THERE'S NO CRYING IN FITNESS!

NoeHead
NoeHead Posts: 516 Member
in Motivation and Support
Yesterday I had a little bit of a mini breakdown. I went to spin and pilates as I usually do. In both classes I kept telling myself to push harder and I couldn't. I didn't burn as many calories according to my HRM, and I didn't feel like I improved over the past couple of weeks. I came home that night and in the middle of my husband and I eating dinner while I was explaining how tired I felt I started to cry. I don't usually just start crying while talking(while eating dinner especially) so all my husband could do is offer to cuddle later.

In hindsight it was a pretty funny scene because I'm still sweaty, and in the middle of eating a messy grilled steak quesadilla I started to cry with my mouth full. Then while trying to wipe my tears I got Greek yogurt on my forehead. My husband told me this morning he was trying so hard not to laugh because I looked like a wiped out kid with a swollen red nose from the crying and food all over my face.

Poor guy didn't know what to do and honestly neither did I. I feel better now but have any of you experienced this? I just felt sooo tired and with all my efforts there didn't seem to be any improvement(not weight wise, but actual performance in spin and pilates). I feel a little silly about how last night went, but even my husband said sometimes I just need to cry it out.

I'm not the only one that's done this right?

Replies

  • kellehbeans
    kellehbeans Posts: 838 Member
    Are you getting enough sleep and rest? I find that if I don't, I find it hard to push too. I also enjoy eating a piece of fruit or something sugary before I go to exercise classes, it helps to give me the energy to actually push.
  • luceegj
    luceegj Posts: 246 Member
    I can kinda relate! I think just becuase after I'm so tired that it just gets me down! But just try get pleant of sleep and don't shy from carbs!!! :)
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    tumblr_me2cil09jX1qedbs6o1_500.gif
  • meeeshellllle
    meeeshellllle Posts: 75 Member
    Yes I defiantly can relate I've been overweight my whole life and never really exercised ever. Now that I've been exercising for a while it's not as bad but sometimes I guess I just get so overly exhausted with the kids, watching my diet, exercising and keeping a nice home that I just have a melt down. I've found that when that happens going fora walk is the best thing for me to do, it makes me feel alot better even if it's only a 10min walk.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    tumblr_me2cil09jX1qedbs6o1_500.gif

    great film!

    OP, sounds like you need a break!
  • NoeHead
    NoeHead Posts: 516 Member
    tumblr_me2cil09jX1qedbs6o1_500.gif

    This is EXACTLY what I was thinking when I wrote the topic! lol

    I should probably time my snacks, @kellehbeans, Tuesdays, Mondays and Fridays are my 2 hour workouts and sometimes I am thinking of food lol.

    I def try to eat some good carbs..I figured I have to since I'm either on the treadmill, doing zumba, or spin. And I'm hungrier because I do strength training about 3x a week.

    Rest and sleep...I think you all are right..I need to rest a little more. I try to work out 5-6 days a weeks because I find I go over my caloric limit on days I don't. me hungry equals my hangry and it's not pretty.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    Nope, your not the only one. I gotta admit that's kind of funny though. :laugh:

    I have experiences stall out like that but if you keep going it will level out and you'll start losing again. Trust me.

    The only times I cry is 1) From real sadness like a family member passing 2) From Stress 3) From growing pains. All of them zap my energy and make it so I feel like I am doing the same amount of work at the gym but I am not. Just push through it and do the best you can. Your intensity should come back eventually.

    Just a quick tidbit.
    What I mean by growing pains is not actual physical pains like when your a child but when you make changes on the inside. We are creatures of habit. Its NOT easy to break away from them and to be uncomfortable even if we are seeing positive results. There are days when you would rather take the easy road than take the hard road. There are days when the stress just gets so overwhelming you feel like you "need a break" and allow yourself to get back into old habits or not work as hard as you should. There are times when you feel like you just cant exercise anymore and your body hurts so bad your mind is screaming to stop. There are times you just don't see the results you were expecting so what is the point? I get it.

    You CAN do this. you WILL do this. Cry if you need to but don't let it derail you. Your growing and there will always be bumps in the road. Your true character is not how you act during the simple and easy times, but the hard ones.
  • mcibty
    mcibty Posts: 1,252 Member
    Yup, totally.

    First time I'd had a migraine on the Friday afternoon, and had just started Insanity, so I was gutted that I'd already had to skip a session. I tried to do it on the Saturday morning and 15 minutes in I threw the remote at Shaun T, kicked my sofa and slumped in a heap on the floor in pathetic tears, before yelling at myself.

    Some days I struggle more than others. Last week it took me 2 hours to do my usual 45 minute weight set. Y'know what, though? I'd be damned if I was going to let myself do any less. I just took my time and powered through. I was tired beyond belief after, but I felt amazing because I'd done it. I even went to the gym straight after, despite REALLY not wanting to. Turns out it was the day before my TOM - Would this have any impact on you at all? I find it'll hit me for a day around that time, and totally take my legs out from under me, where I am EXHAUSTED.

    Don't feel bad. It happens to every single one of us. Push on!
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
    Sounds like you're shattered. I went through a phase last year of hitting the gym 3 times a day. After 3 months of not seeing any changes I didn't understand what was going on and then I was educated in the whole eating back calories thing. Turned out I had been sustaining on less than 600 calories a day every day. I hadn't noticed but I was wearing myself out, supremely tired, and not able to concentrate on work (no crying).

    Are you eating back calories after exercise?

    I would suggest you take a break, maybe a week, and then go back to it. There's a lot of theories on diet breaks that seems to suggest they're helpful in breaking a plateau. And you will have the will for it again rather than it being a treadmill.

    Good luck!
  • umieto
    umieto Posts: 46
    If I had a penny every time I burst into tears running....

    Really though, we all experience this in one way or another. Please don't think that you're not strong or resilient in spirit, it's just that sometimes we ask a lot more of ourselves than we can give. But it's a healing process. To build muscles you have to fatigue them first, and I think it's the same in life - we have to fatigue ourselves and then grow back stronger.

    If it makes you feel better I burst into tears eating PB&J on toast once and ended up crying so hard I sicked it up at the same time. Jelly out of nose :D Super sexy. PB was chunky. Super pleasant haha
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
    I've done this several times over the last year. Useually my husband makes me feel a lot better by just saying how hard he sees me working. etc. etc.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    i'm sorry OP, but i thought of this just now.

    james_franco_sad_burger.gif


    but it sounds like you've been pushing TOO HARD. everyone needs a break. i hate the fitspo sayings where people say "rest is rust" or "train insane or remain the same" or whatever.

    this is a table, and it has four legs. nutrition, cardio, strength training, and rest. no one leg is more important then the other. you need to rest, because if you don't you risk injury from fatigue.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Honestly, you have on days and off days and when you're having an off day the best thing to do is say . . . I'm having an off day which means that tomorrow will be better. Honestly, it's a simple as acknowledging it, then shaking it off and moving on.
  • laurie62ann
    laurie62ann Posts: 433 Member
    Every 6 months or so I have one of these little mini breakdowns! I feel so much better after... Life is busy and trying to be healthy and workout can take a toll on all of us.. Chin up today is a new day!!!!
  • Faintgreeneyes
    Faintgreeneyes Posts: 729 Member
    I agree with the others about making sure you are resting enough and eating enough. I will say, as I experienced this yesterday, the heat and humidity can also effect work outs. I was running yesterday and I wasn't able to nearly move as fast as I normally do because it felt like I was running through a wet blanket. The humidity that we are experiencing is just sucking the life out of me. So maybe it being summer that could also be a part of the issue as well?

    Despite all that keep in mind that even if you don't feel like you are improving, you are still moving your body and working on your health and fitness! :)
  • Whipppets
    Whipppets Posts: 267
    I walk in that spin room and think why am I doing this and other times
    I would rather be there more than anywhere else.. It is a grind for sure but if it was easy everyone
    would do it.
  • naterciarodrigues58
    naterciarodrigues58 Posts: 105 Member
    Oh damn, I can relate SO well!!

    These past month or so I've been having breakdowns every now and then, start cryin for everything, it's horrible. Specially when I'm close to the "bad week of the month", I cry like a baby.

    For me it has been stress, and a lot of pressure from work and uni and all, and the fact I haven't gone home in a year now, and idk... the whole situation all together, not being able to do what I like because I have so much work... it just has been afecting me and sometimes I just feel like crying and crying.

    But oh well, I eventually stop (because my fiance makes me stop and calms me down lol) and life goes on. It happens, sometimes you just need to explode!
  • Rivsmom2008
    Rivsmom2008 Posts: 1
    I can relate, before joining here I had a regular exercise program going and some days I just felt sluggish. I would push and push and just could not get to where I needed to be. The following may be some reasons as to why you are experiencing this.
    Lack of enough sleep, Not enough water consumption, not properly eating prior to work out (Not enough protein) and the dreaded menstrual cycle. The cycle thing is always my biggest one. Maybe your routine needs a shake up throw something different in and see what happens. Hope this helps.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    Spaghetti-OnKidsHead-01.jpg
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    Crying_icecream_eating.gif
  • NoeHead
    NoeHead Posts: 516 Member
    I'm thinking of re-evaluating my caloric intake since I follow the MFP set up and do ok but i do make sure to eat enough and i try to stay hydrated. I guess a lot of us have our days. as long as i suck it up long enough to finish ican cry when i get home lol

    I'm supposed to meet with a nutritionist who is in the military and is also a personal trainer so hopefully it will be a helpful meet up.

    Loving all the GIF'S by the way lol!
  • NoeHead
    NoeHead Posts: 516 Member
    i'm sorry OP, but i thought of this just now.

    james_franco_sad_burger.gif


    but it sounds like you've been pushing TOO HARD. everyone needs a break. i hate the fitspo sayings where people say "rest is rust" or "train insane or remain the same" or whatever.

    this is a table, and it has four legs. nutrition, cardio, strength training, and rest. no one leg is more important then the other. you need to rest, because if you don't you risk injury from fatigue.

    i like your analogy! thanks for it!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    are you making sure you are hitting your ice cream macro? you should be.
  • NoeHead
    NoeHead Posts: 516 Member
    last night! while my tears were drying up i ate a skinny cow chocolate fudge cone to lessen the swelling on my face! hahah it went well with the greek yogurt i had left on my forehead LOL
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    tumblr_me2cil09jX1qedbs6o1_500.gif

    Thank you for this, Shelby. Made my day. :-) And to the OP... It happens to all of us from time to time. Hope you feel better!
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    Your body is telling you what it needs when it won't let you push harder, you definitely needed a break and your body will continue to remind you in the future when it needs one by not letting you work as hard as you really want to.

    Happens to me pretty often when I have been sick and go back at it hard... then my body will tell me to chill the eff out by not letting me work as hard as I want to. Sucks, true, but it's best to listen to your body.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    last night! while my tears were drying up i ate a skinny cow chocolate fudge cone to lessen the swelling on my face! hahah it went well with the greek yogurt i had left on my forehead LOL

    i meant real ice cream from ben & jerry's or cold stone or haagan daz or baskin robbins.
  • NoeHead
    NoeHead Posts: 516 Member
    Your body is telling you what it needs when it won't let you push harder, you definitely needed a break and your body will continue to remind you in the future when it needs one by not letting you work as hard as you really want to.

    Happens to me pretty often when I have been sick and go back at it hard... then my body will tell me to chill the eff out by not letting me work as hard as I want to. Sucks, true, but it's best to listen to your body.

    you and the others are right, gotta listen to the body...i'm just gonna do a light workout today and then nap!

    and Apollo...ben and jerrys? i LOVE ICE CREAM MACROS! i can't wait for the day ice cream pop tart sandwiches will fit in my macros...ONE DAY! lol

    Love the support on here!
  • suelegal
    suelegal Posts: 1,282 Member
    Honestly, you have on days and off days and when you're having an off day the best thing to do is say . . . I'm having an off day which means that tomorrow will be better. Honestly, it's a simple as acknowledging it, then shaking it off and moving on.

    Totally agree with this. Some days just are not great. Bet you have a better day today or tomorrow!
  • kmsairam
    kmsairam Posts: 317 Member
    this post made me laugh! :-) my only advice is to maybe incorporate a few more rest days. Although I am probably the queen of resting too much (translation: stuck on a plateau), I always ALWAYS come back stronger. your muscles need to repair and grow.

Categories