If you’re a long time gym girly, you might be feeling exactly how I’ve been feeling for the past few months: Extremely bored with your gym routine and dreading the gym in general. That my friend is called burnout, more specifically gym burnout.
I have spent so much time in the gym “working on myself” and “perfecting myself” to the point where the gym wasn’t a fun hobby anymore, but instead simply just another chore that I had to get done and fit into my schedule somehow. It started to feel like it wasn’t as rewarding or giving me the same satisfaction as it had the first year and a half I was lifting. I hated the constant pain my muscles faced, the isolation I felt from it, and I hated how much time it consumed in my schedule.
With this feeling in mind, I made part of my 2024 goal to mix up my fitness routine and here’s how it’s gone so far:
January I took a step back from the gym, I went lighter and only went when I felt like it to release some of the burden.
February I tried a couple of spin classes with my sorority at Zoom in Charlottesville and Purvelo. I loved both. The experience was just honestly so different from lifting. It was more quick and efficient and they threw in some light weights. I got so much down in the 45-60 minute ride, and I felt so good after. It was amazing for me to be with other people, but still being able to lock in with my own thoughts at the same time. It was also really nice to try something new and low stakes for me: no goals, no expectations, just fun!
In March I tried to take up running. I tried a few sprint work outs on the treadmill and I did some long distance running outside. It was freeing. I was never much of a runner except for COVID. I improved ever so slightly, and I ran with friends from time to time as well. So, again I got the personal gain and social gain from it.
So now what? We’re in April what else is new? Well, personally, the gym burnout has gone away a bit. I was still lifting a little bit within these months, but what I’ve learned was that it’s good to switch things up every so often. So to revisit our burning question, how do you reduce your own gym burnout? Take a step back from your normal routine and try something new. Sign up for a pilates class, sign up for Zumba, Orange Theory, spin, yoga, literally anything other than what you normally do!