I'm glad to hear you joined! I'm relatively new to the gym world myself, but a few things I've figured out since joining a year ago are:
1. Most of us walk around thinking about ourselves (our fitness level, how gross we think *we* look in our workout gear, etc) - not other people. Sure, there might be a few goddesses there who derive pleasure out of thinking how much better they look in Spandex, but I don't think they are the majority.
2. Not all people who look really fit *are*. I can't tell you how many "overweight" people at the gym I see who have tremendous strength and endurance. Conversely, there are lots of skinny little unfit people out there.
3. People at the gym (staff, friendly members) become very excited when a new member starts achieving her fitness goals. When someone makes real progress, it tends to inspire others to do it as well and the cycle repeats. It's contagious and fun to be a part of it.
Have fun at the gym
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