Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth - 2045: Overcoming Your Fear of Going to the Gym

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

In this episode Sal, Adam & Justin discuss six things someone can do to alleviate the stress of going to the gym. Were the guys ever intimidated walking into gym settings? (2:00) Why gyms are some of the MOST welcoming and encouraging places. (10:21) Six Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Going to the Gym. #1 - Realize you are not the exception. (15:37) #2 - Expect you will suck, make peace with the worst outcome. (17:36) #3 - Have a plan. (21:36) #4 - Master a few movements. (22:33) #5 - Frequency builds familiarity. (27:42) #6 - Ask the most serious members for help. (32:27) Related Links/Products Mentioned Special Promotion: Starter Bundle (MAPS Anabolic, MAPS Prime, and the Intuitive Nutrition Guide $243 if you buy individually, you get for $80!) **Code NOFEAR at checkout** Visit Legion Athletics for the exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! **Code MINDPUMP at checkout for 20% off** Overcoming the Fear of Going to a Gym – Mind Pump Blog MAPS Prime Webinar Mind Pump # 2027: How To Improve Your Squat, Bench, And Deadlift Strength Mind Pump # 1925: How To Build A Great Physique In 15 Minutes A Day Mind Pump # 1735: Worst Fitness Myths That Keep People Out Of Gyms Mind Pump # 1862: How NOT To Be An Idiot In The Gym Mind Pump Podcast – YouTube Mind Pump Free Resources  

If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go. MIND, MIND, MIND, MIND, MIND, MIND, with your hosts. Salda Stefano, Adam Schaefer, and Justin Andrews. You just found the world's number one fitness health and entertainment podcast. This is Mind Pump, right? In today's episode, we're talking to those you that are new to fitness. Some of you may be intimidated by going into a gym. We totally get it.

We were there at one point ourselves. It's a totally different culture. Lots of serious people, all kinds of machines, different ways to do exercises like where to get started. So in today's episode, we talk about how you can overcome that fear so that you can utilize one of the best tools for improving your life, which is fitness and exercise. By the way, we put together a bundle for people just like you and we discounted it tremendously, tremendously just for this episode. So in this bundle, we have maps and

a ballic, maps prime and the intuitive nutrition guide, which would normally cost you $243. And for this episode, only it's going to cost you $243. And for this episode only, it's gonna cost you 80 bucks. You can find it at maps fitnessproducts.com and use the code, no fear for that discount. This episode is also brought to you by one of our sponsors, Legion. Legion makes high performance supplements

for people looking to improve their fitness, health, accelerate fat loss, muscle building. It's a great company and we have a discount code. Go check them out. Go to bi-leagen.com-flour-slash-mind-pump. Use the code MindPump and get 20% off. By the way, if you're returning customer to Legion, use that code and get double rewards points.

All right, here comes the show. If you're new to working out, the gym can be quite an intimidating place. Look, we totally understand. That's why in today's episode, we're gonna talk to you about how to overcome that fear so that you can improve your health and fitness and go to one of the best places on earth for doing so,

the gym. So this is a legit thing. I think everybody goes through that one point. They do, even if you're, I think even if you're a fitness person I think when you first start. Yeah, I mean I you guys remember your fur very first gym membership Can you remember it? Can I remember it? It's like yesterday So I I do but you, but I had a different relationship. I can remember doing other things

that I was very intimidated with. The gym was always something exciting to me, but that is not the average person. The average person feels totally different walking in for the first time. And I didn't get this because I was such a fanatic as a kid, but when I started working in gyms, and I started to do tours and talk to people about signing up, you know, when I was working in gyms and I started to do like tours and

talk to people about signing up, you know, when I was selling memberships and I was managing them, majority, majority of people talked about how it was intimidating to walk into a gym. It wasn't just like one out of 10, it was like eight out of 10 people would comment on this. So I don't know, I'll give you an example though where I did feel intimidated with something. It was my first time doing judo and then my first time doing Brazilian judo. Not first time, first months doing those things. I remember walking in and seeing all these people

look so proficient and so serious. And I knew nothing. I knew how to do any of the moves. I don't know what it was like. I don't know what the workouts were gonna be like. I didn't even know how to tie my belt. And it was like nerve-wracking, it was super nerve-wracking. Is there a special way to tie the belt?

Yeah, oh yeah. I didn't know that. Oh yeah, that was just a traditional knot. Like you tell your shoes. No, no, no. Oh really, there's a special way to tie the formality. Did you know that so much of it? Yeah, it's not just one knot.

You didn't fucking lie, you didn't know that. You knew there was a special knot for the, the, the, the, the, the geek. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Yeah, if you don't, if you tie your, your geek, the belt wrong, the belt, then the, the belt, the belt,

we'll be honest. It's really a dog. I did. Because Brianna did tie-quan, yeah. Yeah, there was tie-quan, doe, the, the, expose, there's a specific knot that you make to tie your belt. If you don't, then your belt, it goes like this. Yeah.

And then your coach, Katta Malone here, Andrew, save me. Are you, did you know? You knew too. Jesus Christ. You're all by yourself. It's like saying, is there a special way to wear shorts when you're playing basketball? Yeah.

Not that, and you wouldn't know that, but imagine if I showed up with my shorts. I'm back for it. Yeah. Bad analogy. Yeah. Probably doesn't work either. Yeah, no, I had a similar experience,

but it was going into Moitai and it was like I had knew nothing about martial arts in general at that point. I just was like, I want to do this, I want to pursue this. Thankfully, I went with a friend, which kind of helped, you know, some of that anxiety going in because everybody there knew what they're doing already and they were like aggressively going through these moves. And I'm like, I didn't know what to expect. I'm like, are they just gonna throw me in

in spar right away? Is it one of those kind of places? Or is it like one where they're actually gonna focus on technique? I just, the anticipation of what to expect really was like, what was daunting for me. Yeah, what am I? What am I?

I mean, I guess you're gonna say, am I the only one that actually, I mean, I felt this gym intimidation for me. I was super nervous to go to the gym. You held me when you first walked in. 17 or 17? Okay, so you guys were earlier than me. So my only experience before getting this gym membership

was one of my good friends, his dad had a little garage gym, super basic. And we literally did. It was like a bench with the legs. Bison curls, tricep push downs. And every once in a while, my other buddies would convince me to bench, but I hated to bench because my form was terrible. I was weakest shit, so it was really intimidating for me

to even bench. So I actually didn't even bench press, which is like the staple exercise that every teenage boy does, right? Because he wants to say how much he benches, where I was so terrible and at that and so intimidated to do it. Because my form was so shitty that all I did was buy some curls

and push downs. And then when I get to this gym and it was a massive gym, you guys actually been to the gym. Oh, that's right. That we shot. We filmed it on first to study. So that was my first gym. That was my very first gym.

That's a hardcore gym. That's a hardcore gym. And it's a hardcore gym with all kinds of stuff in there. And so, and I was extremely weak. So, and in these times, especially a gym like that, mostly dudes, it was like, there was hardly any girls in that gym. It was a lot of guys that were much bigger, much stronger,

older than I was. And so it was a really, now luckily for me, I did go with a friend. I don't know if I would have went by myself to be honest. You know, I try to remember what I was thinking back then. Like, I would have been probably pretty scared and nervous to do it all by myself. At least I had him, and he was a little more comfortable

in that, he was much stronger than I was. And so I kind of leaned on that. Well, you know what, now that I'm thinking about it, so I wasn't intimidated, but not the first gym I went to because the first gym I went to was nothing like what you just explained. So the first gym I went to was the YMCA. Oh, okay.

That would have been a better place for you to start. Yeah, so I was 16. So now I remember the first like hardcore gym I went to, or big gym, right? So I was 16 and let's see, I was either 15 or 16, maybe 15 and a half, and I was able to ride my bikes to the YMCA, and I've talked my mom into co-signing for me

to join this gym, and the YMCA, the weight area was tiny. It was literally the size of where we film out there, maybe a little smaller, and now I had already been working out for a year and a half, so I was familiar with pretty much everything I needed to do. So I went and I was excited. Now the first time I went into a big gym, it was a world gym, and I remember walking in and I saw an Olympic platform,

which I had no experience with Olympic lifting, I had no experience with chalk, rubber plates, anything like that. And there were big, strong, loud people in there. And I was like right away, like, I'm just gonna stay in the corner. Not doing anything. This is super intimidating. And again, that's the way I experience in Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. Every time you do something that is new and you're in an area or a space where there's lots of proficient people, there's a culture and you're walking into a brand new culture that you're not familiar with. And people look very serious and very focused. So

right away you feel out of place and judged. You feel both, at a place and judged. Now, the irony is, if you guys know, is that, and you learn this very quickly when you start working out, is that it's the most welcoming place ever. Yeah. It takes a while to, I think you get past your own insecurities of it to be able to receive it. Even when it's there, it's like you're very, you know,

much, you have all your walls up and your guards up because I think it's there, it's like you're very, you know, much, you have all your walls up and your guards up because I think it's just what you've created this narrative in your mind of like, oh my God, what am I going to experience? Because it's funny you mentioned worlds because that was the first one that outside of, so I had experience at school being trained with weight training, I think, which really helped because we actually had a class that took us through all the technique and all the lifts. And then we would actually work out as a team through sports. But in terms of a commercial gym, my first experience was at a world in Scotts Valley Dave Draper's gym.

Oh, wow. That's a great gym. Yeah. And there was all, it was like very bodybuilder, like there was nothing but these huge bodybuilder guys in there and like, you know, some ladies, but it- I'll be you. I was probably, yeah, I was probably 16, 17. Okay.

Yeah, and I went in there by myself. I didn't have a friend and so I was super, and I wanted to have a plan for the summer because I was like, I got to keep training. And I thought there was local and it was close. And so I went in there and it was intimidating because it was just like guys getting after it. It's serious because it's again, they're competing and they're and they're jacked. And I was just a tiny skinny kid like getting in there and seeing like all of the pictures on the wall of everybody's, you know, past, you know, stage performances and awards and all that kind of stuff.

And like, you know, I mean, it was kind of cool. Like, I was very much in awe of like the gym itself, but it was like, wow, these guys are beasts. I had a great experience the first time. So my fear, and I think this is a lot of people's fear, is that they're going to do something wrong. Like they're going to use a machine wrong, or they're going to exercise wrong, or they don't know what they're doing.

And as a gym manager much later, I would see these members. They'd come in half the time as because I signed them up. And I'd see them wander over to something and kind of look at it and they're afraid to use it or they want to make sure they do it right. So I'd make sure I come over and help them real quick. But I was, I, this I've told the story so many times.

I had this great experience where I was doing leg press and I had just recovered from a dislocated kneecap and I just, I'm like, I need to strengthen my legs. The physical therapy helped only so much. I still felt unstable and I just said screw it. I'm going to work out my legs and I think that'll help. And I'm doing leg press and there was a group of this at the point at this time the strongest people I've ever seen my life. There's these power lifters. They're probably in their 30s and 40s. You know, they look like old men to me, right? And one of them, you know, sees me

and I'm going after it. And part of me going after it was that's the way I was a kid and I was, you know, I really wanted to build muscle. The other part of me was that was going after it was, I was working out next to these guys and I didn't, I didn't want to be judged as not, you know, working out serious or whatever. So I'm really pushing it, right? And one of the guys comes over to me

and he kind of smirks and I immediately felt like embarrassed or shamed and he says, you're working hard. And he goes, what are you trying to do? So I'm trying to build my legs. And he goes, you're using the wrong machine. And he goes, you should be squatting over here. He goes, why don't you come over here and jump in and do some squats with us. And it was like, this was such a life-changing moment for me because I realized that I had my own ideas, my own,

what I thought was happening was not what was happening. I thought I was being judged. I thought people were looking at me. I don't know what I'm doing, skinny kid. What are you doing? Get out of our gym, we're serious or whatever. But the reality is, and this is the truth, because then I'm on the other end of it, right?

Later on, when I'm the one working out, when I know what I'm doing, and I see people like that, I'm not thinking anything like, what are you doing here, you're new, whatever. I'm always thinking, wow, that's amazing, that's so great. I hope there's an opportunity for me to help them. See if I can encourage them somehow.

Yeah, and that's exactly what they were thinking. It was what I thought, which was, they're judging me, they're making fun of of me or whatever. And they showed me that. And then from then on, it was like this great experience. And I learned some incredible lessons that day. But it really, I can totally understand why somebody would be intimidated because people are focused. They're not necessarily social. They're maybe social with each other, especially the regulars. But people are in there doing necessarily social. They're maybe social with each other, especially the regulars, but people learn they're doing their thing. They're very focused. People

who are serious about their fitness, like they're in their space, they're doing it. And so you're kind of walking in and you're like, okay, like what's going on? It's just weird culture. Everybody's super serious. It's a lot to take in. Yeah, so I totally understand why I could feel this way, but a lot of it is what you're thinking yourself that other people are thinking about you, but it's. Let that aren't.

They're not. I'm not accepting place in the world. I don't think it's much different than learning almost anything for the first time. I think the same type of butterflies and fears and concerns are almost the same. The only you know, butterflies and fears and concerns are almost the same. The only difference, I would say, is it's actually more welcoming. Like, I remember learning how to play basketball and joining a game. Like, what you want to

about, like, people being hard on you, like, you can join a pickup game and you've never played that sport. Well, the dress is competing against you. Yes. And so, and the people on your team, if you don't understand the fundamentals of the game, like that could be, they're not going to give you the ball. Yeah, that's a, that's a, that's rough, you know, wake boarding, snowboarding, doing these sports first time, following all day long, you know, in front of friends or peers or stuff like that, like those, I think those things were as intimidating if not more. And there's less of a welcoming feeling, where in the gym is actually, that's what you'll find.

You'll find that you may have the same type of fear and intimidation going in, but the more you do it, the sooner you'll realize like actually how welcoming the community is. And I think maybe it's because people think it's like this exclusive group, you know, and it's more like a group thing,

like the others, there's the hundred people inside the gym and it's like this in-click or whatever that. And it's not like that. It's like what you said where everybody is so focused on their own personal goals and stuff like that. And if you find yourself talking to somebody, most people, even if you're messing up and doing it all wrong, are very encouraging,

they're not gonna put you down. You make, again, you don't understand what a screen is, you make a bad pass, or you do a stupid thing in playing a game, like basketball with other people, like you're going to get ringed for that. Yeah, you make a mistake on how to use a machine or how to rack the weights properly, some like that. People are going to come over and criticize you. If anything can come over, it will help you. The only time you'll ever get ostracized in a gym

is if you made fun of someone who was trying. Yeah. If you openly make fun of someone, the rest of the people in that gym who are consistent, they're gonna get you out of that gym. Now, I think the first thing to realize is that you're actually not the exception, you're the rule. The vast majority of gyms, and we know this personally because we managed big gyms

and some of the busiest gyms in the country, we managed or grand opened. We were talking about thousands and thousands of workouts a day, 30, 40,000 square foot facilities. The vast majority of people in the gym working out are not super consistent, been working out for years people. In fact, that's a small, tiny group. And when I would manage a new gym, a new big box, I would get to know the regulars very quickly, because it was a small group. The vast majority of people were in and out. And if you look at the statistics, it's actually quite true. Most people start working out and then stop after six months or so. So when you're in a gym and you're like, oh my god, I don't know what I'm doing or whatever, you're not the only one. You're the majority. Most people are thinking of people behind you. Yeah, most people in the gym are having a tough time.

Even the most hardcore gym that you could think of, if you go in there, you're still probably a majority. I mean, there's still probably 40% of them would be a lot, if you went into like a super hardcore, that were 40% or like regulars, but you're still like part of 60% in more commercial gyms. It's like 90%. 90%.

I mean, when I manage big gyms, I mean, you guys did the same thing. You would manage a big gym for years. The most the people walking into workout, you didn't recognize almost every day. Almost every day. And this is something you worked on on a daily basis. So, and this is a good realization

because when you realize you're not alone, I think one of the number one reasons why people fear or feel afraid of going to a gym is they feel like they're the only one. But the reality is that that's like most people. Most people in there are totally new or have just come back or really have a lot of questions,

not sure what's going on. So you're not the only one by a long shot. A lot of people are like that. Yeah, I think the next step is also making peace with the worst outcome that you are gonna suck, just like anything else. I mean, if it's the first time- You've never done it before.

Yeah. And that's part of the learning curve that everybody had to go through at one point, whether they experienced it five, ten years before you or experiencing it right with you or just experienced it a month ago, like everybody experiences that. And the more comfortable you can get with accepting that, hey, this is going to be difficult. I probably will make some mistakes. I probably will have some setbacks. I probably will spin my wheels for a little bit,

just like anything else that I've learned for the very first time. Make peace with that, understand that everybody also went through that. You're totally normal. You are not the exception. And I think that is the first key is to get through that. It's interesting bringing that up.

That's something that I noticed even personally have been getting better at just recently. This is something that every time you do something brand new, it's so intimidating just because you start thinking about all of these scenarios, all the worst case scenarios, all these things that may give you some kind of justice, just a fight reason to maybe avoid it or maybe I don't go today

or maybe I just don't get started with it. And, you know, even just learning, initially I was trying to sort of lead the way with my kids and be like, well, maybe I'll learn a little bit of Jiu-Jitsu and see, you know, what it's all about. And so it's like, I have to like, you know, step into a new environment, a new culture, learn things that I know nothing about and just be completely humble in that environment. But the sooner I just realize, I'm gonna suck.

I'm gonna be terrible. Like, I'm just here to like literally follow the guidance of the instructor and like, do what's necessary in that moment. And that's all I can focus on is just, do what's necessary in that moment. And that's all I can focus on is just, I'm gonna be in the moment and release that. And once I was, you know, kind of release that, it's a lot of weight goes off your shoulder. The disappointment happens when reality

doesn't meet your expectations. Okay, so if you expect, this is by the way, this is what you should expect, that you're going to suck because you've never done it before, then you're fine. You're gonna be okay. If you're like, oh, I hope I don't mess up,

I hope that I can do this thing. Like you're gonna get a lot of disappointment because you've never done it before. If you've never done a barbell bench press, you've never done a barbell overhead press or a lateral or I don't care, name the exercise. If you've never done it before, it's a skill. So that means you're going to not be good at it.

You're going to have to practice it before you get better. So when you walk into the gym, one of the best ways in my experience to overcome the fear of that potential disappointment is to expect that you're not going to be good at it. So you walk in, you're like, I'm totally not going to be good at this. And then you're okay with the fact, and it sounds funny, but it's totally true. I did this happen to me when I, there was a short period of time, very short period of time.

I think it was like a four month period where I did yoga. And I'm not the most limber flexible person in the world. This is an area of challenge for me. And I remember I was like, I don't wanna do yoga. I don't wanna do, and I had these staff members that were like, you need to do yoga, you make us lift weights. These are like the wellness people that worked in my studio. And they made a good point.

They're like, you've made us squat and deadlift, and it's really transformed us. Why don't you do what we ask you? And I'm like, you know, I don't want to be a hypocrite. So I'm like, all right, I'll do yoga. And I'm like, why don't I want to do this? I'm like, I know why, because I know I'm gonna, because I don't want to suck.

And I'm like, but wait a minute, of course I'm gonna suck. So I went in like, expecting to suck, and it was this great experience. I had no issues because it was my expectation. I met my expectation. In fact, I exceeded it because I expected to suck really bad and I did a little bit better than I thought. Yeah. And I left feeling much better versus like, oh, I better do well because I'm a fitness person. And then, you know, disappointing myself. Now, the next thing is, in this I learned

when I started doing more public speaking, this particular thing. So I don't really get nervous talking on camera or interviewing or doing podcasts. Depending on the environment and the crowd and the group, I can sometimes get nervous public speaking. And this is gonna sound obvious to some people, but to me it wasn't so obvious at the time. I talked to a friend of mine, who does phenomenal public speaking, and he said,

why don't you plan your speech, like plan what you're gonna talk about. And I'm like duh, like if I have a plan, I'm gonna go out and not feel so scared because I know what I'm gonna cover. So when you go to the gym, have a plan. Have a plan when you go in, follow a program, or know what you're gonna do,

because it could be far more intimidating to walk in and then be like, what do I do now? Know what your plan is gonna be as you walk in. Yeah, and I think that, and this kind of, you know, feeds into the next point is make that simple too. I think people overcomplicate that, especially at the beginning, when they're not sure what they're doing.

They're like, oh man, there's so many exercises to do and there's so many machines in here. And we've talked at Nazim on the show of the most important movements, the biggest bang for your buck, sticking with those four or five movements, that could keep you busy for a long time. So coming in with this plan of like,

I'm gonna get good at these movements and keeping it simple, I think is a great strategy versus trying to learn all these different machines that are instant, every gym, by the way, too, is that way. I don't think I've ever been to a gym where there's not a piece of equipment

that I'm unfamiliar with or haven't seen yet. So, thinking you're gonna go on a gym and feel like you're gonna know every piece of equipment. I've been doing this for 20 years, still go into gyms this day and see a new piece of equipment that I'm unfamiliar with. So, instead of bouncing around to all these machines that are unfamiliar, stick to the four or five basic movements and get good at it. I don't know what the irony is of what you're saying at them.

That's also simultaneously the most effective way to work out. Literally, like, if you want to get the best results with a workout, you're better off doing a few effective movements in mastering them, then you are doing a whole bunch of plethora of different exercises and becoming a master of none of them. I think this is true for like anything that involves skill, any sport, right? Like, you could learn 15 different ways to throw punches and kicks in martial art.

What did Bruce Lee say? I fear the man, not the man who knows a thousand kicks, but the man who practices one kick a thousand times or something like that. Isn't that true for the sports you guys play? It's always about the basics. Yeah. Every single time. And that's, that's the thing is it relieves so much of that anxiety because it's, you just have a few items that you really need to concentrate on. And that way too, you can kind of stick within a similar area. You don't have to bounce around all over the gym

because the gym's a pretty big place and there's lots of different moving parts going around. And I think that people think that they have to just kind of explore and do this massive workout that's gonna take them throughout the entire gym floor. When in fact, like if you just stick with the basics, you're gonna get more bang for your buck and also too. You're gonna slowly kind of familiarize yourself

with that environment. You know, also talking about sticking to the basics and also kind of having a plan, you know, something that we would do if we were coaching a client, the very first thing that I do with somebody is an assessment on the very first Visit the very first visit I'm gonna see their starting point how well they move now Not everybody can afford to have a personal trainer, but this was a big part of the motivation behind maps prime

Yes was to give people a kind of a universal tool So they could assess themselves and have a good starting point. They know what movements to focus on. Right, and this is, I think this is an important strategy because the part that's gonna be difficult for anybody starting off is the losing body fat,

building muscle, that's difficult. And there's more involved than just going to the gym than just that, right? You have to figure out caloric balance, you gotta figure out what macros you need. There's levels to this, but what you can start to see progress in right away is how well your body moves,

and having a baseline of what you can and can't do through some sort of an assessment, and then a way to look back, to me it's an incredibly powerful strategy that I didn't have when I first started that I wish I had, because there might be the first month you go by and you don't see major change in the scale or you don't notice that you're getting way, way stronger yet. And so you're discouraged, but if you have something to refer back to and see like, oh,

I'm moving much better, you're progressing. And so there's many ways that we can progress in the gym and having a good baseline for and a plan when you first start, I think is essential. And again, ironically, that gives you the best results. It's like, I think part of the problem is when people, and this is part of the fitness industry's fault, is that they make people body part focused, not exercise and skill focused.

So someone goes to the gym and says, I wanna train on their new, I wanna work on these areas, I wanna work on my back and my butt and my shoulders. And then they go to the gym and they say, where's the back butt and shoulder exercises? And there's like 25 different machines. Yeah. Instead, they could be like, I wanna get good

at deadlift overhead press squat, three movements. Which by the way, we'll develop those areas, I just said, better than any other. Build a fantastic physique. Yeah, those three exercises will do more than all those 20 machines combined for that are all shoulders, but in back. So literally, if you view it as a skill base versus a body part focus, you'll do much better.

And again, ironically, I mean, maps and a ball like one of our most popular workout programs, actually, our most popular workout program uses not a lot of exercises. It's like few movements. But those are the effective movements and you learn how to do them really well. And then you get phenomenal results versus like, oh, every workout, it's 15 different movements. And I don't know what I'm doing or whatever, which brings us to another thing, which is you're better off going to the gym daily and spending a little time there, than you are, or exercising a little bit every day, than you are going infrequently

and spending a whole lot of time. Why? Because frequency builds familiarity. So it's cool to go to the gym, a couple of days a week where you spend some time in there, but then maybe go in there every single day, spend 10, 15 minutes, make yourself familiar with the environment. It desensitizes you to some of the fears that you have. This is even a useful strategy for people who have other kinds of fears. They desensitize you by frequent exposures, called exposure therapy. So if you just show up

every day, do 15 minutes, 20 minutes, every once in a while, spend an hour, you're gonna get over that fear much faster. Yeah, just think about the alternative to that, what you're setting yourself up for, if you're trying to do this really long elaborate workout and accomplish all these things in that one gym time there, and then you made the tendencies to overdo it, and you're gonna feel that soreness, and you're gonna get all these kind of like deterrent

psychologically now for you to come back and then keep frequently hitting the gym. It's like you wanna make it an inviting environment for yourself and have that kind of energy where I wanna go back. And so, lean a little bit more towards less, I would say. It's also obviously an incredible way to build back. And so you lean a little bit more towards less, I would say. It's also obviously an incredible way to build habits. I mean, only going two or three times out of the week is fine. And you can build a physique doing that. But going every

single day is more likely to build a lifelong habit. Even if it's like 15 minutes, right? Even if it's 15 minutes, or even if it's you, and this happens a lot for me, where I would go and just walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, stretch for 20 or 15 minutes, maybe practice one movement and get out. You don't always have to go to the gym. That's another problem with our space is this, you know, you got to crush it and kill it and, you know, no days off. This mentality of destroying yourself in the gym all the time. It's like, that's a recipe how you don't create a habit, right? How you dread going to the gym because it's like, oh my God, the last time I want to

go to the crush, I could walk for four days. It's like, instead, it should be a place that you go to and you walk out of it feeling refreshed or good. And I think that is a problem with the fitness culture right now, is this idea that you need to walk out feeling destroyed. You were actually touching on something that's very important, which is that sometimes the fear that people have with the gym is the fear of, this is going to beat me up. Last time I got so sore, last time I almost passed out or I felt like throwing up. That's a real fear.

That's a real fear. That's a real fear. Like if you had that kind of an experience, especially the first few weeks that you started working out, like why would I want to go back? Like I know, why would you want to go back if you're not, if you've never really worked out, you've never done this before, and then you go,

and then you're like walking out of the gym and your legs are shaking, you get in the car. Oh my God, I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I gotta go lay down, like, and then you know, three, four days later, you are shaking, you're getting the car, oh my God, I feel like I'm gonna throw up, I gotta go lay down, and then you know, three, four days later, you start to recover a little bit, like, oh, I gotta go back. I don't want, that didn't feel right, right?

But what if instead you went in and you trained yourself appropriately, you spent a little bit of time, you left feeling good, that fear is not gonna be there. In fact, you might even look forward to the fact that you felt so good, you're like, you know, last time I did that, it wasn't so bad, it felt pretty good. And then again, ironically, incidentally, that's the best way to get results.

The funny thing is everything we're saying here isn't just to get you over your fears. It's actually also the best way to get best results. Your body responds to the best of that type of mentality going in and that's stimulus. Well, that's the other problem with that mentality of going in there and crushing it. Not only is it you know can be

Fearful for some people but it's also frustrating Imagine doing something uncomfortable like that crushing it for say weeks on in and then seeing little to no return Like and that was this was my experience with people that would tell me like working out wasn't for them It would be like I'd rather be 15 or 20 pounds overweight and not having to beat myself up in the gym and eating salads all day long. They're like, yeah, because it ain't barely producing anything. Yeah, so it's like, you know, just like if you were to show up

to work and get nothing on a paycheck or hardly anything on a paycheck, how long do you continue working for that business, right? So it's the same concept. So, you know, not only is it caused fear, but then it also causes frustration because you're working so hard and getting such a little return that if you only knew that, you know, working out smarter and having a better approach plan strategy, practicing movements,

trying to leave the gym feeling refreshed and good, not feeling beat up afterwards, will actually serve you more, both results and in consistency and overcoming the fear. Totally. Now lastly, I'll say this, and this sounds, this is gonna maybe trigger someone's like little fear button, but, and I get this, but, you know, when you're in there and you need help with an exercise or technique, or I'm not quite sure how to set up this machine,

or am I doing this right. The most helpful people you'll find in that jamb are the most serious members. So the really strong woman or guy or person who's like, looks like they're just laser focused. Wait till they're not doing an exercise. Don't approach someone while they're exercising. That's dangerous. But then walk up and say, hey.

You can squat tap on the shoulder. Don't tell them to do what you're miss. Yeah, don't do that. Somebody who can get hurt. You go up to a mid-set when they're, you know, not mid-set, but in between their sets. And you tap on their shoulders and say, Hey, look, I'm trying to exercise. I don't know how to do it.

Do you have a few seconds to let me a hand? You will find the most helpful people in the world in a situation like that. I do it. I mean, I do it at least once a month, somebody asked me something while I'm working out and I help them and I love it and it's great. But I can understand why that's scary. I don't like asking for help at all, period. That's just an ego thing for me.

But when you do and then you find that, you know, they give you great advice, it's amazing. And those serious members are the best people to ask for help. I mean, you also have, there's, most gyms have, have, have, um, employees and trainers too. Yeah. So, I mean, that's also an option too. I mean, if you see a trainer floating around, that's what, just like you wouldn't interrupt some of the middle set,

don't interrupt a trainer in the middle of coaching a client. But, you know, every, you'll notice that every trainer ends up ending a session on the hour or half hour mark. And so when you see them in between and catch a moment to ask them questions or maybe somebody that works the front desk to support and or your point the most serious person in the gym many times is also going to be the most friendly because they've been doing this for a really long time. And at one point, they were right where you were at and they remember that. So absolutely reach out to those people. Absolutely. So if you follow those things and you stay consistent, relatively consistent, you'll not only start to get over this fear, but then you'll start to find that you're going to be the

person on the other end. And you'll be the one that will be able to help other people who are just getting started. And that's a great place to be. By the way, if you're just getting started and you want the plan, you want to laid out for you, you don't necessarily want to hire a trainer, which I think is the best option, but hiring a trainer can be quite expensive, a costly. We have workout programs that you can follow. It's got exercises, tells you the reps, sets. You click on it, you can watch the video of us

demonstrating or one of our people demonstrating how to do it right. And we have something called a starter bundle, which we designed specifically for people just getting started. And because it's a bundle, it's already discounted. But then what we did with this episode is we took an additional it's a bundle, it's already discounted, but then what we did with this episode is we took an additional discount. So what you get with this is Maps and Obolic, which is one of our our best programs, especially for people getting started. Then we have Maps Prime, which is a great way to assess yourself so you know what movements you should start with. And then we have a nutrition guide in there to help you with diet because that's important. This entire bundle is $80. I think it retail would cost you almost $250.

So $80. And what you want to do is if you want to sign up for this because it's just for this episode is you go to mapsfitinistproducts.com, you go to starter bundle, but then you have to use this code otherwise you won't get the discount. No fear. So NO, FEAR, no fear will give you $80 for all those programs, get you started. And we hope you get started because that's one of the big goals here with Mind Pump is to get people to start fitness and stick with it for life because we see so much value in it. Look,

if you like the show, you can also find more free information at mindpumpfreed.com. You can also find all of us on Instagram. So Justin is at Mind Pump Justin. You can find me at Mind Pump to Stefano and you can find Adam at Mind Pump Adam. Thank you for listening to Mind Pump. If your goal is to build and shape your body, dramatically improve your health and energy and maximize your overall performance, check out our discounted RGB Superbundle at Mind Pump Media dot com. The RGB Superbundle includes MindPumpMedia.com The RGB Superbundle includes maps and a ballad, maps performance and maps aesthetic. Nine months of phased, expert exercise programming designed by Sal Adam and Justin to systematically transform the way your body looks, feels and performs.

With detailed workout blueprints in over 200 videos, The RGB Superbundle is like having Sal and a Mid-Juston as your own personal trainers, but at a fraction of the price. The RGB Superbundle has a full 30-day money-back guarantee and you can get it now plus other valuable free resources at MindPumpMedia.com. If you enjoy this show, please share the love by leaving us a five star rating and review on iTunes and by introducing Mind Pump to your friends and family. We thank you for your support and until next time, this is Mind Pump.