After Work: The Gym Or The Couch?
Filed under: Saturday Submissions, Sports & Health
Author: Dave
Date: Nov 13, 2009
I am currently sitting at home sick and find I have a lot of time on my hands. Being sick has meant that I’ve forced myself to skip the gym this entire week and it just so happens that last week was so crazy at work that I had to miss the gym most days. I’m guessing that my being sick is likely linked to my stressful and long work week, but that’s just how she goes. With not going to the gym, I find a lot more time on my hands. If I finish work at 5 or 6, I’m really just kinda free to do anything at that point. I don’t have to head home, change, hit the gym, shower and only then be ready to do other things, or just laze around my place. I have gained hours of freedom. Albeit, being sick, I’m not doing anything with them.
I know that I don’t have to go to the gym and it’s always a choice, but to be honest, I don’t feel that way. It is part of who I am. I’ve been going to the gym for 12 plus years. I can’t just stop. I guess I enjoy doing it? I don’t exactly like the repetitive action of lifting and pulling, touching others sweat, or smelling stinky people who need to do laundry or put on deodorant. I get frustrated while there all the time, waiting for machines, having creepo’s talk to you, having your weights taken, etc. But, once that workout is done you just feel good. You might just be glad to have it over with. It might hurt so bad that it feels good. Sometimes it makes you feel better, whether that’s the release of endorphins or just the sweating out of the booze. Some days you really feel like you made gains and improved in some sense. I guess the overall pull is the results you see with your body. And, on top of that, it should benefit your health.
If I didn’t go to the gym though, then I would have ten, or more hours a week to do other things. That is a lot of time. I guess the biggest question is what would I do with those hours? What do people do from 5-8pm during the week? I know I would have more time to visit with friends and maybe I could get some new hobbies. I just don’t know what these hobbies would be? I’ve said before I’m not huge on team sports. Generally I guess the gym is a hobby or “sport” of mine. If I didn’t go to the gym, I would expect myself to spend more time on the couch, or in front of the computer. I do enough of that as it is.
I want to get better, partially so I can get back to the gym. Some might think that is vanity, but I just think of it as part of my routine.
What do you think?
Is going to the gym pointless? Is it just an act of vanity? Are there better things you could be doing with your time?
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- Tags: activity, couch potatoe, fitness, gym, gym routine, hobby, homo dave, sports, vanity, workout
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Adam
November 13th, 2009 at 4:20 am
Dave, I truly hope your article gets the boys to the dumbells! If so, thanks for helping build my future boyfriends into the muscle boys we all love and know :)
salmon
November 13th, 2009 at 5:34 am
i’m not an after-work gym person. i personally like to go gym the first thing in the morning so that i could head straight home after work and unwind for the night. not to mention after work hours is crazy for traffic and it’s more crowded in the gym as well.
i like to laze around at home after work, if that answers your question. and i think it’s partially an act of vainity to sweat at the gym everyday as well, but so what? me too, feel frustrated when i’m sick and when i cant go gym because of that.
Adam A.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:34 am
I am all for going to the gym and self-improving, and making yourself feel better. That being said, I am also a total home body, and there are days when I feel like not going to the gym, and I don’t go (the guilty conscience then follows me around). I have the luxury of working both days and nights, so I actually prefer going to the gym in the early afternoon, when it’s not too busy. This was I can get in, focus on what I need to do and get it done, and leave. But Dave, seriously how much time are you spending at the gym? form 5-8? That’s a little crazy to me. Perhaps you could both have a new hobby and go to the gym if you cut down your work out time. Perhaps it takes to so long, cause you go at the same time as half the city. Perhaps the morning workout would better suit you!
Goo Roo
November 13th, 2009 at 10:37 am
What you do with your free time in life will always be your decision alone, and based upon your values. You don’t need to justify your decision to anyone – just understand the reason. From what I gather, it sounds like you’ve fallen into a habit, rather than a conscious choice. If you don’t know what you value in life, then it will be difficult to choose what to do or not to do. Think about it more deeply, and you’ll start discovering your values. Ask yourself: “Why do I workout?” Is it for selfish reasons, or selfless? It could be an addiction; but that’s included under “selfish”, I think. You could be staying in top physical form in order to more easily save lives in emergency situations, or to excel at a career in which you use your body in order to support your family. Or more subtly, along with the psychological benefits of feeling healthier from exercise, exercise could be your form of meditation which will improve your demeanor overall, and thus positively affect your interactions with others, making the world a better place. The reasons could be many. Vanity isn’t a reason; it’s a character trait, its purpose to protect a fragile ego. If you were exercising because you were vain, you would be exercising to protect yourself from perceived potential harm – the fear workout. The good thing, the “healthy thing”, about being sick is that it forces you to reassess (maybe even the reason why you got sick in the first place…too much exercise?). In this time of indecision for you, my suggestion would be to reduce your exercise days to three a week for a period – make those sessions more meaningful, more intense maybe – and use your new free time to discover other interests, interests in line with your values. There’s much to discover in the world and in life if you get off the couch, much you can do, and many things that you might find really interesting. And you’ll start to realize that the more you break out of your routine, i.e. the comfortable and very small cocoon you’ve built around your life. One of the best things I’ve ever learned to grow and have great experiences (and even helps in working out!): get out of your comfort zone.
Dave
November 13th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Haha. I wasn’t saying I go to the gym from 5-8, whoops. It is just within that time I usually go and it varies depending on when I finish work.
Justin
November 13th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Frankly if I didn’t go to the gym, I would be bored out of my skull. I find most TV stupid, and after work, I don’t want to stare at a computer screen.
A few years ago, I stopped going to the gym, and my self-esteem took a dive. Even if I didn’t gain a lot of weight, I felt flabby, fat, and unattractive. My friends at the time told me that I needed to get my ass back to the gym as a matter of self-care. Since then I have felt healthier, stronger, and more confident.
Excuse me, while I head off to do a work out.
Timothy
November 13th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
What fascinates me is people who don’t go to the gym or participate in any kind of physical activity. Up until recently our ancestors have been constantly active everyday of our lives, from going hunting for dinner, or running as to not become to dinner, to planting and harvesting crops. Our bodies are designed to move, to lift, push and pull things, evolution has created us to be athletes in life! It amazes me when people believe they can be happy sitting at work in front of a computer for 8 hours, than go home and sit in front of a television for another 5 or 6. Good luck getting healthy and getting back to what you love Dave!
bruin
November 13th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
if you cant go to the gym then crank out push ups… sit ups. et..those at home exercises. i am positive if you crank out 500 push ups youll feel at least something : )
Harlequin
November 14th, 2009 at 6:33 am
If you need someone to come spot you, let me know. Haha. :D