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This is a discussion on Does lifting interfere with your life? within the Training Zone forums,----- Does lifting interfere with your life?
Does all that lifting suck all the juice out of you? Do you find ...
Does all that lifting suck all the juice out of you? Do you find you have no energy for your other hobbies? This is a sort of "Do you live to lift or lift to live" kind of question. Or do you find it boosts your energy for the things you like to do?
Sometimes I feel like I need to take a break and explore other areas of life and being a woman, other than being in the gym all the time.
Depends.
When I am training for a show, I am there ALL the time...more of a live to lift sorta thing.
But, I do love it. So in the off season, I am there because I want to be. I have a drive to be stronger and that's what gets me to the gym
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamalama
Does lifting interfere with your life?
Does all that lifting suck all the juice out of you? Do you find you have no energy for your other hobbies? This is a sort of "Do you live to lift or lift to live" kind of question. Or do you find it boosts your energy for the things you like to do?
Sometimes I feel like I need to take a break and explore other areas of life and being a woman, other than being in the gym all the time.
You sound like you're getting burned out, in which case I'd definitely take a break from it. You could explore other fitness areas, or switch to body weight exercises outdoors for a few weeks, just to get you out of the gym.
If you are not prepping for a show (ie working out on fumes), you should not be feeling a lack of energy that affects the function of your life from working out. Sure it is normal to be tired after a hard workout, but you should be able to recover by sleeping and eating properly. That is how normal athletes that actually get to eat do it
I don't think I'm overtraining and I feel similar to the way you are, pam. Sometimes I just want to feel girlie and spend my money on bags and shoes like all of my friends, instead of my gym membership and more workout clothes.
We all make choices for what we consider to be better for our lives. I'm in grad school, and I'm horrifyingly broke and have to study all the time. Sometimes it wears me down, when I spend my Saturday night reading a textbook and I never have money to do anything fun with my friends. I get so tired of saying "Oh I wish I could, can't afford it/have to study".
But ya know what? This is my choice. I made this decision, and there's no one making me do it but me. I can quit if I want to, but I couldn't live with myself if I did.
You get that choice too. Really weight it out, would you be happier with your life if you stopped this? Would being able to buy cute clothes really satisfy you the way that a strong body does? If the answer is no, you can stop any time, but there's a reason you do this in the first place.
Most people may think its nuts...but its my passion and it makes me happy! I NEVER (not once) dread going to lift, I do hate cardio during prep though I would rather go to bed early so I can train in the morining, instead of being out late drinking like other '20somethings'. When it somes to stuff like shopping...I'd prefer to buy gym clothes or supps than a new purse, but this is a lifestyle that I love and thrive on!
I do know that I can get so wrapped up in training/dieting that I pretty much lose other aspects of my life...that I'm going to be working on this offseason...finding BALANCE!
Bottom line is...you have to find what makes you happy! If you are dieting and training properly, there is no reason to spend so much time in the gym or to be lacking energy (unless you're prepping!)...you just have to find what works for you.
I build my life around training. This is a lifestyle I chose after giving up my old, gross habits, and I've never been happier with my choice.
-I have eaten protein cake on my birthday instead of regular cake and ice cream.
-I have said no to going out if it meant me missing my training session.
-I have gone to restaurants and ordered a salad with no dressing, plain chicken breast, and a glass of water.
-I have embarrassed my friends by stopping at the food court in the middle of the mall to make a protein shake.
I love training, and it's my passion . I fit time in to be with my family and friends of course, but this lifestyle never will make me miserable. And like Nic said, it's all about balance!
Some call me obsessed, and I agree
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"It's funny...the harder I train and better I eat.....the better my genetics seem to get." - G. Diesel
I build my life around training. This is a lifestyle I chose after giving up my old, gross habits, and I've never been happier with my choice.
-I have eaten protein cake on my birthday instead of regular cake and ice cream.
-I have said no to going out if it meant me missing my training session.
-I have gone to restaurants and ordered a salad with no dressing, plain chicken breast, and a glass of water.
-I have embarrassed my friends by stopping at the food court in the middle of the mall to make a protein shake.
I love training, and it's my passion . I fit time in to be with my family and friends of course, but this lifestyle never will make me miserable. And like Nic said, it's all about balance!
Some call me obsessed, and I agree
Ha! I got made fun of from my friends from telling them I'm bringing protein shakes to Cancun. Nice to know I'm not the only one who does that!
I also never get sick of lifting. I'm kind of going through a quarter-life crisis... and felt like I needed something else in my life besides work and bar-hopping. Ever since I have started lifting, I feel like I have filled whatever void it was that I was looking to fill and I never ever dread going to the gym to lift. I hate cardio though.... so that's the only thing I would love not having to do so much of... but I'm trying to lose 15lbs more of fat so unfortunately, I have no choice really.
And I will also plan everything else around lifting. I don't go out on Friday nights usually because I have early morning lifting sessions on Saturday.
Nic is right, sounds like you just need to find a way to fit fitness into your life in a way that makes you happy.
I train hard, but do lay my rests in there. I recently took two weeks off this summer when we went overseas, and then another week off just lately. I have found when I go back after a break, I am quick to catch up and get back into the swing of things.
I think the most important thing is to know yourself and limits.
I work my life around my workout schedules, because this is a way of life for me.
It enhances my other activities and doesn't take away from them. Since my husband and I both enjoy working out, it gives us something to do together as well.
Hugs 2 U!
Teri
More like my life gets in the way of lifting... lol
I love to lift it's awesome, I feel strong and beautiful. About the only time I feel that way when I have a giant bar on with weights and have my make up on (from work) and I have my music blasting and I'm lifting away my stresses. I it.
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Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth. ~Benjamin Disraeli
I feel like a lost child on days I dont workout!!! Its like my whole day sucks and I have nothing to do and all I do is sit and wait and wait and wait until the next day to workout again.
AND THE WORST PART IS...I OWN A GYM!!! And I am here 14 hours a day, up to 7 days a week. Its like when I get home, I cant wait to get back to my gym the next day. I have to sit here on my off days and stare at it like a piece of chocolate cake and drool and wait til I can workout again.
It is about 80% of my life!!! Well and my baby girl, but she comes to the gym with me everyday!!!!!
More like my life gets in the way of lifting... lol
OMG!! I was JUST thinking that as I was opening this thread...I was like "I think it's more that my life gets in the way of my lifting, rather than the other way around" and then I read your comment, haha.
More like my life gets in the way of lifting... lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by figuremodjessica
I feel like a lost child on days I dont workout!!! Its like my whole day sucks and I have nothing to do and all I do is sit and wait and wait and wait until the next day to workout again.
Pam - it sounds to me like you may be heading down the burn-out road if you're feeling this way, so maybe take a few days off before you actually hit the wall. Hell, even a week if that's what it takes.
For me, the iron is my release, my heroine if you will. BUT, it is important to take your rest days and anytime you start feeling as though it's starting to become a chore, listen to your body. It's perfectly ok and HEALTHY to take time for yourself, away from the gym, away from the family, away from all of life's stresses, to decompress and find your center. You should never feel guilty about that.
I think I was starting to feel this way when i was overtraining. Now that I am lifting heavy, doing less cardio and focusing more on clean eating, I am still tired but much less so than I was before. I think you have to do a lot of experimenting to find the right balance for you.
Either way, if something is making you not feeo good or right (even if it is supposed to be good for you) then you need to re-examine and make the necessary changes.
Pam - it sounds to me like you may be heading down the burn-out road if you're feeling this way, so maybe take a few days off before you actually hit the wall. Hell, even a week if that's what it takes.
For me, the iron is my release, my heroine if you will. BUT, it is important to take your rest days and anytime you start feeling as though it's starting to become a chore, listen to your body. It's perfectly ok and HEALTHY to take time for yourself, away from the gym, away from the family, away from all of life's stresses, to decompress and find your center. You should never feel guilty about that.
My sentiments exactly. If your training has taken center stage above all other things in life, then yes it's time to take a break of some sort. The only facets this 'lifestyle' should factor into (for no more than 90 min. of actual physical work a day at the most) is how you fuel your body the majority of the time, and when you go to bed. Period. Life is about more than training. If your head and heart aren't in it, with life's stress and possible overtraining to boot, it won't matter how you look in your reflection because you won't be happy.
Since it's Breast Cancer awareness month, take this into consideration: there are many women training hard now, based solely on the fact that they've lost a loved one to the disease. Not because they want a hot body. They've realised that vigorous exercise and eating well are two very important factors in prevention, while not letting those two elements consume them.
Balance.
No routine is written in stone and everyday doesn't always go according to plan.
Does lifting interfere with your life?
training and yes, I live to lift! 
I would rather go to bed early so I can train in the morining, instead of being out late drinking like other '20somethings'. When it somes to stuff like shopping...I'd prefer to buy gym clothes or supps than a new purse, but this is a lifestyle that I love and thrive on! 
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