Crying in the gym!

MenaMena

The strangest thing happened to me today while I was working out. I have been lifting and working to lift heavier, pushing myself to improve. I get to the end of a set and suddenly burst into tears. I wasn't hurt or in any real pain per se, but there I was crying uncontrollably. Thankfully, there was no one around to witness, but the question of am I losing it, am I being 'girly' or over emotional persisted. I considered posting the question but fear of being thought a wuss persisted, so I did an online search and found this: http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/10/02/exercise-might-make-you-cry-in-a-good-way/

So, I feel better knowing that I am at least within the boundaries of normal and thought I would share anyway just in case there is some other crying soul out there.

Push and cry, whatever it takes!

beach_chelle

There have been times at the end of really intense work outs where I just want to cry (but I am a very easy crier). I think it is in part due to all the hormones you are realsing, not just from the current work out, but also that might be stored in those fat cells your body is using for fuel. I say go on and cry woman! Crying isn't just from sadness, you are feeling joyful from overcoming something that you have set your mind to overcome.
keep it up and I know you will make it to where you are going :flowerforyou:

scapez

There have been times where I've felt emotional doing Zumba...never cried, but felt seriously silly! The best reasoning I could come up with is that I was SO happy doing something I loved and that translated into a tangible emotional feeling.

RaeLB

good for you! for pushing yourself, for the cry & for the post :flowerforyou:

Valkyriewoman

Only my opinion... I think pushing our bodies with heavy weights causes all sort of chemicals to let loose out of our muscles and race around our bodies. An emotional reaction to all those chemicals probably isn't uncommon. There are days with my trainer I want to cry!

Jennyisbusy

Did you feel better afterwards?

revren10

most likely releasing trapped up emotion, nothing wrong with a good cry though its perfectly healthy. so i say cry away :sad:

dedication6

I often tear up to On Star commericals on the radio (I think this stems from being hit by a car when I was 5, but never being in an actual accident, and the thought of being in an accident scares the hell out of me). That should make you feel even better.

I'd rather cry from working out!

michael300891

Night before the gym session I was in the Amphitheatre (Roman Remains) in the village where I live kicking about a football for about three-four hours in this small area with couple of my mates.

Next day in gym im having a good session then Red Dragon announce that their £10000 mystery box has been found in the morning: Located in the amphitheatre in one of the underground tunnels where the ball ALWAYS GOES but didnt this one time... And I was sitting ontop of it for about an hour...

Walked out of the gym, went to toilet and raged a tear of frustration. My most unmanly moment in my life =D

nevancil

Keep up the hard work and tears are cleansing!

hiker282

Ever watched The Biggest Losers. Fat people always cry when they hit that gym. It's just a fact when you push your body beyond it's limits.

beckylawrence70

I think you may have just felt emotional about what you are doing and I think it was a good thing!

JanetLM73

That happen to me at the start of my weight loss journey. I did 60 minutes of cardio for the 1st time and I cried when I was done because I never thought I could push myself like that.

hongruss

Well done fella, that must be the most "mannish" of questions! No wonder women say we don't understand

I say great job for pushing so hard that your body released pent up emotion & stress

Russ

Elisirmon

Crying is a way that the body releases stress so if you were putting your body thru intense physical stress it can cause you to cry also you might be in the right time of cycle to occasionally conbust with tears...

maritenour

Usually whenever I finish my Shred it with weights DVD with Jillian michaels, I cry a little... Something just kind of takes over my body and It lasts like..*whimper*laugh*yay* and its over hahah.

Alicia_Monique

I cried like a baby the first time I did HIIT on the elleptical. I was dripping sweat, spit was like coming out of my mouth, and I was crying. The guys on the treadmill probably thought I was ****ing insane.

KidP

I took a stage movement course for theatre when i was in university. The instructor had us do a really difficult & intense series of movements very slowly for 1 hour straight (it was killer hard). She warned us in advance that often people would cry, sometimes intensely, as the body stores up tension from emotion, etc and this tension gets released through intense physical pain/activity. I personally didn't cry (i yelled a lot in pain), but a lot of folks in the room were bawling. It seemed perfectly natural given what was happening at the time.

jackpotclown

Yeah nothing wrong with it at all, it happens to the best of us, but I'd be more curious as to why you did too....some are for joy, some feeling ashamed that they couldn't do more, etc

darlilama

Everybody is a bit different, but I do not think it's highly unusual for people to cry after ANY intense impact to their body. It may be in part your personal reaction to endorphins! I remember when I started doing yoga a lot of people told me they felt very emotional and would cry sometimes after yoga. I just always feel very relaxed and quiet afterwards.

GOOD FOR YOU… for the workout, for the cry, for posting!!! Keep it up lady!

moushtie

I remember one time I did a really hard work out after I'd been depressed for a while. As I was winding down at the end, I cried a small amount, thankfully nobody could see. But then I walked out to the change rooms to hide before anyone noticed... bumped into my favourite gym instructor, who then asked me what was wrong. Cue the floodgates, for several minutes... I know this had very little to dowith the actual workout, and more to do with pent up emotions. My theory is the exercise had tired me out so much I was unable to keep my defences up any longer. In the long run it was probably a good thing.

In the same sort of period of my life, I was going to pilates, and at the end we would do a relaxation. I could never relax, and quite often ended up in a bit of a panic attack instead. Talk about mind and body being connected..

In both of these situations, it wasn't about what I was feeling about the exercise that day, more pent-up emotions that had gone unattended for so long they were leaking out the seams. Still was better to feel them than to keep them locked up!

nutandbutter

After my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer and told he had 3-6 months to live, I would cry every time I ran. I could ignore the situation and push down all of my feelings any other time. I always had to face the truth when I ran though.

sjtreely

I spent the three weeks prior to my full marathon at the hospital helping my father die. We buried him then I headed to packet pick-up two hours away. I literally picked up my packet in my suit (Although I did change my shoes ... so yes, black suit and tennis shoes. I didn't want to walk around Chicago in 4 inch heels.)

So, the day after I buried the only man to truly love me unconditionally, I ran 26.2 miles. I got through 24 without tears. The last two miles were just more than I imagined they would be. I sooo wanted to show him my medal. It was kind of our thing ... I'd do a half marathon, then swing by his house and show him my medal.

Crying ... pffft ... bring it on. It helps. Hell, I'm crying now ....

Off to get Kleenex.

Keladry

I used to cry all the time when exercising (at home, thankfully) but I was also depressed so not sure if that counts. It wasn't a happy/proud crying anyway. I also cried once during a massage, and that was a release of tension kind of crying.

raevynn

Endorphins also cause me to cry.

It has nothing to do with "how you are feeling"... it is a physical reaction to the release of endorphins into the system. A reflex.

I will cry from happiness (happy endorphins), I sometimes cry from orgasm, and I will occasionally cry from anxiety (some other brain chemistry chemical reaction... can't think of the name... um, adrenalin? yeah, I think that's it). It's a reflex, not a reflection of your emotional "state"

Here's to many happy tears! :drinker:

lmalaschak

My questoin is, "why" did you cry? You never said why... Were you happy, or disappointed?

If you are a girl, you do not always know why you are crying. Sometimes you do not even know you are going to do it. It may sound odd to a man, but for a girl crying does not always flow from an emotion that you are aware of. It just starts. We're made that way. Sorry...

Oo_BrookeNicole_oO

My questoin is, "why" did you cry? You never said why... Were you happy, or disappointed?

One valuable bit of information about girls: sometimes we just don't know why we cry! Haha I know it sounds odd, but it happens.

I agree that the hormones released from your workout probably triggered it. I wouldn't stress about it.

SMarie10

After I'd been going to the gym for about a year, I was caught off guard by a woman who came up and complimented me on how I looked and told me she thought I was doing such a great job and to keep it up. I didn't even know her and had never spoken to her at all, so it was really out of the blue. As I continued my workout, I just started crying with emotions, tried to block it out, but finally gave up and went to the locker room. I guess it was a NSV, but truly shook me up and made me happy I was being noticed. It's funny, because most of the time I feel invisible in the gym, and none of the younger patrons even look my way. That day, I felt I was on a stage.

ishallnotwant

This is a really neat topic. I was out doing day 3 of my first week of c25k today and I was running one of the intervals and I just started feeling so emotional...like 'wow i'm actually doing this and keeping up with it' and right afterwards a lady walked by pushing a gentleman in a wheelchair. You could tell his legs were severely crippled, and the lady herself was even leaning to the side and limping and she pushed the wheelchair uphill. I just felt a wave of grateful emotion come over me that my body is healthy, and functions well. I'm so thankful.

jenncaroon

I have run 7 marathons and have spent a portion of the last couple miles crying in each of those races. Part of it is the emotion involved in accomplishment. If you are accomplishing things in the gym you never imagined possible, this is a very appropriate response. So work away and cry away! Be proud!

iKristine

Not a damn thing wrong with that. Not one damn thing.

I cried the first time I could do spin without problem. Just a tear, not a flood. But this is an emotional journey. You push your limits in a very intimate way. No one wants this as much as you do!

Not a damn thing wrong.