Brad Shaw
It turns out that gym anxiety is alive and well in Britain. According to a new study from PureGym, half of non-members admit they find gyms scary, with one in five describing them as very scary.
Yes, the squat rack is apparently as terrifying as an injection needle—or worse, being trapped in a room with an eight-legged horror from your nightmares.
Facing Our Fears, One Treadmill at a Time
The survey found that 25% of women would prefer a rollercoaster ride to a workout, and nearly a third of millennials said they’d happily surrender their phones for a day rather than venture into a gym alone. Forget dumbbells—the real weight people are carrying is the burden of insecurity.
To put gym anxiety to the test, PureGym recruited three reluctant participants and monitored their heart rates and body temperatures while they tackled common fears without breaking a sweat (literally). Their tasks? Approaching the free weights, setting up a treadmill, and—brace yourself—asking for help.
The results were eye-opening:
- Least stressful: The free weights section, even though a third of people said the squat rack was the most intimidating piece of kit.
- Pretty stressful: Setting up a treadmill, which triggered a measurable stress spike.
- Utterly terrifying: Asking someone for help, which sent both heart rates and anxiety soaring.
As PureGym confirmed, “participants did not undergo any physical exertion… to ensure readings were related to their emotions, and not their physical exertion.” In other words, panic is real—even before the workout begins.
The People Behind the Fear
For Roxy, 37, the gym had always been tangled up with family pressure and body image:
“My father and his relationship with the gym has definitely made going to the gym a ‘thing’ for me… the busier the gym is, the more intimidated I am. Stepping foot inside the gym today has taken the power out of my fear.”
Robin, 44, carried memories of childhood P.E. like an old injury:
“I was a ‘wimpy’ kid with asthma… Every time I’ve thought of the gym, it brought me right back to those feelings of feeling out of place. However, after visiting today… it’s helped to remind me that while I might be worrying about people watching me, no one actually is.”
And Rebekah, 33, admitted judgment was her greatest fear:
“Because I’m a curvy girl, some people can make an assumption that you don’t know what you’re doing and I don’t like that… Being in a gym today helped me to realise just how anxious being here does actually make me feel, and face that head on.”
Why Gyms Feel Different to Anything Else
Stephen Rowe, Chief Marketing Officer at PureGym, believes the fear boils down to two things:
“The first is a general fear of the unknown and secondly, people worry that others may judge them… To help first timers, we’ve created a behind-the-scenes gym video tour… and three new workouts specifically for beginners.”
But it’s not just the equipment or the crowds that trigger gym anxiety. Dr. Margee Kerr, a sociologist specialising in fear at the University of Pittsburgh, explains:
“Going to the gym is a social experience… Where we might be able to hide some of our vulnerabilities in the workplace or school, our weaknesses feel on full display in the gym, inciting intense feelings of vulnerability, of self-doubt, of fear.”
How to Beat Gym Anxiety
Dr. Kerr suggests a three-step approach:
- Remind yourself you’re in control – you chose this, not your spouse or doctor.
- Don’t deny the fear – acknowledge it, accept it, and applaud yourself for facing it anyway.
- Educate yourself – research the gym layout, equipment, and etiquette before stepping through the doors.
For those ready to trade spiders and rollercoasters for barbells, PureGym has even published more of Dr. Kerr’s advice online: How to Get Over Gym Anxiety.
