Nothing. It does nothing.
[Media]
All the effects people had from it came from suppliers spiking their supplements with anabolic steroids
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Lifestyle physical health/fitness thread
- Thread starter Ninahaza
- Start date
[Media]
All the effects people had from it came from suppliers spiking their supplements with anabolic steroids
Good luck to you.
Amazing credit is deserved for even making the tough decision to embark on a weight loss journey.
I've been doing it for over 10 years now with moderate to fantastic results. And the longest period of time I've been able to maintain my weight loss is 9 years (between 2011 and now, 2023).
Diet and a caloric deficit has been both my biggest issue and my greatest redemption and success. I mastered going to the gym and keeping a gym routine a long time ago, but what I eat and how much of it I eat seems to be my greatest reoccurring battle.
Good luck once again
I wanted to share my weight loss journey. I went from 213 pounds to 155 pounds, mainly through a calorie deficit and intermittent fasting. After I finished, I decided to build some muscle on the skinnier frame. Currently, I built up abs through consistent core exercises and toned muscles. I've learned that consistency and dedication are essential to losing weight or building muscle. Also, I cut out sweets and replaced them with fruits, which made me feel better and helped build muscle. To anyone who wants to lose weight, go for it you'll feel much better.
This year's been really hard for me in terms of working out. I was unable to progress the first half of the year, I was in my final semester of university, had a lot of problems with work and went through a pretty miserable loss. Additionally, I trained for a year straight, 3 times per week and never took a single week off. The combination made me extremely burnt out and my CNS was fried in april. My psychological resources were just completely drained. I took a 3 month break from working out
It helped me quite a lot. I was able to sleep soundly again. I still ran about thrice per week and walked all my ways instead of using public transport
I returned in august and I am growing quite a lot again. I am trying to bulk, it's really difficult, I spent very little time at home and bulking up when you're 194cm is a pretty miserable affair. But it's slowly working out
It helped me quite a lot. I was able to sleep soundly again. I still ran about thrice per week and walked all my ways instead of using public transport
I returned in august and I am growing quite a lot again. I am trying to bulk, it's really difficult, I spent very little time at home and bulking up when you're 194cm is a pretty miserable affair. But it's slowly working out
Hello update to this I have almost retained all my previous strength from 2 years ago now squatting 385 lbs, benching 305lbs, then deadlift 405lbs ( still lower than previous max but almost there) I’m feeling GREAT.
Been a hell of a year for my strength training journey.
I won't go into all the details but tldr early this year I had a cartilage tear in my knee and tore my quad in two spots 3 weeks apart, so while my bench press has been great, my lower body training had stagnated for a lot of the year.
But, I got an expensive stem cell injection to regrow the cartilage in my knee 3 weeks ago that'll hopefully lead to a full recovery, my quad is better and I've switched coaches. So back on track and hoping to hit the following numbers in competition by the end of next year at 90kg (198lbs) bodyweight.
240kg squat (528lbs)
150kg bench (330lbs)
260kg deadlift (572lbs)
Ambitious but all numbers my coach thinks are possible. Excited to be healthy and start making some progress again.
I won't go into all the details but tldr early this year I had a cartilage tear in my knee and tore my quad in two spots 3 weeks apart, so while my bench press has been great, my lower body training had stagnated for a lot of the year.
But, I got an expensive stem cell injection to regrow the cartilage in my knee 3 weeks ago that'll hopefully lead to a full recovery, my quad is better and I've switched coaches. So back on track and hoping to hit the following numbers in competition by the end of next year at 90kg (198lbs) bodyweight.
240kg squat (528lbs)
150kg bench (330lbs)
260kg deadlift (572lbs)
Ambitious but all numbers my coach thinks are possible. Excited to be healthy and start making some progress again.
W I hope your knee keeps functioning well so you can attain your goals.
I am sorry to hear the beginning of your post.
I am happy for you upon the end of your post.
A few years ago, I had a compound fracture that needed orthopedic surgery. The first attempt was unsuccessful, and my bones had to be stapled back together. I have two plates, a rod, and several screws and bolts in my left forearm. It was beyond tough to get back into any exercise, downright excruciating pain. But I am blessed to be able to swim as I have in the past and even increase my regime to new heights, marking uncharted territory.
Compound fractures are some of the worst injuries imaginable, brutal to go through but awesome to hear you're setting swimming PBs in the aftermath!
And ty for your kind words
Long story short, I want to tell my story about how I have lifting heavy for more than one year; but have to stop because my health.
I was a guy who never lifts in his life. And somehow stumble into gym because of a lifting program
Its name is Stronglifts, it promises that you can lift hundreds kilograms after progresive overload, and it hooked me!
You begin lifting at 20Kg, and exlusively lifts with compound lifts; squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlift, and barbell rows. What I love with this program is that you will not waste your time. You can lift two or three times a week. And you can spends your time in gym just only one hour!
This is why I adore this program and keep lifting for over one year! For record, this is my PR currently:
Reluctantly, I have to stop lifting, and I don't know how can change my exercise? The doctor actually suggests for cardiovascular exercise, or I can still lift but with lighter weights.
What that I cannot let go is that I'm sad to drop this Stronglifts program, I might want to switch program, but I don't know which lifting program that can replace Stronglifts.
I was a guy who never lifts in his life. And somehow stumble into gym because of a lifting program
Its name is Stronglifts, it promises that you can lift hundreds kilograms after progresive overload, and it hooked me!
You begin lifting at 20Kg, and exlusively lifts with compound lifts; squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlift, and barbell rows. What I love with this program is that you will not waste your time. You can lift two or three times a week. And you can spends your time in gym just only one hour!
This is why I adore this program and keep lifting for over one year! For record, this is my PR currently:
- Squat: 107.5Kg
- Bench Press: 60Kg
- Barbel Row: 77.5Kg
- OHP: 50Kg
- Deadlift: 117.5Kg
Reluctantly, I have to stop lifting, and I don't know how can change my exercise? The doctor actually suggests for cardiovascular exercise, or I can still lift but with lighter weights.
What that I cannot let go is that I'm sad to drop this Stronglifts program, I might want to switch program, but I don't know which lifting program that can replace Stronglifts.
I have since got my deadlift to 425 lbs. attempted 445 lbs but I’ll get it next time haha
Havent posted here in a while and feel the need to do some general lifting rambling. I posted in here about two years ago that I had finally benched 315 as I had wanted to do for a few years at that point. I started lifting in early 2014ish and everything sorta built up to that. Since then, I've definitely fallen off to some extent. It hasn't been an insane drop off or anything because I've continued to go lift about 5-6 days a week, but it hasn't been quite the priority it was before. In early 2022 I had just gotten my bachelor's degree, and then I got my first office job out of college a few months later. This comes in direct contrast to my main job in a grocery store through most of college, where I would routinely get like 10-15k steps on a regular basis. That and some other factors like going out and drinking more and whatever else, and I just haven't been what I used to be physically.
It's been a really weird phase for me considering how big a part of my life lifting has always been. To be completely honest, lifting helped me through a lot of hard times mentally and emotionally, just giving a productive outlet for any angst or frustration. However, as I have gotten into a better place in those areas over the years, it has had a bit of an inverse effect on my lifting. It isn't particularly shocking. These days I just care about more things than taking a ton of pre workout, going insane for an hour or 2, then not worrying about the consequences it could have on the rest of my life, whether it was having a harder time sleeping or being more anxious in general. Sure the physical results were there, but it definitely fed into my general unhappiness at the time. A lot of what drove me before was simply that I wasn't happy with where I was in my life or not feeling like I was good enough.
Of course I would much rather be in a good place emotionally than in slightly better shape with depression, but it has still been a little awkward to navigate. Even if it isn't lifting, we probably all have some sort of activity that we used to be really good at when we were younger with more time to invest in it and not as many other things to worry about in life. Then when we go back to them and aren't what we used to be, it can be pretty disheartening. That's sort of what it's been like the last couple years over time. It's not like I would dread going to the gym, but it was something I would do regularly and just go through the motions more often than I should've. However, I joined a new gym a few months ago and it is so much better than my last one it's insane. Better equipment, better environment, super close to my new apartment, etc. - basically everything you could ever hope for. I have been trying to make a point to take my workouts and nutrition more seriously again and it has lowkey made me fall in love with lifting again.
It sort of culminated in today in which I happened to be in the right mood, put on the right youtube videos, take the perfect amount of pre, etc. I was really pushing myself and came pretty close to some of my old personal bests. Sure I have been applying myself more recently, but I was fairly comfortably handling weights I hadn't even attempted in years. It put in perspective how much I was probably holding myself back by going through the motions instead of actively trying to improve and all that. Having a day like this was so encouraging after spending so much time telling everyone "i'm washed now but" whenever talking about lifting. Granted I've still probably been like 80-85% of where I was a couple years ago, but in my head for whatever reason it seemed like reaching those heights again was impossible. I just want to get back there so bad without trading off mental health or anything else that’s truly important. But yeah felt the need the word vomit all of this somewhere and thanks to anyone for reading.
It's been a really weird phase for me considering how big a part of my life lifting has always been. To be completely honest, lifting helped me through a lot of hard times mentally and emotionally, just giving a productive outlet for any angst or frustration. However, as I have gotten into a better place in those areas over the years, it has had a bit of an inverse effect on my lifting. It isn't particularly shocking. These days I just care about more things than taking a ton of pre workout, going insane for an hour or 2, then not worrying about the consequences it could have on the rest of my life, whether it was having a harder time sleeping or being more anxious in general. Sure the physical results were there, but it definitely fed into my general unhappiness at the time. A lot of what drove me before was simply that I wasn't happy with where I was in my life or not feeling like I was good enough.
Of course I would much rather be in a good place emotionally than in slightly better shape with depression, but it has still been a little awkward to navigate. Even if it isn't lifting, we probably all have some sort of activity that we used to be really good at when we were younger with more time to invest in it and not as many other things to worry about in life. Then when we go back to them and aren't what we used to be, it can be pretty disheartening. That's sort of what it's been like the last couple years over time. It's not like I would dread going to the gym, but it was something I would do regularly and just go through the motions more often than I should've. However, I joined a new gym a few months ago and it is so much better than my last one it's insane. Better equipment, better environment, super close to my new apartment, etc. - basically everything you could ever hope for. I have been trying to make a point to take my workouts and nutrition more seriously again and it has lowkey made me fall in love with lifting again.
It sort of culminated in today in which I happened to be in the right mood, put on the right youtube videos, take the perfect amount of pre, etc. I was really pushing myself and came pretty close to some of my old personal bests. Sure I have been applying myself more recently, but I was fairly comfortably handling weights I hadn't even attempted in years. It put in perspective how much I was probably holding myself back by going through the motions instead of actively trying to improve and all that. Having a day like this was so encouraging after spending so much time telling everyone "i'm washed now but" whenever talking about lifting. Granted I've still probably been like 80-85% of where I was a couple years ago, but in my head for whatever reason it seemed like reaching those heights again was impossible. I just want to get back there so bad without trading off mental health or anything else that’s truly important. But yeah felt the need the word vomit all of this somewhere and thanks to anyone for reading.
Well, I've never used smogon for this sort of discussion before, but better late than never, right? I decided to post here because Pak's post resonates with me a lot. After being on the overweight side of things as a kid, I managed to take control of my nutrition and exercise habits as an adult and after being consistent with my resistance training for 7 years, I put on about 8 kgs of muscle.
However, due to my life being extremely stressful for a bunch of different reasons lately (having a new job, my relationship with family members getting worse, having to move to a new place, studying to ultimately have a future job in the nutrition space, not venting to anyone cause I'm very bad at doing that apparently!) i stopped training consistently a few months ago, only really doing a few sets here and there, going through the motions.
I really hope that 1) writing this will help me become a bit more consistent with my training again and be healthier and 2) people will realise how beneficial it is to build some amount of muscle, at whatever point in time that seems achievable: Muscle mass that you've built over a large amount of time diminishes with inactivity, but it really doesn't all go away. It really is extremely beneficial and protective to your overall health to have some more muscle, because even if you stop training for whatever reason, you hopefully still have some good nutritional habits, and that combined with with your increased caloric needs will help you maintain a healthy bodyweight in a rainy day.
I wish to everyone who reads this to be successful in their personal fitness journey, no matter if they've been doing it for years, starting out now, or not having started yet cause of whatever reasons but they want to (yes, do it, it's absolutely worth it).
I forgot to say that a side effect of being into resistance training&nutrition for so long made me really really really nerd out on these things and probably be more knowledgeable about said things than the vast majority of non professionals. If you want help with figuring these things out, don't hesitate to hit me up, here or over on discord.
However, due to my life being extremely stressful for a bunch of different reasons lately (having a new job, my relationship with family members getting worse, having to move to a new place, studying to ultimately have a future job in the nutrition space, not venting to anyone cause I'm very bad at doing that apparently!) i stopped training consistently a few months ago, only really doing a few sets here and there, going through the motions.
I really hope that 1) writing this will help me become a bit more consistent with my training again and be healthier and 2) people will realise how beneficial it is to build some amount of muscle, at whatever point in time that seems achievable: Muscle mass that you've built over a large amount of time diminishes with inactivity, but it really doesn't all go away. It really is extremely beneficial and protective to your overall health to have some more muscle, because even if you stop training for whatever reason, you hopefully still have some good nutritional habits, and that combined with with your increased caloric needs will help you maintain a healthy bodyweight in a rainy day.
I wish to everyone who reads this to be successful in their personal fitness journey, no matter if they've been doing it for years, starting out now, or not having started yet cause of whatever reasons but they want to (yes, do it, it's absolutely worth it).
I forgot to say that a side effect of being into resistance training&nutrition for so long made me really really really nerd out on these things and probably be more knowledgeable about said things than the vast majority of non professionals. If you want help with figuring these things out, don't hesitate to hit me up, here or over on discord.
You tried out the Mentzer method of doing some warm up and then doing a single working set to failure in a 6-8 rep (it can be more or less but that is the goal) range?
Apparently it takes much less time and gives some good results
Currently in a bit of a rut at the gym. Been going consistently over the last few years but I'm lacking motivation. I have achieved some good lifts considering I started out as a 60 kg rat.
Current body comp: 85kg, 1.8m tall
PRs:
I need advice on staying/getting motivated again. Need a goal or something to work towards. Thinking I could cut some weight.
Current body comp: 85kg, 1.8m tall
PRs:
- Bench press: 140KG
- Deadlift: 195KG
- Overhead standing barbell press: 70KG
- Leg press: 350KG
- Seated shoulder press: 120KG (60 KG each side)
I need advice on staying/getting motivated again. Need a goal or something to work towards. Thinking I could cut some weight.
Personally, I'm motivated to lift to get better at a certain activity (basketball, volleyball, etc.). If you're someone that just enjoys lifting, then the next progression could potentially be powerlifting or Olympic lifting as it gives you a "goal" to work towards. Powerlifting communities fairly common worldwide in large metropolitan areas, so it's not too difficult to join.
I've been in a rut too but I recently started to focus much more on the execution and the stretch part. I went down to about 70% of my previous working weight and I go down as faaaaaaar as I can, slowly as I can, hold it at the bottom and to explode from there. Some of my progress from week to week isn't an extra rep or more weight, but technical adjustments and further extensions of my ROM
I feel like a newbie again. Despite working with much less, I feel much stronger and it just tickles my brain in a new way
Maybe you can try that out too until you come back to your current weights. It'd be a new goal and make you longterm much stronger
It's been ages since I've posted here, but I guess I'll give an update on my running progress. More because I need to vent than anything else, lol. I guess I'll start with the last time things were going well - in 2018, I ran a half marathon just under 1:15, which was really good for me (my best time prior to that was a few seconds slower in 2010, when I was 19). I kept training consistently throughout 2019 and ended up running a little over 2:42 for a full marathon. At the time I remember not being super thrilled with that because I really wanted to average under 6 minutes per mile for a marathon, but looking back now, it seems like something I'll never get back to.
Not much happened in 2020 really, I kept up with training but all the races I would've run were canceled due to covid-19. I had to move and start a new job in 2021 and kept up with training, but not really with the intent to race (I was kinda burnt out anyway). Then in November of that year, I broke my ankle (tripped over the sidewalk lol) and ended up having to take 4 months off of running. So I spent most of 2022 and early 2023 getting back to the point where I could run consistently.
Eventually I settled on running 5 days per week and cycling the other 2, with 2 of the runs being some sort of workout. I ran another half marathon in the fall in 1:22-something, which wasn't great, but at the time I remember being really motivated to keep training and hopefully improve. So I decided to try to run a good 5k in the spring of this year. I had a solid winter training block, and ran some good workouts in the spring, but probably ended up trying a bit too hard to peak for the race and ended up being overtrained for the race. I think my time was 18:01, which was really demoralizing for me. So I took a ~10 day break from running, like I normally do after a race before starting up a new training cycle.
I tried to start up running again, but could never even get to the point where I could do a 30 minute jog 5 days per week (probably due to a mix of physical and mental burnout), so I decided to cross-train for a while. For me that meant a mix of cycling and walking. Cycling became progressively more exhausting, so I started only doing it on the weekends and just walking for exercise during the week. Eventually walking became racewalking, which is actually really fun. It felt like running did when I first started that, rapidly improving basically by default.
So that went on until late August or so, when I increasingly started to have frequent headaches and always felt really tired. One night I started really weak and shaky/jittery. I didn't know what was happening so I went to the ER. I had a bunch of tests done and everything was normal, except I had slightly elevated creatine kinase (a sign of muscle breakdown), although it was nowhere near high enough to be considered rhabdomyolysis. So I got that flushed out of my system with IV, then sent home. My legs felt so weak that walking at all was difficult for the next couple days. A few days later at work I was walking back from getting lunch at the cafetaria but physically couldn't. My legs felt like they would feel after glycogen depletion during a marathon and I had to just sit down on the floor until someone found me lol. So I get taken to the ER again (I guess it's a good thing I work at a hospital), have some more blood tests done, and told I'm perfectly fine. Later I had electromyography and nerve conduction studies done and everything was normal which is good, but I still really don't know what happened.
I can walk without pain most days, but I have to be careful. If I walk fast enough to where I have to open my mouth to breathe over consecutive days, my calves and hamstrings will start hurting. I guess I'm recovering from... something, but I really don't know what. Is this just getting old? I didn't think it would be this bad lol.
Not much happened in 2020 really, I kept up with training but all the races I would've run were canceled due to covid-19. I had to move and start a new job in 2021 and kept up with training, but not really with the intent to race (I was kinda burnt out anyway). Then in November of that year, I broke my ankle (tripped over the sidewalk lol) and ended up having to take 4 months off of running. So I spent most of 2022 and early 2023 getting back to the point where I could run consistently.
Eventually I settled on running 5 days per week and cycling the other 2, with 2 of the runs being some sort of workout. I ran another half marathon in the fall in 1:22-something, which wasn't great, but at the time I remember being really motivated to keep training and hopefully improve. So I decided to try to run a good 5k in the spring of this year. I had a solid winter training block, and ran some good workouts in the spring, but probably ended up trying a bit too hard to peak for the race and ended up being overtrained for the race. I think my time was 18:01, which was really demoralizing for me. So I took a ~10 day break from running, like I normally do after a race before starting up a new training cycle.
I tried to start up running again, but could never even get to the point where I could do a 30 minute jog 5 days per week (probably due to a mix of physical and mental burnout), so I decided to cross-train for a while. For me that meant a mix of cycling and walking. Cycling became progressively more exhausting, so I started only doing it on the weekends and just walking for exercise during the week. Eventually walking became racewalking, which is actually really fun. It felt like running did when I first started that, rapidly improving basically by default.
So that went on until late August or so, when I increasingly started to have frequent headaches and always felt really tired. One night I started really weak and shaky/jittery. I didn't know what was happening so I went to the ER. I had a bunch of tests done and everything was normal, except I had slightly elevated creatine kinase (a sign of muscle breakdown), although it was nowhere near high enough to be considered rhabdomyolysis. So I got that flushed out of my system with IV, then sent home. My legs felt so weak that walking at all was difficult for the next couple days. A few days later at work I was walking back from getting lunch at the cafetaria but physically couldn't. My legs felt like they would feel after glycogen depletion during a marathon and I had to just sit down on the floor until someone found me lol. So I get taken to the ER again (I guess it's a good thing I work at a hospital), have some more blood tests done, and told I'm perfectly fine. Later I had electromyography and nerve conduction studies done and everything was normal which is good, but I still really don't know what happened.
I can walk without pain most days, but I have to be careful. If I walk fast enough to where I have to open my mouth to breathe over consecutive days, my calves and hamstrings will start hurting. I guess I'm recovering from... something, but I really don't know what. Is this just getting old? I didn't think it would be this bad lol.
I didn't post a recap of my last comp here, but I'd like to let y'all know that I'm still lifting heavy. Next goal is a 600kg+ total December 1 (very achievable with like a 245kg deadlift, 220kg squat, 135kg bench - all numbers which I've either hit or have been close to hitting).
Next two goals will probably happen at the same time, a 620kg total (that puts my DOTS score over 400 which is a huge milestone), and a 500lb squat (227ish kgs).
Hope you're all smashing your goals whatever they may be!
Next two goals will probably happen at the same time, a 620kg total (that puts my DOTS score over 400 which is a huge milestone), and a 500lb squat (227ish kgs).
Hope you're all smashing your goals whatever they may be!
A few weeks ago, I found a gym near my house and have started going 2 or 3 times a week. I start with 10 mins of cardio on a treadmill, then I do leg extensions - 4 sets, 15 reps. Then I do leg curls - again, 4 sets 15 reps. Then I do the same for shoulders and lateral pulldown, and finish off with another 10 minutes of cardio. Takes about an hour, give or take. I used to cycle about 100 miles a week (160 km) when I cycled to and from work, but I quit that job and need to keep my fitness up. Just trying to lose some weight. Sadly I'm past the age where my body will forgive me eating endless junk.
Enjoying it so far, although it is tough work. I've never been good at, or enjoyed sports with the exceptions of tennis, skiing and swimming. The gym has been super helpful too - while it's not forbidden to film there, it is strongly discouraged, so hopefully I won't get some c*** posting me struggling on TikTok.
Enjoying it so far, although it is tough work. I've never been good at, or enjoyed sports with the exceptions of tennis, skiing and swimming. The gym has been super helpful too - while it's not forbidden to film there, it is strongly discouraged, so hopefully I won't get some c*** posting me struggling on TikTok.
A little bit of an update since I made this post. I finally decided to force myself back into the gym during the start of November, even if I didn't feel like doing it. Physical activity is very important after all, and part of growing up and being an adult is sometimes doing things you don't feel like doing, because you know those things will ultimately have a positive impact on your life.
The plan I started following was very simple and easy to do, because that's how you should go about it in these types of cases, just slowly ease back into things. 3 times per week, full body training, get a nice pump, get out of there and go on with my day. I still didn't like it, it kept feeling like I was doing some kind of work instead of enjoying the hobby I'd previously always enjoy.
After about 15-20 sessions in, that feeling suddenly disappeared. Maybe because I was slowly getting back close to my previous PRs, maybe because I was noticing my body starting to look better. Showing up to the gym has now become a healthy routine for me again, just like brushing my teeth. I don't think much about it, I just do it. It's easy and enjoyable.
I've just stuck to this 3 times per week basic routine, very high intensity of effort, moderate amounts of set volume. I haven't had the need to add more, just yesterday I hit an important all time PR (200 kgs on the leg press for 10 reps, after already having done 1 heavy set, me weighing 65 kgs, while my previous best was 200 kgs for 8 reps, with me being fully rested and weighing 70 kgs).
So all of that was proven to be just a slight setback. I'm fully back, and it looks like 2025 will be another year of good gains, even if life has gotten harder and more demanding.
Thanks everyone who takes the time to read through my ramblings, and I hope you guys will be crushing your own health&fitness goals in 2025 as well, cheers!!!
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Back for more rambling, basically for myself more than anything. Ironically, right after this post from last year, I did some tom foolery and messed up my shoulder for like 3-4 months. Could not do any presses / shoulder exercises at all so that was cool. In a way it was kinda good, just in the fact that it gave a bunch of muscle groups a chance to rest and also me not taking things for granted like I probably had been. I got up to around 240 last bulk, and I didn't look too bad or anything, but that's still super heavy. I was cutting down for months and there was just so much ground to cover compared to past years. I lost 25ish lbs but ultimately didn't really get to a spot I was happy with. This comes in contrast to the cuts I had in my early 20s where I would get really defined and maintain strength really well, setting up for a good bulk.
With all the holidays and whatever else recently, I've been eating a ton and it seems like that's correlated into some random PRs. With that said, with my body weight going up to 235-240ish lbs, I better be hitting some PRs. My all time bench PR of 315 was when I weighed 218 or so at age 22. Currently at 240 bodyweight and 25 years old, my raw numbers are solid, but I'm nowhere near as strong as I was when compared to my previous bodyweight. I've still continued to go lift 5-6 days a week, largely because if I ever stopped I'd probably go insane. However, my nutrition and steps are nowhere near where they used to be. Main thing in recent years has been going out more and the weekends and definitely drinking more than I probably should. Naturally leads to Taco Bell trips at 2 am and etc.
All this is to say it does bother me to some extent that I'm not where I used to be physically. My life overall is leaps and bounds better than it used to be, but that doesn't have to come at the cost of fitness. I will say my relationship with the gym has definitely changed as my mental health has improved, but why do they have to have an inverse relationship? I'll jokingly tell friends or whoever that I'm not depressed enough to bench 3 plates again or stuff along those lines. That may unironically be true to some extent, but I guess my point is that I want to shift that perspective to a more positive outlook. If anything, physical fitness in combination with whatever other positive momentum could be the final cherry on top. Doing well in the gym shouldn't have to imply that I hate everything else in the world and that it's the only thing that matters.
It's p funny to me that I came to this sort of conclusion on New Year's Day. I obviously get why resolutions exist, but I've never been a big fan of them. A lot of them are either too broad, too over the top, too abstract, or whatever else along those lines. With that said, I don't really see that sort of thinking as a bad thing by any means. No matter what arbitrary time of year it is, people pushing towards positive change is good. So I guess this is to say my own resolution for this year will to be get into similar habits as the old days while maintaining a positive relationship w fitness and the gym in general. I don't want to miss a PR and have my day ruined. I don't want to take a ton of pre workout and being super anxious or not able to sleep. Idk man I just know I have a lot of small areas to clean up fitness wise, whether it's nutrition, not doing enough cardio, or my own effort in the gym. Starting in 2025, if I could get back up to where I was while maintaining a positive relationship with everything, it would make me super happy. For whatever reason, it's seemed near impossible the last couple years.