Going to the gym when you REALLY don't want to go to the gym

It continues to amaze me what a disconnect there is between what your mind thinks that you can do and what you actually can do.

I had a stressful couple of days and I also didn't eat as much as I normally do. I also hadn't had much sleep. Yesterday the whole day I was just beat and thought several times "How in the hell am I going to go to the gym tonight?" To top it off I wasn't able to get to the gym until around 1am, which is late even for me. As I was walking up to the door I thought "WTF am I doing here? There's no way I can get a good workout in this condition."

I then went inside and proceeded to have an amazing workout. I actually did better with dumbbell benching than I've ever done since I started training. I felt strong and energized the whole time. If I would have actually acted on what I was thinking before I hit the gym I would have missed out and would have been none the wiser.

Sometimes I feel more tired at work when I know I have to go to the gym that afternoon. So psychological sometimes!

99.9% of the time no matter how tired I feel I always feel better after a workout :-)

[QUOTE=StressMonkey;548207503]It continues to amaze me what a disconnect there is between what your mind thinks that you can do and what you actually can do.

I had a stressful couple of days and I also didn't eat as much as I normally do. I also hadn't had much sleep. Yesterday the whole day I was just beat and thought several times "How in the hell am I going to go to the gym tonight?" To top it off I wasn't able to get to the gym until around 1am, which is late even for me. As I was walking up to the door I thought "WTF am I doing here? There's no way I can get a good workout in this condition."

I then went inside and proceeded to have an amazing workout. I actually did better with dumbbell benching than I've ever done since I started training. I felt strong and energized the whole time. If I would have actually acted on what I was thinking before I hit the gym I would have missed out and would have been none the wiser.[/QUOTE]

i've pulled out some of the best workouts in tired, stressed out and underfed days. then in the alternative some days when i'm full of piss and vinegar and think i'm gonna pwn the iron, my workout drowns in mediocrity. however, i always feel better leaving the gym than i do entering, and that is full of win.

It's a fine line; if I'm sort of beat I'll drink some coffee, if I lay down on the couch, it's irriversible - I'm not going out.

i have learned that if I dont feel like training i should go anyway because im fine after one set.the vgetting there can be harder than the being there.

I always go even when I don't feel like it .... mostly because I know I will be really pissed at myself later if I don't go. Most of the time, I can shake off the fatigue once I get in the gym. It is just a matter of getting into the groove and getting your mind right.

We talk about this at the gym all the time. But, i've had the best sessions when I don't feel like going to the gym. After the first few sets, im all good to go.

[QUOTE=Karl_Hungus;548269443]I always go even when I don't feel like it .... mostly because I know I will be really pissed at myself later if I don't go. [B]Most of the time, I can shake off the fatigue once I get in the gym. [/B]It is just a matter of getting into the groove and getting your mind right.[/QUOTE]

This ^^^

-=FLEX=-

Yes I force myself because any kind of workout is better than no workout

"even if your down there for an hour..your down there" -name that movie

[QUOTE=Karl_Hungus;548269443]I always go even when I don't feel like it .... mostly because I know I will be really pissed at myself later if I don't go. Most of the time, I can shake off the fatigue once I get in the gym. It is just a matter of getting into the groove and getting your mind right.[/QUOTE]


I'll do that and feel better once I get going. Sometimes it helps if I change things up, maybe as simple as the order of exercises or doing something I haven't done in a while brings me out of my funk.

BG

I have never regretted going to the gym.

I almost always regret skipping it.

I've had this experience so often that I no longer have tiredness as an excuse for skipping a workout. If I'm conscious, have two arms and legs, and still have my testicles, I go to the gym.

There are times when I am absolutely bored and tired at work that I look even more forward to going to the gym so I feel like I accomplished something for the day. Tired or not, by the time I throw my stuff in the gym locker I am already pumped for my workout.

This scenario has been repeated many times for every person who's ever set foot in a gym; you feel tired/unmotivated, and would just rather lie down on the couch. "I might as well blow-off my training; I feel "lousy."

But you go anyway, and after a couple of warm-up sets, the fog lifts, the sun comes out, and it's [i]on.[/i]

Don't allow your "feelings" to interfere with your training. Sometimes, the hardest "rep" is just pushing the door open as you walk into the gym.

The ol' Pain of discipline or Pain of Regret -- you don't want to go to the gym, but you don't want to suffer the pain of regrest -- so you just go, experience the pain of discipline and have an awesome workout!

If I didn't workout everytime I was tired or didn't feel good I would never achieve my goals. And I almost always feel good about 20 minutes into it.

Don't get me wrong, when I'm tired I go to the gym. This was an unusual situation because I had been beaten up so spectacularly by the past couple of days. I was wiped and really thought that I was in no shape to get a good workout done. I was wrong. :)

[QUOTE=dungeonmistress;548249193]i've pulled out some of the best workouts in tired, stressed out and underfed days. then in the alternative some days when i'm full of piss and vinegar and think i'm gonna pwn the iron, my workout drowns in mediocrity. however, i always feel better leaving the gym than i do entering, and that is full of win.[/QUOTE]

Oh yes, I've had those mediocre days when I thought I was gonna kill it.

[QUOTE=gympunk;548249413]It's a fine line; if I'm sort of beat I'll drink some coffee, if I lay down on the couch, it's irriversible - I'm not going out.[/QUOTE]

The couch is like a venus flytrap on days like that.

[QUOTE=Stenn;548334093]I've had this experience so often that I no longer have tiredness as an excuse for skipping a workout. If I'm conscious, have two arms and legs, and still have my testicles, I go to the gym.[/QUOTE]

LOL :D

Hey, you changed your name. Was the other one too hard for people to spell? :)

It is very difficult sometimes, but I do not get the guilt I used to. It something isn't right, I move to something else. However, I have to test it first. There have been many times where my warm-ups did not feel strong leading to my work sets, only to add a rep or two despite that.

That's why I have a home gym too. There is no excuse when you've got another gym about 15' away from you.

[QUOTE=ironwill2008;548344933]This scenario has been repeated many times for every person who's ever set foot in a gym; you feel tired/unmotivated, and would just rather lie down on the couch. "I might as well blow-off my training; I feel "lousy."

But you go anyway, and after a couple of warm-up sets, the fog lifts, the sun comes out, and it's [i]on.[/i]

Don't allow your "feelings" to interfere with your training. Sometimes, the hardest "rep" is just pushing the door open as you walk into the gym.[/QUOTE]
Perfectly said. I'd rep you if I could!

Sometimes I have my best training sessions on those days I didn't really feel like going.

It's purely psychological. When I was in the midst of losing my fat, I would be on the treadmill huffing and puffing and wanting to quit. I would look down at the timer and think, "Ok, 1 more minute and I'm done." When that minute was about to end, I would internally yell at myself for being a fat, lazy f**k and speed up the treadmill. I was damned if I was going to let my mind dictate what my body could and could not do. If my thoughts wanted to betray me, I was going to make my body suffer for it. My weak-ass mind was what got me into my mess in the first place. It's always a constant battle between what my body knows is good for it and the weakness of my mind trying to derail my progress. Now, my will is strong enough that when I start feeling the laziness kicking in, I just force it aside and do what needs to be done. I ALWAYS feel better for doing the right thing and exerting self-control. :cool:

[QUOTE=CHRISWEIDMAN;548346823]The ol' Pain of discipline or Pain of Regret -- you don't want to go to the gym, but you don't want to suffer the pain of regrest -- so you just go, experience the pain of discipline and have an awesome workout![/QUOTE]

This is me, if I don't go when I could go I'll feel so guilty/regretful, that I just drag my ass in there.

And yes I've had some amazing workouts even hung over.

[QUOTE=BDrum72;548331083]"even if your down there for an hour..your down there" -name that movie[/QUOTE]

Deep Throat?

Today, was one of those days when I just didn't want to go. I've felt a head cold coming on (which, I think is just a stress related response to something rather large I have going on right now). Yesterday, thank goodness, was on "off" day. And it was a good thing. Today, however, I still sort of feel as though I have been hit by a truck. But, I told myself to at least go and try...the whole "guilt" thing, you know. Once I got there and got a few warm-up sets behind me, I was good. Except one side of my headphones decided to stop working. Pink Floyd in just one ear is...well...not good.

[QUOTE=StressMonkey;548356573]Hey, you changed your name. Was the other one too hard for people to spell? :)[/QUOTE]

Got tired of it being so damn long. I wanted to change it to SY, but that was taken already. :(

I will tell you something, I never feel this way. I suffer more stress if I have to miss a workout. I say this and I work two full time jobs, am putting three kids through college, taking care of the house and making sure my wife gets the attention she deserves.

The key is making working out a priority. To do this you have to eat right, sleep right, work right, and play right. If you find yourself trying to talk yourself out of a workout, check your discipline, your goals, and workout. If you get those things in order, you will start looking forward to your next workout the moment after your complete your current workout.

Ray

STRESS: I feel what you are saying, but I have to add that having a home gym reduces that an awful lot, as , it is just so easy to get started, there are less impediments to getting the damn thing going, where, as the blood flows, you always do better than you thought you would.


for myself, if I had to physically travel to a gym, it would definitely discourage me on many a night.

[QUOTE=pastorgbc;548410853]
The key is making working out a priority. To do this you have to eat right, sleep right, work right, and play right. If you find yourself trying to talk yourself out of a workout, check your discipline, your goals, and workout. If you get those things in order, you will start looking forward to your next workout the moment after your complete your current workout.
[/QUOTE]

I love lifting and it's an important part of my life, but I don't think it's realistic (at least for me) to think that there's never going to be a scenario where you don't want to go. If my discipline wasn't in check I wouldn't have been at the gym at 1am already dead tired before I started.

[QUOTE=JOHN GARGANI;548413563]STRESS: I feel what you are saying, but I have to add that having a home gym reduces that an awful lot, as , it is just so easy to get started, there are less impediments to getting the damn thing going, where, as the blood flows, you always do better than you thought you would.


for myself, if I had to physically travel to a gym, it would definitely discourage me on many a night.[/QUOTE]

I hear you. Some of you guys have amazing home gyms. I'm one of the nuts that actually likes going to the gym. Hell, when I go I usually have the place almost to myself.

I hear you. Some of you guys have amazing home gyms. I'm one of the nuts that actually likes going to the gym. Hell, when I go I usually have the place almost to myself.[/QUOTE]


I'm there with you. I'd rather go to a gym. For some reason the idea of getting up and going somewhere is more motivating. I also thrive on other people being there, especially people who are bigger and/or in better shape. It helps drive me to push harder.

I think the whole "I feel better once I start working out" thing has a lot to do with endorphans and other cheminal reactions in or bodies. Our bodies are amaxing machines, they want to move and perform, it's what they were designed to do. When you are fueling it properly it will respond when giving the challenge of lifting weight. I can't think of anything that helps me relieve stress more than going to the gym, well almost anything! :)

[QUOTE=StressMonkey;548207503]It continues to amaze me what a disconnect there is between what your mind thinks that you can do and what you actually can do.

I had a stressful couple of days and I also didn't eat as much as I normally do. I also hadn't had much sleep. Yesterday the whole day I was just beat and thought several times "How in the hell am I going to go to the gym tonight?" To top it off I wasn't able to get to the gym until around 1am, which is late even for me. As I was walking up to the door I thought "WTF am I doing here? There's no way I can get a good workout in this condition."

I then went inside and proceeded to have an amazing workout. I actually did better with dumbbell benching than I've ever done since I started training. I felt strong and energized the whole time. If I would have actually acted on what I was thinking before I hit the gym I would have missed out and would have been none the wiser.[/QUOTE]

If I had some reps to hand out, you get some. I started intermittent fasting two months ago, and since I train in the morning, I train in a fasted state. That hasn't stopped me from making steady gains on my program. With the baby I've been hitting the gym with 3-4 hours of sleep, and still my gains are coming at the outlined pace.

The point I'm trying to make is you can do so much more than you're aware, and all the studies, anecdotal evidence, math, and science you can muster doesn't compare to what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it.

Well done!

[QUOTE=ironwill2008;548344933]Sometimes, the hardest "rep" is just pushing the door open as you walk into the gym.[/QUOTE]

Nice...^^^^^^^^^ Repped.