14 years of lifting and hit a point where I can’t because of work — how can I motivate myself? 34/f

[tangenica]

I’ve been lifting for quite some time now. Regardless of how busy I used to get, I still made time for the gym. During COVID, I ended up getting a solid little home gym to keep up with my routine.

However, the last couple of months, I have been the busiest I’ve ever been in my life. It’s not just the part of hours dedicated—but the aspect of having a job that involves a lot of thinking and reading. By the time I get home, it’s late and I’m absolutely exhausted. I don’t hate my job — but I run my own business and ended up somewhat growing faster than expected. It’s a good problem to have but self-care is critical.

There have been times that I forced myself to the gym. I used to find that once I was there, I was able to get a solid session after I got moving. Now, I can’t even get to that. My years of lifting on the heavier side seem to have also caught up to me so pain also started to affect the ability to keep with the routine. I’m sure it’s a combination of factors: age, stress, exhaustion — but I do hope I can slowly get to my routine.

I just want to know if any of you experienced this. I get the mentality of making fitness part of one’s life fe and it’s not something to neglect. I had that concept for years but now that I’m older, I found myself at this point. I want to go back consistently. I do pull off 1-2 days now but my routine was always 4-5.

I have been making improvements in the last week to change things around at work: delegation, limiting work intake, letting myself rest. Any tips would be appreciated. I’m trying to hold myself accountable for this and I really want to get back in. I am autoimmune so staying active is also a way to stay healthy. I haven’t gained weight at all thankfully but I have lost 12lbs. I’m sure some of that weight was the little muscle mass I had so that really kind of sucks.

 

[tangenica]

@yox Funny you mention that. I’ve had people ask me more if I workout while wearing work clothes. I just assumed they noticed now because I lost weight but maybe I’ll check what my BF is at to see if I unintentionally did something good here.

 

[lotusgirl]

@yox This is interesting to know, I didn’t know the part about getting more recovery being better for gains!

 

[saintscruiser]

@lotusgirl Check out Mike Mentzer. I believe his thoughts were no more than 2x weight lifting sessions a week for bodybuilding. Is it optimal? Probably not, but sure worked for him and many others. Any is better than none imo.

 

[lotusgirl]

@saintscruiser Tbh I would struggle to do more than twice a week. For me with my stamina levels and alongside other life responsibilities I find twice a week for weightlifting plenty. I currently do once a week only because I’m in maintenance mode and prioritising other things at the moment.

 

[olusanya800]

@tangenica Something is better than nothing. Try to accept that fitness levels fluctuate through life and definitely attempt to maintain until you’re ready to spend more time doing it. Keep protein levels high and try to find other ways to stay active throughout the day that also free your mind (biking, walking, swimming, pickle ball)

 

[tangenica]

@olusanya800 Thanks. This is probably a good comment to read. I’ve been beating myself up for this and never really thought it’d be me but life has a funny way of proving us wrong.

 

[dreuter032003]

@tangenica Even if you had to stop entirely for a while, picking it back up will be easier than just starting out. Muscle memory is real and you could probably do linear progression back to where you left off without too much trouble.

 

[nebula1]

@tangenica Is there any type of exercise that you might enjoy right now? Something like spin classes or crossfit might fit better because it’ll happen at a certain non negotiable time

 

[tangenica]

@nebula1 I looked into that idea—thank you. The issue I run into is the working hours usually conflict with most classes. I will likely have to stick to night routines. Even looked into judo again if I could find weekend classes.

 

[nebula1]

@tangenica Also as above you can get away with 2 strength days. Maybe something like running even on a lunch break would fit in easily

 

[nebula1]

@tangenica You can’t do 6 am classes? That’s likely your best bet in general, even if it’s training at home

 

[tangenica]

@nebula1 I’m out the door by 7:30am and might be home by 10pm. I did just buy a stepping machine for the office and I think I’ll do it for lunch instead of sitting. I’ll see how that goes.

 

[saintscruiser]

@tangenica That’s quite the day. Are you able to sneak in a 30 minute lift for a lunch break? I know for me working 7 days on 7 days off its much harder to get my sessions in while working 14hr days. I make sure to get 2 lifts in minimum on those days. I have to go straight to the gym from work or else I’ll hit the couch and zonk right out lol.

 

[tangenica]

@saintscruiser It’s tough. I ended up just deciding to narrow my practice areas. When a part of your daily life, like lifting was for me, starts getting distorted over work then it’s best to adjust. Thankfully I have the ability to modify my existing situation. I just had to push through the final cases that got me here. Out and never again.

 

[omar]

@tangenica Something that works for me when I'm not feeling it is looking at how far I've come since starting to take fitness seriously about eight years ago, and not wanting to digress back to that. Like you said, once I'm doing the workout I'm into it but it's just getting there that's the problem some days. This is natural, and a mindset you can overcome.

However, above all else, take care of yourself mentally and emotionally. If lifting heavy doesn't fit that model right now, I'm sure there's other low impact stuff that you can do to get the activity level up to cultivate happy brain chemicals

 

[tangenica]

@omar Thanks for that. I think I had to take a step back to accept the reality. I’m at the gym now and taking it easier. At the end of the day, I’m still trying and that’s better than just completely neglecting it.

 

[omar]

@tangenica That's what we're here for, doing the work even in small amounts

 

[khaos]

@tangenica A half-assed day at the gym is better than than no-assing it at home.

One thing that helps me is just modifying my expectation of what exercise looks like. I have a job that can be extremely busy and very stressful for periods. During those times it is impossible to go to the gym. So you know what? Those are days where I use my sit-stand desk raised the whole time. I park a few blocks away to get a bit of walking in. If possible I’ll do some pushups in my office when I need a brain break. You can Google “exercise snacks” and the research behind them — great for both maintaining fitness AND giving you a mental boost for your work. Dr. Andy Galpin has a YouTube series talking about them.

Sure, you’re not at the gym crushing out a DL PR. But sometimes a few minutes here and there is enough to keep yourself active enough. Just gotta get your mind there.

 

[tangenica]

@khaos Thank you. I tell myself that it’s better to know I’m trying than just to stop. I do usually have healthy snacks instead of crap sometimes. It’s just been a lot lately — kind of eye opening to realize how bad burnout can be. I used to just be tired, have pre-workout, and get going. Now all I wanna do is nap. Lol.