Hot girl vibes only. That’s all I think about from the moment I change into my gym clothes till the moment I shower when I get home from my gym escapades. And for me to experience my hot girl vibes, my hair must be curled.
I become a different person at the gym. And the person I become, I am utterly in love with. I feel on top of the world, ready to conquer everything and anything like leg pressing double my body weight. It’s kinda like that feeling when you go out all dressed up and get to reject all the men that come up to you just so you can feel superior; it’s addictive. At the gym, I completely zone out, with no worries except breaking my PRs and finding the right song (although I do occasionally check out my gym crushes and make sure to hike up my leggings to show off the butt I’ve worked extremely hard for).
The confidence the gym has given me is earth-shattering, and it only intensifies when I’m actually in the gym. In layman’s terms, I feel like hot sh*t. Give me a good song to strut along to between machines, and I think I’m the main character. Do not get me wrong, though; the body dysmorphia is real. Since becoming serious about my gym time, whenever I look into the mirror, I either think I look the same, or I see a different person, despite knowing my body has completely changed from the number on the scale to the amount of muscle in my body.
Confidence in the gym is something I have gained over a long time. I’d be lying if I said the first time I walked into the gym, I walked in with the confidence of Bella Hadid walking down Versace’s runway. The gym is intimidating. People with massive muscles, everyone seeming like they know what they are doing, and the occasional side-eye, so it is completely understandable why so many people start but then stop abruptly. It’s difficult, and I got over it by finally coming to understand that no one’s opinion matters except for my own, and although I love attention, in reality, no one cares that much about what you’re doing or what you look like, and if they do, they’re just the insecure ones.
In the past, I thought it was crazy that people put on makeup and spent more on gym clothes than regular clothes, but now, I absolutely understand why (granted, you can still catch me dropping $100 on Abercrombie jeans because they’re just AWESOME). My confidence in the gym has primarily risen by going every day, but what gives me that extra boost is getting all dolled up as if I was actually walking on the red carpet of New York Fashion Week but exclusively for Nike and Gymshark.
Now I haven’t done any scientific study, but I can 100% tell that my gym performance has a direct correlation with how I see myself that day. If I put no effort into how I look and then hit the gym, there will be a very good chance my enthusiasm and confidence for working out will not be as good as they would be if I had curled my hair and put on some concealer, blush, and lipstick.
I came across a Tik Tok a few weeks back of a man saying that when a woman goes to the gym with makeup on, he believes she’s only there to look good, not put the hard work in. Well, let me tell you, I am the example of why this man is so utterly wrong. I look hot and sweat more than any man there almost 95% of the time (although I do naturally sweat A LOT, hence the mini deodorant I keep in my purse 24/7). Women wear makeup for all kinds of reasons. People will argue that makeup is a shield for the insecure, but I like myself with or without it; I just feel amazing when I do wear it, and why would I not want to feel like I have Lizzo’s beauty and confidence all day long?
So, yes, I may look a little out of place with my $200 Alphalete set and a full face of makeup among all the gym bros and elderly men, but my workout is surely going to pop off. I work out and look good for no one except for myself, and that is the epitome of self-love, which we all deserve to experience.