Fun is huge. It’s like dieting. Making it as mentally easy to push hard is more important that the optimized program. Consistency is the key. If you like training, it minimizes stress, and minimizes the effort of pushing hard to make progress.
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Yeah might be, did quit a lot of things to do outside of gym as well (school, job, commute, swimming, going out…).
On last bulk I slept really well (9+ hours per day), tracked calories and got bigger and stronger but gained fat in process (I was not very lean to begin with) so friends and family started to comment on that and I felt bad.
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If you’re thinking positive you can unlock steroid-like gains, completely naturally.
You should have fun and believe in the work you’re doing. If the training sucks you should Tell Yourself You Like It and Tell Yourself You’re Good At It to manifest the positivity.
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Bravo!!! I’ve thought about posting the same type of thread. For me, my best memories of training was the “fun” quotient in working out. I think its a great idea to break away from the monotonous grind(which can be satisfying also, I enjoy the “process” of a periodized program and results that follow).
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I found that my “satisfaction” came from results. Dropping a lot of fat and fitting into some suits from 20 years ago was great, better than short term “fun.” Getting my blood pressure down from hypertension range to 117/78 was really good, as was doubling my HDL (good cholesterol) to where the free screening at work thought I was on some kind of HDL prescription.
Standing around the playground after a school event, one of the kids said he got three pullups in Phy Ed that day, and his dad was disappointed that I didn’t join in the oooh-ing and ahh-ing, so I grabbed a rung on the playground equipment and cranked out five pullups. Being able to push a stalled car out of an intersection was another thing that brought immense satisfaction.
Not to diss your question, which is a good thought-starter and discussion topic, but “fun” seems like short-term thinking, whereas “satisfaction” is the payoff for the effort put in. And by “effort,” I mean not only the lifting of the weights or gassing yourself with HIIT, but going to the gym when others are going out for beer and fast food. The “effort” is not only what you do, but what you purposely refrain from doing. That distinction between “fun” and “satisfaction” may just be my perception, so take this post for what it’s worth.
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To be fair it probably depends what fun is for one and what for other. For me fun is swimming and for someone fun is drinking (for me too tbh but in moderation), etc.
I guess it is about finding right balance between work (and fun) in gym and fun outside of gym.
I am not sure fun is at all important for results. I don’t think there is any part of my training or how I feel when I am training that I would call fun. Discipline and hard work are far more important for results than fun. I do think on some level you need to enjoy either the process or the results. It’s pretty hard to flog yourself week in week out if you don’t get anything from it.
I like the things I can do as a result of the training and I like the way It makes me feel but the training itself is definitely not something I would do for fun.
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