Tips For Building Your Confidence To Exercise Again
05 June 2018
Whether you haven’t exercised for a while, or haven’t done anything since your PE lessons at school, it can be hard to start exercising again after a long break.
Lack of confidence stops many people from taking action to improve their physical health & wellbeing, stopping them from joining exercise classes and taking part in activities that could help. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. We put ourselves down when we should be building ourselves up. If you’re feeling self-conscious about going to the gym, swimming pool or trying Couch to 5K, we hope the following tips will help.
Exercise doesn’t have to be competitive
Try to focus on yourself and not others. It can be easy to go back to our schools days thinking, “she’s slimmer”, “he’s so much fitter than me” or “they’ll laugh if I join their class.” We’re all different shapes and sizes, and we shouldn’t put words into someone else’s mouth. Most exercise classes and gyms are welcoming and exclusive, and you’ll find that people will go out of their way to encourage you and make you feel at home.
Try exercising at home to build your confidence
There are plenty of good exercise DVDs and videos you can follow on YouTube, so why not start by exercising in your front room? If you don’t want anyone to know, draw the curtains. You can pick up dumbbells pretty cheaply and if you have an exercise bike or a rowing machine gathering dust in your garage, now’s the time to get it out.
Set yourself a realistic schedule. Many of us are put off exercising because we don’t have the time; so work out when you do. It could mean getting up a little earlier every morning or exercising as soon as you get home from work. Find the best time and stick to it.
Cycling to work is a great way to get regular exercise without taking up too much time; in fact, for many people cycling is quicker than using public transport. Your employer may provide a cycle to work scheme to help you get on two wheels.
Little and often
Try to do short exercise sessions, five or more days a week if you can. Experts have found that doing 3 ten-minute bursts of fast walking ‘so that you can talk but couldn’t sing’ can be of more benefit than doing 10,000 steps a day. If you have a dog, why not try to speed things up when you’re on a walk?
Treat yourself
A bit of retail therapy can also give you the motivation to exercise again. Having the right kit can make a huge difference to your self-esteem, so ditch any washed out, oversized baggy exercise clothes and opt for something more fitted and modern. Exercise leggings are much more flattering than joggers that are too big. Also make sure that your trainers are giving you the support they should. Injuries caused by ill-fitting trainers are surprisingly common. The right trainers will also improve your technique and could actually make exercising feel easier.
Take the kids
If you go for a run with your kids or perhaps have an impromptu football match, you’ll be so focused on them that you won’t have time to worry about yourself. You might not see playing tag, for instance, as being exercise but it is. A family bike ride can be a great way of getting fit and having fun at the same time.
Join a women’s only gym
If you’re female and feel self-conscious exercising in a unisex gym, there are women’s only gyms in many large towns and cities. Alternatively, you may find ‘just for women’ exercise classes, and some public pools also have women only sessions. As well as being suitable for women who feel self-conscious about their shape, they’re also aimed at women who for religious or cultural reasons cannot exercise in unisex environments.
Or a unisex 24hr gym…
Many companies and organisations offer discounted gym membership for employees (women and men) through salary sacrifice schemes with providers like GymFlex. Find out if your employer offers this option here. You’ll also find that there are a growing number of gyms that run 24/7, which is great for shift workers and for anyone who would prefer to exercise at quieter times of the day.
Exercise with a friend
Tackling anything is easier with a friend by your side so why not see if you have a friend who would like to get fitter too? They might really appreciate you asking them; perhaps they also lack the confidence to start exercising again.
Try something new
If you haven’t exercised for some time, you may be surprised by the number of different classes and activities you could participate in. Park Runs have sprung up across the country in the last few years. So too have boot camps using ‘nature’s gym’. Many public parks now have trim trails for adults, with groups meeting to use the equipment in the evenings when the children have gone home for tea!
There has also been a huge trend towards dance-based fitness classes, such as Zumba, Bollywood and Belly Dancing. Clubbercise has also taken off around the country, great for those who feel self-conscious about exercising in public as the only lighting comes from disco lights and glow sticks.
We hope the tips above will help you feel more confident and ready to start your exercise journey again. For more inspiration and support getting started with exercise again, explore our physical health & wellbeing resources here.