Tired of gym/fitness phobia!

a reply to: halfoldman

I love cycling to keep fit (50-75 MILES PER WEEK).
It's great exercise...and a wonderful opportunity to work out on your own, while spending time with your thoughts.

As a white, conservative, male, I feel it also makes me less racist, bigoted and misogynistic.

Actually, if I must be really, really honest.

I came for the showers and the men at first ...

But then I stayed for so much more.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
a reply to: halfoldman

Gyms are a scam.

You can do everything they do at home without the monthly fees. Why pay 20 bucks a month to use a treadmill when you can go jogging for free? Buy some weights and running shoes that way you can work out without being surrounded by narcissistic douchebags.

But I like the "narcissistic douchebags".

a reply to: halfoldman

Nothing wrong with trying to better yourself. Some people like going to a gym, I do my exercises at home...pushups, leg lifts, pullups and other calesthenics. If someone disrespects you for taking care of yourself, then I think it's their own personal issue...and really has nothing to do with you.

a reply to: halfoldman

I was a landscaper, you need to be fit but also have stamina.

It's literally impossible to build muscle mass if you work all day in a job like mine ,or as you say cardio work negativily affects muscle growth. Fit to me means lasting the day without needing to rest every 10 minutes

Sounds like you don't need a gym, just go for a run in the fresh air everyday.

Long story short.
The world is full of idiots and no matter what you do, you'll get criticized anyway.
So stop giving a damn about others and get your body going to the gym with some purpose.
Sometimes people working for social welfare get to hear - "you've got no other job to do that's why you can manage time for all this." without even knowing what the a person actually doing apart from serving good to others.
So don't be surprised if you're criticized every now and then. An year or two and you'll see haters become your fans and will keep you busy asking for fitness suggestions.
Keep Lifting (Others too).

a reply to: PetersClaire

Thanks for the post!

An especially great post for me, because today I had my first session with a personal trainer (after just doing general circuits and cardio, dumb-bells and such for about two years).

My lifting is about to get serious!

I got the oldest trainer in the gym (far form a douchebag), and perhaps most people wouldn't have chosen him, but I know he speaks from years of experience. And apart from that, considering our humor throughout the session, I strangely crossed-paths again with somebody as eccentric as myself.

The water crisis in Cape Town has made the gym slightly medieval (half the showers closed; only cold water to encourage quick showers of 90 seconds or less; no more water fountains; no more basin water, just hand-sanitizer and buckets of gray water to flush the toilets and urinals. But, after my second cold shower in a long time - sucks at first, but very energizing afterwards.

a reply to: halfoldman

You should just block such haters. No one has right to tell you what to feel about yourself.
You are a perfect example for everyone

Coming in a little late to this post.
I am a long time gym-rat. I practice MMA (Krav/MuayThai), have my first degree orange in MT, I am a certified boxing coach, master licensed nutritionist and trainer, and I am a competitive female body builder (bikini) in OCB and NPC. I do work a regular full time job but lets just say that my gym is my church and it takes priority over everything else in my life (cept for my hubby and my dog)

Just ignore the haters and the nay-sayers. Most people are either intimidated because they don't know how to get fit and are afraid to ask, or they're jealous because they want what you have, or what you can do, and don't know how to start. Sometimes we have to just remove the toxic people from our lives, even if it hurts to do that. Remember.... surround yourself with those who are on the same mission. Forward motion always, in all ways.

Thanks for the latest messages of encouragement brothers and sisters.

The military context of the pic below might not appeal to everyone, but the message is true.

It's hard to help or protect anyone (or even do proper CPR), if you have no strength.

a reply to: halfoldman

Sometimes you realize you werent born with enough middle fingers.

My trainer, I can't anymore.

Nonsense, give me 5 more.

I'm pushing brother, but that's OK, push brother!

I wonder, my trainer.

Does he know I'm a homosexual?

I don't think he cares.

But, does he know?

We're working out together, and chat in the locker-room.

I had to tell them I was HIV-poz.

But in SA, that doesn't necessarily make you gay.

An educated guess - yeah he knows.
But it doesn't matter.

Funny you know, we made war over this.

But we're just the same.

Some a bit lighter, some a bit darker.

But all brothers are the same.

a reply to: halfoldman

The Greeks celebrated the Gymnasium.

Try to block the negativity.

I'm joining one this summer to avoid the heat of my six mile walks.

I'm also nervous as heck because I don't know what to expect.

There is a cult culture out there, and I'm hoping I don't run into it myself.

In general, there's nothing wrong with getting fit, ever. That's a no-brainer. I think a lot of backlash comes from the attention-whoring social media crap. Like what they did to benevolent foodies by proxy. Now we have asshole food snobs plastering every single thing they eat all over the internet like it's going out of style. It's no wonder people get a little venomous. Fitness just followed suit -- photo journeys started with people looking for accountability/to inspire, and the assholes jumped right in the middle to attention-whore away.

I actually know someone like that, it was very aggravating when I was on Fakebook. Between being a pretentious foodie, and a pretentious Crossfitter, she came across as a massive, snotty bitch in overpriced Lululemon. It soured almost everyone mutual between us on her list about following anyone's fitness attempts. Burnt out, I suppose we were.

I think a lot of people are getting that way with places like Twitter & Instagram and Facebook simply inundating people with that pretentious attitude, it's just a default assumption of the poster now.

If you haven't already, I suggest a post explaining why you're sharing, and the support & accountability you hope to receive out of it. It might go a good ways in getting feathers unruffled, and you may get a morale boost, too

Don't want to go to campus no more.

Flip the racism is so bad.

But here in the locker-room - all men are brothers.

Bro, are we gonna do it today or tomorrow?

Let's just do it today.

OK, at the back of the gym.

But now every-time I do the muscle machines, you must do push-ups.

I'm like, what happened to that 60 second resting rule?

It's gone.

Start doing push-ups on the floor.
Next thing three brothers next to me.

Push it- five extra!
Last time I had to do this was ten years ago!

But this time, I enjoyed it.