Nervous about the gym? Plan your first three visits

Gym nerves usually come from not knowing: where to go, what to do, whether people are looking. A gym suits a nervous beginner when it takes away as much of that as possible before you lift anything. Look for these.

• You can visit first without training or signing anything. RPM's free guided tour is a walk-through of this kind.
• There is a calmer hour that fits your week, and staff will tell you honestly when it is.
• Someone will show you how a machine adjusts without making you feel slow.
• You leave with a written plan, so you are never standing on the floor wondering what comes next.
• There is a space where you feel less watched, such as a women-only section, a quiet corner or a coached session.
• The layout is easy to read, with the changing area and the exit easy to find.

The NHS's self-help advice for anxiety, fear and panic includes slowly building up the time you spend in situations that worry you. These three visits apply that idea to a gym. Space them across one or two weeks.

• Keep the same hour and the same corner of the floor for the first few weeks, so the place grows familiar.
• Make a playlist you only use at the gym, and put your headphones on before you walk in.
• Write the plan on your phone with seat settings and weights, so there is nothing to remember.
• Train in your gym clothes at home once, so they feel normal before the first session.
• Know the route in: where you park, which lift and which door, before the day itself.
• Ask whether a friend can come on the tour with you.

For a plain account of check-in, lockers and induction, read what happens on your first day at a new gym.

As a rough guide, gyms here are often calmer in the late morning and early afternoon, after the school run, and fuller before work and once offices empty. Ramadan pushes the busy hours later, and weekends follow their own pattern. Take that as a pattern rather than a promise: ask on the tour, then check for yourself. When the gym is least busy goes through the week in detail.

RPM's opening hours are below. Ask the team which of them tend to be calm in the section you would use.

Feeling uneasy before something new is ordinary, and a gym plan can ease that kind of nerves. It is not a substitute for help when anxiety is bigger. The NHS advises seeing a doctor if you are struggling to cope with anxiety, fear or panic, or if the things you are trying yourself are not helping. If anxiety is severe or is affecting your daily life, speak to a doctor or a licensed mental health professional.

Gym coaches are fitness professionals, not clinicians. If you ever feel chest pain, faintness or a racing heart that does not settle while training, stop. Then seek medical help.

You will find RPM on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal. There is free on-site parking, and a lift takes you up, so the route in is simple to learn. Nothing is paid or signed on the day of the free guided tour, which is a walk-through with someone from the team. You can choose to see the Mixed section, used by men and women, or the Ladies section, which is for women only and has its own strength and cardio equipment and the Pilates studio.

• Book the tour at the hour you would train, and say you are new and would like to go slowly.
• Ask how a first coached session works. Coaches on the roster work across both sections, and female coaches work in the Ladies section.
• Ask which tier fits a gentle start. Floor covers the training floor, Engine adds coached programming and Atelier is built around one-to-one coaching.
• If you are unsure whether to start alone or with a coach, your first gym month compares the two.