. Whereas, only 8% of women dare to do the same. Instead, 84% choose to walk away and use something else and 1% use it as an excuse to leave the gym entirely.
A third of women said the thing they avoid most at the gym is the weights area with 47% saying they’re put off by the people who use it. Lack of confidence is again an issue with 44% avoiding using weights because they don’t know what to do, or how much they can lift.
For men, 83% of them use free weights with 45% using them every time they work out. However, for just over a third (32%), their top fear is being embarrassed that they can’t lift enough.
For women, their primary reason for using the gym is to lose weight, compared to men whose main aim is to keep fit.
“It’s frustrating that having made the effort to get to the gym women then beat themselves up once they get there. They need to apply the same mental toughness they use in everyday life and break free of their limiting self-belief,” said Louise Court, Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan Body.
“Everyone has insecurities, but they shouldn’t stop anyone from what they want to achieve. Exercise is challenging, it’s all about putting your mind to it. By thinking positively and focusing on the end result, you can ultimately get to a place where you feel better about yourself and make 2014 your healthiest year yet.”
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