Are you a gym-o-phobic?

Any girls out there who feel too fat/not skinny enough/good enough/not pretty enough to work out at their local fitness centre? 

I know a lot of girls who are don’t like working out in gyms because they feel insecure about their bodies and believe that others are watching/ judging them. However, this shouldn’t stop you from working out, feeling refreshed and reaching your personal fitness goals.

Take the mirrors at a gym for instance, people don’t use them to watch you, they are using them to watch themselves! Either they are making sure their form is correct (the intended purpose for having mirrors) or they are watching themselves workout (simply to envision how good they are going to look in that "shirt I wear as a dress" ensemble at JBR’s). Focus on you and forget about everyone else, being healthy is something you must DO for yourself. If you still prefer working out without others around, here are a few tips

-       Go in the morning. The gym is always less busy, and the true hard core gym rats are the only ones there at 7am. They don’t give a crap about what you look like or what you are doing unless you’re using a piece of equipment they want (I would fit this description)

-       A lot of gyms have women’s only sections or hours, go there if you don’t want any guys around

-       At the western gym, some cardio equipment is placed in random spots and corners. Whether or not they did this on purpose, this provides a great way to escape from the crowds and not feel like you’re being watched

I also know a lot of people who HATE gyms, they feel like the hamster in a cage on a wheel type thing. If this is you, try to live a healthy active lifestyle throughout the day instead. Walk or bikes places, go for runs outside, do push-ups and sit-ups in your home and try to avoid sitting for long periods of time. It's way better on your body to be moderately active for most of the day, then do a one hour boot camp and be a total couch potato during the rest of your waking hours.