# Strength training sucks. : (



## loquaciousintrovert (May 23, 2011)

Does anyone else here hate doing strength training? I know I'm fat and out of shape, but I don't think it's supposed to be as uncomfortable as it is for me. It's just so uncomfortable and afterwards I almost feel like I can't move.

is it really supposed to suck this much? Does anyone actually enjoy it?

I hate being so out of shape that I can barely do it. I was told by someone at my gym that it was necessary to do three times a week and wasn't an option. But I hate it so much. I know it's necessary but I just hate it. 

I wish there was some way to make it more bearable. 

This is just me whining, so...yeah.


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## jpb (Dec 12, 2011)

I love strength training! If you're really out of shape, though, it can be best to just focus on cardio and calisthenics. You need some kind of foundation to build on. If your posture is bad and your joints are stressed from being overweight, strength training is only going to make those things worse. Just what I've heard.

There are different kinds of pain: it could be a healthy soreness that proves you're getting stronger, or it could be a signal that you're hurting yourself. You are the only one who can decide which one it is.


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## db4805 (Dec 27, 2010)

^^
It sucks until your body gets used to it. Unless you have medical problems, you will adjust. Do you have a personal trainer or are you doing this on your own?


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## loquaciousintrovert (May 23, 2011)

I had a personal trainer who told me strength training was necessary. And I was quite obese when I started doing it.

I think I'm really supposed to keep doing it, whether I'm fat or not.

I'm not really "out of shape" per se anymore, since I've been exercising for 10 months now. But I am still considered obese.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

Pain is your friend


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## Petrovsk Mizinski (Nov 29, 2011)

Lifting heavy weight was never meant to be comfortable.
You have to be prepared to sweat like hell and to feel the burn.
You want comfort, sit down in front of your TV and watch Oprah.
You want results and real changes in body composition, lift some heavy *** weight and sweat rivers of water.
Personally, I love the burn, I love the struggle to bust out that last rep.

Unless you change your mindset, you're going to set yourself up for failure.


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## loquaciousintrovert (May 23, 2011)

Um, I'm not going to fail.

I'm doing it, I'm allowed to complain that it hurts if I want to.

And hell no to that picture, I'm not lifting weights like that.


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## PaysageDHiver (Jun 18, 2011)

It can be uncomfortable, but that is massively outweighed by the benefits. Keeping this in mind may help you to deal with the discomfort. Your story is not uncommon; but people often learn to like it with time.


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## DirtyVest (Dec 6, 2011)

It does get easier, the first few weeks are hardest, after that you may even start to enjoy your workouts. 
The mental determination to keep pushing through the pain although your body is screaming "please stop this madness!" gets stronger with time
The delayed soreness should also become less severe and less frequent.
I remember the first time I trained, I could not lift my arms properly for 5 days because it hurt so much, now I get no delayed soreness atall.

And as for the question "does anyone actually enjoy it?"
I love it, its my life TBH


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## anti-socialsocialite (May 1, 2011)

You're not getting adequate rest periods in between workouts. For somebody who wants to lose fat, you should focus on cardiovascular exercises. Any activity that keeps you moving at a constant pace. As for weightlifting, you should probably do it at an abbreviated two times a week. This will ensure that when you do lift weights your body has time to fully recover. If your muscles are still sore at the beginning of your next workout from your last weight lifting day, you are doing something wrong. You described feeling like you can't even move, which goes beyond the expected soreness. You should be sore, but not -that- much. Perhaps you should even cut out lifting weights completely for the time being. 

The focus of strength training is to gain muscle. It is difficult to gain muscle without gaining fat as well. You are better off focusing on losing the fat and then trying to get rid of muscle, or vice versa. If you try to do both at once then you increase the likelihood that you will fail at both of them. In addition, diet is way more important than any exercise. You can have the best workout routine in the entire world, but it would all be for nothing if all you eat is crap. 

Evaluate your goals and decide what you want to focus primarily on. Then focus all of your effort towards achieving it.


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## Dr Hobo Scratch MD (Jun 24, 2011)

loquaciousintrovert said:


> Does anyone else here hate doing strength training? I know I'm fat and out of shape, but I don't think it's supposed to be as uncomfortable as it is for me. It's just so uncomfortable and afterwards I almost feel like I can't move.
> 
> is it really supposed to suck this much? Does anyone actually enjoy it?
> 
> ...


its great, getting stronger every week.

you need inspiration thats your problem. and i care for you very much loquacious as you should already know so as always your best pal/friend is on this forum is here to help you. print these out and hang them on your wall and look at them every day.


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## Dr Hobo Scratch MD (Jun 24, 2011)

loquaciousintrovert said:


> Does anyone else here hate doing strength training? I know I'm fat and out of shape, but I don't think it's supposed to be as uncomfortable as it is for me. It's just so uncomfortable and afterwards I almost feel like I can't move.
> 
> is it really supposed to suck this much? Does anyone actually enjoy it?
> 
> ...


weight training increases your lean body mass.increasing your lean body mass speeds up your metabolic rate.so you burn more calories at rest -and the number of calories you burn at rest is directly related to the amount of muscle you carry.weight training speeds up fatloss. muscle is a metabolically active tissue that burns fat and lifting weights builds muscle therefore weight training must be apart of every fat loss routine. its equal to aerobic training. my doctor knowledge and you said i wasnt a doctor. : )


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

I like weights better than cardio. I like the burn and the feeling of pumped up muscles.


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## epic (Aug 9, 2007)

Those pics would give me nightmares, not inspiration.


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## lazy (Nov 19, 2008)

epic said:


> Those pics would give me nightmares, not inspiration.


what about this one?





:yes :yes:yes :yes :yes


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## RonM (Jan 5, 2011)

Do a search for Scott Sonnon (friend of a friend/aquaintence).

He's good some good programs that could keep you motivated.


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## VanDamMan (Nov 2, 2009)

RonM said:


> Do a search for Scott Sonnon (friend of a friend/aquaintence).
> 
> He's good some good programs that could keep you motivated.


Sonnon is kind of advanced.


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## RonM (Jan 5, 2011)

In the longrun, yes.

Breaking it down, however, he has levels from novice to highly advanced.


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## epic (Aug 9, 2007)

lazy said:


> what about this one?
> 
> :yes :yes:yes :yes :yes


Much better lazy :yes


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## ForeverStallone (Apr 4, 2011)

Petrovsk Mizinski said:


> Lifting heavy weight was never meant to be comfortable.
> You have to be prepared to sweat like hell and to feel the burn.
> You want comfort, sit down in front of your TV and watch Oprah.
> You want results and real changes in body composition, lift some heavy *** weight and sweat rivers of water.
> ...


Awesome post.

Lulz at her reply


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

It sucks until your body gets used to it +1


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## dist0rt (Nov 11, 2011)

I do . It grows on ya. The results is worth the hard work.


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## seafolly (Jun 17, 2010)

I agree, that it grows on you. I also agree you need to integrate cardio in there. In the beginning it can really suck, especially when you aren't seeing any results - when you look in the mirror you're a sweaty version of your old self, haha. However, when you first feel that muscle growing, that's it. For me, I started pretty easy stuff but did it 4 times a week. In a month I noticed a change in my arms and all I could think was, "HEY THERE! Time to make you grow!" :b It's also really empowering to charge up a huge flight of stairs and think, "Hey, I'm not even puffing like I used to." Basically motivation will be tough until you notice changes. Once you have the changes you may find it tough to revert back.  At least, that's how I feel. These days my only resistance comes when I think, "Aw man, I haven't worked out in a week - this is going to be harder!" And it usually is, but there's motive to stay regular. 

Oh, and ditto to making sure you have rest days. Don't push too hard - your muscles need time to heal.


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