Why are most gym-goers happy with making no progress?

[frump94]

Srs. Week in week out I see the same guys making absolutely no progress in terms of strength/physique. You'll see a couple of dudes bench like 185lb or some chit for like 6 reps, and 5 months down the line they'll be lifting the exact same weight and looking exactly the same. I don't care if someone is natty or not, 5 months is more than enough time to notice changes in someones performance in the gym (and to a lesser extent their physique).

Help me understand? If I want to work for something and commit to it, I want to see it through instead of spinning my wheels.

inb4 natty gains are slow gains etc etc. Natty's having amazing strength potential, a natty with average genetics could be benching 3 plates, squatting 4 plates and deadlifting 5 plates all for reps given they do it over a long enough period of time.

[jesusxchrist]

Why are you paying attention to other people so much

[colbski]

maybe people exercise their brain by socializing. we know op isn't making any progress because he's too busy paying attention to other people.

[omnip0tent]

Maybe they don't have any further fitness goals and just maintain, and enjoy the routine?


I for one have no abs, eat like a pig, drink beer like a champ. And lifting allows me to do that without being 500lbs. And like people below are saying... I enjoy my 60 minutes of Myself, Music, Thoughts, Training.

[JustAGuy94]

a lot of people use the gym as a relaxation part of their day. a break from their work or home. they simply go to the gym because they enjoy it and don't really care about progress.

[wheelerx50]

injuries, diet, okay with working to maintain their current physique and general fitness

[Tsudo]

Maybe he sustained an injury and that's the most they're comfortable doing so they just lift to maintain that...idunno.jpg

[numb3rrs]

What everyone else is saying, and some people go to the gym for health purposes before looks. Going to the gym and getting a good workout for an hour a day is far better for your health than doing nothing is whether you see gains or not

[frump94]

You should probably start with paying more attention to your workouts, than you do the other people in the gym.

Everyone looks around during their rest between sets to see what everyone else is doing, don't pretend that you don't.

[MetroBrah]

So if I reached my goal physique i should just stop working out? Nah brah, you have to keep up the routine or you lose gains. idc about making more gains at this point. If I did, I would have hopped on dat dere long ago

[Sarevoke75]

Judging by your avi, OP, you need to focus on your own routine fat boi

[GaryRidgway]

There is a guy at my gym who wears weightlifting shoes and knee sleeves and has been low bar squatting 65lbs for years. I don't get it.

[frump94]

Judging by your avi, OP, you need to focus on your own routine fat boi

That was me during my dreamer bulk stage, I'm adequately lean (for someone of my height) at 195lbs now.

[4everalone]

As someone else said itt.. lol at paying attention to What weight other gym goers lift.

To answer your question alot of people work out just to stay in shape, not get fat or just think it’s fun.

Me i dont understand why people who dont compete in powerlifting are obsessed with squat, deadlift & bench maxes.. Why are those lifts more important than any other lift if you arent even competing?? Brb risk injury doing 1RM lifts for no purpose other than bragging rights

[hutch1999]

Once you're past 2 years of noob gains, natural gains come extremely slow.

Between aging and injuries, some guys feel blessed to do the same weight they did 5 years ago.

[PeaceWithin]

Most normal people just go to the gym because they heard it is something you are supposed to do. You think they have actual routines, progression, sets, or reps planned? Just LOL.

I only know because when I first started I pretty much just showed up and lifted whatever I wanted like an absolute noob. Used different machines because I hadn't done them yet that day. Got trapped under 185lb on flat bench because I saw someone much "smaller" than me lifting it so I figured I would be fine.

The vast majority of people are just there for the alone time, health benefits, or endorphins from lifting. There are maybe 4-5 people that go to the gym around the same time(s) I do that I've noticed seem to care, or would be safe to ask for a spot (notepad for sets/reps, not just going down the rows of each machine, seem to have an actual routine planned out, not chit form)

I'm sure they look over at me and worry that the fat guy who is breathing hard and sweating is going to have a cardiac event, lol. I don't have time/energy during most workouts to care what else is going on...

[xam1996]

Yeah Im with you OP. The main reason I enjoy training is because I enjoy progressing. It feels good to warm up with what was once you 1RM, it feels good being able to do muscle ups when i once couldnt do more than 2-3 regular pullups, etc. But, as already said, people have different goals/reasons to work out. To each his own

[shesprints]

I dunno... lately my physique has measurably changed and everyone at the gym keeps coming up to me asking "what did you do" etc. etc. so I think a lot of them want to get better but don't know how. (I've been doing a chitton of band-assisted pullups, for instance, and dead hangs, and now whenever I go to the gym I see a lot of people copying this who never did it before. I also see women working with trainers pointing to me and asking how to "do that" and the trainer puts them on some sort of TRX chinup progression. It makes me LOL).


But for a lot of people it's not a priority. Other things in life. Gains are f*cking hard. It's hard to get better at anything. Right now I'm sore and tired and hungry basically all the time, but I'm continuing to improve so I'm OK with it. I don't think a lot of people would be.

[TheEnigma123]

Everyone looks around during their rest between sets to see what everyone else is doing, don't pretend that you don't.

I look around to see what stuff is used/open

[colbski]

i go to the gym to stay above ground.

[soaponarope1]

There is a guy at my gym who wears weightlifting shoes and knee sleeves and has been low bar squatting 65lbs for years. I don't get it.

Maybe he has a knee injury.

On thread topic - I think most gym goers are gym goers because they want to be healthy and don't care what their 1RM is.

[shesprints]

I look around to see what stuff is used/open

I admit I do strong death glares when people are dawdling over equipment I want to use next.

[Brosnbroccoli]

Because progress in the gym is all about consistency.
Most people aren't consistent.

//thread.

[Omnivium]

So they should just give up? Trying is better than nothing

And maybe they are slowly making progress. We don't all have the genetics to bench 225 after 6 months

[CaliSuperSport]

Some people simply don't know about progressive overload, they just go through motions to maintain. Not really something to get rustled over. It's not like they're wasting your time.

Now try dealing with friends wasting your time by being unable to follow simple advice on lifting or diet.

[bchap05]

Maybe he sustained an injury and that's the most they're comfortable doing so they just lift to maintain that...idunno.jpg

This is one reason. I hurt my shoulder and it refuses to go away. So my lifts have gone way down in an effort to fix it but I dont want to just not lift

[EvilCulprit]

My cousin has been training for like 2 years with like no progress lol. He is like 5'6 110lbs lmao I've given him plenty of tips and stuff, but the boy won't listen. He obviously want to get big. But there are others who just train to stay active, nothing wrong with that.

[WorldClassDBag]

Seen some dude quarter squat 225 for a year and a half. Another dude has been benching the same weight forever. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only serious lifter in my the gym.

[KurtMussell]

OP, it's ok to admit you're a meat gazer. Staring at dudes, wishing to see growth.

[shoelaces]

Because most gym goers aren't willing to turn to the dark side. Yes you can build a good physique naturally but that caps out after 4-5 years. Then you see marginal gains/improvements at best.

People you see who make drastic gains in 2-3 months all of the sudden don't have some secret training method or diet. It's the the creatine.