Unisex Gyms - your views please :)

Knifey_Spoony

Hi,
This may seem REALLY silly to alot of you but im sorta scared of joining a unisex gym. I was in a womens only one for ages but it closed down recently. It was really laid back with women of all ages and no-one felt paranoid or anything. Theres no other womens only ones near me so im gonna havta join a unisex one me thinks. The thing is Im worried i'll be really paranoid working out infront of guys, especially since i'll know half of them cos the gym is near my home. Is this stupid? Im not exactly super fit or anything (far from it!) and im just worried i'll be laughed at. I need reassurance! Im sure there's loadsa girls in it who turn up caked in makeup with spandex up their bums, and i'll be beside them all red faced and outta breath!
Really need to join a gym again soon though, i miss it! Didnt realise how much i loved it till it closed down.
Any advice etc is greatly appreciated

puntosporting

I hear what your saying and do understand some of your points!
You must think to yourself when joining a gym that you doing it for your own gain ,be selfish about it and take as much from the gym to benefit yourself as you can!
To be honest id not take any notice of you in a gym which is a good thing as your there to work out not look like a "sweating doll".
I laugh at women who come to the gym tarted up its just ridiculous in fairness!

dudara

The girls who go to they gym caked in makeup are the insecure ones, not you. The fact that they leave the gym without breaking a sweat is not very encouraging.

Look around some gyms and find one that you feel comfortable with. In reality though, you, and the men, should me more concerned with your workouts than worrying about looking good.

tk123

Blinky1 forget what other people think!! Sure the gym will have posers with 1 bead of sweat on them while the rest of us a soaked but such is life!! Just remember that there's always going to be somebody worse than you and nobody is going to laugh at you!!! You could try going to some classes and it'll boost your confidence as you see yourself improving.

Sangre

Eh.. are single sex gyms allowed legally? Would have thought under Eu or at least Irish law that would be a no-no.

To the OP, as long as you are there trying to get fit people won't even look sideways at you, they're too busy working out themselves. The only people who stick out are the people who stay on a machine for an hour doing nothing.

seamus

Sangre wrote:

Eh.. are single sex gyms allowed legally? Would have thought under Eu or at least Irish law that would be a no-no.

They're private clubs. Right to refuse admission and all that. I think that no-one could be arsed challenging it tbh. It's another case of men thinking "Ah well, if they want it, let them have it, doesn't affect me"

To the OP, as long as you are there trying to get fit people won't even look sideways at you, they're too busy working out themselves. The only people who stick out are the people who stay on a machine for an hour doing nothing.

This is true.
Blinky, people do look, but no-one passes judgement (I only look around when I'm getting bored - a sign it's time to up the pressure ). You're at a gym for a reason. If you're sweating, it means that you're doing something. You're paying a serious amount of cash to improve your fitness. Why would people laugh?
Movies give gyms a bad rep for having huge guys and perfectly formed women standing around admiring eachother, and laughing at the 8st guy on the bench press in front of them. This doesn't happen. Ever.

You will be self-concious, that's only natural - but then, everyone else is too. Everyone else will be wondering what others are thinking of them, except the few eejits who sit around on the machinery and posing - but then everyone thinks they're arseholes, so no matter.

After a week or two, you'll realise that non-one's looking at you, and you'll be happy. A bit like when you first go to the beach and leg it into the water so no-one can see your pasty white flesh. 30 minutes later, you don't care cos you realise no-one else does.

Homer J Simpson

Sangre wrote:

To the OP, as long as you are there trying to get fit people won't even look sideways at you, they're too busy working out themselves. The only people who stick out are the people who stay on a machine for an hour doing nothing.

I agree with Sangre here. I'm in a gym and the only reason I go there is to workout. I couldnt be arsed looking around at everyone else. The reason for going is to get fitter, look healthier and feel better about yourself. Just concentrate on your own workout.

irlirishkev

I'm one of the smallest people in my gym, compared to some of the guys that go..
You just tend to put it out of your head. If we all had perfect bodies, none of us would need to join a gym.
As others have said, you're bound to be a bit self concious at first, but you do get over it. You become more concerned about what you're doing rather than what other people might think of you..

Kev.

kenmc

Dundrum gym has a womens' only area, so you can choose to stay there or also go down to the free-weights gym.

logic1

"I like to laugh and point at any one new I see in the gym. Me and my huge buddies stand around the mirrors touching each others biceps and making snide remarks about new users behind their backs and sometimes right to their faces. Then we pat each other on the bum and compliment each other on our imaginative use of expletives with regards the newbies."

Study the above passage and indicate the ludicrous and absurd statements.

Gyms are for training.

.logic.

Knifey_Spoony

Thanx for all your replies. You've all made it seem less scary, thanks Think i'll look at a few of the local ones over the weekend and hopefully join one soon. I'll still be pretty scared if im on a treadmill in between two huge muscley guys running at 90 miles per hr, while im here doing my fast walking. (I prefer doing super fast walking because I seriously run like pheobe in friends!)
The thing is when im paranoid or embarrassed my face goes totally red, so its gonna be very very red when combined with the exercise! Im gonna havta conquer my insecurities i think, and just get in there and take it to the max, max. I need that simpsons guy to stand there and shout random slogans at me,lol. Pump the iron, feel the burn.
Slightly off the point, does anyone know what the new park west or west park one in tallaght is like? I think its moved recently to somewhere near the greenhills road.
Do people talk much to each other at your gyms? Or is it more about going in, doing ur work out and getting outta there?
I think im asking too many q's. I should just get my ass in one and forget about what others think.

Cactus Col

maybe you need sex, I had sex last night.


sorry.

OFDM

Cactus Col wrote:

maybe you need sex, I had sex last night.


sorry.

A complimentary ban heading your way no doubt.

logic1

Blinky1 wrote:

I'll still be pretty scared if im on a treadmill in between two huge muscley guys running at 90 miles per hr, while im here doing my fast walking.

That won't happen. If they have exceptional amounts of muscularity they won't be running at all, a fast paced uphill walk would be about the most cardio they'll do.

The thing is when im paranoid or embarrassed my face goes totally red, so its gonna be very very red when combined with the exercise!

Everyones face will be red, you'll fit right in.

Do people talk much to each other at your gyms? Or is it more about going in, doing ur work out and getting outta there?

I've spoken to about 5 people in the last two years at my gym. Four of them work on reception.

I think im asking too many q's. I should just get my ass in one and forget about what others think.

Indeed.

.logic.

Bottle_of_Smoke

blinky1 wrote:

Im sure there's loadsa girls in it who turn up caked in makeup with spandex up their bums, and i'll be beside them all red faced and outta breath!

I've been to a unisex gym, none of the girls were ever like this

kensutz

started a gym today and have to say to the females, dont be worried. even though i'm male there's no hassle with you coming to the gym,

Victor

I don't think you need to worry about being spotted among a bunch of hot sweaty people. You just won't be noticed.

Sangre wrote:

Eh.. are single sex gyms allowed legally? Would have thought under Eu or at least Irish law that would be a no-no.

Separate, but equal, provision is permitted. Where the facility is existing and too small to provide separate provision, it is permitted to remain.

Knifey_Spoony

Ok, i did it, i joined the unisex gym. I have to admit its not as bad as i was expecting! There arent too many mirrors which is good as it makes me less paranoid. Oh and its nothing like the Call On Me video haha So far so good! Plus there's a swimming pool there so eventually when i get enough courage I MIGHT tackle my water fear problem and learn how to swim! Thanx for all the advise

tk123

hooo-raaaay!!!