[gamerDude]

That may be a reason to start, but most people that I know that consistently work out learn to enjoy it. For me, it helps me release emotions and feel more focused in the day.

Being fit definitely has its social benefits in romance, but it isn't the reason I go when it's far below freezing out at 730 in the morning.

Research also backs this. That the people who keep going find ways to enjoy it and not for the long term hope of losing weight or looking fit.

[toolz]

I really wish depressed people were more in tune with just how profound resistance training is for your mental and emotional health. Instead it seems easy to dismiss weight lifting as some sort of bro-club occupied by oppressive toxic individuals (at least that was my passive opinion of it for years).

[phil21]

I wouldn't quite say I went so far to think it was a toxic bro-club, but I certainly did not give resistance training the consideration I should have until this past year.

If I could make a single change in my life 20 years ago, it would be getting into a gym habit. I tried back then, but had both horrible trainers (the "puke and rally" bro type) and friends who didn't have a clue about what they were doing. It all seemed pointless to me unless immense effort was put in. I also worked landscape and came from a blue collar family background where working out was seen as a sign of bougieness - who needs to pay to go work out if you work hard all day?

But this year (at age 42) I got a personal trainer at a local gym and started going once a week. She is great, and matches my personality and style to the workouts. I never realized how quickly and easily you can start seeing results - and that feedback loop can be quite addictive.

I can't say I look forward to going into the gym now, but I at least don't dread it. Once I'm there and halfway through my routine I'm quite happy I went, and it really does impact your mood and emotional state probably much more than I even want to admit as I type this. It's hard to realize you went through most of your life ignoring such a major component of success - basically playing life on hard mode for no particular reason.

The gym is also interesting in that you can be having a real shitty unproductive day - but you go in and get your routine done - and you can still feel accomplished. Bad week at work? At least you still got your 3 workouts in and are 2% stronger than last month.

[dustincoates]

The crazy thing is, at least at every gym I've ever been at, that's the farthest thing from the truth when it comes to serious lifters.

They've all been, almost to a person, incredibly welcoming and eager to help. It's more often the casual exercisers that are a problem, if anything.

[ColonelPhantom]

Is it that the people who keep going find ways to enjoy it, or that the people who find ways to enjoy it keep going? Your comment seems to imply a certain causality that I do not find immediately convincing.

[robofanatic]

> it isn't the reason I go when it's far below freezing out at 730 in the morning

The reason could be addiction.

[toolz]

Not likely, the definition of addiction requires harm. Resistance training has profound wholistic benefits. It's possible that someone can neglect professional or personal relationships to the point of harm, but I don't think there's any reason to assume that's the case here.

My point is simply that just because you do something compulsively, does not make that thing an addiction. E.g. breathing is compulsive, but it's not an addiction.

[AtlasBarfed]

See: people working out even when injured, people who exercise to be as thin as possible. People doing steroids and other drugs for performance or appearance. These are edge cases.

They exist, and endorphins are using the addiction biological framework.

Regardless, exercise people.

[toolz]

Feel free to ignore this if it feels like nit-picking, but I'm particularly sensitive to "addiction" language.

We don't have a biological framework for addiction, we have a framework for building routines and healthy habits. The system is incredibly beneficial and we'd do ourselves a great disservice not utilizing that system to improve our health and lifestyle.

Again, I'm fairly sure we all understand what you're saying, but I find there's a great deal of cumulative power in the language/framing we use day-in and day-out and I believe my characterization isn't just optimistic, but more accurate.

[red-iron-pine]

> We don't have a biological framework for addiction

yeah, we do. and it involves neurotransmitters.

"addiction" may not be the right word in this (workout) context, but it's a well established concept in other contexts.

[toolz]

No, we don't - we have a biological framework for creating motivation for certain behaviors. This is a well established concept. Motivated behaviors (or habits) are the framework, addiction is when we misuse that framework. We're not born with some defect that gives us negative evolutionary fitness. That makes no sense at all.

[mattgreenrocks]

Addiction is feeling compelled to do something against your will. Consciously choosing despite circumstances is probably the furthest thing from addiction, and what the OP is referring to.

You can learn to enjoy pushing yourself in this way. To an outsider it can look like you're hooked on it, or that it is easy to make the choice every time.