I can remember the very first time I became slightly interested in strength training.

My exercise routine at the time had consisted of doing Turbo Jam very inconsistently and riding the elliptical in about 40-minute increments.

I’d always been athletic growing up – and had athletic build. Add in my height – almost 5’10 – and I was very afraid of….you guessed it…bulking up.

I have somewhat broad shoulders, and thought that if I lifted a weight heavier than 5 pounds than my athletic build would turn into the shape of a fridge. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t.)

Sometime around my senior year of college, I was tired of this stigma, and decided to say “eff it.” Chalene Johnson had just released a new program, ChaLEAN Extreme, which was an at-home strength training program.

As many of my clients are when they first come to me, I was afraid of the weight room, and didn’t want to embarrass myself. So I thought this DVD program would be the perfect segue way for me to begin a lifting program. And it was! I build strength, increased my weight each week, started lifting heavier (well…what I thought was lifting heavier at the time, haha) and gaining confidence.

My plan was that once I finished that program, I’d begin a lifting routine at the gym. Then I finished the program. But I didn’t go to the gym.

Instead, I let my fear of failure – fear of embarrassment – hold me back, and went back to my ellipticaling ways.

It wasn’t until I’d graduated college – right after having a life-changing health-related situation happen to me, when I really decided to say “eff it.” I’d gone through an experience that left me caring a little less about what others thought about me.

So, I did my research, and picked up my first in-the-gym strength training program: the New Rules of Lifting. (I still love the New Rules books to this day, btw – it’s a great break in program if you’re not interested in working with a trainer or working with a customized program for you, but would still like to follow a plan.)

I actually remember taking my hard-cover book to the gym with me, and staring at it in between each exercise to make sure I was doing it right.

I was completely out of my element, had no clue what many of the machines were, and was SURE that everyone in the gym was just staring at the girl without a clue (- they aren’t, by the way – they’re way too busy looking at themselves in the mirror or their phones to care what you’re doing.)

case in point, ha!

Then, about 4 weeks in, something magical happened. I started to gain confidence in the gym – walking into the weight room like it was my space, too. I was getting stronger. My shape had begun to change (into nothing that resembled a fridge, mind you.) My jeans were fitting better. And did I mention I was getting stronger?!

It was then that it all began to change. My body confidence, self-image, and relationship with food sky rocketed. I stopped obsessing over a stupid thigh gap, cellulite on the back of my legs, and every morsel that went into my mouth. I’d discovered something amazing, and I wanted to share it with the world.

That’s when I also decided a career in fitness just might be the job for me.

But none of this would have happened if I wouldn’t have garnered the courage to step in that weight room. Heck, I’d probably still be riding the elliptical at the same intensity, and going to group fitness classes here and there! (Sidenote: if that’s your thang, I am certainly not bashing it. Do what you love, and I respect that. I’m just telling my personal story, mmk?)

The weight room can be a very scary place. I get that. I’ve been there myself, and work with clients online every day who have to summon their bravery to enter it each morning. It can be frustrating waiting for a squat rack when you’re not even completely sure how to move the arms on it (however, please make sure you’re NOT guessing on the form of the exercise you’re about to do – especially when it comes to lifting heavier.)

If you’re reading this, and you’ve been trying to muster up the courage to step in the weight room, you can’t do it unless you physically step in the weight room. Try it – I promise the “regulars” won’t bite – or probably even care about you. It doesn’t matter where you are. Wherever you are, start there.

And if you’ve already mastered the weight room, try smiling and being welcoming to anyone new. That smile just might give them the courage the pursue an amazing journey to strength.

[Tweet “Wherever You Are, Start There! via @TrainerPaige #fitfluential”]

Tell me your story about the first time you stepped in the weight room below!