Socializing in the Gym is not Hard

If you have been online long enough you may realize that there are a lot of people on the internet that complains of the loneliness and attributes them to being anti-social and that they just do not fit into society. What is even more absurd is the fact that they are in online forums that are about topics that involve plenty of people. Some of them about being in the gym! Let me give you a little hint: if you are going to the gym, you already have something in common with all the people in the gym! So use it to interact!

You can make worthwhile conversations with any stranger in the gym that begins with simple as simple as just doing the same exercise or using the same bench. Experiences where I have met friends were through doing some unique exercises people don’t usually see, just working out in the same area of the gym, being a “regular” in the gym at the same time, and also just waiting in line just to use a machine.

What I am trying to get is do not be intimidated by people who go to the gym. There is a very good chance that they are searching for someone to talk to as much as you are. Especially, those people who go to the gym by themselves and are regulars who go to the gym at the same time everyday. It takes a toll with people by being alone doing the same thing on a daily basis. Trust me, I was one of them.

/r/GetMotivated a Community To Help You Reach a New Level

In my previous blog posts, I explained how use the motivation that you found from within yourself. I have mentioned using exercise as your own form of catharsis, to overcome your fears, listening to music that you enjoy, and to find intrinsic motivators that you value. Those posts have explained how you find the motivation by yourself but others can help you find it for you. Whether it may be family, friends, or in this case, complete strangers from the internet.

Allow me to introduce you to reddit.com. In general (as it is difficult to explain) it is a very large forum and social bookmarking website that in which its members share various forms of media within the Reddit community. In terms of the social bookmarking aspect, pictures, videos, articles, pages, etc. are shared constantly and in term of the forum aspect, discussions are conducted, questions are asked and answered, and debates ravage through the website. It is a very lively and active community. Reddit is split in sections/topics which in Reddit jargon are referred to as “subreddits”. And within Reddit jargon, each subreddit begins with a “/r/” as reference to the URL. There are subreddits for funny content (/r/funny), fitness (/r/fitness), section to ask questions, holidays (/r/askreddit), cute pets and animals (/r/awww), your university or college (/r/humber, etc), and bananas (/r/banana…seriously). The list continues as Reddit members are given the freedom to openly create their own subreddit to whatever topic that they desire. In this case, I will discuss a reddit called /r/GetMotivated.

For You vs. For me

Doing it for others can only make you go so far. But when doing it for yourself, you can reach new levels that far surpasses what you thought was possible.

I have been roaming around a few online communities and I find that a lot of the members seem to workout for the sole purpose to attract others and gain the acceptance of their peers. This is probably a motivator for many people in the gym, especially those who are just beginning. Personally, I believe this is not the most ideal way when deciding why you want to exercise and setting goals. One reason is that people who usually think that way are usually narcissists and continually judge everyone based on their appearance. That is by no means how anyone should live their life. They will just end up being shallow and not recognize that it does not matter if they look healthy, but if they are healthy.

Working Out to Live Music: The Cheers of Millions of People

I have mentioned multiple times in my blog the usefulness when listening to music during your workout or having someone cheer you on throughout your workout such as a workout buddy. But you probably did not realize that you can use both simultaneously to unlock a new way to motivate yourself in a workout!

Fear’s Attraction and Why We Keep on Knocking on Fear’s Door

There is no other time in the gym where you feel the most uncomfortable than your first day. Seriously, a bunch of equipment you have never used before, a flock of people walking around (with your conscious telling you they are probably judging you…even though they’re not), men who have the strength of beating you in an arm wrestle with their left hand, and women who have the strength of beating you in an arm wrestle with their right. The entire situation of being in an unfamiliar environment is just so intimidating for many.

Catharsis-Based Fitness

ca·thar·sis [kuh-thahr-sis]

  

noun, plural ca·thar·ses [-seez]  

1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.

Sometimes we just want to take out our emotions on something, or (unfortunately) on someone. As the definition highlights, many have done it through the arts whether it may be in the form of music, paintings, film, literature, or any medium used to reflect one’s emotions.

We hear about cathartic actions all the time. From interviews done with an artist about there album release and how they passionately say (in an almost cookie cutter manner),“Poured their heart and soul into every single song and with every word spoken, it resonates an emotion that they experienced in their life”. Another example may be reading a book where the author’s words paints such a detailed image in your mind that chances are they are probably pretending the one character that is being pummeled to death is someone in the author’s real life or even painters who would paint a graphic scene which would give you an insight on their emotions or even better, from the teachings of Freud, paint a work of art with no understanding of why they are painting it until it is completed and they analyze what made them create such a piece.

Exercise can be just like this.