I’ve been weight training in some capacity for the last ten years. It’s built up into an addiction of sorts. Pretty mild overall. In the sense that if I miss a session, my thoughts become a perpetual loop of loser - dom. Doesnt last too long though.
Over the last week I’ve been super weak. Nothing new there. However I cannot be assed anymore as well. There is no motivation to go to the gym. Nothing. I’m taking time out.
Regardless I will assess my situation and act accordingly.
Has anyone else ever went through this phase?
What did you do? How did you cope? Where did you end up?
I’ve sort of given up on weight training now. It just stopped being fun and too time consuming with its regimented lifestyle. Its inflexibility meant I would often not get a chance to train or i would miss a meal which would mean progression would stall and would be demoralising. I’m opting now to just buy a dufflebag and sandbags to perform the exercises in the confines of my own room. Super cheap and flexible, allows me to train when I will feel like it. I think this will suit me better as I’m too inconsistent to stick to a regimented training plan.
[quote]Nards wrote:
Missing a session should not cause you to think that.
Take a whole week off. Eat right, but take a whole week off.
Then you should be fine.[/quote]
X2 ^^^
I used to have those “loser” thoughts when I missed a workout, but that’s not helpful at all. Missing 1 w/out every now and then isn’t a problem. Just not every week.
I only train with weights three times a week and there are about two times ever year where I go in and I have no desire to train…like weird kind of no desire…like not even light weights or anything.
It’s hard to describe…remember I’m saying about two times a year here…where I go out on the gym floor, warm up…and no…I just oddly don’t want to be there. I train early in the morning anyway so it’s not even that I’m tired or whatnot…I mean I’m used to getting up early and I know on these days where I don’t feel like training it’s not because I’m tired.
To help anyone understand, here’s what it’s like…I know training most every day feels just great…like sex perhaps. Well how do you feel right after sex? Pretty much like doing anything else other than sex…like algebra or watching some Star Trek. That’s how I feel on those days. Like I said only about twice a year.
[quote]Nards wrote:
Missing a session should not cause you to think that.
Take a whole week off. Eat right, but take a whole week off.
Then you should be fine.[/quote]
It wasn’t missing a session that caused this lull. I was just using term to describe my overall mindset with regards to training.
It’s been slowly building up for a few months at least.
[/quote]
I misread that too, sorry. Still, take some time of. Take a couple of casual runs. Or go to the gym and just fool around-see how many push ups you can do or deadlift 1 rep say 225# every 30 seconds for 20 mins. Then leave. I won’t hurt, it will help.
I fell into a similar lull recently. I love training and I enjoy it when i go, but my motivation went completely out the window, when it was never an issue previously. I took some time out but that didn’t work, so I’ve changed my training goals and the type of training I’m doing and I’m feeling more motivated now, so hopefully it will be the jumpstart I need.
I know the feeling, I’ve done some type of lifting since I was 15 (originally to lose weight cause I was a fatty and got bullied and all that shizzle)
Lately, since I’ve went back to full time education whilst working and being poor I’ve had to cancel gym memberships and do stuff at home with limited and crap equiptment whilst making the odd trip to the gym which allows you to pay an extortionate ammount per single session to do deadlifts.
I always get a quality workout at the gym but at home its just meh. To get around the fact I hate training at home I just go out and play about doing whatever exercises I feel like, but always make sure I do push ups and pull ups.
So in short, instead of having a routine or anything just go a spin your wheels for a bit and do whatever you feel like till you get your motivation back or have a few weeks off and get weights out of your head, then if you feel like it, after your break, get a routine set and get stuck in.
[quote]ChongLordUno wrote:
I’ve been weight training in some capacity for the last ten years. It’s built up into an addiction of sorts. Pretty mild overall. In the sense that if I miss a session, my thoughts become a perpetual loop of loser - dom. Doesnt last too long though.
Over the last week I’ve been super weak. Nothing new there. However I cannot be assed anymore as well. There is no motivation to go to the gym. Nothing. I’m taking time out.
Regardless I will assess my situation and act accordingly.
Has anyone else ever went through this phase?
What did you do? How did you cope? Where did you end up?[/quote]
Take a walk.
Throw a discuss.
Have marathon tiabatha sex sessions.
If picking weights up and putting them down is getting tedious, do something else but move your butt around.
There are both mental and physical energy leaks. Missing a workout is a physical leak. Don’t let it become a mental leak as well by letting it cause tension , anger, anxiety etc. The first asset to good health is tranquility.
I think most every one of us hits points in our lives where we struggle to find the motivation to train. I sure did. Jobs, education, wives, children, aging family, and any number of unexpected bumps in the road can cause us to lose motivation.
Hell, lifting can even be demoralizing when you reach the point where newbie gains don’t come anymore, in my opinion. Progress can sometimes slow to a crawl no matter how hard you seem to grind out the reps and pound the protein. And then we get old.
Time and life events are things we can’t control though and I think you just got to push through it. I wish I did - instead I took an almost complete 2 year hiatus from lifting. I wish I had even only lifted for 15 minutes a couple times a week those 2 years.
I’m just thankful that I learned that before my mid-20’s and if there ever comes a time where I just don’t want to train any more… I will still force myself to do the big 3 a few times a week - because I know I will want to train again.
Yup, plenty of times…though it never lasts. Lifting is too big a part of my mental/emotional landscape now, I’d sooner saw off one of my toes than give up on lifting weights!
What did you do? How did you cope? Where did you end up?
Re-asses my approach, simplify my training, CLEARLY define my goals + find a simple method for monitoring progress.
Oh & microloading!!! Don’t be afraid of the little weights, just keep pushing yourself on to the next level & wave goodbye to mediocrity.