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 dislike running, getting tired, hot and sweaty. However i love post workout feeling good, the moment its over for the day, the tension of my muslces after a workout, and a nice cold shower especially during summer heat. I also enjoy when i notice things have become easier after being consistent with my workouts, though i have to increase the difficulty its a nice fealing of progress. Sleep is getting better i just need my meals to be at a good direction to get the best out of myself.
I have a love hate relationship with it. I absolutely love it when I’m consistent with it. When I fall off the wagon, I hate trying to get back into it. Its hard and I could easily just go and do anything else.
For me it was a process of finding a certain sport that does that for me. Try out as many sports that you can. I hate running. I find cycling ok. I love climbing. Sometimes I like lifting. Music and enough sleep make a huge difference for me, I hate working out when I am tired.
It for sure takes time to reach a point of fitness where exercise feels good. Starting out totally untrained is really tough, and most people don’t stick with it long enough for exercise to feel good.
It’s also helpful to find something you like or think is cool in the first place. Many people fall off the workout grind because they think it’s mandatory for them to suffer through steady state cardio for an hour or insert thing that you in particular don’t like.
For me, powerlifting was the perfect balance of measurable, incremental progress, plus there’s time between sets to get focused for the next one. I literally can’t do steady state cardio without wanting to blow my brains out, but lifting weights and being strong? Yes please. With how I feel outside of the gym because of it? I’m in this shit for life.
Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?
For cardio it’s basically “go slow”. The main source of discomfort is the exertion.
An easy long run with good music is quite meditative and enjoyable.
When your legs hurt and you’re wheezing your lungs out, not so much.
It depends. Running and lifting I enjoy the results but the activity is boring, I never got runners high.
Jazzercise was fun fun fun though, any sort of dance aerobics like that is perfect because have to pay just the right amount of attention to it - enough that I can’t think about other things, but not so much that I really have to think hard about the movements. I wish there were still classes by me.
Yoga is fun too, in a different way. It takes concentration, always adjustments to posture, and it’s very empowering to be able to do handstands or other arm balances, it’s challenging in a good way and the reminders to coordinate your breath with movement is helpful.
So for me it depends on what the workout is but sure, I like moving physically, enjoy it and don’t do it only for results.
Problem is, I’m currently wasting away due to severe anemia, and in the last 2 months, I’ve gone from deadlifting 500lbs to barely being able to carry in groceries.
Yep. Especially after the training it’s like “yeah man I did it”.
Also, it’s all about consistency. Perfectionism is the enemy of consistency. Don’t be a perfectionist. Just be consistent and soon you’ll see results.
Like I see some people who just started working out and do as many push-ups or any other excercise with as many reps as they possibly can and after they’re exhausted.
That’s wrong. These people think that if you don’t do 100 pushups first day you’re a failure.
No, do even one push up. It’s more that 0. Then do 2, then 5, then 10, then 5 again coz you don’t feel like it today.
Like don’t starve for perfectionism. Just be consistent and you’ll actually get to enjoy working out. It’s a great way to clear your mind, have a healthy body, build muscles, better body chemistry and less diseases etc. Be consistent, not perfect. And avoid guys who make you feel you’re not doing enough. These guys will make you feel like every exercise should be perfect or with the highest reps possible or smth.
You are speaking to my soul. I’m the type of guy that prints out a blank spreadsheet to track my workouts. I’m also the type that doesn’t go to the gym. Lol. I need to just start showing up.
Riding my bike for long rides? Absolutely love it.
Slinging weights in the gym and sweating my ass off on an elliptical machine? Hate every second. But I listen to audio books in the gym, and that makes it much more enjoyable. Im envious of people who actually enjoy the gym lol.
I very much like how I feel after the gym, and overall when Im active which is why I keep going back.
EDIT: Wait… I do enjoy cycling and jogging. I just don’t enjoy working out athe gym. For jogging I enjoy listening to music and having my heart pump harder for an hour. For cycling I enjoy the scenery.
Of course you can be pushing hard or some jackass in a car just passed you with inches to spare, and those times aren’t fun, but most of the time it’s fun. My wife says I do my best thinking while I’m riding. If I’m on a group ride, there’s often good conversation with friends.
Depending on where you live, it might be nice to see a lot more of what’s around you on a bike. It’s similar to OP’s idea of getting lost in the flow of a competitive sport. You get lost looking at all the places that pass you by. You can take random routes each time and learn the city around you pretty well. It doesn’t hurt to have your headphones in and listen to an audiobook while you’re doing this either.
I never really got into running because it’s so much slower than biking. You will see a fraction of what you see on a bike, so I think it probably gets boring quicker. Plus it puts more strain on your joints.
I had to drag myself out of the house for strength training once a week at first. It took a while but I actually started enjoying it to the point that I go to the gym almost every day now. I think it helps a lot that the gym is like a 2 minute walk though.
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