Any tips how to overcome gym anxiety?

I'm scared of big black meatheads desu.

If you have real, life de-railing anxiety you should fix it, because the gym will be the least of many other problems. You will make better gains in the long term by fixing your mental problems so you can lead a normal structured life and train regularly.

Speaking from experience:
I spun my wheels for 3 years with work/class/lifting because life was so chaotic and unstructured due to anxiety. Even though I stuck to my training, my nutrition and recovery was garbage. I was trying to bulk for the whole 3 years and gained roughly 0lbs, though I did recomp a bit. Now I'm 25 with roughly 1/2/3/4 lifts and 3/4 of an undergrad because I tried dealing with work/school/lifting problems individually instead of addressing the root cause.

If you don't have actual anxiety that warrants psycological treatment you should basically stop being a pussy. Some things to keep in mind:
>99% of people in public gyms are weak as shit, so their judgement doesn't matter.
>of the 1% of people that are actually strong: most of them are probably insecure, compensating for something by looking big and tough. instead of playing a sport or doing something fun and enriching, they're pushing weight around so they look "good".
>The few people accomplished people that actually just enjoy lifting are always super helpful and supportive. They empathize with newbies, and get warm fuzzies by helping them out.

Don't worry about what shitty people have to say, basically.

Anxiety is not a male trait. Its an oxymoron. STOP.

If you're really socially anxious, you can always resort to home gym. I use a home gym now, but I started in college and so I used the uni gym for 3 years before switching.

I'll admit, first time in the gym was a little intimidating. Even if you lurked Jow Forums for a little bit beforehand to get some beginner info and tips and SS before you start, it's still your first time and you're going to look/act like you don't know what you're doing. However, this feeling quickly goes away after the first couple times going. That and you quickly realize that 95% of the people at the gym have no fucking clue what they're doing at all.

I just work out at home now, fuck the gym

Realize that no one is paying attention to you. You are invisible, not because you don't matter but because everyone is focused on their own shit

people are watching you and thinking about you. but you shouldn't be bothered by this because you're never gonna stop it through your entire life no matter where you go or what you do. hell there's probably a bird fucking watching you from outside the damn window thinking about "whens this nigga gonna drop his crumbs"

Time will tell you trust me OP, one day I told myself time to man up and do something about my life and boom now I'm no longer a fat fuck but still sad of life in general

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Nobody gives a shit about you at the gym. Any time you find yourself getting irrational anxiety, just repeat to yourself "nobody cares."

Don't overthink it OP
Just go in
Go to the Counter
Grab locker shit or pay w/e
Go in
Do workout
Stare at phone/clock/outside window between sets
Say bye to counter girl
Leave

Do this exactly once and you won't have any more guy anxiety.

Also you can try going at late hours if you have a gym that works around that time 2-5AM something like that.

CBD

The addendum here is that you're invisible when you're moving babby weights, but once you start moving decent weights (which can be happen rather quickly due to most people at gyms being perma-DYEL) people will notice. Most still won't say anything and you can still just ignore them though. You might even make some friends if any of the regulars are competent lifters.

LMAO that outta be good

no one expects you to say anything more than hi at the gym user

not true.

me and my gym bros play the game where we follow the most dyel guy around and lift heavy beside him grunting fuarrrrk

the cardiobunnies always love it and laugh

I only squat about body weight and I get weird looks. People at my gym avoid the racks like the plague, we have 4 but I've only ever seen two occupied at one time with me being one of them

Some of the best advice & spots I've gotten has been from Black brehs and Eastern Europeans. Honestly, no one cares, the "meatheads" barring a few are among the most helpful if you ask.

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slavs yes, but nogs are typically shit-tier when it comes to the gym. they're typically doing meme exercise bullshit, hogging the bench press, and screaming/talking loudly the entire time. If I had a nickel for every DYEL nog screaming his lungs out doing his lmao1plate half-rep bench, I'd be a very rich man.

You're poaching the wrong crowd - find the typical bald middle-aged black man for your lifting needs.

There were these two middle-aged blacks who I think were maintenance guys at the hospital or something. They were alright and mostly just stuck to their quarter-squats on the smith machine and bench. Not going to be the norm for a uni gym though, of course.

>of the 1% of people that are actually strong: most of them are probably insecure, compensating for something
kek are you projecting or just a weak pussy who can't gain strength so you're mad?

As someone who struggles with social anxiety I will say that the only way to get better is to face your fears head on, as cliche as it sounds, it works, don’t try to dodge the obstacles in ur life, it’s not worth it.

There are exactly three reasons why anyone would pay attention to you at the gym. If you do not meet one of these 3, nobody gives a shit and you will be invisible.

1. You are an attractive woman.

2. You are lifting heavy, like really heavy. Varies from gym to gym but typically well above 1/2/3/4 before anyone gives a shit, tho the cutoff for what counts as heavy varies based on the type of crowd that frequents your gym.

3. You are doing some over the top ridiculous/goofy shit, like juggling dumbbells or deadlifting on the bench press rack (which I've actually seen at my gym lmao). Spend 20 minutes looking for an established beginner program/researching the basics of good form and you have nothing to worry about in this regard.

deadlifting especially, just because it's loud. Everyone know me at the uni gym as "that one guy who makes the entire place shake with a thunderous boom x5"

1. Go during a lull in gym activity until you get accustomed to it, this may vary from gym to gym but mine is packed around 5pm when people get off work.
2. Do exercises you're familiar with if you're afraid of looking like a retard with bad form or don't know how to operate the machines.
3. Stop being a faggot. Nobody really cares and most mind their own business. You're not the center of attention when you go in. Trust me

stop being a pussy

If you're anxiety is debilitating to the point where you can't go to the gym and workout without having a panic attack then you should probably take meds. Go to a psychologist and get prescribed an ssri. You'll be functioning relatively normally within a couple months.