Who says we have to suffer? When did this stop becoming fun and lighthearted and turn into hardcore and punishment?
At this time last year I was spending a decent amount of time in the gym. I was working out 6 days week for about 45 minutes at a time. No cardio, just lifting. Not overtraining. Just working towards the goal of the competition. I also worked at two other gyms. And paid membership dues to 3 gyms.
My sister joked once at the time: “Whenever I call you you’re either on your way to the gym, at the gym, or driving home from the gym.” I thought it was hilarious…back then.
Now? A year later, I’m kind of irritated that I found it necessary to workout so much. I think of all the time I could have spent doing other things. I could have at least cut back to 4 days a week. Granted, I made sure I didn’t miss out on any family gatherings as much as possible. But it bordered on obsession and addiction.
Today, I can’t help but see others succumbing to the #NoDaysOff mantra. Take a look at ANY social media forum and it’s right there. Instagram is probably the worst culprit. I don’t recall all this Selfie obsession a year or two ago. It has definitely escalated. I’m sure it started out as motivating and perhaps it continues to motivate others. (I just like the pictures of the food to be honest). But it borders on Bragging and Boasting. Now everyone and their mother thinks they have to tweet and post and snap a pic of every rep and set and flex. #Beastmode? #NoDaysOff? I say #Annoying.
And these are not people training for a competition or a marathon. These are not Olympians or professional athletes. These are just average people thinking they have to kill themselves in the gym almost everyday. And they ARE doing cardio and possibly overtraining. But let’s just say they are being careful and have become addicted to the gym. I think that’s a great thing except for one small problem: Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.
I think you might need to find a LIFE if the gym is the only good part of your day. I love working out but it is indeed not the best part of my day.
Injuries and overtraining aside, spending 75% of your time in a gym working out is not the point of working out. The point of being fit is to be healthy so you WON’T have to spend 75% of your time in a gym. Even if you think of your average overweight or even obese person in this example, they can accomplish most of their fat loss by diet alone and little exercise. But therein lies the problem – Most of the people who NEED to lose fat, probably have an addiction to food, which is how they got to where they are presently.
So instead of working on a food plan and getting a diet in order, people are under the impression that in order to lose fat, they can just workout and still eat like garbage. That might work for a week or two, but crappy eating always wins in the end. You can run a marathon and still gain weight.
Programs like P90X and T25 and CrossFit give the false impression, I think, that you have to sweat until you bleed in the gym everyday or else you’re not doing it right.
Sorry to my CF friends but this is #lame.
Selfies and Flex Friday and Motivation Monday and #FitFamily can be a great thing, don’t get me wrong. At this point, it’s just motivating the already-motivated groups though.
Let’s just get the word out there that beating yourself up in the gym everyday isn’t worth it in the end. And it’s not necessary or even recommended to anyone.
No one ever said on their deathbed, “If only I had just squatted a few more times!” And no matter what you believe about the afterlife, I don’t think you can take your dumbbells with you.
Unfortunately the people who really need to read this, won’t see it.
They’re still at the gym.