Asklemmy

Yeah, but no.

I've been lifting weights daily since I was 15, and I'm 33 now. I enjoy it in that it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something more than I would be if I just sat on my ass at home. It feels good to push yourself physically and 'feel the burn' and work up a sweat. Humans were meant to use their bodies and if you don't there's a very good chance that that is the reason you feel like shit all the time.

But also no because I find weight training to be exceptionally boring. This is easily mitigated though because once you have the flow of your workout solidly built into your head, it's simple enough that you can turn your brain off and focus on the podcast you're listening to. 30-50 minutes will pass by in a flash.

I still have days where I dread my workout, and I have to really push myself to complete them. Generally, if I go straight home from work and sit on my couch, I will not get back up.

for me, yes, when cycling. its a form of meditation to me and you can always back off if it gets too hard or exhausting. im working on my climbing now which is definitly challenging me but its also good for building that mental fortitude of 'head down, just peddle dont think'. its done wonders for me mentally, as well as physically

Pleasure for me comes from achievement. The time I first ran 5k in under 30 minutes, or the first time I deadlifted more than my own bodyweight. Achieving these things gives you that nice feeling. Yeah, there are people who can run faster or lift heavier, but I try and concentrate on my progress - doesn't always work but I know deep down I'm getting better at the things I choose to do.

I cycle for adventure and experience, it's also why I prefer gravel and offroad cycling to road. That gravel crunch in the forest, smell of the trees, sound of birds and absolutely no traffic is pure bliss. Ok sure there is some suffering during climbs, but the feeling of accomplishment when you finally get on top and the descent that follow are worth it.

I join one gravel competition a year, but I go for the event, not to actually compete. I like riding with one friend, on paths where we can ride side by side and chat, and I don't see a point in group road rides where you just stare at the butt of the rider in front of you the entire ride.

In general I experience joy the entire bike ride, it's like my therapy, a couple of hours without a phone, outside, just me and silence. I guess the fitness that comes with it is good too.

No. It's always a pain the ass. I love how it makes me feel though.

I'm at a point where sometimes I don't want to go lift, but it's part of my routine that if I don't go I feel like shit. a chore to go, change and warm up but 20min in I just fall in the zone

Depends on the exercise. My favorites are heavy squat and deadlifts. It's just a good feeling increasing the weight every week and hitting new maxes while getting stronger.

I suck at bench so I'm never looking forward to that, but I've set goals to hit by the end of the year so I'm sticking to it.

Honestly now, I feel terrible when I don't workout and it really affects my mental state.

I love lifting weight. I squat three to four times a week and I love going heavy. I also love bench and deadlifts also. Seeing my body get stronger is also rewarding, and just being physically capable is a great bonus. Helps counter act my sitting!

I hate it during the workout but I love the feeling after. Problem for me is getting started

I do enjoy lifting weights but I can tell it's because I've been sitting at a desk all day. I think I'd hate it if I had any other job.

Gods! I used to! I had to stop the kinds of exercise I loved post disability, and the fucking physical therapy shit I can still do isn't enjoyable, it's just so damn dull and doesn't give the same feeling of satisfaction, despite hurting so much more.

But I would work out up to three hours a day when I had time. Calisthenics, strength training, martial arts (unarmed, plus various weapons), break falls and air rolls (an offshoot of the martial arts).

It was fun, and I could feel the benefits of it, and I miss the ability to tell my body what to do, and it just does it.

But yeah, I not only enjoyed the workout itself, and the benefits, but I even enjoyed the ache and burn of it. It was fulfilling on so many levels.

I did cross fit for a few years and actually got in shape. I genuinely enjoyed working once I got in shape. You almost get addicted to the feeling if your heart rate being maxed out while sweating buckets.

Having had both great and terrible work out days, I found what led to the good, enjoyable days was purely the mindset. HIIT on a stationary bike sucks, but I had some fun sessions when I turned it into a game. Weight lifting routines can be super boring, but changing from rep based to time based and seeing if you can crank out a few more reps without sacrificing form can make it fun.

It takes a lot to get into that mindset for me, but it's possible and it makes a world of difference. Gamification of any task can introduce a challenge and give oneself a better purpose in the moment.

When I'm running, yes I do. When I'm doing any other form of exercise? Not really.

But I really love feeling fit

Yeah, it's very relaxing stress release. I spend a lot of my day looking forward to my lifting between 10-11pm and thinking about what accessory work I'll be able to get to do after my main lifts.

You can listen to podcasts, nobody is coming to ask you to do something and demand your attention, there's no other chores to do during that hour.

It's addicting too, feeds the same itch from video games leveling up, grinding in Diablo for that piece of loot that raises one stat by like 2% you get hungry for those little boosts and they stack up over time and you keep trying to optimize your loadout so you can squeeze out a little more performance from the build, same thing with lifting and trying to keep pushing to the next increase.

I walked on the treadmill today. It was nice. No pressure to go fast or do any prescribed workout. I put in my earbuds, had a video playing off to the side, and went at my own speed. First time I’d done that kind of thing in a long while, and it was nice. Got a whole mile in. I don’t know if that’s the appeal exercising has for everyone else, but that’s it for me.

Started hitting the gym for about 4 months now, what has helped me a lot is getting a personal trainer, he helps me push past the last 5%, and it gives me someone to talk to between reps. And while I don't necessarily get pleasure in the moment while lifting weights, I do get it afterwards, when feeling my muscles burn. And it does wonders for my energy levels and my general mood.

I also started running a month ago, I promised someone I will participate in a 10k in October with them. This is definitely more on the "existence is pain" side, but while doing it I try to focus more on my form and breathing, and less on how it makes me feel.

Yeah sometimes. I know that even if I did nothing in a day, if I go work out I feel like I did something.

It also feels good to get a personal record on a machine or at an exercise.

It also feels great to get a good pump in.

After a workout you feel satisfied and tired and it's great!

Also seeing your strength and stamina go up in everyday tasks is satisfying.

My advice is start slow. Even if it's a light day and you're kind of miserable, you still feel good about getting it done. Try to convince yourself to go for a week, and go easy, very easy. Like just get any amount of exercise done. It'll become easier and easier to go to the gym and to do exercises. And you'll find that you'll start to like some of them.

You might like how it stretches a muscle or tendon that is always a little tight. Back extensions feel AMAZING

You might like how strong certain exercises feel

You might like how the extra muscle alleviates pains you've had in the past

You might like how much definition a certain exercise gives you.

You might even just become proud of how good you can do an exercise. I used to have that. "Yeah I'm not bad at working out, but crunches? I'll beat anyone"

it's fun sometimes to bring a friend along and compete a little as well. You can also motivate each other to keep going.

It's kind of hard to describe really

It's like you're lost in the movements, you're caught in the flow, the strain is no longer a struggle, you just flow, you move and it moves.

Your reps go on, your sets flow together, the down time ceases being a factor, you're there.

The presence of mind and body, you are there, you are now, you move.

Numbers mean nothing but you know when the reps are done, the exercises flow together.

Someone could call your name and you wouldn't know it as it's not in your mind.

There's only the movement, there's only the flow.

There is no you, there is no weights, there is no other, there is only movement and flow.

And when it's over you know it, yet feel like you could go a second time through the whole affair. And sometimes I do and then I feel Godly for the whole day and sometimes the next.

And the sleep quality that night is beyond description.

I've hit that state many times doing calisthenics (my typical workout), when out biking, and when out hiking. It's always the same really.

Hour long calisthenics routine? What's a second hour really?

20 mile bike ride? I could go another round, why not snag some dinner from that food cart I got lunch at?

15 mile hike? Well tonight's going to be even better with all the stars, what's a second trip around the mountain?

You don't get there immediately, you won't get there every time, but when you do it's bliss.

These people addicted to running tho... 👀

IDK how they do it. I hate running. I have had extended periods in my life where I exercised 6 times a week, but I never enjoyed it.

I go to the gym 6 days a week if I can and the term we use is "Secondary fun"

It is fun to think about doing it, it feels great once you're finished and your heart rate drops back down. But it sucks mid workout.

I definitely do. My dumb-dumb brain doesn't really get the whole neurotransmitter thing, but as stingy as it is with dopamine and nor-adrenaline, as generous it is with endorphins. Oh, you're 5 minutes into your cardio warm-up of your hour long work-out? Enjoy this heap of endorphins for the next 2 hours. I feel good, it's extremely meditative because thoughts are just on pause, I love getting stronger and more in shape, and I always go in the sauna at the end of my work-out which is a huge motivator before going and makes it all even better at the end. I always walk out of the gym completely zen and satisfied.

If you don't get such an easy endorphin rush, I don't know what to do. I can imagine it would suck in that case.

Yes, I now love taking exercise in most ways but I came to it quite late. Today for instance, as training for a sprint triathlon I've decided to to, I ran to the swimming pool, swam the required distance and then ran back. It felt great to be able to do it. Some bits of my body were sore but not in a bad way, just a reflection of the fact that I worked hard and accomplished something if not done before, it feels great.

For me there is no greater endorphin rush than listening to some really good bassey music and really pushing myself on a cardio machine

Rum & bass + rowing machine really got the adrenaline going for me, was actually comparable to being high for a period of time

Lifting weights is different but feels very good to see yourself in the mirror lifting something heavier than you've ever done before and you get addicted to chasing that feeling

I think part of the mindset is getting yourself to embrace the physical punishment and actively seek it out, couldn't tell you exactly how to do that but for me a lot of the time knowing it's going to be difficult will get me more excited now

I climb , so it’s fun and not really a chore at all. If anything I’m disappointed when my skin gives out and I have to give it a break.

I always dread doing it but once I've started and after I've finished yes

Yes, of course. But if you don't enjoy it, you don't have to do it, or don't have to do it at the level you're attempting. There are 1000 ways to be fit and healthy, you don't have to pick 2 and do them forever. Experiment.

Yeah for sure. Somedays no, but once you make it part of your routine it gets alot easier to enjoy. I usually listen to podcasts or music to keep my mind more active though and that helps alot, because then you are not thinking solely of the physical exertion on my body.

Yes! I love it. It's almost a meditative experience for me, kind of like when you're in the shower alone with your thoughts. Also, since I've been regularly working out for a couple of years now, I'm at a point where if I don't work out, then I start feeling like shit.

Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?

Idk, but I definitely did not like it at the start. I just sucked it up and pushed through, making sure I did it on a regular basis. Eventually, it stopped feeling like a chore and started feeling like a part of my routine, like brushing my teeth in the morning or showering in the evening.

It's delayed gratification.

I hate working out. It feels like shit. It hurts. It takes time. It's not fun.

But this is so much better than looking like shit.

I'm weight deficient for a man. Had to deal with a lot of comments from not being a real man to bring viewed like a cartoon character to some women.

Every time I want to stop a set early or not workout that night, I hear all the haters and I run back to my routine.

I do it for them. And it works.

I am in a gym at this very moment. No I do not.

Do I enjoy my workout? Fuck no! I do it because I want to keep my body in shape and healthy. But I do experience some pleasure. During my warmup jog, I hate myself for putting myself through this, but later when I'm lifting weights, I feel like I'm somehow doing something good by lifting something so heavy. And afterwards, I feel very elated, free and awake. So it's a net positive even if the process is near torture sometimes.

I do genuinely enjoy cycling yeah, at least if it's outside. In general though I hate working out (and don't do it nearly enough as a result), but I do actually like the feeling afterwards

YES.

And it seems I'm in the minority as well. I enjoy my workout during, but I think it's mostly psychological. This is doing either weights or cardio. For weights, the pump is key, and addictive, which is not specifically psychological.

I think the psychological part has something to do with the accomplishment of getting the workout in, and looking forward to the feeling or "high" afterwards which is noticeable to me.

Also regular workouts make me feel better generally throughout the week, on a regular basis. Very noticeable if I stop for weeks at a time, and I miss it.

I do. Something in my monkey brain just likes lifting heavy shit.