Tell yourself you like it.
Tell yourself you’re good at it.
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I think I said this sometime ago on another thread, but I honestly find the pain of training to be but a mere scratch compared to the mental anguish I’ve experienced in my life. The sob story of a log I have, gives glints as to what goes on in my life. I also struggle with depression, and to feel something else other than uncontrollable sadness feels a lot better.
I don’t think my training has ever powered anything I do in life. Quite the opposite. A lot of who I am, and what I’ve came from, powers almost everything I do in the gym.
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Some days i enjoy to train, somedays i dont, some days i care more about my results than others.
But never ever will training be something i love more than anything. Fuck me there is so much more to life.
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I can relate. Sometimes my workout is the best thing in my day. I really love training. I even get sometimes so excited when I write a program or receive one.
But there are days or sessions where I really, truly don’t want to be here, and I almost have to hypnotize myself not to skip a few sets.
For me it’s balled up in the bigger aspect of simply living. I’d much rather be actually doing anything than sitting on my butt watching tv, and I don’t want to be scared to try to do something because I’m an out-of-shape 40-year-old that might break. In that respect, training pays me twice: it’s something to do on its own and it’s a means to the end of doing (like the airplane ride that gets you somewhere you want to be).
I would say at one point I truly loved training (Weights or MMA) more than anything else. As a chubby teenager, it gave me confidence and the will to play rugby. In college it provided stress relief and a bit of escapism from the grind of multiple lectures daily.
Now, I have other things in my life that have replaced training as my “loves”. I still enjoy it and realize the need to do it. Since I am diabetic (and have been since 24), I need to do everything in my power to keep my body healthy (not there yet). Training/working out has become a means to be able to see my grandchildren grow up, keep my eyesight and limbs, and generally make my immuno-comprimised system (diabetes is technically an autoimmune disease)as strong as it possibly can be.
It’s almost like a religion that has taken on different roles as necessary for me over the last 18 years.
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This is one of the reasons I’m big on training first thing upon waking: it’s often the worst thing I’m going to do that day, so getting it done THEN means I have nothing but good times ahead. There’s a lot of power in deciding WHEN you will experience the worst part of your day.
I HATE having training loom over me, which is honestly something I struggle with having included a daily 4-5 minute conditioning blast as a PM workout. I have to switch it up frequently, as I’ll get some bad anxiety over it.
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I get you, but not every workout has to be insane madness and suffering where you’re floored for 10 minutes afterwards. Or you have the best recovery in the world.
Right now I quite dislike my leg days, they are brutal AF. (when usually it’s my favourite.)
But I love my first push day (which I don’t really care much usually). A few weeks ago I did:
A/ Banded Chest Press 8 x 4 with 45’’ rest
B/ DB Bench Press ramp up to a 6RM
C/ Floor Press ramp up to a 2RM
D/ Rope Pushdown 5 x 12 pyramiding up
E/ Pushup 1 x max
F/ Fat Gripz Skullrusher 4 x 10
Just looking at it, I want to do it again lol. Sure it was like almost 2 hours of intense shit, but DAMN
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This topic got me thinking about this, and it had me realize something about the subject.
BECAUSE I hate training so much, I go REALLY hard at it. Because, if I’m going to do go something I hate, I might as well get the most I can out of it. It’d be a shame to subject myself to misery and not get my absolute value from it.
Absolute and total “sunk cost fallacy”, but it works. Like taking honey from a beehive: if I’m gonna get a million stings, I should get ALL the honey. If I’m paying $50 for the Vegas buffet, I’m getting a LOT of prime rib. If I’m gonna pay $200 for a Disneyland ticket, I’m gonna ride ALL the rides. Etc.
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Exactly, you have to get value out of it! After 12 years of training, I tried many things.
I did some very volume-induced, terrible stuff like the Unity or a Supertotal program @kleinhound shared with me. After 3-6 weeks I just couldn’t keep up with these crazy, long-ass sessions. My head would start aching mid-workout, I couldn’t sleep at night but was lethargic the next day, progress was regressing etc…
And did a couple of CrossFit comp so I can push myself, but as I like the idea of people destroying themselves in the gym, I personally cannot do it all the time. WellI I mean I could, but at what cost, and what progress? I already have fucked up, crackling, arthrosis-ridden knees ahah. Some skill/lighter stuff works better for me
“Find something you love and let it kill you” 
Heaviest lift 3rd! Progressively building the intensity and hype-ness.
That’s the way to enjoy a thrilling workout.
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Perhaps I’m showing my age, but I can’t wrap my head around doing something regularly that I hate nor can I understand physically punishing myself to the point of nausea/injury for something I’m choosing to do with no payment or stakes. I have found styles of training that I enjoy, have continued to make progress, have all the health makers to show for it, and as a side effect I am relatively lean and jacked. I do push myself hard, but within limits and in ways I enjoy.
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But getting to be big and strong IS the payment.
A true meathead
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Certainly. For me, the payment is capability: I want to be able to play soccer, run, jump, throw, box, bike, etc… at a (relatively) high level for as long as possible. I want to be able to touch my toes, climb a tree, have a low resting HR, and (relatively) low body fat. I want to feel and look better than my colleagues. For this, I’m willing to wake up earlier than I’d like, shell out decent money for equipment or access to it, and eat clean.
I’m not willing to tear muscles, rupture tendons, tolerate nausea, or take performance-enhancing drugs in the quest of adding to my bench press and my total size. I’m not willing to uncomfortably deprive myself in the quest for lower body fat. I think some of that is age-related.
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Different levels of love is all.
I got a kid. I would crawl through broken glass for them.
I got a dog. I love that dog…but not that much, haha.
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I’m not sure “willing” is the best word to express that. I’ve done both, but would never state that I willingly tore my muscles or ruptured my tendon.
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Nah. You’re maximizing ROI - mathematically approved.
Serious question - what do you think is making the difference here?
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I know for a fact that if I’m really excited about something/in a better state of mind, then it plays a part on my physical abilities.
I guess I am very driven in that regard. I remember I went to a world-class athlete powerlifting gym one year ago, to test my maxes. The day before I went out to a festival, drank a few beers and danced until 5 am. I spent an incredible night, but obviously this is terrible for your body. Well I beat my PR on the bench and deadlift.
Also, the supertotal sessions were all full body: this induces more fatigue than just chest and tris. And the leg days on the unity were beyond brutal, as you know: EIGHT exercises, some of them beyond failure (BSS of Death 3 weeks in a row 
)
I was also probably not feeling as good and happy back then.
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Dude, they were awful. I’m with you. Unity was freaking tough