Why do some people at the gym always look the same?
ClubSilencio
Posts: 2,983 Member
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?
Can diet and genetics really offset all those hours spent in the gym?
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Maybe they have fitness goals, not aesthetic ones?0
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I'm going to assume the people look out of shape and that they don't appear to have met their goal?
They might have a goal that isn't based on changes to their body. Maybe something like increasing endurance and they keep their diet even with their calorie burn. Or perhaps they have a medical issue and the doctor has told them to work out for a certain amount of time everyday so they do but otherwise they don't make any changes.
I don't go to the gym but I look the same even though I've been working out for years. This is because I don't stick to a big enough calorie deficit to make any significant progress and because I have inflammatory arthritis and when it flares up I sometimes can't work out for a couple of weeks at a time. I don't decrease my calories during that off time like I probably should.0 -
I wonder the same thing sometimes. Or they gain weight while working out everyday.0
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you can't out train a calorie surplus. There is a lady in my gym who has been going as long as I have which is about a year and a half now and she looks the same, which is overweight. My guess would be that she does not track calories, or maybe she does not care. At the end of the day it is none of my business.0
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The term "spinning their wheels" comes to mind.0
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Maybe they just like going to the gym, and don't particularly have any aesthetic or fitness goals. They just like what they're doing and are satisfied with that. Maybe they come with friends or something, or they just feel better about themselves having got a bit of exercise in, whether that is part of a plan working towards something or not.0
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Maybe they do look different, you just don't notice it. It's hard to see the small changes when you see each other every day. I know I don't look the same as last year, but I feel like I look the same. Also, chances are you are seeing them with clothing on, which could disguise some of the changes.0
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you can't out train a calorie surplus. There is a lady in my gym who has been going as long as I have which is about a year and a half now and she looks the same, which is overweight. My guess would be that she does not track calories, or maybe she does not care. At the end of the day it is none of my business.
This.
About 6 years ago I joined a gym shortly after getting engaged to lose a little weight for my wedding. I worked hard, and got stronger/fitter, but since I didn't have any understanding or even care about what went into my mouth, I saw no physical changes.0 -
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.
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you can't out train a calorie surplus. There is a lady in my gym who has been going as long as I have which is about a year and a half now and she looks the same, which is overweight. My guess would be that she does not track calories, or maybe she does not care. At the end of the day it is none of my business.
Endless this. I think people just like having the luxury of telling others that they go to the gym. As if that's all they have to do to make a change. Hardest part is maintaining consistency in lifestyle OUTSIDE of the gym...0 -
Why do you care?0
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10inprogress wrote: »you can't out train a calorie surplus. There is a lady in my gym who has been going as long as I have which is about a year and a half now and she looks the same, which is overweight. My guess would be that she does not track calories, or maybe she does not care. At the end of the day it is none of my business.
Endless this. I think people just like having the luxury of telling others that they go to the gym. As if that's all they have to do to make a change. Hardest part is maintaining consistency in lifestyle OUTSIDE of the gym...
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Maybe they're not there to lose weight? You can increase fitness and strength without losing fat.0
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I see the same thing, same people no change and they are in there everyday. Its because they dont know CICO. When people actually come up to me to inquire how i am so lean i tell them and they give me this dear in headlights look. They dont get it so i just end it short in trying to explain. One guy really wants abs like mine so i told him about CICO and leaning out. He has been slowly leaning out but he tells me he is only eating fruit so he can lose weight when i told him he can pretty much eat what he wants as long as he is in a calorie deficit but he doesnt hear me. No one does...0
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I won't tell people that I go to the gym and yet...they won't see results. It's just a waste of time for me to go for nothing. I normally would set a goal and expect results. If I don't see any changes in my body, I'd question it. There must be something I am
not doing right. It's either I need to work harder or I am not counting my calories correctly. So far, I am good. Working out pays off.
If it's just for maintenance so they can eat more when they come home, that explains why there's no weight loss.0 -
Hmm...I agree with most of the reasons already posted but will re-emphasize what a previous poster mentioned about progress not being clearly visible. These days I am working my tail off both in and out of the gym but aesthetic progress is slow. I've been doing bulk/cut cycles and have had to temporarily set that aside to focus on my running goals. The progress I've made recently isn't as clearly visible as it was 6-9 months ago. This may be the case with some of the people you see at the gym.
On the other hand, I've known lots of people who think the "gym" or "working out" is the solution to all of their weight issues.....and never make any progress for that reason. I think saying that they go to the gym or work out makes them feel better about the extra weight they carry around - like they're doing something to mitigate it when in reality they probably aren't.0 -
There appears to be a bit of a misconception that going to the gym means wanting to lose weight. Some people aren't trying to lose weight and don't feel the need to moderate their diet, and achieve fitness goals despite this.
My old boss was a big man. Big eater, always had a candy bowl in his office, loved to take us out for lunches. He also went to the gym for an hour every the morning walked 15km home every night, could outrun any one of us and multiple times a year participated in charity events that required walking 100+km, biking for hundreds of kms etc etc. That's what he trained for.
To anyone at the gym, he would have looked like a guy who was 'spinning his wheels' when in truth he was one of the fittest (if not 'healthiest') people I worked with. His endurance was astounding.0 -
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There's a woman at my gym like this. She's relatively fit, works out everyday, but hasn't changed in appearance in 3 years.
The other day she was benching and was arguing with her spot about how many reps she had done. Spot said 7, she said 10, I counted 7. I suddenly realized WHY her appearance hasn't changed.0 -
There's a woman at my gym like this. She's relatively fit, works out everyday, but hasn't changed in appearance in 3 years.
The other day she was benching and was arguing with her spot about how many reps she had done. Spot said 7, she said 10, I counted 7. I suddenly realized WHY her appearance hasn't changed.
haha!0 -
andympanda wrote: »
so seeing someone of an hour or so a day is going to allow you to know there mistakes the other 23 hours in the day…really?0 -
Perhaps they are there to maintain their weight? If they didn't go, I would think the change you'd see would be in the other direction (they'd be much larger).
I've only lost a few pounds since getting back in the gym, so I doubt I look any different. I also only ever run on the treadmill - if you really paid attention, you'd see that I've dropped my 5K time by over a minute. I've gotten a lot faster since my first visit to the gym.0 -
you can't out train a calorie surplus. There is a lady in my gym who has been going as long as I have which is about a year and a half now and she looks the same, which is overweight. My guess would be that she does not track calories, or maybe she does not care. At the end of the day it is none of my business.
+1............this is exactly what I've found. I started at my gym in Sept of 2013 and while I've lost a little over 60 lbs and my body has changed dramatically from that and lifting weights, there are several women who started at the same time who haven't really changed a bit. I assume they've gotten stronger but they basically look exactly the same. A few of them ask me what I'm doing and even compliment me, and all I can say is I'm doing what you see me do here 5 days a week and at home I'm eating at a calorie deficit. That's when their eyes start to glaze over......0 -
Staying the same is a pretty big accomplishment, in my world.
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Thenonlynanswernisnthey put the work in at the gym but don't put the work in where it really matters and that's the kitchen0
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »There appears to be a bit of a misconception that going to the gym means wanting to lose weight. Some people aren't trying to lose weight and don't feel the need to moderate their diet, and achieve fitness goals despite this.
This. I'm at my goal weight which is borderline normal/overweight BMI (which, in turn, might lead some to think I'm there to lose weight). I've been maintaining for ten months. People who pay attention to me might think I'm wasting my time. What I'm really doing is trying to improve my hip and ankle mobility. I'm rehabbing a hurt meniscus & patellar femoral syndrome. I'm trying to correct muscular imbalances in my legs so I don't reinjure myself. It's been 8 months since I hurt my knee doing step ups with a barbell on my shoulders. People watching me do hip circles, box leg dips and squat-to-stands don't know this and are probably wondering what the heck I'm up to. I know and that's what matters.
Ha, I hear you. I do "wall pushouts" and a bunch of other silly-looking physio stuff, and then stuff with bands and the cable machine. Pretty sure I'm getting judged, but whatever. (Part of it might also be the ginormous motion control shoes I wear
Those are embarrassing.)
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I stopped going to my local gym for 2 reasons
#1 it was a big social gathering I felt rude telling people I paid good money to go their to get into shape, the lady that was soposta be helping new members learn machines was a gabber. I had to try and learn them on my own, ask other people who knew how to show me , or learn by watching others use them.
#2 It was a lot of money and I had a hard time finding someone to watch my kids.
Now I work out in the AM before my kids are out of bed. No drama gossip and the like.
One evening after working out I seen a girl I used to go to school with in the changing room. I heard her ordering take out on the phone. This was during the evening hours. I am not sure how long she had been going. I have seen her just around Easter and she has lost a lot of weight. I congratulated her on her weigh loss and she told me she had the gastric bypass surgery. I am happy she lost weight I just hope she can maintain it after all she went through.
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