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Writer's pictureJessica Newcomb

Gym Burnout. What it is and How to avoid it.

Last year during COVID-19 I lost my motivation to get back in to the gym. I was already struggling with motivation at that point and then lockdown hit and I didn't want to go back. I remember walking in to the gym and more often than not I did not want to be there. I realised I was burnt out. I didn't want to be there and I wasn't enjoying it anymore. I wasn't enjoying being at that gym and I wasn't enjoying planning my workouts. after 7 years of the gym I really wasn't surprised.


I still wanted to work out, I still wanted to achieve my goals but I was not going to do that at my old gym so I cancelled my membership. Now I am a qualified Personal Trainer, I have been for a few years now but when you are in a funk you can't push yourself quite like someone else can. So I contacted a close friend of mine who is a Personal Trainer as well. I needed some accountability, I needed to book out time where I had to work out but didn't have to plan it myself so I got a personal trainer myself.


My clients book in with me to be held accountable and to not think about how they are going to plan their workouts. Anyone can workout at home or sign up to a gym but if you do not have motivation, discipline and someone to be accountable to how often are you actually going to go or workout at home... Let's be honest you're not going to.


Sometimes you need external help.


For over 2 years I was very committed to working out by myself. I would be in the gym for 6 to 7 days a week for over an hour or so at a time. I have been in the gym for 7 years all up. Sometimes with trainers in the gym to kick boxing training and other times I was training myself.


For the past year I have been training with my friend Coach Andrew twice a week in his home gym studio as well as pilates and running throughout my week. For 2 workouts a week I don't have to plan anything. I just show up and do the exercises then I go home to shower and eat before I need to get back to work.


Now I am slowly working my way up to adding more workouts to my week without over doing it. There's only so much exercise someone can do before crashing. Over exercising is a thing and I've been there. It is absolutely terrible.


The key to creating a balanced lifestyle is creating realistic goals and creating a plan to achieve them in a realistic timeframe. So far I have a running goal and now I would like to build up my strength again which I can achieve by upping my workouts slightly and training more effectively.


YOU CAN ACHEIVE YOUR GOALS. You just need to know when you need to ask for help (do your research on who you should trust first) and keep at it. Consistency is key in everything you do but also know when to ask for help. Slowing down is not quitting or failing it is just slowing down. You need to breathe and appreciate how far you have come instead of focusing so hard on what is yet to come.



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