I can imagine people having fun getting lost in the flow of playing a competitive sport. I’ve also heard some people experience a post-workout high. But does anyone actually feel pleasure in the moment while lifting weights, jogging, cycling, etc?
If so… what does it feel like? Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?
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Yes. It’s my meditation moment. I don’t have to think about anything other than my posture and movement. I just put on the music I like and go. It also helps relieve tension and frustration when something bad happens during your day. And I feel great afterwards. That post-workout high is real.
This is what it amounts to for me as well. The first 5 min of a run SUCKS, but shortly after I start to zone out. My mind wanders and sometimes it touches on stressful topics. For whatever reason, there’s no anxiety associated with it. It’s like a zen state where I can think about things objectively without emotion.
That’s a big reason why I run.
That’s how I feel with running and cycling. Moving meditation has always worked better for me than trying to sit still.
The first 1km or so can be rough, but that’s just finding where your rhythm is for the session.
I need to get back into running.
Yep. Especially after the training it’s like “yeah man I did it”.
Also, it’s all about consistency. Perfectionism is the enemy of consistency. Don’t be a perfectionist. Just be consistent and soon you’ll see results.
Like I see some people who just started working out and do as many push-ups or any other excercise with as many reps as they possibly can and after they’re exhausted.
That’s wrong. These people think that if you don’t do 100 pushups first day you’re a failure.
No, do even one push up. It’s more that 0. Then do 2, then 5, then 10, then 5 again coz you don’t feel like it today.
Like don’t starve for perfectionism. Just be consistent and you’ll actually get to enjoy working out. It’s a great way to clear your mind, have a healthy body, build muscles, better body chemistry and less diseases etc. Be consistent, not perfect. And avoid guys who make you feel you’re not doing enough. These guys will make you feel like every exercise should be perfect or with the highest reps possible or smth.
You are speaking to my soul. I’m the type of guy that prints out a blank spreadsheet to track my workouts. I’m also the type that doesn’t go to the gym. Lol. I need to just start showing up.
If you can convince yourself to just get there it’s half the battle. That’s what I keep telling myself
I love riding my bike on the weekends and if my commute wasn’t 1.5 hours each way, I’d go to the gym pretty often.
I feel like if you feel like you need to cultivate a mindset for a particular activity, you are probably better off finding another activity. Unless you have extremely specific goals that really demand a particular exercise, it is better to simply be moderately active doing something you enjoy doing.
I’ve tried running/jogging, I am actually not bad at it. I freaking hate actually doing it though, I would rather be doing almost anything else. Which makes it a terrible exercise for me to do, because I will find any excuse to not do it. Same for lifting weights. I enjoy swimming but dislike public pools, in my current country nobody has private pools, even the rich.
For me I have always enjoyed martial arts, particularly sparring. I can’t necessarily find people to do that with regularly where I live now, but I can still practice forms and the like by myself. I get a not insignificant workout from regular Beat Saber sessions too, honestly.
Beat Saber is really good to do some sport. Play it 1 hour every day and you will see improvement in your cardio
I think the mindset aspect that’s true to a degree, where there’s something you just enjoy more easily. There can be something though to not being acclimated to a particular feeling since it isn’t necessarily comfortable initially, but it eventually morphs into something positive and that feeling changes. It doesn’t always happen though, I’d bet, so after some time of no change one would have to find something more naturally fitting for them.
For me it was a process of finding a certain sport that does that for me. Try out as many sports that you can. I hate running. I find cycling ok. I love climbing. Sometimes I like lifting. Music and enough sleep make a huge difference for me, I hate working out when I am tired.
I like the way I feel after a workout. That’s enough motivation for me to do cardio and lift.
I’m a podcast listener, can’t do music… Wish I could but It makes workouts drag for me.
But I absolutely love mt biking. I’m not good or fast, but it’s zen for me.
For me Brazilian jiu Jitsu got me in great shape and the grind of it helped me get into hard workouts too. I don’t enjoy lifting or doing cardio but I love the after reward. Jiu jitsu definitely helped me know I could push past what I thought was a limit.
Working out is about discipline, not pleasure imo. I’m sure there are some folks who really enjoy working out, but for most of the general public, it’s about sticking to a routine and seeing yourself improve, regardless of how it makes you feel
I’ve been lifting about a year, and for me there is a big satisfaction in improvement, especially when I can break through a plateau that I’ve been stuck on.
There are also some lifts that a really enjoy while I’m doing them, whereas others feel more like a chore.
Is there anything the rest of us can do to cultivate such a mindset?
For cardio it’s basically “go slow”. The main source of discomfort is the exertion.
An easy long run with good music is quite meditative and enjoyable.
When your legs hurt and you’re wheezing your lungs out, not so much.Wow, this thread has been really eye opening. As someone who completely hates exercise (I honestly can’t imagine many other things that are more unpleasant), it had never really occurred to me that people exercised because they genuinely enjoyed it. I always just assumed that everyone else hated it and just forced themselves into it.
one lesson life gave me was:
no matter how fundamentally and universally hated you think something is, there’s always some individuals, communities and/or cultures who enjoy said thing.
the same opposition goes for things you assume everyone loves.
it’s amazing how incredibly complex and diverse humans are.
Listen to music and https://youtu.be/j0B7bzP-Gog
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It for sure takes time to reach a point of fitness where exercise feels good. Starting out totally untrained is really tough, and most people don’t stick with it long enough for exercise to feel good.
It’s also helpful to find something you like or think is cool in the first place. Many people fall off the workout grind because they think it’s mandatory for them to suffer through steady state cardio for an hour or insert thing that you in particular don’t like.
For me, powerlifting was the perfect balance of measurable, incremental progress, plus there’s time between sets to get focused for the next one. I literally can’t do steady state cardio without wanting to blow my brains out, but lifting weights and being strong? Yes please. With how I feel outside of the gym because of it? I’m in this shit for life.
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I used to hate lifting. Now I look at it like a meditation, and look forward to it (mostly) every day.
