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    The Gym: Is it an escape or a job?

    Posts: 487 Member
    edited February 17 in Motivation and Support
    Some people view training as a therapeutic escape. Others view it as a job that just needs to get done. How do you view it? I want to hear what you think!

    If you see it as a job, please watch this video if you want to learn how to enjoy working out!: http://youtu.be/BrNLVng8r3k

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    • Posts: 1,547 Member
      It gets me away from my children. I love them to death but I think we all know they can be...oh what's the word I'm looking for...trying sometimes.
    • Posts: 1,099 Member
      Both, on days my lifting buddy is with me it is fun. On days I go alone it is a job, but I always enjoy it by the end of the workout.
    • Posts: 130 Member
      I see it at an escape its my time to work on myself and make myself better each day.
    • Posts: 3,116 Member
      Exercise has always been therapeutic for me. It's a way to clear my head.
    • Posts: 268 Member
      I was telling my wife last night after a pretty good work out how much I love working out. I crave it, not sure if its an escape per say, not from work, nor the kids as they are pretty self reliant at this point. I just enjoy the feeling of working out and getting stronger.
    • Posts: 460 Member
      haha the gym IS my job.... which is why I am a member at a different gym from the one that I work at. When I'm working out for me, it's and escape, and when I'm working out for work (teaching a class/training a client) it's not my workout so it's a job.

      That being said, there are some days that even my workout feels like a job, but usually once I get moving that feeling does away. I've found that doing things that you enjoy doing makes exercise not only much more fun, but something that I look forward to doing.
    • Posts: 2,561 Member
      It's a job I don't get paid actual money to do, and the pay off I do get takes a really long time to show up. But hey, gotta do what you gotta do.
    • Posts: 299 Member
      I use the gym as a reason to get out of the house so I guess its an escape.
    • Posts: 210 Member
      I see it as a job that I have to do, its how I stay motivated. However over time it has also become a sociable thing as I have made friends there and now have my posse of gym buddies
    • Posts: 79 Member
      Its both and so much more, no matter how I'm feeling before I walk into the gym I always feel so much better when I walk out, how many things can you claim that of?? So for me its an easily sustainable habit.
    • Posts: 31 Member
      When I first joined my gym the trainer said that the gym should be your second home. I wouldn't say I feel that connected with the place, but it isn't something I dread like I would have in the past. The gym helps get me out of the house and away from both my desk and all the food in the pantry. It gives me a sense of accomplishment sometimes, when I feel I worked particularly hard. For me the gym is just a new aspect of my life that I'm still getting used to, and finding new things about it to make a priority.
    • Posts: 17,525 Member
      neither?

      I do it because it's what i love- but it's not therapeutic.

      it's what I love- much like dancing- it has it's ups and downs. I don't view it as a job- but there are days I am beyond frustrated or upset with it because I'm not getting what I want out of it.
    • Posts: 1,573 Member
      Wouldn't say a job although that would be great if I got paid to work out lol.. My take would be a painful quest to see how good I can become. I lift painfully hard but cardio is painfully boring but it feels good if that makes any sense but its only temporary. But hey I look and feel better all the time so that's a nice trade off.:tongue:
      The only pain I don't like is when I over use my joints and they start to throb at night then I have to take pain meds.:cry:
    • Posts: 469 Member
      I never wanna go, but once I am there I am pumped!
    • Posts: 1,074 Member
      90% of the time its theraputic and helps me clear my mind. There are days I don't want to run/workout.... but after I get in my zone - I'm glad I started!!
    • Posts: 11
      I love working out, I always have, I just let life keep me away from something I love doing for way too long. For me the difficult thing has always been making time to get to the gym. Now I'm getting up at 5:00am so that I can keep my other commitments and still get my workouts in. It took me months to get back into it after years of being lazy, but now that I'm up and working out again I feel so much better. I'm happier and healthier.
    • Posts: 1,238 Member
      Most of the time it's therapeutic for me, just like my running is. There are days when I feel like it is just another thing to check off the list, but we all have our ups and downs.

      Recently though, I joined a more boot camp-styled gym (Kaia Fit) and it's really given me a joy in the gym that I haven't had in a long, long time. (I've been going to the gym since my teen years.) I think sometimes you just need a new format or style to help get that zest back into your workouts if you're suffering from "it's-a-job" syndrome.
    • Posts: 164 Member
      I love going and often have trouble getting everything accomplished. I love getting stronger, seeing my friends, playing racquetball. I am pretty sure I could spend all day there but then it might not be as fun. ;)
    • Posts: 177 Member
      I hope to get back to my workouts being a joy or escape. At the moment, I'm a little too out of shape and it's a little too uncomfortable to be a joy. Or, I need to start embracing the uncomfortable-ness because it will always be uncomfortable.

      But that's a great video!
    • Posts: 41,865 Member
      At times it is a chore that I just need to get done, but for the most part I love lifting.
    • Posts: 471 Member
      For me, it's a job that I enjoy going too. Not something I need to take my mind off of things, but it's something I must do in order to live happily how I choose too.
    • Posts: 129 Member
      As this point in my life, working out is a chore. It's another thing I have to do. I don't hate it but I know I could enjoy it more.

      My plate is pretty full right now and family committments/obligations can easily make for 12 to 14 hour days when I factor in work. My weekends are filled with bonafide chores (laundry, housekeeping, errands, etc.). During the work week, I'm lucky that I can take a break and go for a 15 minute walk once or twice a day and that's definitely an escape from the office.
    • Posts: 49,157 Member
      I'm a trainer.....................it's both.:laugh:

      A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
      IDEA Fitness member
      Kickboxing Certified Instructor
      Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    • Posts: 1,594 Member
      I love it, but it is an escape. Ear buds in, music is loud, and all I'm thinking about is picking up the weight.
    • Posts: 699 Member
      It is a Joy and a Blessing!
    • Posts: 71 Member
      For "MOI" its both......
      My mind escapes from reality, my muscle workout.
    • Posts: 3,945 Member
      Both. Sometimes the gym is the last thing I want to do. Sometimes I can't wait to get there. But I've never finished a workout and said, "Damn, I wish I didn't do that".
    • Posts: 1,066 Member
      ok so I clicked on the video and I see this guy explaining how to build a mob softener for minecraft. And I'm like ok, its a funny video, meant to make fun of "the grind" in life or video games. Then I notice the "you may skip this add button":laugh:

      The actual video is worth a look even if you don't think of workouts as work.

      I think of it as an escape. Escape from piles and piles of homework.
    • Posts: 80
      It use to be a chore but now it has turned into a habit and i always look forward to going, i never see it as a direct stress relief but it does help calm me down if having a bad day :)
    • Posts: 16 Member
      It's more of a "job" for me, because my true escape is diving. I know it's important to stay in shape, and my workouts allow me to keep shedding pounds, building my endurance and actually eat some of the "less healthy" things once in a while and still not blow my nutritional plan.

      That being said, I do enjoy the payoff I get from working out.
    This discussion has been closed.

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