Hi, and welcome back to Bounce Forward with me, Tiff Paul. I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custonians of the land in which I'm recording this podcast, the Werendru people of the cooler Nation. I pay my respects to elders past and present. Torah reached out to me. I struggle with jim anxiety, bad tip. How do I overcome it? And where do I start with a lifting routine? Oh Gintimidation is a real thing. I feel it. I feel it in all gyms. I've just started at a new gym.
My old gym was sold.
It was a little boutique, beautiful boutique gym, and now it's become a franchise twenty four to seven kind of commercial gym full of cardio equipment and machines. Whereas my old boutique gym had a little dojo in it and it was really lightful women and anyway, all the bros have moved in and it's it's just a different vibe. And I'm like, you know, in like sweaters and wind cheaters and hoodies and you know, leggings and kind of covering up and like not wanting to be seen and
I'm just embarrassed, and I feel it. I feel that anxiety, especially around a new setup in a gym where there are all these new machines and I'm like.
What do these machines do?
They've got QR codes you meant to scan and then you know how to use the machine.
It teaches you and it's all high tech stuff.
There's a spray tan machine in the corner you can just walk into and get tanned on your way out of the gym. It's crazy, right, And I honestly feel that anxiety, and especially in some gyms which are real brohns, it's hard for women to find their groove. So how do you set up equipment? Where do you go to first? How do you set up a little circuit? How do you work into sets with other people when they're using a machine or they're on their phones, and you know what is etiquette?
And it is so confusing.
First you want to master you know, the movement patterns and the technique I reckon of the fundamental exercise that strengthen your body.
So forget complicated bar bell setup, smith machines, pulleys.
Just start with dumbbells and find a little space and that's where you can practice your squats, your dead lips, you know, developing the movement patterns that challenge your body without fatiguing it too much. And this can you know, really help you learn and start with low rep rangers so there's minimal fatigue, and this helps you.
To really master technique right.
And if you've got a really good online program that is coached, you know you'll get a lot of technique and tips from that.
Dumbbells are your best friend.
You can be in a gym, get your dumbbells and just find your groove in a corner, like it's great. The other thing I would recommend is warming up really well on a piece of fitness equipment like the elliptical or treadmill or a bike, and looking over on your phone, in your notes or wherever you keep your plan and just going, okay, this is my plan for today. Just taking two minutes to take in the room, get your zen, go over the plan that you need, eyeball the equipment
that you need, and just have a moment. You don't have to walk into the gym and be like right, we're on, let's go, Like I think you need to really just collect yourself for a second, and then you can start working your way around the room. When starting any program, I recommend being conservative with the amount of weight you lift in week one, which means start light, focus on lifting technique, and then you can progress each week, because when you start with the strength training, it's going
to hurt. You're going to get delayed on set, muscle soreness, the doms, and not in a bad way. It's not going to hurt hurt. It's just going to be like, oh, I can feel I worked out. But by week four you will see improved in strength. It only takes four weeks and you'll feel so much more confident with the movements just using those dumbbells that you'll be like, Okay, I'm ready for a bar bell, I'm ready to use the cables, I'm ready to move onto the Smith machine.
When it comes to developing strength, or like transforming your body, you gradually want to increase the intensity each week, So that's either increasing the amount of weight you lift, or increasing the number of reps you perform, or gradually increasing the degree difficulty of the movement. But these improvements will add up over time, and before long you'll you'll definitely reach your goals. So my number one tip is to
follow a program. You need a structured training program. You can't go into a gym and be like a bit of this and a bit of that, like a bit of this and a bit of that. If you're baking a cake, You're just not going to get a cake at the end, are you.
You just really need you need to have a recipe.
So it's essential for the body to be continually chat challenged and to develop. So honestly, try a gym, an app someone at the gym, like a professional PT, or you can split a session with a friend. If it's too expensive, you can ask gyms. They even have programs you can buy and they'll walk you through it and teach you the technique and show you the machines and how it works, and then hand over the program and
then you're off. But really, following a program is really important because you want to come out hitting those goals, and you do need a structured training program for that. So in summary, I think that the certainty of having a program takes away the anxiety, because anxiety is uncertainty, and I get most anxious when I walk into a gym and I just haven't got a plan. I don't know what day Am I doing legs? Am I doing a conditioning session? Am I doing cardio? What am I
going to run around and use all the machines? And am I on the dumbbells? What am I doing today? That's when I get anxious. But if you have a plan, it takes the anxiety out of it. And then I'd also reach out to a friend. I have a really good friend, Tash. We train together. She trains me sometimes like she's she's also my PT and you know, I couldn't do it without her because she's there, she's you know. We work into equipment together. You know, like today we
wanted to use a bench, it was being used. We had to come up with something else. We went to the kettlebells, Like you know, you need to be inventive, but having that brand there to also spot you, to make sure that you can lift heavy, that you are doing the right technique, to be there in case you get nervous.
I get nervous with bar bells.
Absolutely, when I'm doing a chest press or something or a dead lift, I get nervous. And it's just so nice having someone there, having that support and that accountability from a friend is just gold, so make sure you do. And also, if it's your first time in a gym space, get a tour. Ask someone at the front desk to give you a tour to show you around the different spaces of the gym, the different machines. They should all
offer this at every gym, commercial, boutique, whatever. It's a really good way to kind of get settled into that new space. So don't be intimidated by the gym. Women need to be in gyms, absolutely need to be in gym, so own it, but get a plan together, find some support, and just don't give into that anxiety because you'll feel so much better after a workout and endorphins and everything.
Every time you go like anything that's hard or outside your comfort zone, it will get easier and easier and easier. So just keep showing up. Thanks so much for listening to Bounce Forward. I really love having your company, So please dm me on Instagram at tif Hall Underscore XO and let me know what topics you'd like me to cover. Don't forget to rate and review me on your podcast out Speak soon.
Happy Days,