I usually get really bad anxiety right before my deload week because it seems mentally impossible for me to cope with being a slacker in the gym. Usually last minute before I go in for a “light workout” I change my mind, skip my deload all together, and start the begining of my next cycle without taking any break. I think it’s mainly because I am addicted to the whole post workout high, and oppritunity to set a PR etc etc…
Also, another example of my mentalness:
I usually think about bench pressing every day, maybe every few hours. Typically like OMFG I CAN’T WAIT TO BENCHHHH and sometimes my shoulder joints feel sorta outta place, (well all my joints do really, I can pop everything around all the time), but last week my shoulder felt slightly out of place and I could not for the life of me pop it back in. All I could think about was how this may or may not affect my next bench press workout, WHICH techinally wouldn’t have been for like a weeek IFFFFFFF i deloaed properly. Anyway, I got like no sleep because all I could do was try and pop my should back into place and I ended up making it 100000x’s worse. It bascially to the point where I couldn’t even move my arm, whereas before it was just mainly in my head that something was even wrong with it. But yeah, it hurts, probably a good thing though becuse now I physically have to deload since I can’t really move my arm.
Not to worry though, doc said it was just really inflamed, (and I should have probably just gone to a shrink)
Story time over. [/quote]
For someone that has a name of Spock and has Spock as his avatar, you’re an emotional bitch.[/quote]
haha, well, I am a woman so, if the shoe fits.[/quote]
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[quote]handsomedevil wrote:
I was thinking more about this while I was in the shower. How do you think a true champion would respond to setback?
A true champion will look at the big picture rather than go by impulse and emotion (because afterall, addiction is impulse driven). For instance, if a powerlifter gets in a car wreck and has serious injury that keps him from lifting, he may be bummed and stir crazy, but he will take the away from the gym to get better, spend time with family, be greatful for what he has, etc, and then when he is better, he will lift. Or if he injures a muscle lifting, he will work around it. The point being, a champion, a healthy individual will look at things logically and overcome. An addict, will be consumed by it and fall into greater emotional distress.
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Zach Krych just came back from a pretty devastating injury to win Nationals in Cincinatti maybe a month ago. The video demonstrates perfectly what you mentioned:
A similar thing happened to Shane Hamman where his elbows hit his knees in a clean and his wrists took the brunt of it. 3 weeks later he set 3 American records.
[quote]TrueLifeonMTV wrote:
But that’s also why we need help casting this show, as we want to show what REALLY goes on, and not present a stereotypical “meat head” and call him/her an exercise addict.
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Maybe y’all could address the hypocrisy (judgment free?)and stereotyping in Planet Fitness commercials.
nm, should have read the rest of the posts after the first one.
I think youre looking for people who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and turn to the gym to ‘satisfy’ their personal image requirements. It would be along the same lines as anorexia. It definitely exists. The problem is that people who suffer from it dont acknowledge it. They believe their behavior is normal, regardless of how destructive it may be.
If I remember correctly, MTV had a show a few years ago about guys who were ‘addicted’ to using anabolic steroids. This is essentially the same thing, in my opinion.
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Good post. I think this is exactly what you guys are looking for, listen to BONEZ.
When I first started working out, I would definitely characterize myself as having an “unhealthy obsession.” And by unhealthy obsession, I mean that I willingly sacrificed and neglected other areas of my own personal growth and development so that I could succeed in the gym. I neglected my social life and own mental health more than anything else.
Looking back on it, I’m proud of how focused and dedicated I was. There’s a certain satisfaction and fulfillment you get from dedicating every fiber of your being into something, so much so that it transcends dedication and enters obsession. Once you reach that stage you are impervious to things like feeling lazy, feeling tired, feeling lonely, feeling hungry, feeling like cheating, feeling like you want more sleep. And for me, that is truly when I felt a ridiculous amount of personal power, that I could apply to other areas of my life.
Its not a balanced way to live, but it sure beats getting drunk every weekend.
WELL the first time I realized I was a little bit nutty was when I was around 8 or 9 and I spent like 6 hours in my room planning a class schedule for all my barbies. It was really hard to organize because I had a good 125 of em and I kept making mistakes like the teacher accidently teaching Drama and Social at the same time.
FML, shoulda just hired more staff
Whatever, I think I am a pretty interesting person to be around, so it’s not all bad.
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
WELL the first time I realized I was a little bit nutty was when I was around 8 or 9 and I spent like 6 hours in my room planning a class schedule for all my barbies. It was really hard to organize because I had a good 125 of em and I kept making mistakes like the teacher accidently teaching Drama and Social at the same time.
FML, shoulda just hired more staff
Whatever, I think I am a pretty interesting person to be around, so it’s not all bad.
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Speaking as someone who knows her IRL she’s not nearly as weird as this post makes her sound. lol. I think she may have mellowed a little in the intervening years.
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
WELL the first time I realized I was a little bit nutty was when I was around 8 or 9 and I spent like 6 hours in my room planning a class schedule for all my barbies. It was really hard to organize because I had a good 125 of em and I kept making mistakes like the teacher accidently teaching Drama and Social at the same time.
FML, shoulda just hired more staff
Whatever, I think I am a pretty interesting person to be around, so it’s not all bad.
[/quote]
Sounds like you’re prone to slightly obsessive behavior no? As such, is being obsessed with fitness really a bad thing?
I mean I used to be obsessed with playing poker…
Also, 125 barbies? Bet you’ve got an interesting family of origin no? Wonder what makes a parent buy their child that many barbies.
If you are obsessed with poker and you suck at it, they call you an addict. If you are obsessed with poker and make millions, they call you The Grinder.
Given the utter lack of progress that many people display in my gym in addition to the high turnover, no, most people do not have problems with this.
In all seriousness, dedication is a must but dedication is a positive thing and should not be confused with addiction. It is, however, often cast in that light by people unable or unwilling to put the work in (goes for anything in life).
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
WELL the first time I realized I was a little bit nutty was when I was around 8 or 9 and I spent like 6 hours in my room planning a class schedule for all my barbies. It was really hard to organize because I had a good 125 of em and I kept making mistakes like the teacher accidently teaching Drama and Social at the same time.
FML, shoulda just hired more staff
Whatever, I think I am a pretty interesting person to be around, so it’s not all bad.
[/quote]
Sounds like you’re prone to slightly obsessive behavior no? As such, is being obsessed with fitness really a bad thing?
I mean I used to be obsessed with playing poker…
Also, 125 barbies? Bet you’ve got an interesting family of origin no? Wonder what makes a parent buy their child that many barbies.
Really you ARE interesting.
:)[/quote]
Well see every birthday, every christmas, and every penny of my allowance was put towards growing my barbie empire. I was the only person who had more than one black ken doll. I actually had a black ken who had a toodler with an afro! Sometimes I even killed a few off and put them in a shoe box under my bed. I’d be depressed in real life for weeks after the funeral…
oh and edit to add since i once again distracted myself with barbie talk: yes, there are far worse things to be obsessed with than fitness. I think I have a very addictive personality type so anything that I like even slightly sort of winds up devouring my soul
