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Fear of being scrutinized, judged, of appearing stupid in front of others at the gym… On TikTok, several training videos help women who have less self-confidence under the hashtag #ShyGirlWorkout.
The gym, an anxiety for many people…
Going through the door of a gym is not easy for everyone and especially for women. Admittedly, this can be stressful and scary. Playing sports around strangers is far from natural for some people. The fear of judgment is never far away, especially when it comes to finding yourself faced with a machine whose operation you do not know.
According to a study spotted by Stylist magazine, two-thirds of women say they are intimidated by the gym, compared to 36% of men. More than half of women fear they are not fit enough to exercise, while a quarter are afraid of being judged.
#ShyGirlWorkout: goodbye anxiety, hello self-confidence
For these women or men, TikTok can be a solution. The social network is full of training videos, grouped under #ShyGirlWorkout. This hashtag, which can literally be translated as “shy girl workout”, has nearly 198 million views. On the videos, women highlight tips to help them feel comfortable in the gym.
The exercises offered in these videos focus on exercises that require little or no equipment. The objective: to carry out simple exercises that are easy to remember and perform and that allow you to work your body. For example, stand ups to work the biceps or lunges and squats to work the legs as well as the glutes.
Some coaches take advantage of these videos to share their experiences in order to help women with this anxiety. This is the case of Alexandra Medlock. The coach advises “make a plan” in order to have a guideline, to choose comfortable clothes and to avoid comparison with others. “Everyone is in the gym to improve, they don’t pay attention to you,” reassures the coach. “Put on a baseball cap, put on your favorite music and focus on yourself”.