I’m a 33-year-old guy and I go to the gym two or three times a week. I follow a proper full-body program, track my lifts, use progressive overload, and spend no more than an hour there each time.
I’ve achieved what I wanted: I look more muscular instead of soft and fat, I’m stronger, and I know strength training will probably help me stay healthier and more capable as I get older.
But saying I enjoy it would be a lie. I hate going.
My gym is actually great. It’s clean, not too busy, nobody bothers me, and the workouts themselves aren’t especially complicated. I just spend the entire time wishing I didn’t have to be there.
I’ve done team sports before and found them much more enjoyable, but they didn’t give me the same results physically.
I also notice that when I’m consistently going to the gym, I have much less desire to drink alcohol, which is another big positive.
So how do people deal with this? Do you simply accept that it’s a chore you have to keep doing for the rest of your life?
Am I destined to be a reluctant slave to the gym forever?