These are our top 3 tips on how to feel more comfortable in the gym.

You’ve been to the gym before. You know how it works, technically. And yet you still walk in sometimes and immediately feel like everyone else got a memo you didn’t. This happens to me sometimes and I’ve been lifting for almost 15 years and that’s okay! But it doesn’t have to happen all the time and stop you from going.

One of our clients told me recently that she used to dread going to the gym on her own. She’d show up, look around, and just feel completely lost. Now she goes on her own all the time and says it feels easy. What changed? She knows what she’s doing and she knows how to do it. That’s genuinely it.

A few things that make a big difference:

*Have a plan before you walk in.* The feeling of being lost in the gym is almost always the feeling of not knowing what comes next. Know what you’re doing before you get there. Write it down, have it on your phone, whatever works. You should be able to walk in and know exactly where to start.

*Scope the place out before you begin.* Give yourself five minutes to just walk around. Where are the dumbbells? How busy are the squat racks? You’re allowed to just look. Nobody thinks it’s weird, and it means you spend your workout actually working out.

*Wear something that makes you feel good.* I know this sounds small but it is not small. You don’t need a new outfit, you just need to not be wearing the thing that makes you feel like you’d rather be invisible. It matters more than people admit.

Feeling comfortable in the gym is a skill, not a personality trait. It gets easier the more you go, especially when you walk in with a plan.

You belong there. Even when it doesn’t feel like it yet.