The struggles of being a freshman girl in the weight room

Women have just as much of an incentive, as well as the right, to get fit and push their limits.

However, venturing into the gym as a college freshman girl is an intimidating feat in itself, and when confronted with the sweat-clad, man-infested weight room, it’s hard to push yourself to swallow your fears and trepidations and just go for it.

Laughing makes everyone feel better!

Like many others, I am the type of person who feels uncomfortable very easily in any given situation. Although I may not always show it, I am awkward and hesitant when it comes to big changes in my life. Coming to Tulane was for sure a massive change—one I assumed would completely throw me off track of my usual daily routines. I was right, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

When I first arrived at Tulane, I was determined to set up a routine ASAP that would allow me to stay as fit and as healthy as possible, so I headed to Reily and got to work. Beginning with cardio, as I always do, I was easily able to navigate the different machines and find my areas.

However, when it came to the home stretch of my workout and I was in the mindset of getting JACKED, I was confronted with the real challenge: the weight room (dun dun dun).

Pull-ups are killer

When stepping into the weight room, the first thing many notice is the plethora of manly men who are pumping iron, getting built, and most importantly seem to know exactly what they’re doing. Though I use the weight room at my gym at home, negative questions still stream through my head as I sit down on my first machine.

Am I using this completely wrong?  Probably. Am I sweating profusely?  Hell yes. Did that guy just look at me weirdly?  Ugh.

These thoughts often result in first year girls scurrying out of the room so damn fast that they leave their Tulane Camelbaks in the wind.

Catherine Houle, a fellow freshman girl and frequent gym-goer says: “At home, I don’t care who sees me working out. But when I get to the weight room at school, I feel like a lost puppy and very out of place.”

Because of this, she adds: “Most days I just skip the weight room.”

Most freshman girls end up making the decision to skip the weight room because of how uncomfortable it makes them feel. Even though these girls are are motivated to remain fit they have a difficult time feeling comfortable with their new and daunting surroundings.

This was 100 percent me in the first month or so of school, but after some time, I noticed my beautifully toned muscles dwindling. Things needed to change.

Some lovely suggestions provided on the wall of the weight room

The next day I marched right up to the doors of this weight room, stepped confidently over the threshold, and made that place my own. HA- just kidding!

I still felt super awkward and it was incredibly apparent in everything that I did. However, after I did this about three and a half times (we all have weak days, right?), I started to not feel so anxious, and began my new and improved routine of hitting the weight room at the end of each of my workouts.

From this experience came the greater understanding that with change comes maturity.

Entering college and basically pressing the restart button on my life made me try new things and make difficult decisions. I made the decision to not sit around and avoid my fears, and rather confront them with all the confidence I could muster.

Putting myself out there was admittedly challenging, but whether it’s utilizing the weight room, joining a new club/sport, or reaching out to a classmate to hangout, it’s important for us freshmen to really take advantage of this new time in our lives and embrace all it has to offer.

DON’T FEAR THE WEIGHT ROOM!