LogFAQs > #972488579

Southernfatman posted...

I started working out a bit yesterday. I've started and gave up many, many times over the years. Just doing some petty stuff with some dumbbells. For the first time though, I didn't feel like complete crap after the workout and the next day after doing it. I actually felt good for the first time ever when I got done yesterday. I was basically this:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/1/1/AAO8B9AAEVE_.jpg

I was you for about 15 years and something changed when I hit 33. It might have been a change in priorities, but ultimately a change in what I thought training had to be was the most useful thing.

This podcast episode helped me a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K7ifs2Db4

Cliffnotes:

• consistency beats optimal every time. 3 crappy workouts a week for a year will always net significantly more gains than 6x a week for 2 months and then burnout.
• build momentum (like a snowball down a hill) by starting out smaller and slower than you think is necessary. Figure out a level of exercise you can maintain with little to no mental energy every day of the week. For me that was basically 20 minutes of not very heavy exercise per day for 3 months to start with. As long as I did something - even if it was 15 minutes of walking or 10 minutes of yoga - that was enough to start with.
• Make habit building the number 1 objective, long before making muscle gains.

Basically I used to go super hard and heavy and then quit and wondered why I could never get the knack of it. That was the wrong approach.