Overcoming the Fears of Starting Your Fitness Journey
Starting a fitness journey can be an empowering experience, but it often comes with certain fears and anxieties. Many women feel overwhelmed by these challenges, but overcoming common fitness fears for women is a critical first step. While this fear might make some wait on the sidelines, the truth is that it’s only by taking action that women can overcome the doubts and insecurities that hold them back. Fear, therefore, must be embraced as part of the fitness journey.
Overcoming Common Fitness Fears for Women
In this article, we’ll address how women can start overcoming common fitness fears, from fear of judgment to fear of failure. By embracing mindset shifts, practical strategies, and finding supportive communities, overcoming these common fitness fears can become a key to staying committed to your fitness journey.
Overcoming the Fear of Judgment
Many women worry about being judged by others, especially in gym environments. This can stem from concerns about not knowing how to use equipment, not being “fit enough,” or being self-conscious about appearance.
One thing you can do to overcome this fear is to start small. For example, you can begin working out at home or in less crowded environments to build confidence. We have many women at TWW who chose to purchase equipment and train at home (some of whom end up building some pretty impressive home gyms!). Once they get more comfortable with the exercises, many of them start going to the gym and end up loving it.
It’s also important to keep in mind that, while we might think other people at the gym are judging us, that belief is usually just a projection of our own self-judgment. Many women face this challenge, but overcoming common fitness fears like this can build confidence. The truth is that most people are focusing on themselves – and often on their own insecurities – to even pay attention.
Overcoming the Fear of Failure
There might be a fear of not being able to achieve fitness goals, concerns about not being able to stick with a routine, failing to lose weight, or not getting stronger. The irony of fearing failure is that it holds us back more than any actual ‘failure’ ever will (we don’t even like the word ‘failure’ at TWW – there are no mistakes, only lessons). And while we can rationalize it all we want, the fear feels very real. So how can we overcome it?
First by setting realistic goals. Start with achievable goals that can be gradually increased over time. You also want to make sure that your goals are more process-focused than outcome-focused. While setting an outcome-focused goal, like ‘lose 30lbs’, is a good thing in that it gives you direction, remember that your goals don’t get you results. Your processes do. Great process goals can look like nailing your macros for the day, getting your cardio in, or getting your steps in – basically focusing on all the things you can control. And a funny thing happens when we shift from being goal-focused to being process-focused: the goal usually ends up taking care of itself.
Second, make sure to acknowledge your wins, no matter how seemingly ‘small’. This is a huge reason why we encourage our clients to celebrate weekly milestones and non-scale victories. You can’t expect to let go of your fear of failure if you’re not even willing to acknowledge your wins.
And finally, embrace the learning process: understand that setbacks are part of the journey. Every step back is an opportunity to learn and grow.
Overcoming common fitness fears, such as failure, requires setting realistic goals and focusing on progress.
Overcoming the Fear of Injury
This is a common fear, especially with unfamiliar exercises or equipment, which can lead to hesitancy in pushing limits. The key here is to learn proper form. Send in regular videos to your coach to get feedback. Attend in-person workshops when they’re available, and even sign up for a few sessions with a great in-person trainer. With the help of a great coach, you’ll quickly and safely increase your intensity over time.
Overcoming the Fear of Bulking Up
Some women worry that lifting weights will make them “too muscular” or “bulky”. Given how important strength training is for women’s health, coupled with how unrealistic this fear actually is, we encourage you to overcome it as quickly as possible..
It’s crucial to understand the science behind building muscle. Unless you are VERY intentional about wanting to build a muscular physique, and commit to this goal over MANY years (and even then, unless you are extremely genetically gifted, or use drugs, a super muscular physique is very difficult to achieve and will elude most women), this fear actually being realized is HIGHLY unlikely, dare we even say impossible. Lifting weights will not automatically make you bulky. On the contrary, it actually helps in building lean muscle tissue, and in burning fat.
Overcoming the Fear of Time Commitment
Balancing a fitness routine with work, family, and other responsibilities can be overwhelming. The fear of not having enough time to commit to regular exercise can deter women from starting or maintaining a fitness routine.
The truth is that committing to a fitness program WILL take up some of your time. But we’re talking about your health and longevity here, so we encourage you to make it at least somewhat of a priority. You have to treat your workout time as a non-negotiable appointment, just like any other important commitment.
And of course, there are always options, solutions, and work-arounds. You might not be able to train 5 days a week, maybe 3 days is more realistic for you. You might not have an hour each time, but 40 minutes could be doable. Maybe you can’t devote the time needed to learn the more technical barbell lifts, but you can get in some great intensity with the use of machines. A great coach will take the time to understand your needs and customize a plan that works for you.
Overcoming the Fear of Social Pressure
Feeling pressure to meet societal expectations of beauty or fitness can be overwhelming, leading to anxiety about not measuring up. We cannot overestimate the importance of leaning into your values, to set your own personal goals, and to define your own success when it comes to overcoming this fear. Health and fitness is a personal journey, it’s not about trying to meet unrealistic (and often photoshopped!) societal standards.
Make sure to limit exposure to negative influences. Health is not just about what we feed our bodies, it’s also about what we feed our minds. Curate your social media feed, follow only the platforms that inspire you. Make sure to find and connect with a supportive community of people who encourage and motivate you.
Conquering Fears for a Lifelong Fitness Journey
All of these fears are common, and acknowledging them is the first step toward overcoming them. Taking proactive steps to find supportive communities, set realistic goals, and focus on personal progress rather than comparison, can help build confidence, make it easier to overcome fears, and stay committed to a lifelong fitness journey.
All of this begins with mindset. Read our Mindset Mastery eBook today to start your own mindset journey. And don’t forget to check out our Impact Coaching Program to work directly with us!
