Page 2 | How did the gym change your life

Dandelionsinthegarden · 2023-03-16T21:56:53+00:00

Stories of how going to the gym on a regular basis changed your life? I'm overweight, but I want to do regular exercise for fitness and health rather than weightless. I have a full time job and single parent but I could make time 3/4 times a week to go. Motivate me, please! 😂

Honoraryuce · 19/03/2023 16:22

My gym is a rack, plates and dumbbells in my garage.
I didn't truly enjoy any gym workouts until I discovered powerlifting. I just love feeling strong. I love seeing muscle. I feel healthier and happier. I love being able to see progress in terms of lifting heavier and heavier over time. When I'm not lifting weights I think about lifting weights.

megletthesecond · 19/03/2023 16:38

You don't have to enjoy it. It will still do you good.
I've been doing it for over 20 years and and resigned to it now. I'm a proper ray of sunshine 😁.

RayKray · 19/03/2023 16:44

@Honoraryuce ha you sound like me (minus the home gym) except this weekend I can think about it and watch it!

notacooldad · 19/03/2023 16:55

I genuinely think that going to the gym (making time for it, getting yourself there, making it a ‘thing’) creates an unnecessary obstacle to working out. I find the opposite! I find too many distractions with home work outs eg, Amazon guy calls, the washing machine finishes, something needs doing. However if I am at the gym I have no other distractions. However I realise this is down to personalities and what works best. I find if I schedule the gym as a proper appointment that I have, I am more inclined to keep it rather than have a vague notion of 'I'll go to the gym sometime on Tuesday'

coffeeandcola · 19/03/2023 17:29

and use a small selection of weights

Couldn't be further from the truth in the gym I go to! Why should women limit themselves like this? Thankfully it's normal now for women to lift heavy rather than endless cardio or treadmill.

Women lifting heavy with hip thrusts, deadlifts and bench press (to name a few) is what my gym is used for. Switching between plates, dumb bells and cable machines is what makes gyms far superior to home workouts. Being able to progress with a variety of weights means you can push yourself instead of limiting yourself to what you have at home.

Honoraryuce · 19/03/2023 17:52

RayKray · 19/03/2023 16:44

@Honoraryuce ha you sound like me (minus the home gym) except this weekend I can think about it and watch it!

Do you also get overly excited if someone starts talking to you about weightlifting or gives you the opportunity to talk about it?

RayKray · 19/03/2023 17:53

@Honoraryuce absolutely! Give me any opening and they won't know what hits them!

SJW58 · 19/03/2023 20:16

You need to find something that works for you, everybody is different. I’ve been a member of a CrossFit gym on and off for about 4 years. As well as fitness I feel I’ve gained a lot in terms of greater understanding and appreciation of different types of fitness, body positivity, what your body can do as opposed to what it looks like. I only do classes as that’s what works for me, I turn up, get told what to do for an hour and then go. I don’t have the motivation to do my own thing. It’s my time to do something for me.

CandleInTheStorm · 19/03/2023 20:17

AlmostaMamma · 19/03/2023 14:55

Cool, you do what works for you. Most women, in my experience - I haven’t conducted any studies - go to the gym to do cardio based classes and use a small selection of weights. We can do this at home, without the faff and at less expense.

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My experience is different because at my gym loads of women are doing strength training, including weights/dumbells/strength based machines/dead lifts/clean and press, etc. The strength class is 90% women attendance!

Perhaps it's a who you know/the area/the age group situation, but lots of women aren't just doing cardio and small weights nowadays!

ThursdayLastWeek · 19/03/2023 20:18

Learning new skills. Making new friends. Getting strong.

CandleInTheStorm · 19/03/2023 20:19

coffeeandcola · 19/03/2023 17:29

and use a small selection of weights

Couldn't be further from the truth in the gym I go to! Why should women limit themselves like this? Thankfully it's normal now for women to lift heavy rather than endless cardio or treadmill.

Women lifting heavy with hip thrusts, deadlifts and bench press (to name a few) is what my gym is used for. Switching between plates, dumb bells and cable machines is what makes gyms far superior to home workouts. Being able to progress with a variety of weights means you can push yourself instead of limiting yourself to what you have at home.

This is my experience too and yes I agree you're more likely to progress when there's more choice and variety. I like to mix it up because your body gets used to a certain thing/weight quite quickly.

BeingPartOfThings · 19/03/2023 20:24

I've been lifting (plates, barbells, heavier than my body weight.....definitely not a small selection of weights) at least x 2 times a week for about 8 years (except gym being closed during covid).

I love! It's my routine, my headspace and I never miss a session.

My posture is better, my weight is stable, I have toned arms for the first time in my adult life (I'm in my 40s) but more importantly I'm looking after my mental health.

Its honestly been pretty life changing.

MaraScottie · 19/03/2023 22:27

coffeeandcola · 19/03/2023 17:29

and use a small selection of weights

Couldn't be further from the truth in the gym I go to! Why should women limit themselves like this? Thankfully it's normal now for women to lift heavy rather than endless cardio or treadmill.

Women lifting heavy with hip thrusts, deadlifts and bench press (to name a few) is what my gym is used for. Switching between plates, dumb bells and cable machines is what makes gyms far superior to home workouts. Being able to progress with a variety of weights means you can push yourself instead of limiting yourself to what you have at home.

A million times this.

I do a group weights class 3 times a week, and it's not remotely comparable to working out at home. The group is a lot of craic, motivates you, pushes you and is so much more fun than trying to fit it in at home. I'm lucky the gym is a short distance away from me and I know it doesn't suit everyone - but if you can fit in a class at a gym with experienced trainers, you'll get a lot more out of it.

I do love home pilates and yoga classes though, for me it's not worth travelling for that - but when I lift heavy, I want that loud music and banter and competitiveness that keeps things interesting! I also want the trainer to be checking my form which they can't do on YouTube :)

ThankYouVeryMuchGerry · 20/03/2023 21:11

It's helped me loads physically, but most of all, it helps my mental health. There are times when I feel going to the gym (either normal gym or yoga/pilates studio) has saved my life. I was in a very dark place before I started exercising and its completely transformed me. I love it!

samthebordercollie · 20/03/2023 21:31

I was just cardio before a foot operation, mainly running (every day) but post op took up strength training following Caroline Girvan on you tube and it's changed my life so much for the better. I was cardio fit before, but not strong and moving about, life in general is so much easier now. I get up early and do an hour most mornings. My body looks and feels much more toned than it ever did from just doing cardio. I can't be bothered to join a gym, for me I can do the hole workouts whenever I want and the weights are always available 🙂

jeffersonsam · 28/03/2023 10:28

Gym makes me more fit and strong. Every day I wake up from bed 5.30 am. I also keep my body very strong and fit; it also keeps me more confident person. I love my gym very much.

Badgerloco · 29/03/2023 16:58

As @RayKray says, weights can truly change your life. I’m 3 months in to it, and the sense of achievement far exceeds any cardio in my opinion. I feel 10 years younger, it gives me a place to just be, and the endorphins are amazing. I don’t think I realised I’d been low level depressed for years, now I’m happy and active again. After spending so much time and energy on other people it feels good to do some thing just for me.

RayKray · 29/03/2023 17:00

@Badgerloco hard relate! I now think I'm awesome and it's sad to think how long I didn't and didn't even realise

FrenchandSaunders · 30/03/2023 08:40

I’m mid 50s and joined a gym last summer. I didn’t think I’d stick to it but I love it.

Do a gym session twice a week and a class twice a week. Haven’t lost much weight. I feel so much stronger and fitter.

Working out at home isn’t for me. In a class when I’m puffed out and the weights feel too heavy, I look around and see everyone else carrying on so I force myself to continue. At home I’d just stop.

Mendholeai · 30/03/2023 08:45

Having a flat stomach and not hating what I saw in the mirror is the biggest change. You can tell me I am beautiful, but I have eyes. If I feel unattractive it affects my mood, how often I go out, how I feel about life in general.

Feeling powerful and energetic is also a good feeling. I’ve given up most processed foods because sugar was controlling me and making me bloated and unhappy.

tresleches · 30/03/2023 09:37

Agree with pp that going to the gym isn't necessarily a fix-all life-changer, but there are things you can do to make it more appealing: a PT so you have a clear purpose when you go and it feels personalised (don't need PT forever, just a few sessions and a programme); know your preferences - for example, I hate the weights machines, so I just do free weights and body weight stuff like planks; if you can, join a "nice" gym/health club (if it has a pool to take your kids to, and a female only sauna, then it can become more of a second home and an escape - I pay more for somewhere like this); you don't need to go for 90 mins to make it worthwhile, a stolen 30 mins keeps momentum and resets your brain/mood; lastly, one thing that keeps me going is the range of people there and the knowledge that we've probably all had a bit of a "uhhh can't be bothered.. ok I'll go" moment and still turned up

iloveeverykindofcat · 31/03/2023 14:26

A lot of the time you don't need to pay a personal trainer. When I joined the gym (just a council leisure centre) it came with 1 free session with an advisor. I explained about being hypermobile and needing to build core strength and she wrote me a programme on which I can gradually keep increasing the weight. It didn't cost anything extra.