What’s been your biggest barrier?

[thebrittschmitt]

If you have attempted to start working out in the past without much success, what held you back?

I’ve run into barriers with a lack of motivation and injury in the past, but I’m curious to see what everyone else’s experiences have been like. And if you’ve been successful with challenges, what helped you overcome those barriers?

 

[peaceful_lady]

@thebrittschmitt A very common one, and a barrier I myself ran into a few times before any habits stuck long term, were just poorly planned workouts.

As beginners a lot of us feel the need to rush into progress because we view our health as so poor we need to throw our effort full force into turning things around. Which often means max effort cardio for as long as tolerable, or maybe intense circuit training.

In my case a few months of ~1000 kcal dieting with high intensity cardio followed by giving up on fitness, slowly regaining all weight lost, and eventually jumping back in with trying out those "insanity" workouts resulting in giving myself minor injuries. Too much too soon has consequences that usually result in no lasting change.

The solution for this was learning about the muscle groups, how training splits work (be them with weights, machines, or calisthenics), and progressing gradually with smart levels of effort and appropriate intensity.

 

[glojoy5434]

@peaceful_lady

In my case a few months of ~1000 kcal dieting with high intensity cardio followed by giving up on fitness, slowly regaining all weight lost, and eventually jumping back in with trying out those "insanity" workouts resulting in giving myself minor injuries. Too much too soon has consequences that usually result in no lasting change.

Are you me? I feel like this is exactly what I used to do. The worst thing I would do was go to the gym, use the elliptical for an hour at a pretty decent intensity and then go home, limit my calories and lose weight pretty quickly. Then I'd hit a point where I'd travel for work or get sick/injured and that would all go out of the window.

For me the solution has been to find different exercises that I enjoy. In my case it has been spin classes and yoga. Between alternating between those two and walking my dog on a daily basis I've found a routine that I genuinely love.

So much so that I've even found spin classes in one of the cities I go to for work which has been a big lifesaver.

 

[peaceful_lady]

@glojoy5434 Haha, it's such a common first step into fitness. I think a lot of it is rooted in self-shame, and a misunderstanding of how difficult a workout is supposed to be.

That's awesome to hear that you found an approach you enjoy though! A lot of people never make it past that first approach, or repeat it a few times to then swear off exercise as being too difficult or not for them.

 

[buddyt]

@thebrittschmitt Finding the time between work, parenting, household obligations, family expectations, the list goes on. Some days I have no idea how an adult is supposed to get all of it done and also stay somewhat rested in order to be able to function.

 

[harpgal]

@thebrittschmitt My biggest hurdle is fibromyalgia. I have it mostly under control through diet changes, but it doesn't hesitate to force me into a deload week if I accidentally "overtrain". Putting that in quotes because I don't have any real signs of overtraining like excessive fatigue (outside of what I already deal with), inability to progress, or lack of motivation.

Luckily, going to the gym is one of the most effective ways to deal with fibromyalgia. Showing up even when every nerve ending feels like it's been rubbed with hot sandpaper is really fucking hard, but the endorphins from lifting and light cardio helps a lot.

 

[glojoy5434]

@harpgal Out of interest what changes did you make to your diet? My MIL suffers from it and it is really hard for her. Would love to try help alleviate her symptoms.

 

[convictionofgod]

@thebrittschmitt Lack of motivation for sure. I'm big on instant reward and thoughts of long term benefits don't motivate me at all. My star chart on the other hand does - I can't rest until I get my little silver star! If I go to a class as well as the gym then I get a gold one too! It's working brilliantly- it might sound silly but highly recommended to anyone else who needs a push to keep going and stay consistent

 

[mayacruz1708]

@convictionofgod Sounds like you may have a shade of ADHD?

Your system doesn't sound silly at all. I found tracking workouts offers a huge benefit in terms of motivation. (I use an app (Hevy), not a chart but the principle is the same, plus I get to nerd out over stats/progress/data).

I especially like the recent addition where it colours a picture of your muscles in a darkening shade of blue so at the end of the week, you get a picture all coloured in which is much more satisfying than it ought to be.

My brain was eventually "retrained" so it knows I get the dopamine hits just from the individual workouts too - so there's short term gratification alongside the delayed gratification of progress.

 

[marysweep]

@thebrittschmitt Mine is consistency or lack there of.

 

[artizam]

@thebrittschmitt The thought of commitment. Knowing If I start, I must continue forever otherwise any effort used was for nothing

 

[taylorgal53]

@thebrittschmitt Before it was motivation, particularly when driving to a gym and setting a routine. But now it’s injury. Aging sucks

 

[esk]

@thebrittschmitt Well I skipped it the last time and I am fine so meh I don't need it......

That was the old thought - whatever reason for the skipping, work, health, commitments, lazyness, whatever that was the thought,

This time - it was 6 times missed, and I thought - no it isn't fine, I feel healthier when I go.

So I went. I shall let you know how long that lasts on my next break for whatever reason. (if I remember - which is unlikely)

 

[thebrittschmitt]

@esk I hope it goes well! Best of luck on your journey!

 

[rapturegal]

@thebrittschmitt Motivation. I tend to use the excuse that i dont have time, but truly i dont make time for it.

 

[roxie12]

@thebrittschmitt Definitely time management

 

[glojoy5434]

@thebrittschmitt Personally it's taken over a decade for me to learn what works for me. I went through years and years of joining a gym, engaging a PT and then injuring myself so I stop going. I was always scared of using the gym on my own.

Before the pandemic I finally hit a point where I wanted to become better for my kids. I joined the fanciest gym in the area and pushed myself to try group classes. I tried spin, powerzone, pilates, and yoga and I loved them all.

Obviously the pandemic hit and that went out the window so I ended up buying a spin bike for home a year into lockdowns. I had no excuses like the weather is bad or I couldn't get into a class so that forced me to use it regularly.

The social aspect also really helped. 2 of my buddies bought into the same bike so we began to workout together virtually. We'd be encouraging each other so much so that we all kept at it.

To stop burnout I've now got an app which reads my sleep and HR info and then gives me a range in which to workout. Some days it may only be walking the dog + a yoga class, other days it'll be walk the dog, 1 hour on the bike, 30 minutes of bodyweight strength and then maybe a yoga class in the evening.

For me personally the biggest boost is being social. I'm travelling for work and bought a few classes at a spin studio. The instructors are just so lovely that I can see why people go back. The regulars seem to be friendly with each other and it definitely has an amazing community feel to it.

 

[nik2015far]

@thebrittschmitt I was pretty skinny when I first started training, and I was trying to gain muscle. I keep losing motivation, because of a lack of results for the work I was doing in the gym. This meant I was never consistent, training for a few months, and quitting for a few more and then back to training.

It took me a few years to realise that I wasn't eating enough protein, and that's the cause of my poor results. Once I increased my daily protein intake I started seeing actual results which did wonders for my motivation and consistency.

tl;dr: Not getting enough protein was my biggest barrier

 

[emperorsolo]

@thebrittschmitt Me. I am my biggest barrier.

That I care too much what other people think, and how they think I should be doing fitness, and that I keep myself in shitty ruts that I hate because I don't enjoy anything I'm doing because I'm doing what others think I should!

.....I think I can do something now.

 

[jamesrustles]

@thebrittschmitt Money for a gym membership and a personal trainer is really the biggest obstacle.

I have absolutely no clue what I am doing, am not aware of how to do this without hurting myself, and haven't talked to my doctor yet to see if it's even safe to tax my heart (I was coerced into a medical procedure under false pretenses about 3 years ago and am not sure if my heart can handle stress anymore)