My first time in the gym sucked. I was barely there for 30 minutes, I used about three machines and called it a day. Then, just as I was leaving, standing amongst the sea of men by the dumbbell rack, I spotted a woman I used to go to school with. ‘Oh my god, she’s so brave!’ I thought. Later that evening I dropped her a message and asked if I could join her for a few sessions – she said yes.
My next gym session was quite different; we did dumbbell exercises, she showed me how to set up the squat rack, and I even managed my first barbell squat. We didn’t do all our exercises together, but just knowing she was there, just in case I needed some help, was a massive comfort. A month later, I finally had the confidence to walk into the gym alone, and I’ve never looked back since.
