Let’s face the truth: we constantly experience a lot of peer pressure at the gym. There will always be someone who lifts more than you, or who appears leaner than you, or who seems more conditioned. Even worse than this, in every gym there’s always someone willing to chat with you, to tell you how amazing your arms are, or maybe to correct your form, because they “used to lift heavy, back then”. If you’re a regular gym goer, you might consider this as a healthy way of perfecting yourself, confronting with others and setting higher and higher goals for yourself. However, if you’re new in the gym and not really experienced in weight training, such peer pressure might turn into a feeling of inadequacy which can seriously discourage you and push you to quit.
Luckily enough, you don’t need real confidence to appear confident and keep some of the pressure at bay. Most of your inadequacy feeling, indeed, comes from your transmitting your lack of confidence to whoever runs into you. If you do look confident, however, nobody will realise that you’re new or insecure. The best trick to boost your confidence level is to use a few simple items, that will: sustain you through your workout (thus improving your form); keep potential pests away; making you appear as a pro athlete.
Here they are.
1.Squat/Hip Thrust Pad. Using your own pad will give you extra confidence at the gym for 3 reasons: first of all, it’ll help you perform hip thrusts properly, allowing you to go heavy, yet keeping your form throughout, in case your gym doesn’t provide any pads; second, you won’t have to wait for the person before you to finish using the gym pad (btw, how many germs and bacteria would you find on it?!?), so you’ll avoid an awkward conversation with a stranger (or a potential, unreachable, Mr/Ms Olympia); finally, bringing your own pad will make you come across as someone that knows what they’re doing at the gym, like a pro athlete, rather than an insecure rookie. Below is my own super cheap pad, which has saved my life — and my hip bones — many times. The only downside of it is that the black straps broke after a couple of usages. However the pad is still in excellent conditions after nearly 3 years. You can still go strapless, if you don’t want to take the risk…
2. Straps. Using straps will help you lift heavy, even if your grip is not solid. However, unless you have an injury, straps on lower weights aren’t recommended, as they’ll prevent your grip from becoming stronger. I’m currently recovering from a nodular fascitis on my right forearm, which was surgically excised last December, but I’m trying not to use straps on my warm-up sets anyway, in order to build more strength in my forearms, as a sort of prevention for further injuries.
3. Bluetooth Headphones. Yes, wearing headphones all the time will make you look focused on your workout and out of the reach of potential interlocutors, giving you all the confidence you need to finish your workout in peace.
However, most of your confidence will come with time, and, unfortunately, pests will always be around, ready to engage in a conversation with you, as soon as you return a set of dumbbells. But, by then, you’ll have learnt how to cope with them and will be answering their questions quickly and with a genuine smile on your face, because, by then, you’ll have achieved all the confidence you need. You’ll have learnt that the gym is your second family, a community of athletes constantly supporting each other to do better and better. And you’ll be happy to share your passion with them.