I am beyond burnt out from weight lifting and most resistance training

gpanda103

I have experimented with many routines, and I often find the most success when I am in the gym less. But even now, where I just do a full body routine 3x a week, as soon as I pick up a weight... I just want to go home. Don't get me wrong, I still love doing my cardio and whatever, but resistance training now is just way too unengaging for me. Is anyone else in the same boat?

Lietchi

I'm afraid it's much the same for me. I run because I want to. I strength train because I 'should' and because it fits with my goals, but honestly it's not something I particularly enjoy.

What helps for me is to regularly switch up my routine, doing the same routine for more than a few weeks and my motivation drops even more.
It's not a perfect solution, I'm still trying to find a better way to motivate myself, but it's a small trick in the meantime.

DancingMoosie

Try something else? Boot camp classes, YouTube videos?

cwolfman13

It's not my favorite thing in the world...I'd much rather be on my bike or hiking or MTB, but it is a necessary "evil". I'm going on 48 and I want to maintain my physical competence as I age and minimize muscle loss. I basically follow the minimum guidelines of most health bodies of full body resistance training at least 2x per week. I sometimes do 3x, but 2x is more the norm for myself. I'm usually in and out in 35-40 minutes, so I can suck it up for that long.

AnnPT77

I don't enjoy it, so I mostly don't do it, but I can't and don't recommend that to anyone else. I'm being dumb.

I lift a little in the Winter, usually, after the C2 Holiday Challenge, until I get fed up with it and stop. Occasionally I'll work up to a brief bout doing it regularly at some other time during the year.

The cardio I do is on the slightly strength-y-er side, so I'm fairly strong for my demographic (which may not be saying much), but I would be much better off if I lifted regularly, no question.

I'm dumb enough not to do the right thing, but not duplicitous or deluded enough to pretend to myself that it's a good plan. (I roll my eyes at people who say cardio isn't important as long as one lifts; I'd be a hypocrite if I did the reverse. Doing both is the smart answer, no question. Don't want to do one or the other, to the point of not being able to talk oneself into it? Don't do it. But don't have delusions, y'know? 🙄🤷‍♀️)

ninerbuff

There are other things you can do that are more fun than traditional weight lifting if strength is needed. Gymnastics, rock climbing, jui jitsu classes, wrestling, etc. Resistance training just doesn't have to be weight training.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

TeacupK

See if you can find an aerial class in your neighbourhood. Fun and fantastic for strength training.

sarazintom

I am 68 and have learned that I can't always do what I want to do and that sometimes I have to do things that I don't want to. I lift M/W/F As a circuit, I do squats, bent-over rows, military press, deadlift, pull downs, press downs and bench. 3x10 each station. I'd by lying if I said it were a giggle. Seasonal allergies often find me not really in the mood to lift and it's easy to come up with excuses not to, but I tell myself to just DO IT and get it done. Twenty minutes later, I'm in the shower.

Countandsubtract

You could look into how long it will take for your strength to decrease and see if it's worth it to take a break or just switch to doing the couple of ones you do care about.
Have you increased the difficulty/weight recently?
What are your goals with resistance training? If it doesn't have a purpose, I'd get burnt out too.

sijomial

Different people have different levels of being able to train doing something they don't actually enjoy.
Mine's quite high (with modest sporting ability I had to train hard to be competitive), my son's level is zero but he is a gifted sportsman and can be competitive just by turning up.
When I was his rugby coach I realised he would never just go for a run or go to the gym so encouraged him to play multi sports instead.

I'm lucky I've always enjoyed strength training (for many decades!) but also enjoy variety within that umbrella. A simple 5x5 routine would be soul-destroying to me. The only time I fell out of love with it was during six months of desperately dull and repetitive rehab and I simply had to find an alternative sport/exercise.

What you are feeling for strength training I used to feel for running, I could force myself to run to boost my fitness for a limited time but hated it and ultimately was much better off finding a different way to achieve my goal.

littlegreenparrot1

I don't like it much and have mostly avoided it. Quite dull in my opinion and even if I do try I tend to mooch about and not be very effective.

I'm 43 this year and decided I really did need to do better for the sake of future resilience. I attend two classes a week, one body weight and one that involves lifting. Its not perfect but is much better than the nothing I was doing before. A class at least means that I am doing proper stuff for an hour, and the music/momentum of it helps make it less dull.

Xellercin

I don't lift heavy weights and I maintain good strength and muscle mass. You don't need to push your muscles ultra hard to stay healthy. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it.

Weight bearing exercise comes in many, many forms. There's absolutely no need to lift really heavy weights.

xxzenabxx

I’m going through the same thing…just sick and tired of seeing all the female fitness girls on instagram pushing heavy lifting on to everyone. It just seems like a new craze. I honestly don’t enjoy lifting weights anymore but it does benefit my body. Sad times. I’m just aiming for 1 weights session a week and one Pilates session. Let’s see what happens.

Xellercin

xxzenabxx wrote: »

I’m going through the same thing…just sick and tired of seeing all the female fitness girls on instagram pushing heavy lifting on to everyone. It just seems like a new craze. I honestly don’t enjoy lifting weights anymore but it does benefit my body. Sad times. I’m just aiming for 1 weights session a week and one Pilates session. Let’s see what happens.

I think it's been pretty well researched that perusing fitspo on social media is absolutely terrible for people's mental health.

I just don't consider instagram a good source of literally any health info. That's not to say that there isn't good info on there, but there's so much bad info that it's not a good *source*.

A lot of people then say they like it for motivation, except that I question how healthy it is to be motivated by unrealistic standards?

Research has shown pretty consistently that one of the best, most reliable motivators for consistent exercise is to just focus on how your body feels *after* exercising.

This allows people to focus on the kind of exercise their bodies respond best to, and to look forward to it because they know they will feel great afterwards.

I personally feel absolutely awful after running, but feel awesome after Pilates. So I do Pilates. I tried both, listened to my body, and look forward to my exercises because they make me feel great.

This tends to build a far more resilient basis for motivation that is less subject to ebbs and flows.

TLDR: I don't think instagram is a good source for health information or motivation.

BrianSharpe

If I had to go to the gym to do my strength training I probably wouldn't ever go (I can't stand gyms) but I'm one of the lucky ones that has room at home for my pain cave and follow an age adjusted version of Stronglifts with a few accessory lifts added. I'm 66 and have reached the use it or lose it stage and don't want to be one of those decrepit old men who can barely walk by the time they're 70 (I want to still be doing triathlons at 100, I might make the podium that way)

nossmf

I'll buck the trend of the rest of this thread by saying I LOVE lifting still, after 13 years I enjoy it even more than when I began. As mentioned by @Xellercin, the fact my joints feel worlds better after a week of lifting compared to a week off is also huge. But I will admit that if I did the exact same routine day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out, I'd likely be losing motivation. Which is why I am constantly changing things up. The experts will tell me that my progress is stunted compared to what I could achieve through greater consistency, but with literally hundreds of variants to explore in the weight room, why not explore? For years, I would change up my routine every 3-6 months, while now I have different routines for each week. Still a push/pull/legs split, but this week's push routine is different from next week's. Variety is the spice of life, and of the weight room.

Also as mentioned by @ninerbuff, you don't need traditional weight lifting to get stronger. Pilates, even yoga can increase strength. I vividly remember how exhausted my legs used to get after an hour of aikido, constantly picking myself up off the mat, lol.

GwynLeder

I agree with a lot of you. What I have started doing is exercise along with You tube videos twice a week, weights twice a week and swimming twice a week. I am going to start walking our dog along with my husband

meb2490

I too love doing my cardio. I play tennis and do step youtube videos. I canceled my gym membership when the pandemic hit. I've been diagnosed with osteoporosis since then. Mind you I had been taking 2 strength classes a week for 20 years. I thought that would prevent osteoporosis but it didn't. I can't do strength training alone for some reason. It's so damn boring. I took strength classes at the gym that make it much less boring. I love an instructor that talks through the whole class. Tell me a story. Tell me a joke. Anything to get my mind off what I'm doing. I love youtube for cardio but I have such a hard time with strength. I plan on joining the gym when Autum rolls around just for strength classes.