I can imagine people having fun getting lost in the flow of playing a competitive sport. I’ve also heard some people experience a post-workout high. But does anyone actually feel pleasure in the moment while lifting weights, jogging, cycling, etc?
If so… what does it feel like? Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?
I feel like if you feel like you need to cultivate a mindset for a particular activity, you are probably better off finding another activity. Unless you have extremely specific goals that really demand a particular exercise, it is better to simply be moderately active doing something you enjoy doing.
I’ve tried running/jogging, I am actually not bad at it. I freaking hate actually doing it though, I would rather be doing almost anything else. Which makes it a terrible exercise for me to do, because I will find any excuse to not do it. Same for lifting weights. I enjoy swimming but dislike public pools, in my current country nobody has private pools, even the rich.
For me I have always enjoyed martial arts, particularly sparring. I can’t necessarily find people to do that with regularly where I live now, but I can still practice forms and the like by myself. I get a not insignificant workout from regular Beat Saber sessions too, honestly.
I think the mindset aspect that’s true to a degree, where there’s something you just enjoy more easily. There can be something though to not being acclimated to a particular feeling since it isn’t necessarily comfortable initially, but it eventually morphs into something positive and that feeling changes. It doesn’t always happen though, I’d bet, so after some time of no change one would have to find something more naturally fitting for them.
Cardio is awesome, the runners high is real, but you have to be well conditioned so it’s tough for beginners.
Sometimes, I also like to do workouts because it makes me feel productive while not being as mentally taxing as my ‘job’ of being a full time college student :/
Cardio is awesome, the runners high is real, but you have to be well conditioned so it’s tough for beginners.
Hell nah. I spent 40 years telling people running is what you do to get away from the police. I started jogging during the pandemic 2 years ago. You sure as shit don’t need to be well conditioned just be aware of your body and its limits which I will admit many people are not.
I don’t enjoy motivating myself to go workout. Everything up until the point of the actual workout isn’t enjoyable. But the workout and post-workout I do enjoy. There is a high associated with it. And that feeling of accomplishment, and visible progress is extremely enjoyable.
The only advice I can give is to give it adequate time. It’s easy to get discouraged. Just keep this in mind: You spent a lot of time doing damage to your body, you’re going to need to put in some effort to reverse that damage. Give it some time before getting discouraged.
I enjoy the simplicity of weightlifting. Make sure your form is good, count reps, count sets, take note of the weight lifted. All of that keeps my mind occupied for 2h, no room for it to wander into topics I’d rather not think about atm.
I also find some measure of joy out of knowing I’m lifting more today than I was last week, it’s simple and measurable progress. No room for subjective bias, unlike other things I’m trying to improve upon.
It also has the added benefit of tiring me out. GAD and ADHD make for horrible bedfellows, they’ve made nights sleepless for me more often than not, so I’ll take any help I can get.
Edit: otoh, I hate cardio with a passion. Its boring and does nothing but make me sweat and lets my mind wander. I’ve tried everything, from music, to audiobooks, to podcasts. Plus, I feel like I run loudly, like my feet are made of lead, and I don’t like being loud.
Used to swim when I was a kid, was pretty good too apparently. Coach wanted to put me in a pre-15 y/o (10-15 y/o) competition when I was 6 or 7. Got cold feet and dipped out. I dunno if I could take it as an alternative though, I’ve done it now and again but it feels like running. I prefer HIT and even that I don’t love.
I love swimming because of the rhythm, the breathing, the form and it feels like flying. It’s also very quiet. Like the noise of the world goes away first. And eventually, when I find my rhythm, my brain stops it’s busyness. People tell me this about running, but running just hurts my knees a bit.
I’ve always had sporty hobbies so at least I’m somewhat in shape. Over the years I did karate, parkour, bouldering, football, volleyball, and ive been deeeep onto hema for a long time now.
I just love having an activity that is basically “playing” but very physical. Even when i feel like I’m not progressing, I’m still having a good time and get to completely exhaust myself once a week.
Rock climbing and bouldering combine the fun of a puzzle with a workout and very real goals/improvements you get to work towards. It’s also not just “I did 5 more pounds!”
For me I hate a squat rack or bench but climbing never really feels like working out.
Couldn’t agree with this more. I started climbing a month ago and I’m fully obsessed, it’s like a sport designed for people who like video games. Each route is a level that needs completing and the initial progress is so fast and rewarding that you just want to come back and beat that grade that you couldn’t get a week ago.
I have a 6c which I fall asleep thinking about right now, the crux seems so doable from the ground and then feels impossible when I’m there. I bought a hangboard to train finger strength so I can beat it faster, and that is definitely more akin to working out, but I see it more as grinding or overlevelling to beat that piece of shit boss you’ve died to 10times in a row.
Bouldering is like a phone game, each level is less than a minute long and requires a specific skill to be unlocked to beat it, over time these skills combine to allow you to beat a harder problem without you even realising you’ve levelled up. Top rope is like a console/pc game where levels take longer to complete and rely on managing resources and your strats.
It also helps a ton that I feel 5x healthier already and am stronger than I’ve been in my life. Climbing is seriously awesome.
I’m in my mid 30’s and I spent A LONG time working out, getting as fit as I could.
I still hated my body when I looked in the mirror, and I hated every second of the workout. “Post workout” I was so proud, but like, that’s equivalent to drinking so you could appreciate being sober.
I stopped a while ago and started just trying to eat healthy and focus on other sources of happiness. I’m much happier since!
I’m in my mid 30’s and I spent A LONG time working out, getting as fit as I could.
I still hated my body when I looked in the mirror, and I hated every second of the workout. “Post workout” I was so proud, but like, that’s equivalent to drinking so you could appreciate being sober.
I stopped a while ago and started just trying to eat healthy and focus on other sources of happiness. I’m much happier since!
My body is the kind that absolutely won’t lose weight unless I do some cardio. Unfortunately, the gym is a while away, and work isn’t very forgiving either. If I worked hard on a day, I’ll come back home with a headache, and if I run with that my head will split open.
Eating healthy doesn’t seem to have an effect on my body. Even if I cut back to 1500 calories, my body fat is so stubborn that I couldn’t lose even a single kilogram in 2 months (didn’t exercise) of a very strict diet (not to mention I would be hungry sometimes).
I wonder if I could have a treadmill at home, and could just have a brisk walk every night I don’t feel like it (and run without going to the gym), I would actually do more cardio and maybe loss weight faster. But I can’t afford it.
My body looks like the underside of a frog, so I understand what you’re saying.
Same. I even went pretty regularly for months and tried all the different workouts and while I was in better shape, none of it was enjoyable in any way.
There is definitely a huge difference after 6 months of focusing on one thing. I’ve done hot yoga off and on over about 12 years and I’d say it took 6 months of going consistently before I felt like my body adjusted and it was more enjoyable. After 2 years I didn’t feel like I was going to die and it actually became very enjoyable.
I’ve fallen off recently because it’s easier to sit around and initially it does suck because you need to readjust. But I when I had gone 2-3x in a week, man I felt like a god. I started going in my 20s, I was high af all the time and knew I needed some exercise or I was gonna die.
I think it takes a certain person to love lifting weights of all things. But luckily there are lots of things out there
No and I never liked it. I tried going to the gym for a while to lose weight but I felt horrible afterwards and during the excersice and the actual Impact on my obesity was quite minimal (probably my fault as I‘m sure I didn’t do everything right). So i stoped going eventually. I know started walking more, I don’t take the bus from the train station home anymore and rather walk the 3.5km with some nice podcast oj my ears. I like doing it, even atvthe current temperatures as I feel like a get 45 minutes just for me where I don’t have to listen to anyone or anything other than my podcasts I enjoy. I work ij Retail so there’s a constant barrage of people and at the end of the day you just don’t want to see people for a while. So while it does help my weight loss it also just feels kinda therapeutic in a way. I just crossed 120kg (down from 136) this morning and plan to try to extend my walks to my days of as well :-)
I also play Beat Saber several times a week! It’s loads of fun. I find the multiplayer gets me competitive and I’ll end up playing for up to 2 hours (assuming I’ve kept my endurance up).
I’ve never seen that replay feature before, that’s really cool. I stopped playing modded songs a while ago because the plugin kept breaking and was incompatible with multiplayer. Has that gotten any better? (I play on SteamVR w/ Valve Index)
So I’ve found there’s two different ‘pleasure’ experiences:
One is during the workout where you disassociate and just feel your muscles working. In running this is usually called a “runner’s high”, and in weightlifting it’s typically refered to “lifting heavy thing make me happy” / “Big rock make sad voices go away”
Then there’s the after-workout where you just feel your muscle exhausted as you relax and it’s extremely satisfying. You know you’re getting stronger and the workout will be easier next time.
Both of these feelings take a few weeks to start, you’ll have to get results from your workout and then your mind and body will start rewarding you with dopamine for doing a good job. (Although some days working out still sucks ass though and is both tiring and a chore, that part doesn’t go away it’s just easier to ignore).
It takes some time to build a routine, getting to that point requires effort. Once you’re comfortable and know your limits I personally get a lot of satisfaction from pushing my body to get faster, stronger, more agile and so on. You might feel exhausted but you know you can keep going and your body will respond.
Together with all other health benefits you get from it makes you feel good about yourself after a workout which translates to better confidence, mood and more.
I’ve tried for years to go to the gym regularly. I despise going to the gym. Putting on workout clothes, mindlessly trudging on a treadmill or whatnot before slogging through a bunch of machines then shower and going home. I loathe the idea of sacrificing 1+ hour of my precious free time just to feel miserable and accomplishing fuck all… Everyone claiming “just stick with it and you’ll start to enjoy it” lies. There’s no other way to say this. Lies. If you love it, good for you, but it definitely isn’t a universal thing.
Walks around town I do kinda enjoy but not enough to make me want to do it. But point me someplace new or nice to hike and I’m off to the races. I love being out in nature, taking in the sights and I don’t care whatsoever if I need to work for it.
The last few weeks I’ve also started to go swimming with my girlfriend. I’ve not been a fan of swimming as a child and basically never did it anymore since then. So I’m pathetic at it but to my huge surprise I do quite like it.
So my recommendation to you is: try loads of different things. Chances are you’ll like doing certain things way more than others. Ideally you’ll find something you love. Or at least you should be able to find something you don’t hate.
This, except for the part about cars. :) I get to see all over my town and the area at large first hand, breathe fresh air and get a workout. Cycling rules!
I love riding my bike. Any kind of bike. Road, mountain, cruiser. Going hard, going easy, uphill, downhill, it’s all fun as fuck.
I like running when I’m not super fat like I am right now. There’s something great about running a faster pace for the last half of a race and feeling stronger at the end than the beginning. When I’m fat here’s nothing worse than running a quarter mile and having everything hurt and being exhausted.
Lifting weights is ok, but nothing I look forward to.
I have a little limitation on my leg because of a work accident, so every time I exercise it makes me feel “normal”, like a boost of confidence despite the limitation, I even feel happier when I’m tired, like I needed to expel that extra energy out of me.
For me it’s about making it a routine and part of your daily life. I started out with 3 days a week lifting and now do 3 days lifting and 3 days cardio. I find it’s easier to stick to and enjoy if it’s something I do everyday. The other thing I’ve noticed is you really need to pay attention to nutrition and sleep too. Working out is a lot easier/ more enjoyable if you are providing your body with the nutrients it needs and getting enough sleep. If you just eat junk food you’re going to feel like junk when you workout
Yeah this is the same for me, I go to the gym 4 days a week and do cardio for 2 a week at the moment. The habit is easier to keep if I go more often, at least for me. Then it’s not a matter of should I be doing something today but more of a is it gym or cardio time?
Add comment