A Fat Person’s Guide To The Gym – Don’t Be Scared!
Hi Musers,
You might find this a weird post. A fat person’s guide to the gym? Isn’t this blog all about accepting your body, learning to love yourself as you are, and ditching diet culture? Yes, yes and yes! However, a huge problem with diet culture is how it’s linked itself to working out. Almost every diet comes with an exercise plan or suggestion too. Doing that makes it hard to look at exercise as anything but a way of burning more calories to lose weight. NO! I exercise because I want my body to be strong, it releases endorphins, and because our bodies are made to move. I encourage anyone who is able to exercise to do some exercise every week, even if it’s just walking. It is another awful myth perpetuated by a fatphobic society that fat people don’t exercise.
I want to start this by saying that I do not consider myself an expert or a gym bunny. I have been going to the gym for years, though, and recently started posting photos of myself doing it on Instagram. To my surprise, I received a lot of questions on those posts about how I summoned up the courage to go, how I knew what to do when I was there and so on. For that reason, I decided to put together this fat person’s guide to the gym.
Warning — this is NOT a workout plan. It’s simply about getting through the doors and getting acclimatised. That is often the hardest part, though!
Finding a gym
This part is crucial. Every town or city has a multitude of gyms these days, and picking one can be overwhelming. Private, local authority, cheap or is more expensive better, big, small etc. None of these things matters that much, though. It comes down to three things:
- The feel. When you walk in, does it seem like a place you’d want to spend time? Most gyms offer tours, so you can go and see how you feel about it before signing up. I like to make sure it’s well air-conditioned (a must), has a good range of cardio and weights machines and that the staff are visible and seem friendly and happy to help.
- The cost. There’s no point improving your fitness if your mental health suffers because you’re struggling to pay a membership you can’t afford. Memberships start from £10.99 a month for some gyms, so make sure before you sign up that you can afford the fees.
- The location. It doesn’t matter if it’s the most amazing gym in the world and so reasonably priced if it takes you two buses and a walk to get there. Or an hour or more to drive there. Realistically once you get past the initial enthusiasm, how often are you going to go if it’s that much effort? Particularly after a long day at work or when the nights are getting dark and cold. Pick one local to your home or work (or ideally both), and you’ll be much more likely to walk through the doors.
Your First Visit
If going to the gym is a new experience for you, or you haven’t gone for a long time, take advantage of the free induction every gym offers. A member of staff will take you around the gym showing you where everything is and how the machines work. This is all about safety, so pay close attention and ask if there’s anything you’re unsure of. Come in appropriate workout clothes as the trainer will often want you to try out the machines to show you how to use them. It’s just for a minute, though, so don’t panic!
No One Is Looking At You
One of the things that may put you off joining a gym is worrying that people will judge you. That you may even hear mean comments. It’s extremely unlikely this will happen. It has never happened to me; not one mean comment, not a snigger behind hands, not even a sideways look.
When people walk in and get started, they focus entirely on what they need to do. That’s especially true for me on the cross trainer! In “Finding Nemo”, it was “just keep swimming” for me, it’s “Just keep moving!” I am fully concentrating on getting to the end of my session. I have no energy to spare looking at what anyone else is doing, believe me. On the rare occasion when I do look up and catch someone’s eye, then male or female, thin or fat, I give them a tired smile then look away. To date, everyone has smiled back.
Learn to do things right
Now you’ve chosen a gym, joined up, completed your induction and gotten over your fear of judgement. Well done! That’s the hardest part over. Now you need to learn how to do things right. Cardio machines are pretty easy if you were paying attention during your induction. Start slowly. No resistance and build up some stamina. Once that’s done, you can play with the programs and see what works for you.
Weights are harder. The possibility of injuring yourself is greater. You need to make sure you know what you’re doing and start light. Weights machines are more straightforward as they have instructions and usually a fixed range of motion. Read the instructions thoroughly, but if you’re still not sure, ask a staff member — it’s what they’re there for.
If you’re like me, though, you may have read that free weights are the gold standard. It’s true because you have to stabilise the weight you use more muscles. You can also work multiple groups of musclesh at once. If you’re going to try them, please, PLEASE learn how to first! If your budget will run to it, get a few sessions with a personal trainer. If not, there is a wealth of information on the internet, with step by step guides and videos. My favourite sites are Nerd Fitness, Niashanks.com and Tony Gentilcore.
Take It Slow
As with diets (boo, we don’t like diets!), people tend to want to throw themselves into a new fitness regime and go all out. That’s a sure-fire way to hurt yourself! It may just be muscle soreness from doing too much, which will heal in a few days, but it could be a muscle tear or strain that takes months. This type of exercise will be new to your body, and you need to ease into it. Start small and build up; it’s safer and gets you the results you want while building good form doing the exercises.
Stay out of the way
While no one will be judging you, one thing guaranteed to raise the ire of regular gym-goers is if you wander round in a world of your own getting in the way. I don’t mean you have to creep around the edges of the gym. I’m not saying you can’t go into the free weights section until you’re more experienced. I’m just saying you need to be aware of what’s going on around you.
Do not leave weights in the middle of the floor while you pop off to get more water. Don’t stand in front of a rack of dumbbells, so people struggle to get to what they need. Don’t walk too close to people when they’re exercising. If you need to borrow weights from a squat rack, when someone is in the middle of their set on it, wait till they’re done. It’s distracting, and they need to concentrate. A lack of concentration can be dangerous.
Takeaways
- Make sure you visit a gym before you sign up. Make sure you’re comfortable, and it’s in a location you’ll go to
- Do the induction and pay close attention so you can use the equipment safely.
- Remember, people are not judging you or looking at you! Everyone is just trying to get their workout done and will likely have their own insecurities.
- Go slow and don’t try to do too much. Let your body get used to your new activity level and make sure you’re doing the exercise correctly.
- Be aware. Be considerate of other gym users and try not to get in anyone’s way.
- IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO THE GYM, YOU DON’T HAVE TO!! It’s not mandatory. If you want to keep your body healthy, then exercise is important. Find one you enjoy or at least don’t mind doing, and you’re far more likely to keep it up.
That’s it for today Musers, my fat person’s guide to the gym. If you follow these steps, then joining a gym will be a stress-free and straightforward experience. Once you’ve been a few times, you’ll feel at home and wonder what you ever worried about! If you have any top tips of your own to share pop them in the comments 👇
