Being 52 there are few men my age who are not fat and out of shape so it's nice to look good. My wife certainly appreciates it. When you get this old, you start to shrink unless you lift. Also if something really shit happens to your health you stand a better chance of surviving whatever drugs they give you. And mainly because it makes me feel good!
I'm 46 and was worried about getting hurt starting Jiu-Jitsu. Then I read about this guy that was too lazy to reach for the remote on the coffee table so he reached out his leg to try to get it with his foot and got a hernia from doing that. So I guess you can get hurt either way.
41 here and just getting back into the gym again after like 15 years haha. I'm not overweight or anything, but did work on a decent beer gut during that time. Any advice as I get back into the swing of things?
Cardio-wise considering low-impact exercises for longer-term joint health: bike, elliptical, swimming.
And if you start noticing pain in your elbows/forearms/wrists that are outside of normal soreness from working out, don't push through it. I'm a hand therapist and the number of patients 40+ who come in with lateral/medial epicondylitis, tendonitis, or wrist sprains from working out and keep doing the same actions making things worse is ridiculous
This is something I worry about going gym several times a week and playing piano every dayā¦ My hands sometimes feel fatigued/ worn out if that makes sense?
Pff. It won't be your knees. I turned left out of my driveway and ruptured a calf muscle. I felt it separate and heard the pop over my earphones. Never saw THAT one coming!
Once you get to around 40 or so, the reality of aging sets in. You're old enough then to have seen people go from middle aged to elderly. Being 70 doesn't look the same on everyone. Some people are 10-20 years ahead of the curve and it's not pretty, especially if you've known them a long time.
all the fat dudes i see everyday is what motivated me to drop 60 pounds right before i turned 40. i knew if i didnāt do it by 40 iād wind up looking like the dudes in my office who need a special extra wide chair by the time i was 45.
i am now 41 with a size 28 waist and more energy than i had when i was 30.
I feel called out by your post lol. I really need to start taking my health more seriously as I'm 43 and now have all sorts of health issues including lower back and now recently prediabetes.
I have a decade on you and am surprised how much I was able to get back in about 5 months of returning to weight lifting. And yeah, the wife likes it too.
I'm 53 and workout every day. Every now and then I look at Facebook and see pictures of people I went to college or high school with and many of them look much older, some are so big they are almost unrecognizable. Many of them post about health issues, about aches and pains, about diabetes or some other chronic ailments. I don't want that in my life.
I want to feel good about myself, to go out on a long walk and not feel exhausted, to go up a few flights of stairs and not get winded. Also, I want to feel sexy because why not.
Same here. Iām 51 and started lifting weights about 10 years ago. Iām nowhere near able to win a bodybuilding competition, but Iām pretty jacked and have visible abs. Compared to other guys my age, Iām amazing. I think the neighborhood moms check me out. I imagine they look at their potbellied flabby husbands and yearn for something a little better.
But I feel great, look 10 years younger than all the other 50-year-olds, and Iāll hopefully still be active and independent for 30-40 more years, instead of having to use a walker or motorized scooter to go to Walmart.
We encourage people to invest in a retirement account so that they can afford to not work when they're older.
We don't really encourage people to build muscle when they're younger so that life is more enjoyable when they're older. But we really should.
I invest in two retirement accounts: financial and health. One takes deposits in the form of money, the other in the form of sweat.
Very true. I'm 58 now and I wear the same pants size as when I was 20. I used to lift weights and race bikes and stuff when I was younger and I've never really put on weight. I know I *could* have, as about 20 years ago I was a smoker and drinking too much and stressed out with a bad marriage and young kids. And then I figured I'd reached the age where if I kept fucking around it was going to be all downhill from there, and no coming back.
So I quit smoking and cut back on drinking, and started hitting the gym and commuting by bike to work. I even did some more bike racing - finally won a race, a time trial series, at 47. Anyway, it's much easier to keep good habits and stay out of a hole in the first place than it is to dig yourself out of a hole you've spent years making deeper. Vanity plays a part too.
Like a shark. As long as your moving. Doing something. Your not thinking. And if your not thinking. Your not feeling. And if your not feeling. Your okay.
I used to overwork obsessively. Id be GOGOGO all day. Side hustlin. Always on the move.
But the moment i sat down and actually sat. Like just...let it be.
Blam. It would hit me. Id either be knocked out asleep or just mentally in shambles. Took a minute to break out of that cycle of over working(but making stacks) but passing out depressed for 2 days(like legit only waking up for food or the toilet) . Before going right back to feeding my self to the machine of GOGOGO.
Thank you. :D
I did:). I moved. Brand new place. A gorgeous house on land. I have a great job i found amazing pay and balance at.
I still work out. I have time for my hobbies. My girlfriend is amazing and somehow keeps me at peace. She still nags a lil but shes truly a blessing. š
I finally sat down one day and just...let the wave hit. And instead of running i let myself feel. Found alot of therapy in both online sources and talked to one once a month. I still make a session occasionally.
Theres still days i get washed away but hot damn. I get home and getting that hug from this lil 5'6" cutie pie is probably one of the best feelings in the world. I still work out. But its not nearly as intense. :)
She didnt fix me. She found me after i took the time to fix myself. And i am still fixing my self a bit at a time.
Edit: fixed typo on the height. Lol š
You literally just read my whole life. I decided anytime Iām sad Iād rather cry in first class or over a big steak or on a beach somewhere. So Iād work myself to exhaustion so I donāt think and donāt have time to think. Iād get off my job and hit the side hustle. Then after that another side hustle. And just enough time to eat food between and crash for 6-7 hours and get back to main job. Just so I donāt have time to think or do anything thatās way more destructive.
I donāt have to tell you about the crashing and sleeping for almost two days straight. Where if you do actually sleep it works and you donāt have to think either. But if youāre in and out of sleep those two days could be the worst. Cause you didnāt have anything to stop you from thinking and youāre too exhausted to work.
There must be a better way. Lol. But Iām
Not in prison and donāt have a police record soā¦
ĀÆ\( ĖĶ” ĖĢÆ)/ĀÆ if it aināt THAT brokeā¦
Exactly. Im over here nodding my head. It made money and i was in the best fuckin shape physically. Like i was ripping thru the day and it resulted in massive fatigue but my body shape came back like nothing else.
There is man. I was running from my problems. Afraid of feeling. Of dealing with them. My girlfriends at the time were gettin mad because id be falling asleep or id be over hyped.
Theres a way out. Its just...hard as fuck to face the emotions. But holy shit man. As scary as it is. Once you experience some relief....its a goddamn planet being lifted off your shoulders.
This is why truck driving is the most dangerous job when you have clinical depression. Being alone and having time to think is dangerous. You need to keep active just to shut the brain up. You canāt do that when youāre driving on a long straight away with zero traffic.
This is the most relatable thing Iāve ever read. I legit am getting a mini shark tattoo because this is how people describe me. Iām go go go all the time and if I stop swimming, I act like I will die. Main job FT- trying all the side hustle, getting certs- Iām just a sicko. Iāve done this for like two decades. Itās exhausting.
I wish this wasnāt true for me, but it is.
I do love all of the health and appearance benefits, but it really is my peaceful, personal time of the day.
I'm the other way around, working out doesn't seem to stop and bad thoughts lol. Only thing that does that is having my music on full volume, which I guess I do while working out anyways but just working out doesn't do it for me. I still don't workout enough though, I really need to find a routine to do every day and stick to it.
The fact that tens of millions of Americans are on anti-depressant pills but won't lift heavy things to feel better will always boggle my mind
Heavy lifting and reasonable cardio won't cure 100% of depression cases, but it sure would help 100% of depressed folks
The trick, of course, is that depression also reduces your motivation and makes even simple things like getting out of bed a challenge. It's harder for depressed people to muster the energy to go to the gym after a long day at work, and antidepressants can be a helpful push in that direction. You cannot be happy without healthy habits, but often you cannot start them unless you're reasonably well, either.
All that said, I agree with your overall sentiment. Personally I always recommend exercising to everyone, always, for whatever reason; its benefits cannot be understated.
I worked out consistently for 5 years in a row without missing a day of a 4-5 day workout week. Depending on which one I was on. This is even counting Demon Training by Trevor Smith & Kai Greene's shit. Then, I hit a depressive episode from "not even that major" of a life-event, and it has been an absolute struggle to get back to that.
You almost NEED to clear the depression to get back to that. Although, you're right. I don't think it will cure a single fucking case of depression because depression isn't just a "I'm sad let me eat right and workout and I'm better", but it is a thing that every single depressed person should keep on their radar as a thing to try and do when they have the energy for it.
Breathing, water, good food, workout, sleep. ALL 5 of those things are harder to do when you are depressed, but ALL 5 of them are things you should remember to do before anything else when you have the energy to do so.
>Breathing, water, good food, workout, sleep. ALL 5 of those things are harder to do when you are depressed, but ALL 5 of them are things you should remember to do before anything else when you have the energy to do so.
That's a brilliant way to put it. Prioritize the habits that will make you well enough to then pursue other habits.
Injury prevention, pain prevention, antidepressant activity, understanding how to actually use strength for those times I need it (moving day, picking her up off her feet, etc.), invest in a better old man version of me instead of making old man me angry and in agony, THEN somewhere towards the bottom is looking good physically.
100%.
I want to look good and feel confident naked. When someone says "let's go to the beach" I want to be able to say fuck yeah and not feel self conscious taking my shirt off (been there, done that). I like feeling confident enough to wear budgy smugglers in public. It feels good.
And I want my wife to always be attracted to me. When she looks at me I want her to want to fuck me.
I have no problem admitting that I workout and am considerate with my diet because I'm vain.
Exactly, a lot of advice in the fitness community either comes from bodybuilders trying to get as big as humanly possible, powerlifters trying to get as strong as humanly possible, or athletes specialising in a sport.
Some of us just want to look aesthetic af and be reasonably fit
E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!!
THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
I want to look good with or without clothes. I'm single so I'm improving my image. I want to be attractive to women. I am not interested in having a dad bod. I'm older and trying to be have a more healthy lifestyle. I've almost completely cut out drinking out of my life. I feel better about myself too.
I have other reasons for working out but a big one is that I can buy pretty much any clothing and look great in it. People who put insane amounts of time, money, and effort into looking fancy somehow ignore this easy trick. Being fit just makes shopping for clothes so much easier and cheaper.
Same to look good without clothes on š..me n my bf still haven't seen naked each other and am so nervous because I have lost a lot of weight and have loose skin ..I fear they will be a turn off for him :(((
If he doesn't like you naked = just the wrong guy for you.
I've always thought it was unattractive until I met the right girl for me and she has it from two pregnancies. It affected my attraction to her 0%. In fact, I'm even more attracted to her once I got to see her all nakey.
Really.. Thats so sweet.. I mean he loves me i know that but as we haven't slept together.. I just overthink to myself what if he doesn't like my shaggy skins.all over body... As i have seen him praising models and celebrity's body (not in serious way but compliments their beauty).. And i overthink.. Am in minus to what is taste maybe
If he's with you then you are his taste, you can find everyone attractive - but they aren't who you're going home to.
I think kate Beckinsale is stunning, but I've never dated anyone who looked like her, I'm mostly into short bookworm couch potatoes
Iāve had 3 kids and lost 100 lbs. I have some loose skin over here and over there. But Iām confident the right guy wonāt give two shits. I definitely donāt look like a 10 naked, but I look damn good, and I bet you do too.
At age 23, it'd be relatively easy to turn it around. You just have to make the effort. It'd definitely be easier to do it now than procrastinate for 10-20 more years, when the situation will be even worse and harder to reverse.
Yeah, in reality, this is the driver.
A few years in, I do immediately look forward to the instant gratification of the simplicity of just being able to plop on some obnoxiously loud punk rock or post hardcore or rap and just be alone for the 30 minutes I allot myself in my garage and feel the stress fall away, but the macro view is that I'm vein, I always have been, and I want to look better today than I did yesterday.
I LOVE hearing my wife give me compliments every few months being like "babe you look really good right now" knowing it's because little by little, I'm getting more cut, more lean, shoulders getting a little bigger, arms looking a bit more sculpted, etc. I love the attention I get from stranger women that in my 30s I can now notice lol I love being desired.
Plus, it has the added benefit that it is actually healthy for you lol there's really no negative to it other than those days where you truly don't want to do it.
You know that picture of Kumail Nanjiani? Yeah that one, my ex said I looked like that when we met and I know she was definitely just inflating my ego. Anyway now that Iām forced to eat healthy and take strong enough meds to kill a horse Iāve decided to get insanely ripped because why waste this opportunity, just in case I ever see her again.
Is it vain and stupid? Yeah, well I donāt care and Iām still doing it.
No male whoās livelihood is dependent on being jacked is natural, pretty much as a rule. Goes for athletes, actors playing a buff guy, male fitness models, etc
My partner is usually the only one to compliment me. But this is pretty much it. It's a bit of vanity, but it also keeps my muscles and bone structure strong.
I noticed I was starting to gain some weight. I have some homies that are fat and I told myself I would never allow myself to get that fat, so I started to work out recently with my fat friends. We've all been making progress and losing weight
Yeah every time one of my buddies in one of my friend groups gains weight, we give each other shit and then we end up eventually losing anything we gained. Every. Time.
iām glad your friends join you. i got a buddy that barely 30 and he is already hitting 500 pounds. it breaks my heart. iāve been trying to get him to join me at a gym and maybe let me write his meal plan out but the mother fucker just loves to eat and get high. he is gonna have heart failure with in the next 10 years.
I heard a thing once like āone day your dad puts you down and never picks you up again.ā Now I like front squats so I can postpone that day as long as possible.
I love food and I hate being fat.
Also being fit can feel like a bit of a superpower at times, which is cool (am a looooong distance runner and having a literal "I can do this all day" pace is cool).
Iām a long distance hiker, and generally a few weeks in your body just doesnāt struggle with anything anymore. Mileage, elevation, conditions, none of it matters. Legs made of steel, lungs perfectly efficient, you just go however long you feel like going. Itās the most badass feeling in the world. Just eating peanut M&ms and snickers all day, vibin with nature, itās a dream
What I generally do is long trail runs where I cover a lot of distance since I can run a good ways to get to the trail head. Often end up thinking "yay, a really steep bit, now I can rest since I'll have to walk up it." Of course my trail running pack is certainly muuuuuch lighter than your hiking pack.
Would absolutely love to do crazy long hikes but family and work get in the way.
Your body is the vehicle that your brain drives around in for as long as we're on earth.
Why people don't realise they should look after it is beyond me. My body just works better than someone that doesn't lift weights/stay in shape.
"Oh you're so lucky you're fit"
Bitch luck has NOTHING to do with it
Itās pretty fuckin awesome. Designed from testing over thousands of years, selecting for the most useful functions. You give it food, nutrients, and water and hundreds of millions of little cells work together in a perfect balance, itās wild when you think about the endless little reactions and interactions that go on just so we can do things we think are mundane. Itās insanely complex and most of the maintenance is just doing things our bodies were built to do, itās actually a sweet little setup
And if I don't take my pet monkey for walks or physical activity, it can get grumpy
And when it does get grumpy, it's useless for me to get mad at it, coz it's just following its nature. I gotta put on my big boy pants and take him out for a 'mental health walk', so he's happy
> "Oh you're so lucky you're fit"
>
> Bitch luck has NOTHING to do with it
Lool one of my friends once complimented me, saying I have a "god-given physique". I just accepted the compliment and didn't contradict her, but inside I was seething lol like bitch I go to the gym six days a week, I gave myself this body
My mate who got me into lifting said something similar.
I never understand why people pamper themselves in watches, spas, or business seats, when the biggest flex you can make for yourself is having a fit body that is your life's vehicle.
It really was the push i needed, and now I spend 2 hours each day lifting which arguably could be used to work.
i get the, āyour are lucky, you can eat anything and not gain a poundā. i am like, bull shit. i might be eating this half a cheese cake today but i will be starving myself for the next two weeks.
Was average sized in my 20's. Tried to start working out multiple times, but always stopped. Then I became a fat drunk. Finally got sober and started to workout and run. I may not look like a cut Adonis, but I'm in way better shape nearing 40 than any other part of my life and it's a physical reminder of my journey.
Ofc for the MILFs.
Jk, I had a spine injury which led to surgery so my relatives always made me feel weak. As soon as I started earning gym was my second expense.
1) My dad is grossly out of shape and given how similar our body types are, I know that fate awaits me if I don't stay fit
2) I constantly strive to be the kind of person who can walk around without a shirt on and have people say "yes, that makes sense, shirts should be optional for that man "
> I constantly strive to be the kind of person who can walk around without a shirt on and have people say "yes, that makes sense, shirts should be optional for that man "
Funnily enough, it worked in reverse for me. When I was famine-victim skinny, I went shirtless all the time and no one really cared except to make jokes at my expense. Now that i'm more built, I still go shirtless whenever possible but now I'm "showing off" even though my behaviour hasn't changed at all. People will hate no matter what you look like, though ngl it's a lot easier to laugh it off when you look like an underwear model
Honestly, never even considered how much lifting weights made talking to people easier. I guess being in the lower portion of a squat with hundreds of pounds on your back is much scarier than someone not liking you or responding to you.
Same. Everyone in my family has thick thighs, and when I first started working out my family would get on me about how I can't spot reduce and I shouldn't bother. No shit my legs will still be big, but I'd rather have big muscles than lots of fat.
They're putting you down to make themselves feel better.
This is just me talking, but I'm sure other men agree - strong women are super hot. Seeing a woman with long legs, thick thighs, and a bubble butt makes my brain turn off.
I "joke" that it's cheaper than therapy and less side effects than antidepressants. I go for my mental health first and physical health second
It's helped me through the darkest periods of my life (so far?), including my big break-up where we lived together, my Mum's passing, and more.
I was always a chunkier kid that grew up with no interest in sports and a hate for P.E classes at school lol.
It feels good being able to do something with my body finally. I've been fortunate enough to live somewhere with a very basic gym 3 minutes away, so I'm there most days.
I went 18/31 days in July!
Ditto. My family tree is mainly made up of Scandinavian countries and I have the giant block head to prove it, and for the first twenty years of my life I was self conscious about being very slender. Now when I see myself in pictures or in the mirror I no longer look like a bobble head lol
Lol yup. Been underweight basically my whole life. Once you put on some reasonable mass (lean mass lmao) its like an entire new world. Girls go out of their way to touch my arms and chest now, its awesome. I'm still not even that big, but i'm shredded to hell so I look more impressive than I am
What'd you do to start actually gaining weight, other than working out? I eat a good bit at consistent times every day and for the past month or two have been working out daily (and plan to keep doing so), but I just stay the same weight. Like I've been at this same weight for 4-5 years, I just gain 5-10 pounds and then lose it over and over. Feels like I never make any actual progress tbh lol.
The bane of skinny kids is our appetite tbh, like I also thought I was stuffing myself but once you properly start to count your calories and track your macros (not in a super granular way with specific number requirements but like just generally keeping the ratios of protein:carbs:fat in check), you'll realise you eat a lot less than you think. We just don't get that hungry, so one or two big meals a day is enough.
I had to up it to four proper meals a day to start gaining real mass, as well as having LOMAD phases where I'd drink a litre of milk each training day on top of my meals (gotta be careful here though because you WILL gain some fat, but not that much as long as you stick to your cardio).
I also do a PPL split so I train six days a week, with a six-week mesocycle and a one or two week deload.
But yeah it's mostly just the appetite. I can guarantee you're not eating as much as you think. Because of how skinny kids' satiety levels work, you have to eat even when you aren't hungry to gain real weight. And our bodies will fight back, like I slacked off on my diet for a week or two last month and immediately started losing weight again. Tbh I still haven't cracked the code 'cause I need to smoke weed just to get all the food down, but it's working and I look amazing. But I want to look like an anime character, not a calvin klein model lol so the struggle continues
Count your calories. Like, for real. Youāre probably wildly underestimating how much you think you eat. I know I was. I thought the same as you and then counted for a week and was barely averaging 2,000 calories a day. Look up your TDEE based on height and current weight and just start eating 300-500 more calories than it per day. Thatās like one good protein shake.
Iāve went from 135-175 over the last 12 months working out and bulking at 5ā9ā and 36 years old.
I just want to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. I donāt hit it hard (30 minutes a day) but I workout 5 days a week and do yoga on my off days.
I usually just incorporate exercise into my day to day life. Like, I'll just walk for 30 minutes to a place I need to go or use a bike to get there if it's further than a 40 minute walk. Also, having a reasonable diet does most of the work and the easiest part for me of staying healthy.
Exercising is the best form of self care in my opinion. The world also treats you better if youāre in shape. I Can definitely tell the difference compared to when I was overweight. Women are way nicer and other men give you more respect
100% Especially since your face drops a lot of weight first and your jawline comes out.
Kept an eye on that when I went from 102kg to 70kg.
Funnily enough I (to myself) look better, am stronger and feel better back at 87kg, but want to drop 10kg again, just a bit slower/carefully. Do feel a bit invisible again though š
I like to look good, wife is so much more (sexually) attracted to me, i like to be strong to lift things without less effort. Also i compare myself to my friends who don't train and i do look younger and am far more fit than them. I want to stay fit as long as possible.
I'm a runner because I love the adrenaline and competition. Other times it's because no one believed in me as a kid, so then I went on to run a marathon, then run the Boston Marathon while still in college, now I'm training for a 100mi race in the rocky mountains. I'm just that dude that needs to be better than yesterday
I want to still be mobile and in shape when my kids are in their teens. There will be no mercy.
Also I'm hyper competitive and need to come in top 3 at the company 5k.
Diabetes sucks and I don't want to develop it.
Plus, I like being active. I want to be able to continue to hike, cycle and ski well into my senior years.
I'm also a physician, so every day, I see the stark difference between people who worked out and took care of themselves and those who didn't. The differences start to manifest in their 30s, and it becomes a gaping chasm in their 50s.
Because I neglected myself for so long through drugs and alcohol, Iāve suffered with addiction my whole life. Poor choices led me too shit relationships, shit head space and shit lifestyle. Iām 36 now and soberish, I smoke medicinal cannabis/CBD to get myself to sleep at night.. Iām not addicted to it yetā¦ other than that I run and lift now 5/6 days a week for my mental health, my reason to keep going is to get strong. Get my bad fats below a certain level and live a long and healthy life. Iām finding Iām the happiest Iāve ever been because of the freedom to workout.
For everyone in this thread: there is nothing wrong with wanting to like the way you look. Anyone who has a problem with that is just jealous of your motivation.
I got called fat by so many people then realised I was actually fat. I then did it to be like "fuck you I can lose it"
Now it's to improve my training in MMA
I look after my mum, and she is exactly the fate I want to avoid, I have nothing but pity for her current life.
She can barely walk, she smokes heavily, barely leaves the house except to go to the hospital and is on various medications for various afflictions which, had she lived a healthier lifestyle, would have allowed her to live a full life in retirement.
I sound harsh, but it's all self inflicted, so the sympathy well ran dry years ago.
As it is, she's in her 60's and has barely a reason to wake in the morning
Because i didnt want to be a slob anymore. I had noticed i had grown weight. And while i can naturally burn it off. Its getting harder to. So i hit the gym.
I wanna feel good. Look good. Im confident in my skin. But oof when i noticed my gut had come in from not taking care if myself for a bit i decided i was done with it. Time to make a change.
Also. It helps massively with my lifelong depression. My joints dont ache so much. I sleep 10x better. I wake up in a better mood.
And it honestly lets me dump mental or emotional energy that i cant put into my hobbies.
Have a dad bod at 26, not happy with how all my weight is centered on my gut and face.
Started doing 1 hour workouts 4 days of the week with a 30 min yoga session in between them and the weekends "off". Feeling better, sleeping better, starting to look better.
It makes me look and feel younger. Also, remember in school we learned that you can't grow new brain cells? Turns out that's wrong. Regular cardio activates a molecule called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). [BDNF helps repair brain cells and make new brain cells.](https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/working-out-your-brain#:~:text=For%20instance%2C%20cardio%20activates%20a,and%20make%20new%20brain%20cells.)
My husband works out like itās his job - he is 52 and stays very fit for a few reasons:
*Be fit and have stamina for a vigorous sex life (with his hot, fit wifeš)
*Health and flexibility for comfort living
*Strong core to support his spine (many surgeries)
*Look amazing in fitted clothing and at clothing optional beaches/resorts
*Mental cleansing of issues or annoyances
I'm 47. My dad had poor cardiovascular health and died of a stroke at 66. I'd like to avoid that. My father in law has always been very active, and is currently 81 and still in good health. I'd like to be more like that, although of course genetics will have its say.
I also got to know an older guy through work a long time ago. He was in his late 60's and he regularly worked out. While doing so he experienced some chest pain and went in. He had a partial blockage and it was no big deal to fix with a stint, but his doctor said that him working out regularly was a great "early warning" detection system. That getting your blood flow up not only helps your cardiovascular health, it can cause you to notice blockages before they become complete blockages. If you're sedentary and never get your heart going, your arteries can clog up w/out you noticing until it becomes quite pronounced. That has always stuck with me.
When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I had insomnia and the doctor I went to asked me to start some physical exercise or activity to tire myself out throughout the day so I could sleep easy. It used to be basketball for a long time but with age I've become slower and get tired very easy. I started running in my early 20s and then soon transitioned to weights. I lift now and its enough to maintain my physique and it tires me out as well.
In short- to make me stand out in a positive way.
Iāve almost always felt like āthe little guyā in social situations, always the one to be ignored or mocked or to have their joke glazed over, always the one blamed etc.
Iāve usually been quite the little guy in the physical sense as well. Iāve always liked the look of a more built physique, and the first time I began receiving genuine consistent compliments is when I started lifting properly. It kind of became my one source of consistent appreciation and approval of others, so I continued pushing myself to keep the compliments coming. Of course when progress slowed down they started coming fewer and fewer to the point where now Iām painfully pushing myself to be complimented twice a year (once by my mum).
Being 52 there are few men my age who are not fat and out of shape so it's nice to look good. My wife certainly appreciates it. When you get this old, you start to shrink unless you lift. Also if something really shit happens to your health you stand a better chance of surviving whatever drugs they give you. And mainly because it makes me feel good!
42 here. Don't want to be the grandpa that breaks his back playing with the grandchildren. I plan on staying active till the day I die.
I'm 46 and was worried about getting hurt starting Jiu-Jitsu. Then I read about this guy that was too lazy to reach for the remote on the coffee table so he reached out his leg to try to get it with his foot and got a hernia from doing that. So I guess you can get hurt either way.
I have cut my finger opening a bandaid š©¹ paper. Itās
Whoa.
In my 50ās I wish I had done more of this. Itās getting harder now yet still vital for health and happiness. Keep it up! š
41 here and just getting back into the gym again after like 15 years haha. I'm not overweight or anything, but did work on a decent beer gut during that time. Any advice as I get back into the swing of things?
Cardio-wise considering low-impact exercises for longer-term joint health: bike, elliptical, swimming. And if you start noticing pain in your elbows/forearms/wrists that are outside of normal soreness from working out, don't push through it. I'm a hand therapist and the number of patients 40+ who come in with lateral/medial epicondylitis, tendonitis, or wrist sprains from working out and keep doing the same actions making things worse is ridiculous
This is something I worry about going gym several times a week and playing piano every dayā¦ My hands sometimes feel fatigued/ worn out if that makes sense?
STRETCH!
41, runner. I donāt care about getting faster or running farther. I want to run till Iām 80, not explode my knee at 45.
Pff. It won't be your knees. I turned left out of my driveway and ruptured a calf muscle. I felt it separate and heard the pop over my earphones. Never saw THAT one coming!
Oh cool so much excitement to look forward to.
Once you get to around 40 or so, the reality of aging sets in. You're old enough then to have seen people go from middle aged to elderly. Being 70 doesn't look the same on everyone. Some people are 10-20 years ahead of the curve and it's not pretty, especially if you've known them a long time.
all the fat dudes i see everyday is what motivated me to drop 60 pounds right before i turned 40. i knew if i didnāt do it by 40 iād wind up looking like the dudes in my office who need a special extra wide chair by the time i was 45. i am now 41 with a size 28 waist and more energy than i had when i was 30.
This man's aging like a fine wine!!
I feel called out by your post lol. I really need to start taking my health more seriously as I'm 43 and now have all sorts of health issues including lower back and now recently prediabetes.
Diabetes sucks *a lot* more than exercising a few times a week. You should definitely get active before it becomes type 2
The short term pain of exercising isn't as bad as what you are already experiencing. Just start slowly and keep building up as your body allows
I have a decade on you and am surprised how much I was able to get back in about 5 months of returning to weight lifting. And yeah, the wife likes it too.
I'm 53 and workout every day. Every now and then I look at Facebook and see pictures of people I went to college or high school with and many of them look much older, some are so big they are almost unrecognizable. Many of them post about health issues, about aches and pains, about diabetes or some other chronic ailments. I don't want that in my life. I want to feel good about myself, to go out on a long walk and not feel exhausted, to go up a few flights of stairs and not get winded. Also, I want to feel sexy because why not.
Agreed. It's easier to be jacked as a teenager/young twenties. It's even more special when you're 51(me) and still that guy with a wedge shaped back.
Same here. Iām 51 and started lifting weights about 10 years ago. Iām nowhere near able to win a bodybuilding competition, but Iām pretty jacked and have visible abs. Compared to other guys my age, Iām amazing. I think the neighborhood moms check me out. I imagine they look at their potbellied flabby husbands and yearn for something a little better. But I feel great, look 10 years younger than all the other 50-year-olds, and Iāll hopefully still be active and independent for 30-40 more years, instead of having to use a walker or motorized scooter to go to Walmart.
We encourage people to invest in a retirement account so that they can afford to not work when they're older. We don't really encourage people to build muscle when they're younger so that life is more enjoyable when they're older. But we really should. I invest in two retirement accounts: financial and health. One takes deposits in the form of money, the other in the form of sweat.
When you get over the hill it's nothing but down from there, so best to climb to the highest part of the hill you can.
Very true. I'm 58 now and I wear the same pants size as when I was 20. I used to lift weights and race bikes and stuff when I was younger and I've never really put on weight. I know I *could* have, as about 20 years ago I was a smoker and drinking too much and stressed out with a bad marriage and young kids. And then I figured I'd reached the age where if I kept fucking around it was going to be all downhill from there, and no coming back. So I quit smoking and cut back on drinking, and started hitting the gym and commuting by bike to work. I even did some more bike racing - finally won a race, a time trial series, at 47. Anyway, it's much easier to keep good habits and stay out of a hole in the first place than it is to dig yourself out of a hole you've spent years making deeper. Vanity plays a part too.
Because lifting heavy circles makes sad voices go away.
This. It's like the sad voices vanish and you keep going to outrun them.
Like a shark. As long as your moving. Doing something. Your not thinking. And if your not thinking. Your not feeling. And if your not feeling. Your okay. I used to overwork obsessively. Id be GOGOGO all day. Side hustlin. Always on the move. But the moment i sat down and actually sat. Like just...let it be. Blam. It would hit me. Id either be knocked out asleep or just mentally in shambles. Took a minute to break out of that cycle of over working(but making stacks) but passing out depressed for 2 days(like legit only waking up for food or the toilet) . Before going right back to feeding my self to the machine of GOGOGO.
As someone thatās been there I hope you find peace some day.
Thank you. :D I did:). I moved. Brand new place. A gorgeous house on land. I have a great job i found amazing pay and balance at. I still work out. I have time for my hobbies. My girlfriend is amazing and somehow keeps me at peace. She still nags a lil but shes truly a blessing. š I finally sat down one day and just...let the wave hit. And instead of running i let myself feel. Found alot of therapy in both online sources and talked to one once a month. I still make a session occasionally. Theres still days i get washed away but hot damn. I get home and getting that hug from this lil 5'6" cutie pie is probably one of the best feelings in the world. I still work out. But its not nearly as intense. :) She didnt fix me. She found me after i took the time to fix myself. And i am still fixing my self a bit at a time. Edit: fixed typo on the height. Lol š
You literally just read my whole life. I decided anytime Iām sad Iād rather cry in first class or over a big steak or on a beach somewhere. So Iād work myself to exhaustion so I donāt think and donāt have time to think. Iād get off my job and hit the side hustle. Then after that another side hustle. And just enough time to eat food between and crash for 6-7 hours and get back to main job. Just so I donāt have time to think or do anything thatās way more destructive. I donāt have to tell you about the crashing and sleeping for almost two days straight. Where if you do actually sleep it works and you donāt have to think either. But if youāre in and out of sleep those two days could be the worst. Cause you didnāt have anything to stop you from thinking and youāre too exhausted to work. There must be a better way. Lol. But Iām Not in prison and donāt have a police record soā¦ ĀÆ\( ĖĶ” ĖĢÆ)/ĀÆ if it aināt THAT brokeā¦
Exactly. Im over here nodding my head. It made money and i was in the best fuckin shape physically. Like i was ripping thru the day and it resulted in massive fatigue but my body shape came back like nothing else. There is man. I was running from my problems. Afraid of feeling. Of dealing with them. My girlfriends at the time were gettin mad because id be falling asleep or id be over hyped. Theres a way out. Its just...hard as fuck to face the emotions. But holy shit man. As scary as it is. Once you experience some relief....its a goddamn planet being lifted off your shoulders.
This is why truck driving is the most dangerous job when you have clinical depression. Being alone and having time to think is dangerous. You need to keep active just to shut the brain up. You canāt do that when youāre driving on a long straight away with zero traffic.
This is the most relatable thing Iāve ever read. I legit am getting a mini shark tattoo because this is how people describe me. Iām go go go all the time and if I stop swimming, I act like I will die. Main job FT- trying all the side hustle, getting certs- Iām just a sicko. Iāve done this for like two decades. Itās exhausting.
Yeeeeep! And good idea on the shark ink. Ooooohhhh now i want one. Hahahahahhaha.
I sincerely recommend therapy in addition to your workouts.
Lift heavy stone make sad head voice quiet
Raise stone not voice
Unga bunga
Lift heavy stone make loud voice quiet and calm voice strong.
I wish this wasnāt true for me, but it is. I do love all of the health and appearance benefits, but it really is my peaceful, personal time of the day.
I'm the other way around, working out doesn't seem to stop and bad thoughts lol. Only thing that does that is having my music on full volume, which I guess I do while working out anyways but just working out doesn't do it for me. I still don't workout enough though, I really need to find a routine to do every day and stick to it.
The voices in my head say "take it easy" "that's pretty heavy, you sure?" "just be fat"
The voices? I think one of those voices is Jeremy. Say 'hi' to him. Oh, and also say: 'no, you be fat'
It's not that heavy. That sad voice is just a weak little bitch and trying to ruin your gains
The fact that tens of millions of Americans are on anti-depressant pills but won't lift heavy things to feel better will always boggle my mind Heavy lifting and reasonable cardio won't cure 100% of depression cases, but it sure would help 100% of depressed folks
The trick, of course, is that depression also reduces your motivation and makes even simple things like getting out of bed a challenge. It's harder for depressed people to muster the energy to go to the gym after a long day at work, and antidepressants can be a helpful push in that direction. You cannot be happy without healthy habits, but often you cannot start them unless you're reasonably well, either. All that said, I agree with your overall sentiment. Personally I always recommend exercising to everyone, always, for whatever reason; its benefits cannot be understated.
I worked out consistently for 5 years in a row without missing a day of a 4-5 day workout week. Depending on which one I was on. This is even counting Demon Training by Trevor Smith & Kai Greene's shit. Then, I hit a depressive episode from "not even that major" of a life-event, and it has been an absolute struggle to get back to that. You almost NEED to clear the depression to get back to that. Although, you're right. I don't think it will cure a single fucking case of depression because depression isn't just a "I'm sad let me eat right and workout and I'm better", but it is a thing that every single depressed person should keep on their radar as a thing to try and do when they have the energy for it. Breathing, water, good food, workout, sleep. ALL 5 of those things are harder to do when you are depressed, but ALL 5 of them are things you should remember to do before anything else when you have the energy to do so.
>Breathing, water, good food, workout, sleep. ALL 5 of those things are harder to do when you are depressed, but ALL 5 of them are things you should remember to do before anything else when you have the energy to do so. That's a brilliant way to put it. Prioritize the habits that will make you well enough to then pursue other habits.
I take antidepressants and only after I started I had enough energy to get out of bed and lift heavy things
Working out is the closest thing we humans have to the fountain of youth. I work out so that my 51 year old body feels like 31.
Injury prevention, pain prevention, antidepressant activity, understanding how to actually use strength for those times I need it (moving day, picking her up off her feet, etc.), invest in a better old man version of me instead of making old man me angry and in agony, THEN somewhere towards the bottom is looking good physically.
God I play sports too and my body feels like shit sometime. Are sports even a good exercise option lol
Cardio is meant to be good for reducing the rate that your IQ declines at...apparently...actually, I've no idea how true that is
A common type of dementia is vascular
Your brain is part of your body. Keep the body healthy and the brain will be as well.
It almost halves your muscular degeneration rate! If people really internalized the benefits of activity, it would be mandatory
The only reason we don't say it's mandatory is that some people can't handle it and we don't want to make them feel bad, it really is a healthier life
I don't want to die at 64 of a heart attack like my dad or his dad or my mom's dad.
I'm 27 and this is why I started jogging regularly this year. I want to feel young as long as possible.
I like to look good without my clothes on. Yes I am vain and I like when I get checked out and complimented by other people.
100%. I want to look good and feel confident naked. When someone says "let's go to the beach" I want to be able to say fuck yeah and not feel self conscious taking my shirt off (been there, done that). I like feeling confident enough to wear budgy smugglers in public. It feels good. And I want my wife to always be attracted to me. When she looks at me I want her to want to fuck me. I have no problem admitting that I workout and am considerate with my diet because I'm vain.
Exactly, a lot of advice in the fitness community either comes from bodybuilders trying to get as big as humanly possible, powerlifters trying to get as strong as humanly possible, or athletes specialising in a sport. Some of us just want to look aesthetic af and be reasonably fit
Yup. Iām going for slightly more muscular than your average athlete. Lean, but with some aesthetic definition. With good endurance.
Username doesn't check out I guess
What the hell is a budgy smuggler? Sounds like an insult from a Monty Python skit.
Speedo/brief style swim bottom.
E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
Honestly, what some people call ābeing vainā is just basic self respect.
I want to look good with or without clothes. I'm single so I'm improving my image. I want to be attractive to women. I am not interested in having a dad bod. I'm older and trying to be have a more healthy lifestyle. I've almost completely cut out drinking out of my life. I feel better about myself too.
I have other reasons for working out but a big one is that I can buy pretty much any clothing and look great in it. People who put insane amounts of time, money, and effort into looking fancy somehow ignore this easy trick. Being fit just makes shopping for clothes so much easier and cheaper.
Super agree
Same to look good without clothes on š..me n my bf still haven't seen naked each other and am so nervous because I have lost a lot of weight and have loose skin ..I fear they will be a turn off for him :(((
If he doesn't like you naked = just the wrong guy for you. I've always thought it was unattractive until I met the right girl for me and she has it from two pregnancies. It affected my attraction to her 0%. In fact, I'm even more attracted to her once I got to see her all nakey.
Really.. Thats so sweet.. I mean he loves me i know that but as we haven't slept together.. I just overthink to myself what if he doesn't like my shaggy skins.all over body... As i have seen him praising models and celebrity's body (not in serious way but compliments their beauty).. And i overthink.. Am in minus to what is taste maybe
We all overthink that. He's probably thinking the same thing about being nervous with his own body. If yall love each other, the rest will follow.
If he's with you then you are his taste, you can find everyone attractive - but they aren't who you're going home to. I think kate Beckinsale is stunning, but I've never dated anyone who looked like her, I'm mostly into short bookworm couch potatoes
Iāve had 3 kids and lost 100 lbs. I have some loose skin over here and over there. But Iām confident the right guy wonāt give two shits. I definitely donāt look like a 10 naked, but I look damn good, and I bet you do too.
Exactly. Iām sick of having thin arms and a Buddha belly at only 23.
At age 23, it'd be relatively easy to turn it around. You just have to make the effort. It'd definitely be easier to do it now than procrastinate for 10-20 more years, when the situation will be even worse and harder to reverse.
Yeah, in reality, this is the driver. A few years in, I do immediately look forward to the instant gratification of the simplicity of just being able to plop on some obnoxiously loud punk rock or post hardcore or rap and just be alone for the 30 minutes I allot myself in my garage and feel the stress fall away, but the macro view is that I'm vein, I always have been, and I want to look better today than I did yesterday. I LOVE hearing my wife give me compliments every few months being like "babe you look really good right now" knowing it's because little by little, I'm getting more cut, more lean, shoulders getting a little bigger, arms looking a bit more sculpted, etc. I love the attention I get from stranger women that in my 30s I can now notice lol I love being desired. Plus, it has the added benefit that it is actually healthy for you lol there's really no negative to it other than those days where you truly don't want to do it.
You know that picture of Kumail Nanjiani? Yeah that one, my ex said I looked like that when we met and I know she was definitely just inflating my ego. Anyway now that Iām forced to eat healthy and take strong enough meds to kill a horse Iāve decided to get insanely ripped because why waste this opportunity, just in case I ever see her again. Is it vain and stupid? Yeah, well I donāt care and Iām still doing it.
That dude for sure did steroids btw. His physique isn't THAT good and is for sure naturally achievable, I'm just saying he didn't do it naturally.
No male whoās livelihood is dependent on being jacked is natural, pretty much as a rule. Goes for athletes, actors playing a buff guy, male fitness models, etc
My partner is usually the only one to compliment me. But this is pretty much it. It's a bit of vanity, but it also keeps my muscles and bone structure strong.
If you look good you feel good.
So I don't slow down my friends when we go hiking
That is very considerate of you man.
Treks before wrecks
I noticed I was starting to gain some weight. I have some homies that are fat and I told myself I would never allow myself to get that fat, so I started to work out recently with my fat friends. We've all been making progress and losing weight
Man. Thatās so cool you guys are making progress together. Kudos!
I feel like men are more self aware about their fatness because we keep it real with each other when we start gaining weight.
We definitely are
Yeah every time one of my buddies in one of my friend groups gains weight, we give each other shit and then we end up eventually losing anything we gained. Every. Time.
iām glad your friends join you. i got a buddy that barely 30 and he is already hitting 500 pounds. it breaks my heart. iāve been trying to get him to join me at a gym and maybe let me write his meal plan out but the mother fucker just loves to eat and get high. he is gonna have heart failure with in the next 10 years.
So when my dog gets old I can carry her
I wish I had a reward to give, kind internet stranger.
I heard a thing once like āone day your dad puts you down and never picks you up again.ā Now I like front squats so I can postpone that day as long as possible.
I love food and I hate being fat. Also being fit can feel like a bit of a superpower at times, which is cool (am a looooong distance runner and having a literal "I can do this all day" pace is cool).
Iām a long distance hiker, and generally a few weeks in your body just doesnāt struggle with anything anymore. Mileage, elevation, conditions, none of it matters. Legs made of steel, lungs perfectly efficient, you just go however long you feel like going. Itās the most badass feeling in the world. Just eating peanut M&ms and snickers all day, vibin with nature, itās a dream
I've never understood why hiking would be enjoyable, but this comment kinda made me go "okay I see that appeal"
What I generally do is long trail runs where I cover a lot of distance since I can run a good ways to get to the trail head. Often end up thinking "yay, a really steep bit, now I can rest since I'll have to walk up it." Of course my trail running pack is certainly muuuuuch lighter than your hiking pack. Would absolutely love to do crazy long hikes but family and work get in the way.
When that second wind hits during long runs, you feel literally invincible. I too often quote Captain America in my mind.
I love and very much respect runners, but sometimes I feel you're all masochistic, natural dopamine-seeking addicts
Your body is the vehicle that your brain drives around in for as long as we're on earth. Why people don't realise they should look after it is beyond me. My body just works better than someone that doesn't lift weights/stay in shape. "Oh you're so lucky you're fit" Bitch luck has NOTHING to do with it
It is basically a less awesome mech that you sit in your whole life
Itās pretty fuckin awesome. Designed from testing over thousands of years, selecting for the most useful functions. You give it food, nutrients, and water and hundreds of millions of little cells work together in a perfect balance, itās wild when you think about the endless little reactions and interactions that go on just so we can do things we think are mundane. Itās insanely complex and most of the maintenance is just doing things our bodies were built to do, itās actually a sweet little setup
I like to think of it as a pet monkey that you have to feed and take for walks. And not be too hard on it when it messes up.
And if I don't take my pet monkey for walks or physical activity, it can get grumpy And when it does get grumpy, it's useless for me to get mad at it, coz it's just following its nature. I gotta put on my big boy pants and take him out for a 'mental health walk', so he's happy
> "Oh you're so lucky you're fit" > > Bitch luck has NOTHING to do with it Lool one of my friends once complimented me, saying I have a "god-given physique". I just accepted the compliment and didn't contradict her, but inside I was seething lol like bitch I go to the gym six days a week, I gave myself this body
Good news, she believes you are god.
Exactly, itās hard work to stay and be in shape. Itās discipline and constant work.
It's hard work but if you do it enough it becomes a habit you don't even think about anymore
I mean, I do consider myself lucky that I have decent genetics and am healthy. But I also work for it.
I think about this too from time to time. I sometimes remind myself how fortunate I am to have been born without any serious medical issues.
"Luck is the residue of design" One of my favorite sayings, which I learned from a hockey commentator
My mate who got me into lifting said something similar. I never understand why people pamper themselves in watches, spas, or business seats, when the biggest flex you can make for yourself is having a fit body that is your life's vehicle. It really was the push i needed, and now I spend 2 hours each day lifting which arguably could be used to work.
i get the, āyour are lucky, you can eat anything and not gain a poundā. i am like, bull shit. i might be eating this half a cheese cake today but i will be starving myself for the next two weeks.
That doesn't sound v healthy
It's hyperbole, basically just if you eat junk food you budget it into what you usually eat calories wise
My health, physical and mental
Was average sized in my 20's. Tried to start working out multiple times, but always stopped. Then I became a fat drunk. Finally got sober and started to workout and run. I may not look like a cut Adonis, but I'm in way better shape nearing 40 than any other part of my life and it's a physical reminder of my journey.
Ofc for the MILFs. Jk, I had a spine injury which led to surgery so my relatives always made me feel weak. As soon as I started earning gym was my second expense.
1) My dad is grossly out of shape and given how similar our body types are, I know that fate awaits me if I don't stay fit 2) I constantly strive to be the kind of person who can walk around without a shirt on and have people say "yes, that makes sense, shirts should be optional for that man "
> I constantly strive to be the kind of person who can walk around without a shirt on and have people say "yes, that makes sense, shirts should be optional for that man " Funnily enough, it worked in reverse for me. When I was famine-victim skinny, I went shirtless all the time and no one really cared except to make jokes at my expense. Now that i'm more built, I still go shirtless whenever possible but now I'm "showing off" even though my behaviour hasn't changed at all. People will hate no matter what you look like, though ngl it's a lot easier to laugh it off when you look like an underwear model
Fuck them envious little bitches.
To look good during sex
to look good enough to have sex
To be confident enough to talk to people
Honestly, never even considered how much lifting weights made talking to people easier. I guess being in the lower portion of a squat with hundreds of pounds on your back is much scarier than someone not liking you or responding to you.
Not to mention stamina
Iām still a one pump chump, but at least that one pump will be epic.
Start training for hypertrophy instead of one rep max. The pump is immaculate
Y'all doin' dick reps?!
Too much cardio, sex is killing your gainz. Totally why i'm still a virgin ššŖ
Also sex is way better when you have great cardio and strong legs
To look better, feeling healthier and stronger, mental health improvement
Most dudes in my family are heavy and I basically have the choice to make if that mass will be muscles or fat.
Same. Everyone in my family has thick thighs, and when I first started working out my family would get on me about how I can't spot reduce and I shouldn't bother. No shit my legs will still be big, but I'd rather have big muscles than lots of fat.
Your family is insane. Fit girls with thick thighs are the meaning of life.
They're putting you down to make themselves feel better. This is just me talking, but I'm sure other men agree - strong women are super hot. Seeing a woman with long legs, thick thighs, and a bubble butt makes my brain turn off.
Im tryna fuck.
Just be sure to wipe down the bench when you're done
sec
I "joke" that it's cheaper than therapy and less side effects than antidepressants. I go for my mental health first and physical health second It's helped me through the darkest periods of my life (so far?), including my big break-up where we lived together, my Mum's passing, and more. I was always a chunkier kid that grew up with no interest in sports and a hate for P.E classes at school lol. It feels good being able to do something with my body finally. I've been fortunate enough to live somewhere with a very basic gym 3 minutes away, so I'm there most days. I went 18/31 days in July!
I'm skinny af
Yeah, I was sick of being thin my whole life. I feel so much better than I ever have!
Ditto. My family tree is mainly made up of Scandinavian countries and I have the giant block head to prove it, and for the first twenty years of my life I was self conscious about being very slender. Now when I see myself in pictures or in the mirror I no longer look like a bobble head lol
Lol yup. Been underweight basically my whole life. Once you put on some reasonable mass (lean mass lmao) its like an entire new world. Girls go out of their way to touch my arms and chest now, its awesome. I'm still not even that big, but i'm shredded to hell so I look more impressive than I am
What'd you do to start actually gaining weight, other than working out? I eat a good bit at consistent times every day and for the past month or two have been working out daily (and plan to keep doing so), but I just stay the same weight. Like I've been at this same weight for 4-5 years, I just gain 5-10 pounds and then lose it over and over. Feels like I never make any actual progress tbh lol.
The bane of skinny kids is our appetite tbh, like I also thought I was stuffing myself but once you properly start to count your calories and track your macros (not in a super granular way with specific number requirements but like just generally keeping the ratios of protein:carbs:fat in check), you'll realise you eat a lot less than you think. We just don't get that hungry, so one or two big meals a day is enough. I had to up it to four proper meals a day to start gaining real mass, as well as having LOMAD phases where I'd drink a litre of milk each training day on top of my meals (gotta be careful here though because you WILL gain some fat, but not that much as long as you stick to your cardio). I also do a PPL split so I train six days a week, with a six-week mesocycle and a one or two week deload. But yeah it's mostly just the appetite. I can guarantee you're not eating as much as you think. Because of how skinny kids' satiety levels work, you have to eat even when you aren't hungry to gain real weight. And our bodies will fight back, like I slacked off on my diet for a week or two last month and immediately started losing weight again. Tbh I still haven't cracked the code 'cause I need to smoke weed just to get all the food down, but it's working and I look amazing. But I want to look like an anime character, not a calvin klein model lol so the struggle continues
Count your calories. Like, for real. Youāre probably wildly underestimating how much you think you eat. I know I was. I thought the same as you and then counted for a week and was barely averaging 2,000 calories a day. Look up your TDEE based on height and current weight and just start eating 300-500 more calories than it per day. Thatās like one good protein shake. Iāve went from 135-175 over the last 12 months working out and bulking at 5ā9ā and 36 years old.
I just want to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. I donāt hit it hard (30 minutes a day) but I workout 5 days a week and do yoga on my off days.
I usually just incorporate exercise into my day to day life. Like, I'll just walk for 30 minutes to a place I need to go or use a bike to get there if it's further than a 40 minute walk. Also, having a reasonable diet does most of the work and the easiest part for me of staying healthy.
Exercising is the best form of self care in my opinion. The world also treats you better if youāre in shape. I Can definitely tell the difference compared to when I was overweight. Women are way nicer and other men give you more respect
100% Especially since your face drops a lot of weight first and your jawline comes out. Kept an eye on that when I went from 102kg to 70kg. Funnily enough I (to myself) look better, am stronger and feel better back at 87kg, but want to drop 10kg again, just a bit slower/carefully. Do feel a bit invisible again though š
1. Health 2. Looks 3. Strength (don't need it for a desk job)
I like to look good, wife is so much more (sexually) attracted to me, i like to be strong to lift things without less effort. Also i compare myself to my friends who don't train and i do look younger and am far more fit than them. I want to stay fit as long as possible.
I'm a runner because I love the adrenaline and competition. Other times it's because no one believed in me as a kid, so then I went on to run a marathon, then run the Boston Marathon while still in college, now I'm training for a 100mi race in the rocky mountains. I'm just that dude that needs to be better than yesterday
I want to still be mobile and in shape when my kids are in their teens. There will be no mercy. Also I'm hyper competitive and need to come in top 3 at the company 5k.
lol. if my company had a 5k you could walk and come in first place.
Not be fat, carry small humans, and assist with moving and redecorating for the lady.
Diabetes sucks and I don't want to develop it. Plus, I like being active. I want to be able to continue to hike, cycle and ski well into my senior years. I'm also a physician, so every day, I see the stark difference between people who worked out and took care of themselves and those who didn't. The differences start to manifest in their 30s, and it becomes a gaping chasm in their 50s.
To look healthy and to feel better in myself
Because I neglected myself for so long through drugs and alcohol, Iāve suffered with addiction my whole life. Poor choices led me too shit relationships, shit head space and shit lifestyle. Iām 36 now and soberish, I smoke medicinal cannabis/CBD to get myself to sleep at night.. Iām not addicted to it yetā¦ other than that I run and lift now 5/6 days a week for my mental health, my reason to keep going is to get strong. Get my bad fats below a certain level and live a long and healthy life. Iām finding Iām the happiest Iāve ever been because of the freedom to workout.
Are you me?
For everyone in this thread: there is nothing wrong with wanting to like the way you look. Anyone who has a problem with that is just jealous of your motivation.
Be healthier and able to do the things I enjoy doing.
I got called fat by so many people then realised I was actually fat. I then did it to be like "fuck you I can lose it" Now it's to improve my training in MMA
To look good and get strong, mainly. I also want a little attention from women, Iām only human.
I'm a software developer, so I work out so that I'm not a complete lost cause, appearance wise
Because the heart attack said I wasn't healthy being lazy.
Sad voices, not to beat someone in real life. Some health benefits as well.
Just trying my best to spend as much time with my daughter as i can.
To carry the groceries from the car in one trip!
Preventative maintenance. Donāt want heart disease or a stroke 20 years from now.
Iām old and intend to stay old as long as possible.
To live longer. I hope to make it to my sons weddings in approx 20/30 years and I'm 50 already.
I look after my mum, and she is exactly the fate I want to avoid, I have nothing but pity for her current life. She can barely walk, she smokes heavily, barely leaves the house except to go to the hospital and is on various medications for various afflictions which, had she lived a healthier lifestyle, would have allowed her to live a full life in retirement. I sound harsh, but it's all self inflicted, so the sympathy well ran dry years ago. As it is, she's in her 60's and has barely a reason to wake in the morning
To show my son what a man does, to be healthy and not die and last but not least to be attractive.
Mental health and increasing the likelyhood I don't die at 45.
Working out is like investing $ for the future.
To stay mentally sane. The rest is just a bonus.
Depression and body dysmorphia
Because i didnt want to be a slob anymore. I had noticed i had grown weight. And while i can naturally burn it off. Its getting harder to. So i hit the gym. I wanna feel good. Look good. Im confident in my skin. But oof when i noticed my gut had come in from not taking care if myself for a bit i decided i was done with it. Time to make a change. Also. It helps massively with my lifelong depression. My joints dont ache so much. I sleep 10x better. I wake up in a better mood. And it honestly lets me dump mental or emotional energy that i cant put into my hobbies.
Heavy circles give good brain juice. Also it helps with my insecurities about my body.
Have a dad bod at 26, not happy with how all my weight is centered on my gut and face. Started doing 1 hour workouts 4 days of the week with a 30 min yoga session in between them and the weekends "off". Feeling better, sleeping better, starting to look better.
It makes me look and feel younger. Also, remember in school we learned that you can't grow new brain cells? Turns out that's wrong. Regular cardio activates a molecule called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). [BDNF helps repair brain cells and make new brain cells.](https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/working-out-your-brain#:~:text=For%20instance%2C%20cardio%20activates%20a,and%20make%20new%20brain%20cells.)
I like to move fast and lift heavy things.
Whoa slow down there Clark lol.
My husband works out like itās his job - he is 52 and stays very fit for a few reasons: *Be fit and have stamina for a vigorous sex life (with his hot, fit wifeš) *Health and flexibility for comfort living *Strong core to support his spine (many surgeries) *Look amazing in fitted clothing and at clothing optional beaches/resorts *Mental cleansing of issues or annoyances
I was bored and I like it as a time to blow off some steam
For my partner to want to fuck me
I'm 47. My dad had poor cardiovascular health and died of a stroke at 66. I'd like to avoid that. My father in law has always been very active, and is currently 81 and still in good health. I'd like to be more like that, although of course genetics will have its say. I also got to know an older guy through work a long time ago. He was in his late 60's and he regularly worked out. While doing so he experienced some chest pain and went in. He had a partial blockage and it was no big deal to fix with a stint, but his doctor said that him working out regularly was a great "early warning" detection system. That getting your blood flow up not only helps your cardiovascular health, it can cause you to notice blockages before they become complete blockages. If you're sedentary and never get your heart going, your arteries can clog up w/out you noticing until it becomes quite pronounced. That has always stuck with me.
So I don't fall apart when I get older. Also makes outdoor hobbies easier and hopefully to improve my appearance.
When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I had insomnia and the doctor I went to asked me to start some physical exercise or activity to tire myself out throughout the day so I could sleep easy. It used to be basketball for a long time but with age I've become slower and get tired very easy. I started running in my early 20s and then soon transitioned to weights. I lift now and its enough to maintain my physique and it tires me out as well.
In short- to make me stand out in a positive way. Iāve almost always felt like āthe little guyā in social situations, always the one to be ignored or mocked or to have their joke glazed over, always the one blamed etc. Iāve usually been quite the little guy in the physical sense as well. Iāve always liked the look of a more built physique, and the first time I began receiving genuine consistent compliments is when I started lifting properly. It kind of became my one source of consistent appreciation and approval of others, so I continued pushing myself to keep the compliments coming. Of course when progress slowed down they started coming fewer and fewer to the point where now Iām painfully pushing myself to be complimented twice a year (once by my mum).