Posted on February 05, 2015 by Jenny Cromack

Have you seen the ‘This Girl Can’ ad campaign by Sports England, I’ll be honest I haven’t seen it yet but I happened to read about the campaign in the weekend papers.

As I understand it, the This Girl Can campaign, is about inspiring ‘real’ women to become more active. Sport England are still hugely aware that not enough women and girls are active enough, and this is especially true of females aged between 14-40 years old. Infact there are 9.4 million people living in England and 3 million of us do not do any sport or exercise (scary!!).

When Sport England conducted their research, they found the number one reason why women did not exercise was ‘fear of judgement’. Therefore the campaign uses ‘real’ women participating in exercise in the adverts to inspire others to do the same. Now, I’m not going to get into the argument or what is a ‘real’ women….we are all real women, but this campaign did make me think about how people feel the first time they walk into a gym, fitness class or personal training session. It’s easy for someone like me, I’ve been active and involved in sport all of my life and I’ve worn gym kit to work for the last 16 years! (In fact wearing a dress or a suit makes me feel uncomfortable!), but I can imagine that if the gym or an exercise class is not an environment you are familiar with then it can be a very daunting experience and may put you off ever trying to become more active.

So, here are my top tips to help people – whether a woman or a man (after all I am sure some men feel like this too…maybe the sports bra comment below doesn’t apply to men though!) – feel more confident about exercise.

1. Wear something you feel comfortable exercising in – in my opinion you don’t have to be wearing the latest gym gear to have a good workout (ask the other personal trainer’s at motive8 North, I normally workout in leggings and a t-shirt covered in paint!). Wear something you feel comfortable in, there are two no-no’s when working out -jeans & flip flops, oh and maybe a suit and high heels! Just don’t feel like you have to wear lycra to exercise…..wear what YOU want!

2. On the subject of clothes, invest in a good sports bra. If you decide you want to take up jogging , there is nothing worse than having to reach for your bra straps which have fallen down the side of your arm every 10 seconds, or feeling uncomfortable because your boobs are bouncing around everywhere. I don’t care how big or small your boobs are….buy a sports bra!

3. Don’t worry about what other people think…..from someone who has worked in gyms for over 15 years, I’ve learned that most people are too busy focusing on their own workouts to worry about what the person next to them is doing. And, always remind yourself…..everyone started somewhere, so the gym bunny who now looks like a pro, at one time, may have started exactly where you are.

4. Don’t be intimidated by the weights in the gym, ask a Fitness Instructor to show you how to use them properly – that’s what they get paid for!

5. Sweating about sweating…..honestly, don’t worry about going red and sweating! Everyone else is, and at least it shows that you are working hard! (Don’t you just hate those people who walk out of the gym with their make up on still! My word, I have panda eyes and foundation marks on my t-shirts after most workouts)

6. If you have never exercised before and fancy getting fitter then try something you think you will like at first. There is nothing worse than going along to the gym or a class you don’t enjoy….you will soon stop and be back to square one.

7. Find a fitness buddy to train with if you need some extra motivation. Would a friend judge you? Nope (unless they are not a real friend), they will just support you and encourage you to achieve your goals. Don’t think This Girl Can, think These Girls Can. 

8. Don’t disillusion yourself that the gym or class you choose to go to will be full of fitness model looking people. Remember we are all different shapes & sizes…..that’s what makes the world go around. There will be people who are there who are fitter than you and there will be people there who are less fit than you……it doesn’t really matter, what matters is that you are doing something to change your life for the better.

9. Finally, and most importantly……..whatever the reason you choose to become more active, make sure this reason is for YOU. Not because your partner thinks you should do it, or because your friends are doing it. Do it for YOU!