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The Gym is Boring

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DancingCorpse
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01 Sep 2016, 5:02 am

Don't think I could ever stand a gym, I'd like to use some of their equipment but it's more trouble than it's worth for me to contemplate going in one of those sterile factories! I'd rather keep doing my own workout routine which seems to work just fine, not like I want to be a bodybuilder or have mountains of muscles, I have seen promising results each time I step up my fitness adventures over the last few years, I most likely don't 'need' a gym when doing without one is working okay.



marshall
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02 Sep 2016, 11:23 pm

It is boring if you just go in and do the exact same thing every time. Its more rewarding if you have goals and try to keep gradually improving your performance. If you just dont care about that kind of thing maybe the gym just isnt for you. Maybe you would prefer hiking if you live somewhere with interesting terrain. Maybe try rock climbing. Or try learning martial arts. Anything that involves some kind of pphysical exertion is good for you.



marshall
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02 Sep 2016, 11:58 pm

sonicallysensitive wrote:
Robin TBW wrote:
How do so many people love it so much?
Probably a false assumption on your behalf.

I go 5 days per week and I certainly don't love the gym.

I don't go to be entertained or have a good time. I go for the benefits of putting in the work.


Robin TBW wrote:
You're literally lifting stuff and putting it down again on repeat and running on the spot.
You're literally pushing stupid little plastic keys and making letters appear on a screen.

Every activity is completely ridiculous when reduced to factoids.

'Breathing? How stupid, just taking air in over & over again.'




Robin TBW wrote:
Just come over and you can do some heavy lifting for me at mine. I won't charge you.
Put in the work, get the gains.

...But it doesn't happen after 5 minutes.



Robin TBW wrote:
I went to the gym for two/three months to try and tone up
2-3 months is nothing. Try a few years.

Even better - completely change your lifestyle.

And learn what patience means.



Robin TBW wrote:
and was actually attending religiously but not particularly finding it enjoyable
Again, you're assuming it's about enjoyment.


Robin TBW wrote:
then one day I was lifting some weights, looking in the mirror and just thought "I'm not enjoying this at all..."
...again... it isn't about enjoyment.

If what put you off was not liking what you seen when you looked at yourself in the mirror, address your diet/lifestyle.

This - on top of a good workout regime - will make a difference.

But it takes time.

Return to your way of life prior to any changes and you'll go back to how you were.




Robin TBW wrote:
and packed up, went home and cancelled my standing order to the gym. I've not been back since.

How do you stay motivated doing such repetitive, monotonous bluergh?
A look at the physical mess that is the majority of society here in the UK provides more than enough motivation.

That, plus not wanting to die from type 2 diabetes 20 years before I should leave this earth.

Plus many other reasons.


PS quitting is easy. Anyone can do it.

Holy s**t! Maybe you need to put some effort into being less judgemental and full of contempt for others. you're really a self-centered ass. Not everyone sees the word the way you do. If you insist on forcing your sh***y opinions on people, you should learn to accept being told to go f**k yourself.



Outrider
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04 Sep 2016, 7:59 am

Personally, I enjoy weightlifting because I enjoy exercise.

Weightlifting most certainly isn't the funnest form of exercise - swimming, running, tree-climbing and parkour are all much funner.

But it gets the job done to effectively and efficiently gain muscle, even if most of the muscle gained in the gym is hypertrophied muscle that is more for show and doesn't equate to much increase in actual strength compared to natural climbing and jumping through wilderness can (which is another way I like to try and gain muscle when at the beach - I seek out secluded spots with challenging trees to climb or challenging terrain to traverse).

The actions may be 'repetitive' and monotonous, but I enjoy simple, repetitive tasks that don't require too much thought or mental effort.

Weightlifting, however, requires great mental focus and concentration to properly target and activate the muscles.

Gyms are awful, but weightlifting is not, which is why I only do home workouts. Gyms are also far too expensive and are almost always designed to lock you into long-term contracts instead of a pay-per-visit thing.

I'd be fine with going to a gym that does pay-per-visit, even if paying for individual visits costs more than it would if I had membership, but pay-per-visit gyms are rare/non-existent.

Try bringing and listening to your own music to help make the workout more interesting.

For 'running on the spot', the best trick is to listen to fast-paced, high energy music, especially the kind that helps you imagine being somewhere else and takes you far away.

I listen to a lot of uplifting trance and run at a moderate pace until the song's climax, which is when I go for an all-out sprint-run-sprint alternate until the end of the song.



Sabreclaw
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04 Sep 2016, 4:53 pm

Lift heavy and you won't be bored.



marshall
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04 Sep 2016, 5:10 pm

Sabreclaw wrote:
Lift heavy and you won't be bored.

What makes it fun is being able to increase the amount you lift every few weeks. It's a nice feeling to go back and lift with ease the same weight you were struggling with just a few months ago. Though I don't enjoy aerobics as much (suck at it), you can do the same for aerobics. Push yourself to go a little longer and a little faster every few weeks. If not for making progress it would be boring for me too. The good part is the goals are your own. Nobody will tell you what to do or make you set certain goals. You don't even have to pay attention to other people. Actually, paying attention to other people and comparing is the worst thing you can do. There will always be people better than you, and when you start it will probably be most people.



Empress83
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04 Sep 2016, 8:47 pm

marshall wrote:
It is boring if you just go in and do the exact same thing every time. Its more rewarding if you have goals and try to keep gradually improving your performance. If you just dont care about that kind of thing maybe the gym just isnt for you. Maybe you would prefer hiking if you live somewhere with interesting terrain. Maybe try rock climbing. Or try learning martial arts. Anything that involves some kind of pphysical exertion is good for you.

I was planning to write this exact thing! Haha



Synth.osx
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09 Sep 2016, 6:43 am

Outrider wrote:
Personally, I enjoy weightlifting because I enjoy exercise.

Weightlifting most certainly isn't the funnest form of exercise - swimming, running, tree-climbing and parkour are all much funner.

But it gets the job done to effectively and efficiently gain muscle, even if most of the muscle gained in the gym is hypertrophied muscle that is more for show and doesn't equate to much increase in actual strength compared to natural climbing and jumping through wilderness can (which is another way I like to try and gain muscle when at the beach - I seek out secluded spots with challenging trees to climb or challenging terrain to traverse).

The actions may be 'repetitive' and monotonous, but I enjoy simple, repetitive tasks that don't require too much thought or mental effort.

Weightlifting, however, requires great mental focus and concentration to properly target and activate the muscles.

Gyms are awful, but weightlifting is not, which is why I only do home workouts. Gyms are also far too expensive and are almost always designed to lock you into long-term contracts instead of a pay-per-visit thing.

I'd be fine with going to a gym that does pay-per-visit, even if paying for individual visits costs more than it would if I had membership, but pay-per-visit gyms are rare/non-existent.

Try bringing and listening to your own music to help make the workout more interesting.

For 'running on the spot', the best trick is to listen to fast-paced, high energy music, especially the kind that helps you imagine being somewhere else and takes you far away.

I listen to a lot of uplifting trance and run at a moderate pace until the song's climax, which is when I go for an all-out sprint-run-sprint alternate until the end of the song.


I admit that weightlifting is effective since you can constantly add resistance to achieve progressive overload and track your progress but it is expensive for most people to belong to a gym spend every money on muscle building supplements. It is good that you have space for a weightlifting gym in your house but you need to remember that it isn't ergonomic for many people.

You can achieve great results from calisthenics alone and if you adapt to the exercises, you can wear a weighted vest to stimulate progressive overload.



Secretalien
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10 Sep 2016, 2:23 pm

DataB4 wrote:
I find the gym boring too, but I've taken classes at gyms, like yoga and other classes with the weights. I find the classes to be a bit less boring.


Yeah, I go to a workout class at the gym 2x a week, and it's a lot of fun and I get way more exercise than when I would just go and use the elliptical and weight machines.

Having other people around you doing the same thing and someone going "you can do it! Just one more set!" helps keep me motivated. Also, the class has different segments that are choreographed to specific songs. So, once you've done it a couple times, you know when the song comes on what exercises are coming up. That really helps me keep track of what I'm supposed to be doing.