Why do some people at the gym always look the same?

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  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    For a long time I only worked out to supplement my depression medication. I took a low dose to minimize side effects and the endorphins released from exercise did the rest. It may not have looked like I was getting anywhere but without it, I wouldn't have been able to get out of the bed in the morning.
  • jos05
    jos05 Posts: 263 Member
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    Personally I just stay to myself and concentrate on my own workouts...everyone's fighting their own battles.
  • josavage
    josavage Posts: 472 Member
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    What would those people look like if they didn't go to the gym? You would probably say the same thing about me. I'm in good cardio shape and I'm a weight lifter but unfortunately I eat too much. If I didn't go to the gym, I would look a hell of a lot worse. In the end, I'm there for me and not for the people who think they have a right to judge me.
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
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    sarahlifts wrote: »
    gotolam wrote: »
    Curious to know how many people on this thread will tell the newbies that they shouldn't feel self-conscious in the gym because everyone is too busy concentrating on their own workout to notice them.
    Does not compute.

    If someone is new....how would one notice a trend in weight loss?

    Day in and day out over long periods of time you notice the ppl who are there all the time...you notice if they have lost remained the same or gained.

    She's saying that so many people tell new people "Don't be self-conscious. No one at the gym is looking at you. Just do your thing," when this entire post is about someone coming in to a gym and judging the s*** out of people who are working out. It's hypocritical. "No one is looking at you...except we definitely notice if you've been working out and still look the same."

    I side eye this post so much.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,136 Member
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    sarahlifts wrote: »
    gotolam wrote: »
    Curious to know how many people on this thread will tell the newbies that they shouldn't feel self-conscious in the gym because everyone is too busy concentrating on their own workout to notice them.
    Does not compute.

    If someone is new....how would one notice a trend in weight loss?

    Day in and day out over long periods of time you notice the ppl who are there all the time...you notice if they have lost remained the same or gained.

    It's not about noticing weight loss or whatever. It's about newbies who post here, worried they're going to be judged at the gym, and other posters will say "Oh nobody's looking at you. They're concentrating on their workout." ITT, OP is judging people at his gym.

    I don't think OP is a terrible person. Everyone judges everyone else. Some are better at keeping it to themselves.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    sarahlifts wrote: »
    They have a poor diet. I see the same ppl in the gym every morning not a single pound lost. They put in work and then go home and eat away all their progress.

    I think that is called maintaining, and may be their intent.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I never notice anyone else at the gym. I go daily, but I'm fit fat. I like to exercise, but I like to overeat too. Working on it. At least I can say I'm doing one thing right.
  • chelsy0587
    chelsy0587 Posts: 441 Member
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    I kind of had to wonder this same thing about the Zumba instructor last night, she told us all it was the 1 year anniversary since she started teaching the class. I thought, so maybe this is the smaller her? Not that she was huge but I'd not encountered an overweight fitness instructor. I liked her though, I felt very comfortable with her.

    When I first started at the gym and did the boot camp classes there were women in the class complaining about the program saying it hadn't helped them lose a pound or they had actually gained... So I asked them about their diet, if they did answer it was a very astonished look on their face, like "OMG you mean I have to change my eating to lose weight?" Yeah... I didn't fit in very well with that group...
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    How would you know, OP, that they never changed? Did you follow them for the last few years of their lives? For all you know they were heavier or less fit that you are seeing them presently. Which brings me to the point of, why bother wondering about this stuff? Is it really gonna make a difference in your life?
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I have a friend who's an avid tennis player. He also looks like about 50lb overweight. So, I do worry that he's in line for a heart attack. I know he doesn't play a lot though, which is probably why he's still overweight.

    I don't know what his motivation is, although I do know he's struggled with his weight his whole life and his wife is very fit. So, they must have worked whatever issues there are.

    Not that this answers OP's post.
  • lulucitron
    lulucitron Posts: 366 Member
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    Most often it's diet. I see them all the time at the gym. Look like they work out hard but look the same every day.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    It's been mentioned, but some people train for performance rather than aesthetics.

    It's hard to know what a random and diverse collection of people the OP has seen twice in a year are actually up to. More data would be needed.
  • blue736
    blue736 Posts: 69 Member
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    sarahlifts wrote: »
    They have a poor diet. I see the same ppl in the gym every morning not a single pound lost. They put in work and then go home and eat away all their progress.

    100%
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    Dunno.

    Have you tried asking them rather than random punters on the internet?
  • lulucitron
    lulucitron Posts: 366 Member
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    jimmmer wrote: »
    It's been mentioned, but some people train for performance rather than aesthetics.

    It's hard to know what a random and diverse collection of people the OP has seen twice in a year are actually up to. More data would be needed.

    Very true Jim!
  • lulucitron
    lulucitron Posts: 366 Member
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    I stand corrected. As Jim pointed out, all the facts weren't given and some people have different reasons for going to the gym which might not be aesthetic.
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
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    "My self-improvement is better than their self-improvement." That's what I get out of the OP.
  • rockinrodders123
    rockinrodders123 Posts: 22 Member
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    I know guys at work that go to the gym every day. They are not looking to lose weight or get big. But they do drink heavily and smoke so want to couterbalance these things as best they can. I suppose this helps them 'maintain'

    And there are plenty of guys in the gym who have not progressed in years, but then they do very little work but a lot of texting and playing on their phones whilst hogging the equipment or they spend most of the session looking in the mirror at their chicken legged frames with pumped biceps. And that's just the trainers!
  • thatredheadedBAMF
    thatredheadedBAMF Posts: 25 Member
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    SuggaD wrote: »
    I wonder the same thing sometimes. Or they gain weight while working out everyday.

    Maybe they are on medication that causes weight gain (most psychiatric medications, corticosteroids, birth control) or have a medical condition. It's really none of your *kitten* business.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    edited June 2015
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    ClubSilencio wrote: »
    I went to my old gym that I hadn't been to in over a year and a lot of the regulars are still there and look the same. Now I know you're not supposed to think these thoughts and you are a very terrible person if you do but I am just curious to find out the science of why this happens? I don't wanna hit that wall when my time comes.

    Can diet and genetics really offset all those hours spent in the gym?

    I'm assuming you're talking about people who work hard, but really don't look like they're in shape...A lot of people have the exercise/fitness part down, but not the diet. You can't out-exercise a crap diet.

    Beyond that, if they look pretty fit but they're not changing...getting bigger, etc...probably because they are just maintaining their fitness...not a whole lot is going to change.

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