I’ve started going to the gym recently and noticed by the end I feel tired, part of this will be muscle fatigue but it’s disappointing when you can’t finish what you wanted to.
What exercises do you do that make you feel like you’ve done a good job? Looking to make the gym a more positive mental experience
Comments
Deadlifts and Squats.
bench press🙌💯
Squat and functional training
Keep going, show up everyday, eat and rest super well, work on your cardio even if your goal isn’t losing weight (cardio is meant to train your heart not your muscles/fat).
Ultimately in 3-4 months you’ll notice that you’re no longer tired but full of energy at the end, mentally and physically.
Of course you should love going to the gym and not see it as a chore. Try to make some friends there, or just learn to love the space even if you don’t talk to anybody during your session.
Squats
Hip thrust. Because it’s a looooot of kilos.
Honestly, pushing the door open to leave the gym with a good pump going is when I feel most accomplished.
If I had to pick one, I’d say incline dumbbell bench in front of a mirror. Makes it look like I’m rocking a superhero physique for a few minutes.
Dumbbell bench.
Pullups
The good, old fashioned shower jerk.
Squats and Pull-Ups. Two of the greatest exercises.
Consistency tbh, even if I don’t too much one day but still go makes me feel. accomplished with a little cardio on the side.
The one that does it for me is planking with forearms on an exercise ball, then rolling the ball away until just before failure, holding and rolling it back in. Do ~6-8x per “set”. It’s rough, but the more you can do the better you feel about it
Pushing the sled.
On average, my clients seem to respond best to exercises that are free weight and able to progress on regularly.
Something like squats. They are a very hard exercise, but every session you can probably add a little bit of weight or do another rep or two compared to last session. And they wipe you out, get you breathing hard, and make you a bit sore. All of these sensations make you feel pretty accomplished.
Generally heavy compound movements in the ~5-8 rep range have this effect.
Squats, deadlifts, rows, overhead press, bench press, lunges, pullups.
It’s also quite satisfying to be getting stronger at bodyweight exercises. Like being able to do a full pull up or push up. And then progressing to being able to do several feels awesome.
Deadlifts.
Good chest and bicep lifting day.
Heavy ass deadlifts, squats and bench
when you start hitting those Big 3 PRs, you’ll become addicted
Just showing up and starting anything. Getting there can be as hard as the workout. Give yourself that pat on the back for getting there. We all have different strengths too.
I have a shoulder injury so I’m not trying heavy sets or many sets. I like push ups though, very easy and a good challenge for me.
DL, 100 burpees, wide grip pullups, bear crawls,
Cable row chest & arms
Gravity press legs
Deadlifts
Snatches
I absolutely hate cardio but there is like a weird high you get after you get done with a nice run or any hard cardio session. I enjoy lifting so I dont necessarily get the same sense of accomplishment as I do when I finish a cardio session that I didnt want to do. Its weird because I genuinely enjoy it while I’m in it but getting started is a pain in the ass lol
Snatch.
When you do the movement in perfect form, and you feel the weight float for a second, that’s the ultimate feeling.
Squats. Heavy.
Nothing quite like it to put some hair on your chest.
Deadlift always makes me feel next level.
From a physiological standpoint, high rep (8+) squats.
From an athletic standpoint, power cleans or power snatches.
Bench press, overhead press and pull ups.
Used to absolutely love squats and deadlifts aswell but I didn’t manage to rebound from an injury
As an oldtimer of course bench. If I had started deadlifts younger I would probably have gone for that.
Any exercise when you put the weights down and catch someone admiring you / your reps. Doesn’t have to be in a sexual way. Just a fellow gym member’s silent appreciation for the struggle and the results.
This is common in the beginning and it will get better.
Also, you need to ensure you get electrolytes, it takes 3 days to replenish them. You can find simple recipes online for electrolytes recipe.
And eat protein and other typical good stuff recommended
Rowing machine for 30 minutes makes me get closer to God – in good and bad ways
Pullups man… pulling your entire body weight above the bar more than 10 times is something every man needs to feel atleast once in their life. It gives you confidence also in those fantasy situations like you tripped of a cliff or a rooftop and you know with a bit of momentum you could atleast try to pull yourself up
Overhead press makes me feel like a superhero
Front squat!
Pullups
Deadlifts, bench, pull ups
I don’t have a specific exercise but the more I sweat and my face turns red, the more I feel accomplished and have a sense of improving
If you can’t finish what you wanted to, you’re on the wrong program. Your plan should meet you where you’re at, so that you can improve from there
The ones where I’m doing more weight than the people around me on similar lift
Once in a while I’ll hit a 5k run at the end of a workout. It’s fuckin sucks but I feel really accomplished.
Bench press
Something about it being so simple and satisfying.