The Gym

I totally get where you're coming from! Going back to the gym can be nerve-wracking, but kudos to you for taking that step.

Don’t know about cutting of my limbs, but I almost had to sell a few, to pay my way out of that membership..

DeSpereaux said:

They required a written notice of dismembership

You had to cut off your limbs to get out of going to the gym  That's extreme 

I remember going to David Lloyds, it was expensive, but the kicker was trying to leave. They required a written notice of dismembership, via a certain email, long story short it took me three months of additional payments to leave..

I've been going to the gym regularly for 13 years but I'm having to cancel my gym membership unfortunately. I just can't justify the price any more, when my energy bills have tripled. I'm planning to go for more walks instead. I know I'll lose muscle mass but since January my personal circumstances and burnout mean I haven't been going enough anyway, so I can't justify the cost.

The gym used to be a refuge for me where I could switch off my brain, and I liked the physical feeling of lifting weights and the sore muscles afterwards and the runner's high. But lately it felt like a chore to go, and when I did go, I was getting too overwhelmed by people being too noisy and wearing too much perfume, and they renovated the gym and now the lights are too bright... seems silly, but I just don't like going any more.

And that's on top of various personal problems: illness in January, stress and burnout from work, depression, and my noisy neighbour problem becoming worse, which means I'm sleep-deprived most of the time and turning to drink to cope.

If I can finally manage to move house (which seems to be the most difficult thing I've ever attempted), I might buy some weights and a bench and a squat rack for the garage.

I've joined a gym for the first time in over a decade, then the very next day I got COVID and have had to stay at home!

As others said I really enjoy the repetition and the programming/planning although I tend to be a little too focused on the detail sometimes rather than just go and enjoy myself. I did have a squat rack, weights and a few other bits in the garage but my powerlifting obsession turned into a woodworking obsession so now the garage is a workshop as it was easier to find a separate gym to go to than finding a separate workshop space.

amazing WAs 77831 to have dragged this up from ages ago!. Is it a guilt action??

I haven't been to the gym for a long time because of covid-19 either. I led a healthy lifestyle and used to exercise several times a week. I am an ectomorph so gaining muscle mass is quite difficult for me. My friend told me that you can buy natural supplements to help you gain mass. On his recommendation, I bought them here reaperlabz.net, and I did it for a reason. For several months I've been actively exercising and taking supplements. Finally, my shoulders are broad, and I look the way I always wanted.

I have to add that, the divergent neurochemistry I have includes zero endorphin production from physical exertion, so no high for me. It is hard to be physically active when exertion just has negative effects on mood, unfortunately.

[spam deleted]

I think a lot of autistic people are bad at team sports, but there are autistic personality traits (perseverance, enjoyment of routine) that can make us quite well suited to individual endurance sports. 

E.g. I could never keep track of what's happening in school football/netball but now I enjoy running and rowing. Cardio also helps a lot with mood regulation and sleep.

I recommend getting a running/fitness watch. It really helps motivate you because you can look at all the stats and see how your fitness is improving. And you can link it to Strava, which is fun. 

ah food is probably where i fail at as i tend to ignore that part, but i noticed eating my mums big foods which are probably more nutritious, is actually worse for my waist line than eating the usual processed bad food that i pick myself.

[spam removed by mod]

I have not set foot in anywhere resembling a gym since I left school. It would bring back to many memories of being forced to play team games that I had no ability at whatsoever - zero interest and a lamentable lack of co-ordination. I was a good swimmer - completed the 1 mile swim when 11 - but had no other gym-related abilities. Also, it would remind me too forcefully of the towel flickers and the moronic bastards who boot footballs at you as hard as possible from two yards away.

Tracking activities helps us stay accountable and accountable.

ah i dont have the space too but it fits. i live in my parents attic conversion with slanted small roof with barely any head space even. i have my weights to the side of the wall and a space where i lift that that is only just big enough for me to lie down on, not that i lie down or bother to add chest presses or anything to it, mainly bicep curls, shoulder press, lateral raise and front raise and hammer curls mainly.

I don't have the space for it, where I live is so tiny. After I move house it would be great if I have a garage or somewhere that I could put a bench and some weights.

I hate the gym as a place because it's extremely over-stimulating - noisy, music blaring, people shouting, people throwing weights to the ground as hard as they can for some reason (does not make you manly, just put it down properly), and people wearing far too much perfume. I hate the changing room most of all. I can't bear to be in there because of everybody spraying deodorant.

But I do enjoy the physical aspect of going to the gym. It feels good to do exercise and I like shutting off my brain and just being in my own world.

I think if I had a home gym then the only thing I would miss would be seeing fit women in their skimpy outfits haha. It does seem to allow me to lift harder, might be a testosterone boost from seeing an attractive woman.

buy weights, workout at home... much cheaper... i never understand why people pay like hundreds a month on recurring gym membership to use communal weights that you have to wait for and have to put up with others in the gym and have to do it when you go, when you instead can buy dumbells for £20 and a bar bell set for another £40 and then thats all for price and you can use them at home whenever you want, more than the gym, less than the gym, spaced out over the entire day to meet your needs or laziness rather than being forced to only use them all at once when you go out to a gym. gyms dont make sense to me, they are illogical when you can buy weights cheaper than membership and have greater use of them and more flexible time with them all without the anxiety of going to a place full of egocentric people that you know will be constantly judging each other.

Tracking activities helps us stay accountable and accountable. Without a fitness tracker, it's easy to slip into "food mode" or simply ignore the action of choosing healthy food. Tracking takes the guesswork out of cooking and grocery shopping so you can enjoy more delicious meals! Healthy food does more than save your wallet from carbon costs: it keeps you feeling full for longer, which makes it easier to reach your daily requirements for fat loss, energy overloading, or general fitness bliss.