4 Reasons Why Lifting In Gyms Is A Bad Idea

OrthodoxDaughter

 
Banned
Woman
Orthodox Catechumen
Originally posted on RooshV.com

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For nearly two decades of my life, I would go to the gym two or three times a week. While I never had huge muscles, my body was athletic and toned. Women would compliment it. I want to claim that I went to the gym to be “healthy,” but my true intention was to be attractive to the opposite sex for the purpose of fornication. When I repented of my sins before God and no longer sought fornication, I decided not to go to the gym anymore. As an Orthodox Christian, working out in a gym today would be exceedingly dangerous to me for the following four reasons.

1. The music is filthy​


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The vehemently secular music that all gyms play is painful to my hymn-loving ears. I don’t want to hear songs about sex, seduction, getting rich, dancing all night in the club, driving expensive cars, and becoming a big boss. Thankfully, I can hardly understand the “English” being sung in most modern songs, especially hip hop, but even then, the Satanically-engineered melody will find a way to worm its way into my brain and remain there for at least a day, distracting my spiritual life with the potential to insert sinful and pornographic ideas.

I strive to listen to no secular music at all, whether modern or oldies, because of how it corrupts my nous (spiritual eyes of the soul). One of the reasons I like shopping at Walmart is because they are one of the only supermarkets I know that don’t usually play music.

2. The women are almost naked​


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There seems to be a competition among gym-going women to see who can display the most skin without technically being naked according to local ordinances. The arrival of “sports bras,” which are still bras (just because you put the word sports in front of them and remove the lace doesn’t mean they should be displayed publicly), confirmed to me that the gym has become like an antechamber to the brothel bedroom. It’s too natural a progression for people who are sweating in little clothing to become enraptured with carnal lust.



I like to think that I can maintain custody of my eye, but inside the gym, half-naked women cavort all around me, and then enter into compromising positions on their yoga mats which immediately sends my mind into the gutter without conscious effort. Yes, I am admitting that I’m too weak to not glance at these women in bras with gigantic bulbous rear-ends when they bend right in front of me. Before I turned to Christ, I actually saw this as a benefit of any gym, for why not be sexually entertained by women to lustfully prepare for an act of fornication? But now, I run away from it.

3. There are too many mirrors​


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I never got to the point where my muscles were impressive, but nonetheless I loved looking at my athletic body in the gym mirrors. I wouldn’t go so far as flex or take selfies of myself, but I would puff out my chest and check out a profile of my body that incorporated my long masculine beard. I’d wonder if I achieved a good-enough pump where the vein in my bicep would remain popped out so that I could later wear an extra-medium v-neck before going to the nightclub for my satanic liturgy.

Since all gyms coat the walls in mirrors, my time in them exercised my pride as much as my body. I came to believe that I have achieved a physical state that was admirable, and that I was better than all the fat people who didn’t go to the gym, including the puny men I would out-compete for sexual favors at the midnight hour. My bulging vein (only in my right arm, not my left) was proof to women that I was a superior male.

The mirrors were my teachers. Over many years, they taught me that my look is the most important part of me, that I had to cherish it if I wanted to continue receiving sexual benefits, and I could maybe consider getting botox injections when I became older to still be sexually attractive to young European women. It encouraged me to focus exclusively on the material. These days, I don’t look in mirrors much and don’t fuss over my appearance. Worldly women don’t look at me either, which I am grateful for, because I know I am only one temptation away from falling back into the mud.

4. Desire to get bigger and bigger muscles for no practical reason​


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You’re never the biggest guy at the gym. There’s always someone who lifts more than you, or who has a better steroid supplier than you, so you will constantly aim to compare yourself to other men to subliminally attract the half-naked women that aggregate around the butt machines. Your body is fine as it is, you’re healthy, but pride ignites within you to be even bigger and stronger, not to lift heavy things outside of the gym, but solely to lift heavier things within the construct of the gym itself to make you think that your body, given to you by God, is an achievement of your own. This temptation makes you a slave to the gym, and begins to cross over into real life as you develop a neurotic obsession with eating the right foods in the right amount. Instead of working out to be fit, you consider waking up in the middle of the night to gulp down a protein shake or eat a chicken breast just to look good in the gym mirror.

Conclusion

Does all this mean I’m anti-fitness? Certainly not. In the neighborhood playground I do callisthenic training a couple of times each week, where my body weight is used as resistance instead of metal plates. I haven’t been inside a gym in three years, and my muscles are certainly weaker, but I’m still alive and able to serve my daily duties before God, which mostly involve reading, writing, praying, and baking. I don’t need engorged muscles for those activities.

For me to go into a gym today, I would need to cover my eyes and ears to not fall back into the world of the material. Every man should ask himself why he wants to go to the gym and get big. Is it to achieve more from the world or to achieve a healthy physical state that optimizes his worship of God? For the role God has given me, where I use my mind more than my body, my modest workouts in the playground are good enough. For most men, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and bodyweight squats will be all they need to stay fit and slim into old age.

Read Next: 5 Reasons Why You Should Never Experiment With Casual Sex
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Hehehe

Forget about the ladies from the gym, it is a mentality to call men's eyes to lust for them.

It is hunger for feeling proud of their bodies in a sexual way. Even when they have partners

But I wonder if women realize there could be and possibly are married men and elder men in the gym getting tempted by them to sin.

Ridiculous, women, only admiration from God is healthy.

Let's cover our bodies.

God bless!
 

Optimus Princeps

Woodpecker
Orthodox Catechumen
I get the spirit of the blog post, but working out is what purges my mind of depression. Ironically when I first started working out years ago, after a really deep heavy squat I heard a voice in my head and immediately knew I had to repent and attend church.

When I don't work out, it's much easier for me to slip back into sin. I prefer to go to small time gyms with a strong local community where everyone knows each other. Much harder to stare at women when you've met them and know whats going on in their lives.

There's an Instagram account called muscle Christianity that I follow for the enjoyment.

Ask yourself, what's in your heart: Is it Jesus or vanity?

I agree, it is a lot easier for me to avoid alcohol, pornography, etc.. when I am working out regularly. While my gym does play trash music I just wear headphones. It is a more serious lifter's/hole in the wall gym with the best equipment for powerlifting and oly lifting so there are less women, although the women that do go there wear nothing and are pretty distracting. Since I can't have a home gym, while it's not perfect, I do see it as a net benefit to my life and increases my happiness/well-being.

I have worked out since I was in 8th grade. Starting out to relieve stress and due to bullying, then as a supplement to help with high school sports. Then bodybuilding style throughout college, I took a few years off and in the last year have been focused on powerlifting and even competed. I think it's a fun hobby and while I guess there would be vanity in setting pr's it's just another expression of practicing a skill in order to master it. A lot more goes into that including researching programming methods, learning about deloads, peaking, figuring out what variations of the squat/bench/deadlift help your weaknesses, etc... Due to being in law school I am hunched over reading a lot and since I've been doing this I don't have anymore back pain or issues with posture.

While I did wrestle and have tried BJJ before, I have rotator cuff issues which now get really aggravated with any form of grappling so as much as I love it, it's not really an option. I would be interested in muay thai or something similar, but I don't really want to get hit in the face and have low platelets due to getting vaccinated as a baby so there is risk present. So while I agree with the downsides and I'm sure theres other physical hobbies I can do, it still has overall been a very big net positive to my life.
 

andy dufresne

Pelican
Other Christian
I agree, it is a lot easier for me to avoid alcohol, pornography, etc.. when I am working out regularly. While my gym does play trash music I just wear headphones. It is a more serious lifter's/hole in the wall gym with the best equipment for powerlifting and oly lifting so there are less women, although the women that do go there wear nothing and are pretty distracting. Since I can't have a home gym, while it's not perfect, I do see it as a net benefit to my life and increases my happiness/well-being.

I have worked out since I was in 8th grade. Starting out to relieve stress and due to bullying, then as a supplement to help with high school sports. Then bodybuilding style throughout college, I took a few years off and in the last year have been focused on powerlifting and even competed. I think it's a fun hobby and while I guess there would be vanity in setting pr's it's just another expression of practicing a skill in order to master it. A lot more goes into that including researching programming methods, learning about deloads, peaking, figuring out what variations of the squat/bench/deadlift help your weaknesses, etc... Due to being in law school I am hunched over reading a lot and since I've been doing this I don't have anymore back pain or issues with posture.

While I did wrestle and have tried BJJ before, I have rotator cuff issues which now get really aggravated with any form of grappling so as much as I love it, it's not really an option. I would be interested in muay thai or something similar, but I don't really want to get hit in the face and have low platelets due to getting vaccinated as a baby so there is risk present. So while I agree with the downsides and I'm sure theres other physical hobbies I can do, it still has overall been a very big net positive to my life.
Great post. If I couldn't hit a gym regularly I would literally lose my mind. My body and mind need the exercise.
 

get2choppaaa

Crow
Orthodox
Home gym is the way to go.

Pick my music, no need to deal with idiots who have poor gym etiquette, no need to ask to use equipment, no obnoxious thots... No noxious unbathed curry smelling people or body oder laden Teenagers....no inner city kids trying to pick fights... The perks are many.

Wife and I can work out together, like most nights I do it alone as my release from stress... Kids can work out with my teaching them with out fear of judgement ECT.

A little money investment but it pays off immensely. Except for when you move houses... Then it sucks !
 

Max Roscoe

Hummingbird
Orthodox Inquirer
Lifting in the gym is a net negative, for the reasons listed (and I'll add another--my gym requires a face mask!)

But I will add one contrapoint:
Living in America, which lacks any sort of public square for the people to gather, as Europe and Latin America... and really most of the world I've visited has... I've found it socially stimulating to be in a busy gym with lots of people. Normally, this would probably annoy me, but during the socially distant covid days, where my socialization is way down, sometimes I feel good just being around others who are exercising. It's weird because I'm not even talking to them (due to the mask, and me listening to dissident podcasts to drown out their satanic music) but it's true. I do plan on getting a home gym eventually.

But where else can you go in America and see so few fat people!

I must admit, the dress code has REALLY changed from a couple of years ago. I have seen outfits I would describe as outright pornographic. I've seen girls who have revealed more to me as a stranger in their gym than some of my ex girlfriends did after months of dating.
 

Zagor

Kingfisher
How about if you get injured and cannot workout, or you are ill... will you then be constantly depressed? I also have found various tricks to alleviate some problems (e.g. working out does reduce my adrenaline; a quick meal does reduce my "hangry" irritation), but in the long run, we want our spiritual life to address these problems instead of bodily changes.
Body and mind are connected, are they not? Does being religious negate that physiological fact?
 

andy dufresne

Pelican
Other Christian
Lifting in the gym is a net negative, for the reasons listed (and I'll add another--my gym requires a face mask!)

But I will add one contrapoint:
Living in America, which lacks any sort of public square for the people to gather, as Europe and Latin America... and really most of the world I've visited has... I've found it socially stimulating to be in a busy gym with lots of people. Normally, this would probably annoy me, but during the socially distant covid days, where my socialization is way down, sometimes I feel good just being around others who are exercising. It's weird because I'm not even talking to them (due to the mask, and me listening to dissident podcasts to drown out their satanic music) but it's true. I do plan on getting a home gym eventually.

But where else can you go in America and see so few fat people!

I must admit, the dress code has REALLY changed from a couple of years ago. I have seen outfits I would describe as outright pornographic. I've seen girls who have revealed more to me as a stranger in their gym than some of my ex girlfriends did after months of dating.
LOL! All the chicks now dress like porn stars. It's so tasteless and gross.

Also notice that most thots do this little striptease: They enter the gym with their ho pants and something like a hoodie. 5 minutes into their squat thrusts (which always occurs in the most visible portion of the gym) they'll stand in front of the mirror and take off their top to reveal their sports bra. If you ignore them, which I always do, some will purposely move themselves closer to you for validation. Right before the workout is done, the hoodie goes back on.

The NPC programming of the American THOT is some pathetic stuff. It makes me feel sad for young men these days.
 
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Yeagerist

Kingfisher
Orthodox Catechumen
Secular women instinctively knew the power they hold over the minds of weak-willed men, even the so-called attractive "alphas" who more or less dedicated their goals of building a body merely for sleeping around. The more superficial attention they reap from males, the more they can get away with their double-faced bullsh1t of complaining about "objectification" or telling "society" to not dictate what they wear, yet at the same time deliberately turning a male-centered space into a simping ground.

However, I disagree with throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, as regards not working out at all.
 

messaggera

Pelican
Woman
Other Christian
I like to think that I can maintain custody of my eye, but inside the gym, half-naked women cavort all around me, and then enter into compromising positions on their yoga mats which immediately sends my mind into the gutter without conscious effort. Yes, I am admitting that I’m too weak to not glance at these women in bras with gigantic bulbous rear-ends when they bend right in front of me.

What percentage of the female gym attendance are housewives, opposed to career females? How do housewives even have the time to attend public gyms, let alone need to if successfully performing her duties/labor in the home?

I do, I laugh because the clothing stuff is so preposterous - I find it more annoying and a cry out for attention rather than a real distraction, but yes, it is.

Not sure if intentional but females will publicly wear leggings as pants, meant to be worn under dresses, that are often times not only form fitting, but so thin as to be see through. And imagine the hypocrisy when females are offended to have individuals stare or provide an opinionated response like, "The Legging Problem." The counter opinionated response is ridiculous:

A Catholic university, rooted in tradition and family, cannot hope to progress into the future without intense scrutiny upon the values it preaches and the behavior it condones. I defy you to find any rules against leggings or similarly tight garments in du Lac, yet the Catholic way seems to demand a certain modesty from women not imposed upon men.

In the course of a regular day on campus, especially in the colder months, I might see literally several hundred of our female students wearing leggings. Not a single one of them ought to be seen as shamefully exposing themselves for voluntarily wearing whatever they find most comfortable or functional. The men here ought to know by now how to behave towards their female classmates. For the fleeting few that might not, the fault is entirely their own. No woman should be responsible to alter her dress so men might be aided in behaving appropriately.

We dress for the attention we wish to seek. Not sure if leggings are worse than the knee high boots with a mini skirt look.
The middle 20 century indoctrination for advocating coeducational nudity is coming to fruition in public spaces, and is often started on the college campuses by instilling sexual morality. Over the century sexual freedom has been advocated without the complement of responsibility.

Would be interesting to hear from men on this thread:

 

Doraemon

Pigeon
Other Christian
For me reasons to avoid the gyms are as follows:
  1. Most gyms doesn't have power racks or squat racks, so I'm forced to use smith machine if I want to squat or use benchpress rack if I want to do free weight squat. Also many are lacking in equipment, some gyms doesn't even have 1,25 kg plates, and this makes incremental lifts progression very hard.
  2. Hard to locate suitable gyms around my area, need time to commute.
At the end I decided to save some money and bought myself a squat stand with barbell. I can do basic compound lifts like squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, row, curls, etc. It is one of the best decisions I ever made.
 

Brother Thomas 256

Ostrich
Other Christian
You shield yourself from the degeneracy, so that's a plus, but it's still worth doing a self-examination of why you want to work out.
I oddly always felt motivated by the Halo Franchise video game music and it made me wanna lift. If I made my own primitive home gym and blasted monks chanting I think that could help me stay in check spiritually... like preparing to go to war
 

Blade Runner

Crow
Orthodox
The counter opinionated response is ridiculous:
Yes, it is clearly illogical. As you approach nudity more and more, you still argue that the more revealing subject isn't "responsible" to create a healthy environment for her or others? Give me a break.

I've also noticed that in modern workplaces women get away with far more regarding what is casual to wear that men do not. At least that is my experience. For example, men are expected to wear at least slacks and button down shirts, if not ties. Some women will wear skirts or other clothes that are work professional presentable, but more frequently I'd see just as casual of attire or more casual that is akin to jeans or just cotton pants and a polo or other t shirt that a man might wear and hear about "being too casual". This is yet another double standard that gets more and more obvious in terms of a resentment spirit in the workplace. Leggings or workout pants are the culmination of this, and they'll be defended. Over the course of my medical training (let's say the last 20 years) it has gotten more and more embarrassing, on average.
 

The Beast1

Crow
Orthodox Inquirer
Gold Member
I’ve been blessed with the undeserved grace of ignoring scantily-clad women at the gym, but I’m also building my home gym this weekend so I won’t have to deal with driving all the way out here and occasionally waiting for a machine. I had a home gym for nearly all of last year before I moved and it’s really an excellent thing to have.

On a related note, I recently switched back to 5x5 after a few years away from it. Thought it would be too simple for me now but I’m definitely getting stronger.
I love 5x5. So simple, so perfect. The only thing I wish was for someone to make an excel sheet where you set your target weight and it generates a plan for you to progressively gain with deloads.
 

FutureCatLady

Sparrow
Woman
Catholic
I’m probably in the minority of women who don’t want lustful male attention when I am at the gym. I don’t dress like a skank/hoe or engage with anyone much but I find regardless of me dressing modestly men will stare, make crude remarks, follow me around the gym. It almost seems like the more you cover up the more it intrigues them. What is the deal with that? If I l had the money and space I would definitely build a home gym.
 

messaggera

Pelican
Woman
Other Christian
I’m probably in the minority of women who don’t want lustful male attention when I am at the gym. I don’t dress like a skank/hoe or engage with anyone much but I find regardless of me dressing modestly men will stare, make crude remarks, follow me around the gym. It almost seems like the more you cover up the more it intrigues them. What is the deal with that? If I l had the money and space I would definitely build a home gym.

Does not sound like a welcoming place for a lady to spend her time with the negativity/ lustful behaviour.

perhaps even perpetuated by other females in the space at other times? “Gyms are for males” could be a strong argument to make...?
 

Starlight

Kingfisher
Woman
Protestant
Does not sound like a welcoming place for a lady to spend her time with the negativity/ lustful behaviour.

perhaps even perpetuated by other females in the space at other times? “Gyms are for males” could be a strong argument to make...?
There really are zero reasons for women to workout at a gym. The kind of exercise a woman needs to stay fit and healthy can easily be done with a 20lb kettlebell in her living room.

@FutureCatLady Check out our Ladies exercise thread:
(Warning: there is a provocative photo in the first post)
 

FutureCatLady

Sparrow
Woman
Catholic
There really are zero reasons for women to workout at a gym. The kind of exercise a woman needs to stay fit and healthy can easily be done with a 20lb kettlebell in her living room.

@FutureCatLady Check out our Ladies exercise thread:
(Warning: there is a provocative photo in the first post)

Thanks! I will check it out! I should clarify that not all the men behave badly, just a select few. Of course some women are open to lustful male attention and actively seek it but shouldn’t it be obvious to these men that if a woman is dressed modestly and doesn’t engage much that she is not interested in socializing or flirting.
 

andy dufresne

Pelican
Other Christian
I’m probably in the minority of women who don’t want lustful male attention when I am at the gym. I don’t dress like a skank/hoe or engage with anyone much but I find regardless of me dressing modestly men will stare, make crude remarks, follow me around the gym. It almost seems like the more you cover up the more it intrigues them. What is the deal with that? If I l had the money and space I would definitely build a home gym.
Modern guys are exceptionally poorly socialized when it comes to dealing with women and sexuality. I agree...the creep factor can be high.
 

SaintPiusX

Robin
Trad Catholic
Thanks! I will check it out! I should clarify that not all the men behave badly, just a select few. Of course some women are open to lustful male attention and actively seek it but shouldn’t it be obvious to these men that if a woman is dressed modestly and doesn’t engage much that she is not interested in socializing or flirting.
You’re walking into a den of vipers and wondering why you keep getting bit.

If men can work out at home or using body weight calisthenics, then you can too. My wife works out at home with me. All she needs is a yoga mat, some type of cardio equipment, and some minimum weights. If you are single, then ask your dad to build you a place to workout. If you are married, ask your husband.
 
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