How To Build Your Confidence With Lifting Weights
It can be intimidating if you’re new to the gym or haven’t lifted weights before.
Just thinking about all the equipment, the iron cages, the sweating and the grunting at once, it’s enough to make anyone want to walk right back out the door.
But we’ve all been there before and here’s five things we found helped us gain our confidence in lifting weights and become coaches (not that you would need to be a coach!).
1. Get a coach or a personal trainer
If you’re new to the gym, getting a coach or a personal trainer can help you learn how to use the equipment and lift weights. Find yourself a coach who actually knows what they’re doing (keyword: actually), so they can teach you everything you need to know about lifting weights.
If you want it to be one of us, then we’d love that too. You can book a consultation to get started if you’re in the Prestons area in Sydney.
2. Follow a program
If you’ve been following us on Instagram for a while (if you aren’t, you’re totally missing out), you know it’s one of the things we preach. There are many reasons for that and if you read this blog, it’ll tell you why.
We’ll stay on topic though about how it improves your confidence with lifting: it takes the guesswork out of going to the gym. You’ll know exactly what you’re doing every time you step foot into the gym, what equipment you need to use, and you can even plan out how you navigate gym floor.
Now, all you need to do is pop those headphones on and get in the zone.
3. Go with a training buddy
How often have you asked your friend(s) when they’re going to the party? We’re creatures of habit and want to be in comfortable social situations.
The gym is just like that: one big party. You’ve got someone to talk to, someone to train with and someone who might help you if you’re not sure what you’re doing (which also why you should have a coach so there’s absolute certainty about what you’re doing).
They keep you accountable for going to the gym, and make the whole “lifting weights at the gym” experience less scary.
4. Go when it’s quieter
You check your program (if you’ve got a program) and have barbell squats in there, so you know you need the power rack at the gym. You rock up at the gym at 6 pm and all the racks are taken. Do you:
A. Pick one of the power racks and ask the person using it if you can jump in between sets or ask how much longer they have (if they’re a powerlifter, you’re better off jumping in between because they’ll be there for at least an hour)
OR
B. Just use the cardio section because you’re intimidated by how busy the gym is and you’d rather ditch the workout you had planned than ask someone a question
If you chose B, you’re not the only one. The solution: go to the gym during off-peak times when it’s quieter. There will be fewer people around and the more often you go to the gym and do the workout you had planned, it’ll build up your confidence.
Soon, you won’t stress when you realise you have to go to the gym during the after-work rush because someone in the meeting wouldn’t shut up so you missed your window.
5. Focus on yourself
It’s just like when you start a new job, you’re in a new environment and you feel like a fish out of water. But you don’t have a choice - you have to turn up every single day and be there from 9 am to 5 pm, but it gets easier. You learn how to do your job, focus on what you need to do to get the job done (because we all want that end-of-year bonus!) and no one is watching you like a hawk (unless you have a micromanager…).
The gym’s basically a new workplace. You’re there because you want to look or feel a certain way, or hit your training goals. You need to put the work in and you know that if you focus on what you need to do, you’ll get there. Everyone else is too busy with their own workout to watch what you’re doing, so don’t worry about them.
So what do you do with all this new confidence?
All this confidence that you’re going to build from lifting weights in a gym is going to build your confidence outside of the gym.
When you start lifting weights, you’ve got goals like how much you want to squat, bench press or deadlift. If you follow a structured training program and have a good coach in your corner, you will keep making progress. Once you’ve hit that goal, it’ll boost your confidence because you just did what you said you would, and now nobody can stop you from aiming higher.
But no one ever said lifting weights was easy. It’s a mental and physical challenge and we’re always more capable than we think we are. If you stay disciplined and stick to the plan, you’ll break through those challenges and it’ll do wonders for your confidence.
