Unfortunately, not all gym goers are there to work on their fitness. Some go there to watch others do it, which can be seriously uncomfortable for the person being stared at.
A TikToker, going under the name ‘lucasfall_03’, recently shared his piece of mind on such observers, calling out the people who treat the gym like a zoo. His video didn’t take long to go viral, and many netizens in the comments shared their experiences of dealing with people who do more looking around than working out.
This guy went viral on TikTok for calling out men who treat the gym like a zoo
Image credits: lucasfall_03
He pointed out that some males do more observing than lifting weights
Image credits: Wavebreak Media (not the actual image)
Image credits: senivpetro (not the actual image)
Image credits: lucasfall_03
For many people, the feeling of ‘gym-timidation’ is all too familiar
Many people nowadays can’t imagine their lives without going to the gym. It’s part of their routine, a way to release pent-up tension, or simply make sure they stay in shape. But despite all the positives going to the gym brings, it can make people feel uncomfortable, too, and I’m not talking about muscle pain here.
As a matter of fact, there’s even a term that was coined to describe the uneasy feeling going to the gym—or the idea alone—can cause; it’s ‘gym-timidation’ and for many people, the gym-timidation is real. A survey carried out by My Protein found that the majority of gym goers experience anxiety about going there, to some extent, at least; though the reasons for them feeling this way tend to differ.
One reason for feeling somewhat uncomfortable is performance-based anxiety, which, according to the study, affects roughly 30% of the respondents. For others, it’s not their performance, but their looks that they focus—or worry—more on; the survey found that the vast majority of people (as much as 90% of them) are worried about how others at the gym will perceive them. Moreover, roughly one-in-four respondents say they experience appearance-based anxiety when working out.
Unfortunately, asked about reasons why they don’t enjoy going to the gym, more than a fifth of respondents said it’s fear of judgement—a concern preceded only by fears over Covid—that makes them feel ‘gym-timidated’.
Image credits: freepik (not the actual image)
Many women and men alike have experienced unwanted attention when working out in a gym
According to the aforementioned survey, the number of people at the gym is also a concern for those keen on working out, which is why 44% of them try to avoid going there at certain times.
If a crowded gym wasn’t bad enough, a larger number of people means a higher chance of someone doing more observing than weightlifting, as Lucas put it in his video. He emphasized that some men at the gym he was frequenting wouldn’t even try to hide the fact that they were staring at women working out.
While some might think the women don’t notice them staring, they definitely do. As do men, who, too, are sometimes looked at in a way that makes them uncomfortable. According to a survey carried out by Mindbody, nearly six-in-ten women have felt inappropriately looked at as they were working out, Metro News reports. Out of their male counterparts, close to four-in-ten have experienced what that feels like.
Moreover, while both sexes are not immune to such behavior from fellow gym goers, women are more likely to receive unwanted romantic attention while trying to work on their physical well-being. The survey suggests that 37% of gym-going females have received unwanted romantic attention, as have 27% of males.
According to the poll, one thing that would make gym goers feel more comfortable is having separate sections for men and women or having same-sex instructors. But it’s safe to assume that the thing that would make everyone feel best is if people stopped staring at others who are just trying to exercise. In the words of TikToker Lucas, “If you go to the gym, go in there, do whatever you gotta do, work out, and leave”.
Image credits: splitov27 (not the actual image)
Lucas’s video was viewed close to 585k times on TikTok
People shared their two cents in the comments, some knew what it’s like working out next to someone doing too much observing
