Education Working out: does it ever stop sucking?

I've decided to try to complete the Firefighter 1 academy next year which is going to be an intensely physical three months of training. To prepare for it, I've started working out three times a week and have been doing so for about three weeks now. My question is, does it ever stop sucking?

I'm intensely uncomfortable and miserable while I'm working out, and feel like absolute a$$ afterwords. My friends who work out say they get an endorphin rush or exercise high afterwords, but I just want to die. I'm also told that you shouldn't work out within 5-7 hours of when you need to go to bed because the CNS stimulation will keep you from sleeping, but I come home, shower, and just collapse into bed.

So my question is, does it get better or can I look forward to hating myself three times a week for the next year?

 

Yes It does.

But if your feeling like A$$ after workout I need to ask what is your workout routine?

Are you you doing mainly Cardio or are you Mainly lifting, or Is it a mix of the 2?

If its lifting then make sure you are starting low and just adding weight each session, if you just go right in to a huge weight that can cause the stress and strain and discomfort you are experiencing.

If its cardio, then it will take a bit longer as if you are doing cardio chances are you are going to be exhausted after each session more so that with lifting.

I do a similar amount of days at the gym to you, 3 days a week currently, and it was only a few months ago after starting the program I use in march that i started to get alot of discomfort the day after my sessions, More than likely cause i am now at the upper edge of the weight that I can easily handle and its really now a case of not being able to add more weight each time I go to the gym.

TLR what are you doing at the gym? as that will be a factor

 

At first guess I'd say you're doing it wrong if you feel like that afterwards but as crazyg1zm0 said without knowing if you're focusing on cardio or strength it's a little tricky to suggest much.

Are you doing warm ups and cool downs?

 

My routine is to start with 20 minutes on the rowing machine (3.5 artificial kilometers) followed by four cycles of 15 military presses (I think that's what it's called. I pick up the bar off the rack and lift it over my head) and 30 pull downs at 50 lbs. I repeat the last two four times for a total of 60 lifts and 120 pull-downs. The goal here is more endurance than strength.

My time to 3.5 km has been diminishing which would seem to indicate progress, but I went paddling in my kayak Sunday and if anything I felt worse than I did before I started working out.

 

I'm hardly a gym person but I've constantly fought tiredness/fatigue and eating right:

a) Do you have a fixed routine? Do you mix up cardio/strength?

b) Change what you're eating?

c) Work on stamina first? Instead of the gym try doing an exercise you enjoy?

Honestly sounds like you need to go to the doctor. Maybe enzyme/hormonal issue if you can't generate the stamina even after sometime regular exercising?

 

Hah!! Well for me the answer is yes and no...
If you keep doing the same thing at the same level, then yes it will feel easier over time.
But for me, it is pretty much always difficult and I am shattered at the end. That's because I am always pushing to my limit, every session. You become used to the monotony and the discomfort. That all builds mental strength and resilience.
I use a chest strap based HRM. This means I know if I am working hard enough. If I don't top out at 180/185 BPM at the end of a cardio session I ain't working....
Also depending on the HRM, the software/website bundled with it helps with the tracking of progress.
If that isn't available, keep a diary of what you are doing every session and how you felt afterwards. Look back at it after 6 weeks and you will be amazed at your progress. I used to keep a note of workloads/weights/reps, max heart rate/avg heart rate and once a week check my resting HR.
All these help show you are progressing.

Most of all - well done for going to the gym and working out. Even if it feels like crap

All the best.

 

If you're aiming for cardio (endurance, stamina) i suggest reading about the Borg scale as you seem to have things a little back to front in that your aiming for X distance X reps when you should really be aiming for a sustained perception of exertion of around 13-15 on the Borg scale, as your stamina increases you'll find you'll need to exercise harder to achieve the same level on the borg scale.

Also make sure you do a 15min warm up including stretches before starting and spend 10min on cool down at the end.

 

I have the opposite problem. When I started it wasn't so bad and I used to enjoy going to the gym, but now I really struggle to push myself.

Make sure you're eating right, as that will make a big difference to what you get out of it.

 

So are you doing the same routine 3 times a week?

When starting out it's important not to push too hard. Go from 'nothing' to 'a bit' and you'll find it easier, motivation won't be so difficult, but you'll still notice some positive development that will inspire you to continue.

Going from 'nothing' to 'quite a lot', and doing the same stuff repeatedly, is a sure fire way to kill your motivation.

 

For whatever it's worth, My friend Scott and I went kayaking Sunday. We went about 5 miles in 2 1/2 hours with a break in the middle. Conditions were crappy, freezing weather, 1-1/2' beam sea and windy, so I was working pretty hard. I have to say I hurt out there, my arms especially were sore most of the time i was paddling, perhaps worse than before i started working out. That part was pretty disappointing.

Once we were done, however, I had no trouble throwing my boat on my shoulder (50 lbs maybe) and carrying it to the car. Usually i would be pretty winded and not moving very well by the top of the hill, but I was actually pretty comfortable carrying it all the way to the parking lot. I guess I'm making progress then, just not necessarily in the places i want to be. Physical exertion still sucks while I'm doing it, but my recovery time and how bad I feel afterwords might be improving.

There is a gale warning today and I'd like to go paddle in the waves, but I got woken up early by an aid call and my gear is still wet from Sunday and I think i'm about the only person in the district able to respond right now and i have a pile of other excuses not to go. It's more fun to go paddle or hike or whatever than go to the gym.

 

Lifting I've always found pretty enjoyable and never felt bad afterwards.

Cardio... oh god I feel like death during, after and for the rest of the day.
I could walk (at a brisk pace no less) non-stop for 12 hours without breaking a sweat, but as soon as I ramp up the intensity, I'm done. I can barely run for 30 seconds without feeling like crap. If I really push myself, I feel like I'm gonna blackout and have to lay down for 5 minutes.

 

My personal opinion now is that simply not everybody enjoys it. I've been doing 3-4 times a week for the last two years now, I still pretty much hate it. I've varied intensities, gone with friends/family, made good contacts at the gym for motivation, checked sleep and diet rhythms etc. nope.

When I'm in the gym, I fairly enjoy individual elements of the workout, it feels good stretching a run or increasing a weight. Similarly the sets do get enjoyable when you have the right weights on for you and all that. But afterwards I still feel pretty ****, which TBH is part of the experience. Aches are part of the routine, they lessen over time, but they are an indication that a muscle has been worked. The more you do it, the less they'll occur and affect you. The pro guys who go everyday have basically pushed themselves past that point, so they may only ache for a fairly short time after their sessions, next day they're bright as rain and back in the gym, but that takes time.

In becomes immensely more interesting if done with another individual. It becomes quite enjoyable to push and encourage each other, plus it's good for spotting bad practices. Having somebody to spot you for exercises like benches is good too.

 

Hum...I have mixed experiences.

When I ran twice a week, I slowly got faster (as in, I did a longer distance in the same 30 mins time).
The feeling while running went from excruciating pain, to nauseating discomfort...and there it stayed.
It never felt good, never.

Working with weights felt good during and after workout, well until my joints told me I was doing it wrong.

I now started squash...gets me completely out of breath but it does feel good while doing it, I feel nothing afterwards though.

 

It's good to know not everyone finds it wonderful and exhilarating. I may be broken, but at least I'm not the only one.

 

The last time I was really fit (I literally mean cut) it was hard work at first. Oddly I did not lose my weight working out but rather working on a car and sanding the entire thing by hand (as well as all of the filler. The entire roof needed stripping back to bare metal and then glazing because it had pock marks). Any way the first few days I was exhausted. After a couple of weeks though I actually got a kick from working. Almost like it released some endorphin or something.

I am about to start on the road to recovery soon with a new bike and expect it to be hard work. Will look like a bit of a bell continually stopping the bike to sip water etc but I am quite determined.

There are too many beautiful places around here you can not access in a car so I want to visit them as it does me a lot of good. I reckon I am pushing about 18 stone atm, maybe slightly more. I'm a 42 waist.

I want to lose what I gained, so about four stone. I feel good at around 13.5-14 stone as I am 5'10. I was less than that at one point (around 11) but looked ill. People used to comment on it too. I want to get back down to a 36 waist. I was a 32 at my lowest as a fully grown adult.

 

I hate Gyms. Most depressing place ever, at least where I live. I went about 4 or 5 times and I didn't like it, even once. I either saw people I know or was intimidated by people much fitter than me. Everything is covered in sweat because no one can bloody wipe anything after themselves and the personal trainers are all meatheads.

I liked doing it at my own pace. I bought some weights, did it when I could. I do more cardio stuff because I wanted to lose weight, not build muscle. It's still depressing really, if i'm honest? I don't enjoy working out, even if I can see my target.

I'd rather stuff my face with some biscuits, but then I wouldn't live very long.

 

Liposuction... you're doing it wrong...


..sorry, but as a lazy git that's about all I had to add...

 

Well, what I found is you really really need someone to see if you're doing it right, and they need to check this often.
And most gyms dont bother, the cheap ones certainly don't. Personal trainers should, but at least over here are unaffordable.

 

Yeah, i'm not paying a personal trainer, and I wasn't going to pay like £40 a month for the gym where I live when I didn't like it. It's really unaffordable for most here as well. Personal training services are at least as much as an unlimited gym membership.

 

Decent gym's are something between 40-50€ a month here, BUT, only with a two year contract.
There's cheaper gyms, with monthly contracts, but then you get no support, which is the only reason I'd go to a gym in the first place.