A Question About Fitness Freedom: Ditching the App for Gym Enjoyment

Here’s a question from Paul asking about science and social media versus pure enjoyment in the gym.

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Hey Brad,

This is mostly an observation, but interested to hear your commentary when I finally get to the point. I was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer on 17 February 2022. After years of sitting on my backside watching TV or sitting on my backside drinking beer (interesting treatment plan right there!), I decided to go back to gym. My wife loves her yoga and looks amazing for a woman approaching 50. I looked like a sack of pork crackling covered in dog hair.

I’ve only been back in the gym for 5 months now. I spent about a month doing full body routines three or four days a week with kettlebells and weighted bags to build up some strength. I then moved down to the free weights area and spent a month grinding barbell squats, deadlifts, dumbbell press, dumbbell shoulder press, tricep extensions and bicep curls. This was three or four days a week. It was great.

Then, I got into YouTube. That led to subbing to a certain fitness app. Gym became less fun. It was about logging progress. Repping at a certain range. Volume, volume, volume. I ditched the fitness app and did some reading. I’m 46, so too old to live according to a bunch of resources. I also received word that I’ve finally beaten cancer. I have a niggle in a tendon on my left elbow (probably because I’m old), so I went lighter over more reps. No matter how quickly I would complete a rep, I couldn’t get the old ticker kicking above 125bpm most of the time. My gut fat decided to start making an unwelcome reappearance. Our fancy electronic scale also keeps on telling me that while I may be twitching, I’m pretty much dead.

I’ve now opted to tune out the noise. I went in today, grabbed the heaviest dumbbells I can press for each chest and shoulder exercise and aimed for 6-8. I wrapped up with tricep extensions, using a rope and a straight bar to rep 8-10 as heavy as I could. Heart rate was north of 140bpm. I got a proper sweat on. I felt great. Tomorrow I’ll be back in to hit the treadmill and the exercise bike. The rest of the week will be dedicated to going as heavy as I can as safely as I can. I love heavy. I love getting my heart pumping. I love to push myself on the cardio machines. I love walking out the gym in a shirt that would be drier if I’d just showered in it (sorry fellow gym goers!). Essentially, I have no goal. I have no idea what I will look like. I just love the process of giving myself a good kicking in the gym. I find myself not caring about the science. I ultimately want to enjoy myself, get a bit fitter and enjoy the process of moving bits of metal through a short range of motion.

What are your thoughts on this approach?

Cheers,
Paul

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Hi Paul!

First, congratulations on becoming cancer free! I know how it feels when you can finally put that and the treatment behind you and start to rebuild your physique.

I’ll get right to my answer.

Do what you love doing.

You hit the nail on the head when you stated that you really enjoyed the process of what you’re doing. A friend of mine and I constantly talk about the process of training, dieting, and instilling discipline in what we do. We rarely speak about the end result.

Why?

Two reasons. One, we love the process–the act of getting in the gym, doing the work, and repeating it day after day. Second, there is no finish line–no end result to achieve. If you have to identify a finish line, it’s completing each workout every day. To go to the gym, give your best, and then get ready to go back the next day.

In a way, you answered your own question. The fact that you raised your heart rate where you wanted it to go, you love training heavy (no problem with that), and I can just hear your motivated tone throughout your message.

If you’ve read anything I’ve written for external publications, I love research. I love to read about the latest findings in the world of training and nutrition.

But I’m a bit like you. I know what is heavily researched and proven, but I also have a personal preference regarding how I train. Even though I tend to combine the two schools of thought (meshing science and personal experience), I still tend to practice what I will continually come back to and be motivated to do.

Think of it this way, if you continue to perform the science-only part, you would most likely burn out, lose interest, and possibly quit.

Happy lifting!

Who out there has a similar experience? Does science sometimes go against what you actually like to do? Comment below.