Most days in the gym feel like crap

[gymdude103]

I was wondering if anyone who enjoys the gym has this issue or if it's just people like me who experience this. ('people' refers to those that don't enjoy the gym all that much)

Where most sessions I feel crao / have low energy and most days just in general feel like crap with maybe once every 2-3 weeks I'll get a good day where some workouts felt good. I heard that some people use pre-workout to fuel themselves or some type of caffeine which I was considering.

I know everyday isn't supposed to be perfect, regardless of what it is in life but my question is are most days supposed to be **** and we're just supposed to push through it with some good days here and there, or are most days supposed to be good, with a bad day every now and again? I can't find the answer to this question. I've been thinking about this question life in general but for this post I'm asking in the context of going to the gym.

[radrd]

There are plenty of days where I'd rather stay in bed longer and not drag myself down to the basement to lift, but as soon as I get going I usually feel good. Reminding myself how good it feels to get in a solid workout helps me overcome my desire to stay in bed.

When is the last time you had a physical? If it wasn't recent, you didn't share this issue, or they didn't check your testosterone levels, I'd suggest visiting your doctor for a check-up and letting them know these and any other symptoms you're having. By no means is this alone a reason to hop on TRT, but you should make sure you are physically in good health.

How is your mental health? For me, when I'm the most stressed, my workouts tend to be the best because It’s an outlet where I can ignore whatever is going on at work or home and put my energy into the weight stack in front of me. I'm sure it isn't that way for everyone. Are you bringing a lot of outside worries into the gym? If you're already out of it mentally, it could be translating to poor workouts.

Finally, what's your training program and routine look like? There may be room for improvement. Are you sleeping and recovering enough between workouts? How's your nutrition?

[CW47]

What other people experience shouldn't have anything to do with you. What if someone says every workout feels great - how does that help you? And if someone says every workout feels terrible - how does that help you? Does it in any way change your experience?

I've been lifting consistently for about 7 years now and for me it's rarely 'fun'. I view it as a required aspect of living an overall healthy and happy life - like eating good food and drinking plenty of water. If I was doing it because it felt good or was fun I'd have stopped long ago.

[coachcalande]

Diet is a huge part of this…

Calories for training and gaining are extremely important.

Sleep and hydration as well as managing stress are essential.


Finally a plan that isn’t drugery…3-4 lifts a week at 60-75 min each is a great way to make this last for decades.

[CW47]

To be more constructive than my last post... There are ways to keep doing something you know is good for you even when it's not your favorite thing to do.

Some people use it as an outlet for letting off steam/anger, emotions in general. Almost like a form of therapy.

Something I've found that's important for me is to be mentally engaged in what I'm doing. In this case that means learning about training and programming and designing my own workouts.

Another thing that can work well is 'gamifying' your exercise. For some people this can be as simple as adding it to a checklist of things to do for the day and checking it off when you're done. It could be that you agree to give yourself a specific reward if you train X times in the week/month/year. It could also mean meticulously tracking your workouts and trying to outdo what you've done previously every time (example: You're benching today, doing 3 sets of 10 and you know the most you've ever done on 3x10 is 185 pounds so your goal for today is to do it with 190).

These are just a few examples and they may not do anything for you at all, but just find something that will get you invested in what you're doing. You'll know best what will and won't work for you when it comes to this.

[coachcalande]

I was wondering if anyone who enjoys the gym has this issue or if it's just people like me who experience this. ('people' refers to those that don't enjoy the gym all that much)

Where most sessions I feel crao / have low energy and most days just in general feel like crap with maybe once every 2-3 weeks I'll get a good day where some workouts felt good. I heard that some people use pre-workout to fuel themselves or some type of caffeine which I was considering.

I know everyday isn't supposed to be perfect, regardless of what it is in life but my question is are most days supposed to be **** and we're just supposed to push through it with some good days here and there, or are most days supposed to be good, with a bad day every now and again? I can't find the answer to this question. I've been thinking about this question life in general but for this post I'm asking in the context of going to the gym.

I drink coffee before every lift- and I put whey protein in it- tastes like hot chocolate!

[gymdude103]

There are plenty of days where I'd rather stay in bed longer and not drag myself down to the basement to lift, but as soon as I get going I usually feel good. Reminding myself how good it feels to get in a solid workout helps me overcome my desire to stay in bed.

When is the last time you had a physical? If it wasn't recent, you didn't share this issue, or they didn't check your testosterone levels, I'd suggest visiting your doctor for a check-up and letting them know these and any other symptoms you're having. By no means is this alone a reason to hop on TRT, but you should make sure you are physically in good health.

How is your mental health? For me, when I'm the most stressed, my workouts tend to be the best because It’s an outlet where I can ignore whatever is going on at work or home and put my energy into the weight stack in front of me. I'm sure it isn't that way for everyone. Are you bringing a lot of outside worries into the gym? If you're already out of it mentally, it could be translating to poor workouts.

Finally, what's your training program and routine look like? There may be room for improvement. Are you sleeping and recovering enough between workouts? How's your nutrition?

Interestingly enough, I thought testosterone would be the issue so I got a blood test done for it and they said it was all normal. Mental health is mediocre, it's more a situational thing. I'm trying to find a more suitable career as mine is currently going down the toilet, I've convinced myself that once I do find a better job that because it will improve my mental, that going to the gym will be easier but I'll see if that ends up happening lol.

In regards to your other questions, I failed to follow through on my last thread in terms of improving my diet and following my training program more strictly, I just ultimately lost interest in it. I do follow a program a 3 days a week, 5x5 program but I should be putting more effort into it to be honest. My diet is garbage. My personal life, the main thing that's out of whack is just my career, I've constantly lost my job over the last couple of years and don't have any motivation nor interest to continue in my field so I'm looking to change it.

[gymdude103]

What other people experience shouldn't have anything to do with you. What if someone says every workout feels great - how does that help you? And if someone says every workout feels terrible - how does that help you? Does it in any way change your experience?

I've been lifting consistently for about 7 years now and for me it's rarely 'fun'. I view it as a required aspect of living an overall healthy and happy life - like eating good food and drinking plenty of water. If I was doing it because it felt good or was fun I'd have stopped long ago.

The reason I ask because, if everyone is experiencing the opposite to me, in my mind I'm doing something wrong.

[gymdude103]

Diet is a huge part of this…

Calories for training and gaining are extremely important.

Sleep and hydration as well as managing stress are essential.


Finally a plan that isn’t drugery…3-4 lifts a week at 60-75 min each is a great way to make this last for decades.

Definitely, I didn't talk about diet because I didn't think it would helpful with the challenges I posted above, but in terms of building muscle yeah definitely will help.

[gymdude103]

To be more constructive than my last post... There are ways to keep doing something you know is good for you even when it's not your favorite thing to do.

Some people use it as an outlet for letting off steam/anger, emotions in general. Almost like a form of therapy.

Something I've found that's important for me is to be mentally engaged in what I'm doing. In this case that means learning about training and programming and designing my own workouts.

Another thing that can work well is 'gamifying' your exercise. For some people this can be as simple as adding it to a checklist of things to do for the day and checking it off when you're done. It could be that you agree to give yourself a specific reward if you train X times in the week/month/year. It could also mean meticulously tracking your workouts and trying to outdo what you've done previously every time (example: You're benching today, doing 3 sets of 10 and you know the most you've ever done on 3x10 is 185 pounds so your goal for today is to do it with 190).

These are just a few examples and they may not do anything for you at all, but just find something that will get you invested in what you're doing. You'll know best what will and won't work for you when it comes to this.

Yep. My outlet is just getting out of the house regularly, and gym is the perfect activity to do that imo. But I did notice that after the first couple months of going gym is when the problem started, the first couple of months were easy but after that it started to lose steam.

[air2fakie]

The reason I ask because, if everyone is experiencing the opposite to me, in my mind I'm doing something wrong.

This is a bodybuilding site - we don't all have the same reasons for doing it, but it is a general interest of ours. If you don't like working out, don't do it.

Of course most people want to be in great shape, but the vast majority don't have an interest in putting in the work.

Find something you enjoy doing, whether fitness related or not. You'll be happier - life's too short to repeatedly waste your time pursuing something you don't enjoy.

[gymdude103]

This is a bodybuilding site - we don't all have the same reasons for doing it, but it is a general interest of ours. If you don't like working out, don't do it.

Of course most people want to be in great shape, but the vast majority don't have an interest in putting in the work.

Find something you enjoy doing, whether fitness related or not. You'll be happier - life's too short to repeatedly waste your time pursuing something you don't enjoy.

Yeah that's fair enough. I might be overthinking it.

[radrd]

My experience is that what I eat has a significant impact on how I feel, especially when it comes time to train. You might experiment with some adjustments to your diet to see if it helps. I would just make some small, manageable improvements and see what happens. Give it a solid week to work before you decide whether you want to go further.

[gymdude103]

My experience is that what I eat has a significant impact on how I feel, especially when it comes time to train. You might experiment with some adjustments to your diet to see if it helps. I would just make some small, manageable improvements and see what happens. Give it a solid week to work before you decide whether you want to go further.

Interesting.

[paulinkansas]

I know this guy that reloads shotgun shells and shoots them at birds outside his garage between sets.

[TolerantLactose]

I know this guy that reloads shotgun shells and shoots them at birds outside his garage between sets.

But he's a feeble old man so pay him no mind.

[SuicideGripMe]

Some people after a certain age definitely start to feel a little less enthusiastic about the training... the monotony... the slower gains... the fewer girls to impress... the fewer occasions to pop the shirt off.... and just test dropping and the natural desire to try new things.

Here's a realistic plan.

Just do "something" most workouts. I refer to this at maintenance workouts. While you won't "build" strength or muscle, you'll maintain it. Then when your energy and interest spikes... you can get after it and add. The worst thing to do is just do nothing. For a lot of older guys or busy guys or just less motivated, I recommend having something in their back pocket for those times. For me, a few kettlebells at home allows me to bang out these types of workouts. It could be as simple as hitting some front squats, some presses, some cleans for 20-30 minutes, maybe 5 sets of 5 each.

Additionally, you could start to train seasonally. In the winter, train like a powerlifter and eat more, in the spring train like an athlete, in the summer a bodybuilder and in the fall train circuits and complexes. Do tricks to keep you mentally in the game.

Now, if you want to compete in athletics or go on stage... this advice is not recommended. If you want to maximize your potential... then you need to push things. But most people don't want to be the best, they just want to be good. (including me... I want to be strong enough and healthy enough that I don't feel bad about killing a 6 pack or two on the weekend).

[jasonp360]

My experience is that what I eat has a significant impact on how I feel, especially when it comes time to train. You might experiment with some adjustments to your diet to see if it helps. I would just make some small, manageable improvements and see what happens. Give it a solid week to work before you decide whether you want to go further.

Same here
If I don't eat properly all day I feel like I'm dragging my ass around. I have to eat every 2 hours or so from when I wake until I sleep. I can stretch to 3 but at 4h I'm a bear and getting pretty dumb/angry/slow/whatever.
And
I can't eat simple carbs or sugars or "bad stuff" or my sugars totally spike and I feel sluggish. Only healthy stuff for me and complex carbs and I'm a different person.

I think of it this way - if I can take a tiny little pill and feel different, then imagine how much the the mass quantities of all the different foods can have an effect on me too

[jasonp360]

.....I'm trying to find a more suitable career as mine is currently going down the toilet, I've convinced myself that once I do find a better job that because it will improve my mental, that going to the gym will be easier but I'll see if that ends up happening ....

Sorry if I'm overstepping
I lived for a looong time thinking my happiness was 'over there' or "when this happens" or over that next hump.
It's not.
Once you get there now what?

Don't wait man, figure out how to be happy and motivated without the job, or whatever thing you are thinking will make you happy "when xyz" happens.

For me, I was feeling tired ALL the time and thought I was just getting old, but it was unacceptable to me. I complained to my doc and turns out even though I'm a slim healthy looking guy, my blood sugars are whack. Evening out my diet and monitoring my sugar levels all day for a few weeks seeing how different meals affected me changed my life. Not saying that is what you need, you maybe just fine. But for me it was literally life changing. Now I refuse to eat cake, or a donut, or cotton candy, or tons of bread - it just kills me for hours and a belly starts to form. I just can't do it.

Veggies Nuts Seeds Fruits Meats fishes berries whipped cream Fats complex carbs like Sweet potato's whole wheat pasta sprouted bread butter sour cream cottage cheese etc. etc. and I'm golden. I need the slow release or I bounce up and (mostly) down too much.

[JeffStan5432]

I feel worst days If I haven't been active enough on rest days. good cardio days in between gym days keeps the energy levels up for me