You might be right. I enjoy walking, swimming, watching movies, listening to music, hanging with my loved ones…. I don’t really “enjoy” my time at the gym it’s more like a checkbox I have to check because it makes me feel good, makes daily tasks easier because I’m stronger, makes me healthier and makes me look better. But if I could get those things without lifting weights then yeah I would never lift weights again and instead spend more time with my family and doing other stuff. I don’t have an internal drive to lift. I can do it just fine, I’m not dragging ass crying about while I’m doing it, but I am not getting anything out of it thats immediately satisfying.
Can you explain what you feel since you apparently enjoy lifting?
Mood: I am more relaxed. Today when I worked out I was anxious about not doing enough but other than that section of my dad I’ve been relaxed and feeling energized especially considering I am in a deficit.
Energy Level: 5/10
Hunger Level: 6/10. More hungry than I would be if I was eating maintenance, but it is bearable.
Workout: Tuesday Lower. Hit an extra rep on RDL 240lbs for 9 reps. I’m thinking about whether I should change my Seated Leg Curl to Lying Leg Curl. I just can’t get my hamstrings destroyed like my quads get from Leg Extensions. I’m going until my feet hit the underside of the chair but I lose that ROM pretty early so I stop myself a few reps before my hamstrings actually get a destruction stimulus. Maybe I should do half reps or switch to Lying. The workout only took like 45 minutes and didn’t drain my energy at all afterwards so that’s good. I have also noticed that my left shoulder is much better aligned and pain free after stretching my left upper trap and strengthenging the upper back with facepulls. It used to put pressure on my upper trap while I walked and actually made my face go numb/tingly on the left side, but now it doesn’t.
Steps: 6000. Could’ve gotten more but I went out tonight
Thought Process: I was really anxious today after my workout. I’ve felt this before many times. I always worry I’m not doing enough (even though I’m objectively doing well). I did some thinking and I came to the realization that I have been holding myself to the standards of people that aren’t real. I need to hold myself to my own standards instead of relying on other people’s could-be standards to gauge my effort/workout effectiveness. This stops the thought anxiety because I am closing the chain of “am I doing the right thing/good enough” by just asking myself instead of other imaginary people. Once I thought about that, that anxiety went away completely. This is a long term pattern of thinking so it’s going to be a while before I do this naturally, but I think I am getting closer to figuring out my anxiety around lifting and maybe other things in my life.
Enwar brought up maybe I don’t like lifting, and I think he is right. If I just admit I don’t like lifting and cut down the lifting time to 30 minutes 2x a week and just stop caring about my lifts at all, it would be easier for me to go consistently. I don’t know if I want to do that because then I’d lose out on gains but I’m thinking about it.
My walking pad came in today, and it’s really cool. I can literally walk at my desk now. I could get like 20k steps a day easily.
How long have you been lifting? It takes the body a whole to adapt. Once it does, it should feel better than sleep. It should be refreshing and revitalizing. Exercise promotes healing on a multitude of dimensions, like sleep.
Plus, you know, that timeless Arnold quote about pumps “I’m cumming all the time in the gym”…
I enjoy the physical feeling of my body moving weight. I enjoy the burn and the lactic acid buildup. But above all I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes when I achieve my goal for the day or hit a new personal record. Everything that comes after that is secondary.
Enwar brought up maybe I don’t like lifting, and I think he is right. If I just admit I don’t like lifting and cut down the lifting time to 30 minutes 2x a week and just stop caring about my lifts at all, it would be easier for me to go consistently. I don’t know if I want to do that because then I’d lose out on gains but I’m thinking about it.
That’s not the right approach. A better one is to think about why you lift, assess whether it is a good reason for lifting, and if it is then push through with that motivation. Doing things you don’t like to do is good for your mental wellbeing when they have higher benefits.
You don’t have to like lifting to do it and still get the benefits. Honestly, I think more minimalist training would be good for you. Get in, do the basics, and get out.
Instead of focusing on agonist super sets and a lot of that stuff, why not do a 3x a week beginner program? It would get you in and out. More importantly, it would be pre-written so you only have to focus on getting to the gym consistently and eating right rather than constantly tinkering with programming and working out. It would be a good way to streamline and then you could tinker with smaller accessories if you have time left over and want to. Even in that frame work there’s room to shop for what you like.
I think it might outsource some of the mental load if you just found a basic program and ran it blindly without modifying it’s core for a few months
On the other hand, I’m all for doing what you want in the gym, so don’t take this as me shitting on you haha
Edit:
@TurboGainz I think this a thing you “earn”. At first, it seems foreign, weird, and painful but overtime after seeing progress, it becomes a thing to look forward too. It’s almost like going from not running straight into doing a marathon. All the discomfort that comes with a marathon is so foreign that you do not like the process but if you build up a marathon, you know what will be coming. Just don’t be glued to “I don’t like this”
I have ran 3 miles before and I actually like it more than lifting. Yes if I haven’t done any cardio in a while and I run it sucks but idk it just makes me feel better than lifting and I just like it. Running at the end of a humid summer day, getting runner’s high and smelling the fresh mowed grass, the feeling of sweat, hearing the bugs chirp, it’s just one of if not the best feeling I have ever felt. All I feel after lifting is like I wish I was doing something else and now I’m going to be tired for the next 24 hours.
I don’t know why. I just don’t get anything out of lifting weights.
That’s literally the exact opposite for me. I hate running but I love lifting. Honestly, finding a well structured 2 or 3 day lifting program and running more (since you like it and enjoy it) is a good approach too. Lifting weights has a ton of health benefits but at the end of the day, it’s just a way to be active. Finding a way to “take your medicine”, in reference to lifting, in a consistent manner will triumph a lot
If this is your goal, it doesn’t have to be achieved solely through lifting. I know that’s obvious but keeping that in mind when finding an approach is key
Have you tried stuff like kettlebell workouts? Lifting doesn’t have to be done through barbell and bodybuilding stuff if you don’t enjoy it. Only trying to broaden your horizons
It’s interesting how people can be so different. I love running, you hate running.
Yeah I am leaning that way. Just finding the minimum I can do as far as lifting weights and then doing more exercise I actually like such as running. I 100% HAVE to lift weights, it is necessary for me to be healthy, feel good and to look how I want to look. I just have to find the right balance.
I agree and this balance will shift over time. Don’t be afraid to explore and “lose time” because ultimately, it’s better than doing nothing and learning about yourself isn’t losing time!
Mood: I was actually pretty relaxed today. But tonight I got depressed.
Energy Level: 5/10
Hunger Level: 10/10. Very hungry. I knew this was coming, because I torched my quads yesterday and they were pretty sore today. Also I only slept 6 hours.
Workout: Nothing. Skipped zone 2 today because I didn’t want to dig further into my recovery and my quads were pretty sore (like a 6/10).
Steps: ~13000. Hard to know because sometimes I don’t have my phone on me but I walked 90 minutes on my walking pad at 0.5-1mph and I walked more than usual off the walking pad
Thought Process: I was super hungry today due to working my quads so hard yesterday (first time doing 3 sets of leg extensions instead of just one). I raised calories from 1800 to 2100 even though in my head I wanted to stay at 1800 to keep the deficit around 1000. But then I thought “who cares if it takes a few extra weeks. Way better than just giving up due to pushing too hard”. This is a complete change in mindset than I have ever had on any cut I’ve attempted. I’ve always tried to stick to the hardest deficit I could possibly do and eventually fail due to being too hungry/tired and saying “if I can’t do this super hard deficit, then I might as well not do it at all”.
I was doing some more thinking and I think I am depressed. I did legs yesterday, rushed home took a shower and went back out to hang with my family. I felt perfectly fine, calmer but not tired. I could still function like normal. That was the first time in a while I actually had something to do that I cared about. I usually just come home and do nothing because I just don’t have anything going on right now. So I don’t think the solution to my problem is to reduce my time in the gym, because I worked out and went out and had a good time no problem whatsoever. I think I need to find things I care about doing so doing them will be easy.
There is a different answer to that for everyone of us who logs in here. I started lifting at 14 with a Sears Orbitron weight set. I was a skinny and strength training was a defensive mechanism as well as me fulfilling that need for vanity. That was 50 years ago. Now strength training is my attempt to fight off the grandpa bod, but more importantly my way of trying to maintain quality of life as I start that journey through my senior years. I have had to adapt over the years, which programs and equipment I use, but I have tried to maintain consistency. And, I just like the way I feel. The pump, the post workout glow after a good session, it has all been worth it.
Mood: Actually the most relaxed I have been in a while
Energy Level: 6/10
Hunger Level: 8/10. I was QUITE hungry/tired until around 1pm. I am assuming that is due to my quads still recovering. After 1pm I felt much better and stable energy level.
Workout: Thursday Upper. Hit PRs on basically everything, and it only took an hour. I don’t feel fatigued whatsoever. Going to 3RIR on every set rather than balls out failure is doing a lot of good for me.
Steps: 7500. I didn’t use the walking pad today but for 10 minutes. I was so hungry/tired I figured I didn’t want to do more activity and tire myself out and get so hungry I want to quit.
Thought Process: I tried thinking about lifting weights like it is running, since I like running. I framed lifting weights in my mind more like a cardio venture than a “I have to grow my muscles” venture and it actually made lifting a lot easier. I don’t put standards on my cardio like “I have to run this amount in this time”, it’s just a thing I do to feel good. I did a thought experiment and put standards on my running and all of a sudden I had anxiety about running and didn’t want to do it, it became a chore and a checkbox in my mind. So I figured if I start removing standards from my lifting it will be easier to go consistently. This actually worked and I felt good about lifting and by the end of the workout I felt pretty damn good. Not as good as after a good run but still way better than ever. So I am now going to think about my lifting like I think about my cardio, I just get in and get out. No more existential dread about having to hit a certain PR or my life’s over and I will lose all my gains and I suck. I think the key might be to think about my workouts as just something I do rather than something I have to do perfectly. This gets rid of the negative feelings I have around lifting which leaves room for the good feelings to…. be felt ( like today). I’m still going to go hard enough to make gains but the way I think about it is changing.
It is kind of impressing me that just changing the way I think about things alters my actions so drastically. I could easily think about stuff I like doing in the wrong way and not want to do those things and vice versa. Yeah I have changed my workouts by shortening rest times and only going to 3RIR instead of failure which helps me a lot, but also the mindset shift is just so important. Even thinking about being in a deficit a certain way changes my energy level, hunger level and stress level. It is kind of crazy.
I discovered a long time ago that I can talk myself into and out of almost anything. Some days I get very excited about my workout (whatever it might happen to be at the time) and some days my entire workout is “ok, you can quit after you are done with this part”. I usually just say that until the workout is over, but sometimes the workout ends short. Either way, I did something. I also sometimes have to remind myself that I’m not an athlete. I have no standard to live up to except my own desire to feel better and to be stronger than I was. For me lifting is like any other activity, it’s something I do to be better. Better doesn’t have to be perfect.
I fall into it too, dude. I’ll want to follow a program and get fixated with what’s written on the paper and stress out if the gym doesn’t allow a perfect setup or I’ll get the “must” principle in my brain (this is exactly how the weeks need to progress) and eventually I’ll hate the gym. If I just do what I feel like, it’s 90% what I was supposed to do anyway, and I get 200% the effort/ mental relief out of it… I’m pretty sure a rocket surgeon would tell us that math works out.
Mood: Agitated. I’m noticing I am getting short with people at work.
Energy Level: 4.5/10. I feel ok but I just don’t feel like doing much. Too low calories (1800 with 2450 maintenance)
Hunger Level: 6/10. Not too bad but I was hungry throughout the entire day.
Workout: Friday Lower (light day). I actually forgot I had preprogrammed in light days for my lower body, so I’m doing Tuesdays Heavy and Fridays Light. This is because my lower body is never fully recovered in just 3 days. I dropped everything by 15% and did the same amount of reps as the heavy day. I tried going without straps for my 205lbsx9 RDL but my grip started giving at rep 7 so the rep quality might not have been perfect.
Steps: 7000. Still only walked on the walking pad for half an hour today. I’m just too lethargic from eating only 1800 calories to feel like using it. Which is why I am doing 2000-2100 starting today.
Thought Process: I am anxious about my rep quality for the RDLs. I think I will use straps even on the light days. But then again this is just to maintain technique/fitness/ability until the Heavy day so the rep quality isn’t a big deal. I am unsure about how this is going to go since I’ve never done Heavy/Light on a cut, always just mash my head against the wall until I burn out. Am I going to lose muscle? I don’t know. My logic tells me I will actually gain muscle because I’m letting the muscle recover but I’m still only 80% sure of that.
What TrainForPain said a couple posts up is spot on what I’ve been thinking about doing but I’ve been too scared to do it. But this is showing me I need to trust myself.
Edit: well, I ended up eating to 2100, then 2400, then I ate a lot of almonds and probably ended up around 3500. I guess 1800 calories isn’t sustainable. Not sure what to do now. I am still kind of hungry right now at 3500 so I don’t think I’ll be able to diet tomorrow because I’ll be too hungry. I don’t know why I can’t stay in a deficit. My theory is that because I am still a novice I am still growing a lot of muscle from my workouts so it makes me really hungry when I go hard in the gym. I did a cut at 1400 for 3 weeks last year but I was barely lifting so it was a lot easier. Maybe I should stall my lifts to reduce hunger drive so I can cut more… idk. I get this hunger whether I’m in a deficit or not. The hunger drive can get so much that I eat 4000+ calories of good whole foods and it’s like nothing.
and strength training was a defensive mechanism as well as me fulfilling that need for vanity. That was 50 years ago. Now strength training is my attempt to fight off the grandpa bod, but more importantly my way of trying to maintain quality of life as I start that journey through my senior years. I have had to adapt over the years, which programs and equipment I use, but I have tried to maintain consistency. And, I just like the way I feel. The pump, the post workout glow after a good session, it has all been worth it.