Walking into a CrossFit gym for the first time can be a daunting experience for some people. The fear of being around coaches and members you don’t know anything about can play on some people’s mind, especially when you’re yet to do a ‘CrossFit class’.
However, it is important to become comfortable and confident in your gym’s environment as quickly as possible.
Improving your confidence in the gym will make it easier for you to improve your performance and learn faster. It can also help you improve your confidence in other areas of life.
Here are five tips to boosting your confidence at your CrossFit gym/affiliate:
Train Regularly – Training once every couple of weeks at your CrossFit affiliate isn’t going to help you overcome your confidence issues. Becoming a ‘regular’ and being familiar with the coaches and those you train with is a great way to be more comfortable and confident in your training environment. Asking fellow members for tips and help, and chatting to them post-workout, are all great things about the ‘CrossFit community’. Also, training regularly will help you improve your skills and ability, and as a result you should become more confident at your affiliate.
Take Advantage of ‘Off-Peak’ Sessions – Most CrossFit gyms across the world hold classes in the morning, lunch-time and in the evenings. Try to find a class which has the fewest members attend and make it your regular session. Quieter classes give the coach more time to focus on you and makes it easier to build relationships with those you train with.
Stay Engaged and Motivated – The more invested you are in something, the better you will perform. And the better you perform, often you will feel more confident and comfortable. Pay attention when the coach is explaining movements and focus every time you try them. Also, try to give yourself a few minutes at least to analyse the WOD (Workout of the Day). Come up with a way to attack the workout to get the best out of it. Focusing on positive things like this will help you stray away from negative thoughts while training.
Dress Comfortably – You know that feeling when you put your best clothes on and head out? You often feel more confident and comfortable in your surroundings. The same applies to your local CrossFit affiliate. If you wear nice, comfortable clothes while training, you often feel more comfortable and confident as well. For men, it can be a specific tank top, or pair of runners. While for women it can be a pair of booty shorts or sports bra. For example, this comfortable bra from Knix is great for sports. Good quality and fashionable clothes won’t make you lift more weight, but it may give you more confidence to do so while training.
Be Positive! – I know it sounds a bit cliché but being positive is probably the best way to boost your confidence. Negative thoughts are evil and should be avoided at all costs. Training should always be a positive experience. You are doing things to improve your fitness and mental strength to make you a better person. And so is everyone else in the room with you. So, try to be positive about the experience and understand the person next to you is also there for the same reasons.
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