Student Encourages People to Stop Judging by Looks in the Gym, in Viral Post
Stephanie Holdmeyer warns, "don't judge a book by its cover."
— -- One Missouri State University student has a message for those who make assumptions about others while working out at the gym: "Don't judge a book by its cover."
Stephanie Holdmeyer took to Facebook to vent about passing judgement on others after she and her boyfriend Chris were dubbed the "buff couple." She added that someone assumed that they "thought they're hot s--- because they wear their belts all the time," the junior nursing student wrote in her now viral post.
"This was about two months after my back surgery & I did indeed wear my lifting belt during almost all of my workouts for support," she continued. "My point is, everyone gets judged."
Holdmeyer, 20, continued, "That overweight guy? Someone judges him because of his weight, but little do they know he's already lost 100 pounds & has changed his entire life around."
"That old man doing strange exercises and talking too much? He decided to get a gym membership to stay active & socialize after his wife passed away last year," she wrote in the post, which has been liked more than 71,000 times. "Talking to you makes his day & has helped his depression."
The Washington, Missouri native said each of the examples she listed were "inspired by a real person. Someone either I know that has been judge or someone that I made the mistake of judging and then later found out the truth that brought them there."
Holdmeyer, who goes to the gym recreationally about six times a week, posted on Facebook because she wanted to change the conversation in the fitness community.
"Honestly I was just writing what was on my mind. I almost didn’t even share it because I thought nobody’s going to care," she said. "I'm just blown away [by the response] and it gives me hope. The fitness industry it’s usually so self-centered. It gives me hope that people can be more welcome and supportive of other people."
For those who still have fear or anxiety about working out inside a gym, Holdmeyer has advice.
"Everybody has to start somewhere," she said. "No one was born an expert at anything and even the biggest, buffest, most fit person at the gym started as a beginner. Focus on yourself and seek help from the people who are willing to give it."
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