Picture a zoo full of grunting, hormonal animals running around while throwing heavy things all over. That is how some beginners view the gym. Here’s how to navigate this jungle and become the aesthetic gym rat you long to be.

Etiquette 

First, you need to understand the respect among the gym community. The freshman Luc Leroy explains, “I hate when new people come into the gym acting like the boss and just getting in everyone’s way.” To not leave this impression you can put weights back when you are done with them, not leave trash, avoid making eye contact with anyone mid exercise, not be caught lurking when someone bends over, and most importantly wear some deodorant! People at the gym are already on the verge of passing out so they don’t need a suffocating stench on top of that. 

Mindset

Everyone has questioned their life’s decisions when they first walked into the gym. Carson McDowell expresses, “Honestly, when I first went to the gym I was scared and confused.” The truth is the faster you start, the faster you can become the Greek god you long to be. No one is going to laugh at you as long as you keep it cool. Practice good form and don’t be the person to drop 1,000 pound weights because you wanted to look alpha. You don’t need to lower the brightness on your phone as you look up exercises or hide when caught asking someone for help. If you feel you really need some guidance you can either find a trainer or gym friend to show you some techniques.

Persistence

The key is to know it will take time to figure out the gym. Even the steroid-infested 50 year old that practically lives in the gym learns new things every day. The first day is always the hardest so get past it and don’t let it convince you to quit. Some days feel worse than others and that’s okay. Alexis Germana describes, “I’ll randomly get super weak but I don’t let it affect me too much. It always gets better.” It’s essential to just keep going. One day you will look back and see how far you’ve come.