Why I quit working out at the gym · ADHD Focus Founders

Why I quit working out at the gym

I listened to mainstream fitness advice and did everything ‘right’.

I used to workout at the gym almost religiously for close to 2 years. 5 days per week and working out for 60-75 mins each session. Plus 1 hour of kickboxing per week.

I worked out hard, putting in tons of effort. Going to failure for almost every set. Hitting every muscle group minimum twice per week.

And for what? Almost 2 years of working out hard, and I was still skinny-fat. I had improved my strength, sure. But I didn’t look much different.

Maybe a little less fat, and a little more muscle. But nothing impressive.

Eventually when I started getting ill a few times within the space of 2 or 3 months I finally put the pieces together.

This way of working out wasn’t sustainable for me. And it led to fatigue, burnout, and low energy.

I wasn’t giving my body a chance to recover from my workouts.

So I started to ask myself if the gym was actually serving me. What did I actually want to achieve with my workouts?

I knew I didn’t want to be a huge bodybuilder.

I just want a healthy and strong body that moves well, looks good, with functional strength, to be pain free, stay fit as I get older, and actually enjoy my workouts without being a slave to the gym.

I realised that I could achieve all of those things working out in the comfort of my own home.

That’s when I decided to change things up completely.

I quit the gym and started doing purely bodyweight workouts at home.

I quickly found this fit my lifestyle better as I was saving around 2.5 hours per week (30 mins daily) from no longer travelling to/from the gym.

I could now do my workouts whenever I wanted throughout the day while working from home.

This meant I didn’t have to commit to a 1 hour block of time to do my workout, which further saved me time. All in all I was saving between 5-6 hours per week.

Time that I could now spend on other things I enjoy, or working on my business, and progressing in other areas of my life.

It became a no brainer to me working out this way long term. So I invested in a pull-up station, a weighted vest, and a kettlebell.

A one time investment rather than expensive monthly gym fees.

I found my workouts became more enjoyable now that I had the freedom to workout whenever I wanted.

My workouts are now more enjoyable now that I have the freedom to workout whenever I want. And are more rewarding as I progress through more difficult variations of movements, rather than just increasing the weight.

I don’t have to compromise my workouts when equipment is in use now that I have my own setup.

I no longer feel fatigued as I’m not killing myself during my workouts, and actually allowing my body time to recover.

After a few months of working out this way I noticed that I was actually increasing my muscle mass at a better rate than when I was working out at the gym, even though I was spending much less time working out.

I now have a much healthier outlook on fitness. Fitting it around my lifestyle and prioritising sustainability, how I feel, and most importantly, what I enjoy.

I hope this can be a reminder to reflect on your goals.

Are you still enjoying the process?

Or are you just blindly following the same routine without the passion you once had and not knowing if it's productive like I was?

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