Irrational Gym Fears

Training
1

Would anyone like to contribute to a list of the irrational fears we often encounter here? I can start off with a few…

1.) What if I get to 350lb on the bench press and still have no muscle?

2.) What if I don’t isolate every muscle and develop hideous imbalances?

3.) What if I have a rare skeletal disorder that will cause lifting with good form to snap my spine?

4.) What if my beginning routine looks too simple on paper? How will I fill my clipboard?

5.) What if I take a couple days off and everything I’ve gained just softens into flab?

6.) What if I get so strong that I lose my ability to compete in sports?

…?

2

My all-time favorite: What if I get too big? As if it’s possible to go to bed one night looking like Pee Wee Herman, and wake up the next day accidentally built like Ronnie Coleman.

3

-What if I’m not mobile enough?

-What if I get injured?

-What if I don’t warm up properly?

-What if I’m too weak to compete?

-What if my program doesn’t have squats, or deadlifts, or bench, or overhead press?

-What if I wear straps and my grip gets weaker?

-What if I wear a belt and my abs get weaker?

-What if I am doing high bar squats and I should be doing low bar squats? Or the other way around.

I may need to pump the breaks on this. I feel like I could write for years, haha.

4

If you are a noob, NO ONE is judging you no matter how weak you are. The only ones judging you are other noobs or those just slightly stronger than average who have little to show for it.

5

What if lifting makes me too bulky?
What if protein powder makes me fat?
What happens if I don’t take protein powder IMMEDIATELY after working out?
What if a kettlebell hits me in the nuts during backswing of a kettlebell swing?
What if lifting makes me slow?

These were several questions and fears my old workout partner had a year or so ago. I had to be careful because these questions were coming from my boss who early last year stopped lifting with me and became a cardio queen.

6

"What if a kettlebell hits me in the nuts during backswing of a kettlebell swing? "

Wow - apparently my nuts aren’t nearly as big as your boss’s because I’ve never even considered this a possibility. Did he only half-squat his box squats too?

7

The only good rational fear to have at the gym… What if I shit my pants on this rep? I guess that’s why so many of you lift in your garage?

8

[quote]thegymismyshrink wrote:
The only good rational fear to have at the gym… What if I shit my pants on this rep? I guess that’s why so many of you lift in your garage?[/quote]

That seems like a pretty rational fear to me!

9

I sometimes fear my eyeballs are going to explode while squatting or deadlifting. After reading some of EyeDentists’ comments, that seems pretty rational as well…

10

Hey, it’s OK to be afraid. This stuff happens.

11

What if it wasn’t all me? ( just kidding )

My irrational gym fear: getting killed under a bar while NOT doing something cool, like split squats.

How’d he die? “Doing split squats” Oh…

VS

How’d he die? “Deadlifting a billion|Squatting a PR” Fuck yeah!

12

I wouldn’t say I live in fear of this, but I am certain that the next big earth quake is going to hit while I am squatting.

13

[quote]thegymismyshrink wrote:
"What if a kettlebell hits me in the nuts during backswing of a kettlebell swing? "

Wow - apparently my nuts aren’t nearly as big as your boss’s because I’ve never even considered this a possibility. Did he only half-squat his box squats too?[/quote]

What’s freaky about half squatting his box squats was he really did half / quarter squat the box squats. We would do high box squats (18" Box - I’m 6’4" he is 6’1") he wouldn’t touch the box regardless of the weight. He was one of those who believed squatting was bad for his knees and was going to crap out his spine if he went anywhere near parallel. Of course deadlifts to him were back breakers. Only had a passion for bench press and barbell curls!! Surprise there huh?!?

14

Do I even lift?

15

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
I sometimes fear my eyeballs are going to explode while squatting or deadlifting. After reading some of EyeDentists’ comments, that seems pretty rational as well…[/quote]

funny you should say that, the one time I ever tried to do dragon flags I had to stop because my eyes really did feel like they were going to burst out of my head!

16

"Do I even lift? "

Not for you, but for some people on here that might be a rational fear…

Ouch.

17

[quote]thegymismyshrink wrote:
"What if a kettlebell hits me in the nuts during backswing of a kettlebell swing? "

Wow - apparently my nuts aren’t nearly as big as your boss’s because I’ve never even considered this a possibility. Did he only half-squat his box squats too?[/quote]

Done that. Not as bad as hitting my knee with a kettlebell in the drop phase from a snatch.

Main irrational fear? If I take a break longer than a couple of days I’ll lose
all my strength.

Second irrational fear: if I don’t pull conventional off the floor at least every couple of weeks I’ll forget how and never get a heavy deadlift again.

18

What do I do if I took a week off?
I failed one set of my program. Should I deload or restart the program?

I want to add 20 minutes of cardio one time a week but am afraid it will hurt the gainz.

19

I once had a guy tell me he didn’t want to do the slight incline dumbbell bench press I had in his program.
I assured him it was a lot safer on shoulders then using a barbell and was also one of the best chest builders.

His response wasn’t about shoulder safety but more he didn’t want to develop a too big and bulky chest !

20
  • What if I’ve reached my genetic limits? (said the 140lbs guy)
  • What if no one cares about my progress? (they won’t, deal with it)
  • What if I don’t get a pump?
  • What if I don’t hit my chest from five different angles?