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This is a great point. My poison of choice is the rowing machine. A good erg piece is hard. The correct pace makes you think, "Shit, I don't know if I can do th

This is a great point. My poison of choice is the rowing machine. A good erg piece is hard. The correct pace makes you think, "Shit, I don't know if I can do this" at the halfway point and makes you beg for a quick death at the 3/4 point. I get weird stares from the folks who flounce around on the elliptical on the lowest resistance setting for twenty minutes and wonder why they aren't losing any weight. Like, I get "baby steps" and all that, and I get the fact that doing anything is better than nothing at all, but for me, the entire point of getting in better shape is to push myself even harder. If you're not pushing yourself to improve, why are you even showing up at the gym to begin with? I joke that I'm not even getting any fitter; I'm just increasing my capacity for suffering.

7Figures2Commas 11y ago
To elaborate on your comment: part of the challenge is that without professional assistance, it can be difficult for the average person to develop a fitness plan that will produce meaningful results in a safe fashion. Lots of people are limited by existing injuries, and others create injury by jumping in and pushing themselves too hard too fast. Another challenge is that true fitness requires you to push yourself in different ways. Far too many people work out in a one-dimensional fashion. It's easy to jump on a treadmill or do the same free weight exercises day in and day out. But there are real limits to what most people can achieve without a well-rounded plan. One-dimensional workouts are why, for instance, you have guys walking around with impressive biceps, pot belly stomachs and chicken legs, and who can't do 10 minutes of moderate intensity steady state cardio without huffing and puffing.