Giving up the gym

In december i'll have been going to the gym since 2015.
And guess what.
If I lift heavy. I hurt myself.
If I lift lighter I don't get stronger.
Ive made virtually 0 progress in 5 fucken years. I'm an awful shade of skinny fat. 30 inch pants with a bit of a tummy. No arms. No legs. No nothing. My back is a bit larger than a 14 year olds now.
Why do I bother anymore? Tbh this is kinda my whole life. The more I try the more I fail.

 

It might sound weird, but you may really start to not bother anymore. I am also really skinny (and always have been skinny fat). At some point I decided to go to the gym and to eat as much food as I could get. That actually helped, I added 10kg. But you know what? I hated it. I hated that I had to eat 6 times a day, everytime so much that I wanted to puke afterwards.

After I stopped to eat that much my weight dropped down to where I was at the beginning. And I am happy with it, as now I feel good during the day.

The thing that helped me the most was - surprisingly - cardio. You will usually hear to not do cardio at all if it is hard for you to put on weight. Well, I didn't put on a noticable weight, but I got toned and, if you want to say so, shredded. Of course not big shredded, but far from skinny fat. I look athletic now actually. Cardio + some body weight exercises.

I don't know why, I don't know how but now I am doing a lot of cardio and eat relatively small amounts of food and my weight got a bit up - and I am feeling fantastic, energetic and strong.

You might simply want to have a break from your gym routine. If you don't feel better after a few months you still can go back

 

Bingo!

For me it’s been more cardio and less sugar. Got serious about those two things earlier this year and it’s made a BIG difference. I was struggling to get back under 160lbs, I was creeping slowly towards 170lbs and got pretty darn close. Nothing seemed to work. Then I went more cardio/less sugar and I’m down to 157lbs.

As for the gym and other exercise it’s as mentioned previously, you need a solid plan to stick to. And a personal trainer can most definitely help.

 

Well I was once told that failing at life doesn't mean you're off course. It just means improving at life is really hard. At least you went to the gym instead of not trying it.

But what are your goals? Do you only go to the Gym to get bigger? Or are you looking for better physical performance? Are you influenced by others to go to the gym? Do you like going to the gym?

 

My goal weight is 175. I want to gain 10 lbs. Lose some belly fat. And have more overal strength.
Size, weight, how many pull ups etc Is just a way to keep score.
I suppose my goal and every gym goers goal is to look and feel as though they go to the gym!
When you tell people you go and they give you the "oh, really?" Look. That's highly disappointing.

 

Oh. Well good on you!

I never really got the appeal for it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to look sculpted, but I'd also be happy just looking like anything other than a fatass, but lately I've been thinking that the non-cosmetic, mid-to-short term benefits of fitness are ignored too much. For me, that's where all the, "Super Saiyan/HxH" powerups of NoFap come from, and it's not just cardio or weights, either. It's just exerting yourself in general.

Seriously, after an intense cardio session, my slow and down mood disappears for awhile, and I immediately feel sharper, more present, and laser-focused on my goals, unless I absolutely exhaust myself. But even then, the benefits seem to be great.

But with me needing to lose weight and not caring about muscles, of course my goals are going to be different.

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it about me. I hope you keep going to the gym and figure out why you're stalling on your progress. It seems like there's already some people on here giving good advice that's outside my expertise so I'll take my leave and watch.

 

No no this post isnt just about my issues I encourage you and everyone to share your situation if you think it's help to me, yourself or anyone else on the forum

 

I think you understood me wrong: I did a lot of cardio and ate less than usual - and gained a bit of weight.

Whereas before I would lift heavy and ate a lot - and gained a bit more weight

 

That's why I never go to the gym. It's great, but I believe I don't need it to get stronger. All I need is simple calisthenics, maybe with the aid of some gymnastics rings, depending on the limitations of my environment. And before I even focus on getting stronger, I need to focus on eating and living healthier so I can lose weight and keep the weight off so I can perform the calisthenics.

Every time I would get a job, the first thing I would do is pay for a gym membership just so I can go from one tight enclosed space (home) to another tight enclosed space (the gym) and run on a treadmill in front of a tv, and attempt to "share" weights with ten other guys and their bros.

Then a month after I spent $75 on a gym membership ($25 a month, $50 as a yearly fee), I'd lose my job, and couldn't afford the gym anymore. That's $75 I could have spent on gas so I can drive to the park, or spent on bicycle gear so I can go longer distances on a bike.

 

Ah ok, my mistake then