Getting Comfortable In The Gym Takes Time

When I first started training in the gym, I was self-conscious about my appearance and wary about making a mistake in front of a group of people I didn’t know. It took a while to build the confidence to try new exercises, lift more challenging weights and be prepared to risk failure.

A few years later, once I had finished my studies and was training clients in the gym, I always tried to be wary that my clients won’t feel comfortable from the onset and it would take time for them to relax.

I can recall many times that clients came in and were more nervous than I anticipated. Usually, we would start out on a simple piece of equipment like an exercise bike and I would ask them some questions about them and we could build rapport. Most people relaxed into the session quite quickly after that, but I can still remember the client who never got to that point — he pulled up out the front of the gym, sat in his car, reversed out and left.

He told me that he was sick and couldn’t attend the session — he obviously had no idea I had seen him — but he ended up coming in later that week and went on to become a long-term client. I was never sure how to bring that up, so we never spoke of it ever again (I still don’t think he knows I saw him).