Gym burnout ?
Hi everyone,
I need a reality check from you guys. I’ve been working out consistently four times a week for three years now (f31). Up until now, I was the kind of person who just showed up - no ifs, ands, or buts, regardless of how motivated I felt. Last year, there were maybe three weeks in total when I didn’t go to the gym. Working out was just part of my routine, and I enjoyed it.
Last summer, I had an injury in my lower back. During rehab, I did a lot of functional training and realized: It really got to me mentally. It showed me what I was actually missing in traditional, "monotonous" strength training. I originally started working out for the looks. Now I’ve reached a point where I can say: I’m really happy with my body, I’ve built good muscle tone, and I don’t actually want “more” anymore.
Now that the visual incentive and the urge to constantly push myself have faded, I often find traditional training extremely monotonous. I recently took a two-week break; I came back stronger, but by the second exercise in my first workout, I thought: "I'm sick of this. It's so boring. I want to go home."
I don’t want to give up strength training entirely. I immediately miss working out and the social interaction at the gym when I don’t go. Unfortunately, a deload hasn’t made any difference mentally.
I feel like I need a new "reason" that has nothing to do with muscle hypertrophy or just looking good. The functional training part during rehab was great, but how do I incorporate it without feeling like I'm losing my hard-earned foundation or just working out aimlessly?
Do you know that phase where you’ve physically “reached your goal” and working out suddenly loses its purpose? How did you adjust your workout routine to make it fun again once the visual aspect was no longer a motivator?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts :)