No Motivation, Looking For Advice

[kduggy]

Ignore my username I made this account 7 years ago. I’ve been lifting for about 8 years steadily, a few injuries have kept me out of the gym at times. Anyways I’m 25 and 6 ft 220lbs ~17% bodyfat. I’m supposed to be finishing up a 12 week PPL routine but I just can’t get myself to workout these last 4 days. My gym is in my basement so there’s no excuse. I even took preworkout today, and just sat down there for 30 minutes and went back upstairs. I’ve been cutting at around 2500 kCal/day. I’m beginning to think maybe this is overtraining, but I follow a regiment with a rest day after every 3 days lifting. I’ve just never felt this little desire to lift or even care about anything in my life. I was just wondering if anyone else had gone through a phase like and had any insight into how to break it.

[xsquid99]

This post seems a bit melancholy and I'm not sure its really even about lifting since you threw in the "don't care about anything in my life" part. How is your life outside the gym and your mental state right now? Have you considered talking to someone about your mental health?

[kduggy]

Thank you for responding. I guess maybe I worded that wrong, making it sound worse than it is. I’m still following my diet fine which takes commitment and consistency, and nothing has really changed recently in my life. Just work, eat, lift, repeat. Same as always for me. I would just say I have no energy to do anything is more accurate than saying I don’t care about anything. I still feel upset with myself for skipping these workouts, which I guess shows I care still. I’m not asking you to be my therapist or anything but I appreciate you asking about my mental health and listening. I’m just wondering why I’m having such a sudden decline in desire or motivation to lift. I mean we all have days where we aren’t feeling it, but just push through. Just was hoping people had some insight into if they’ve ever felt like this and why/ as well as how they got out of it.

[xsquid99]

When was the last time you took time off from lifting, or a de-load week? I've had stretches where my workouts were really lacking in energy and I was struggling to get through them, and I usually end up just taking a few days off from the gym to rest my body as well as my mind. Usually after being out the gym for a few days thats enough to get me missing it and then I'm able to come back with a lot more drive and energy. I find that 4-5 days off every 4-6 months is the sweet spot for me to rejuvenate myself a bit.

A lack of clearly defined goals is another thing. What are you training for? Are you just training for overall general fitness or are you actually trying to achieve a specific goal? If you don't have any goals, maybe try to set some (make them specific and measurable). Maybe you're trying to hit a specific number, or maybe enter and train for a powerlifting competition. It will differ for each person so only you will be able to determine what your goals may be.

A change of scenery can also help. Having a home gym is awesome but for me I love going regular gyms just to get out of the house and change my view. I have 2 gyms that I frequent, and if I've been going to 1 for a long time then I'll switch it up and move to the other one. Same with having a lifting partner (though I know some people prefer to lift alone), but sometimes its fun to have a buddy with you as well to ignite some stoke and get a little friendly competitiveness going.