An idea has been kicking around in my head for a while. I dont think ive seen it anywhere else.
Its the role of variable rewards in gym motivation.
Gamblers know what i mean. Not knowing whether you are going to win drives addiction and award seeking behaviour.
How does this apply to working out?
Take starting strength. Every workout. You dont know if you are going to hit your reps. Sometimes you do, and it feels awesome, sometime you dont. Thats variable reward.
In 531. The amrap set. Variable reward. Think you can hit 5 reps, but actually you only get 4, or maybe hit 6!
Texas method. (As slightly modified). Im aiming for 2,2,1 in my heavy day, sometimes i hit 3 on the first set (amazing!), sometimes i have to do 5 singles.
All of these routines make me feel great. And i can still think of recent times where i “hit the jackpot” by doing much better than i expected.
Other routines. Where its just about doing the planned routine, or theres more certainty in what you can/cant do. I dont get the same rush.
So whats the takeaway? Ensure that you are building variable reward INTO your program. You can do this with cardio, weights, whatever. Just make sure you occasionally aim for something and miss, hit, or excede the goal, and that this feels surprising.
Interesting idea, seems possible. I believe that tracking my workouts in an app increases my motivation simply due to the positive feedback that comes with recording a higher weight than last time.
I’d like to but I’m not sure if it’s going to be possible due to the crossbar on the bench and the base of the rack. Haven’t experimented yet because I was so cooked from bringing all the stuff in the house, down the stairs and putting together
I just want to say that I love T bar rows, I still do normal barbell rows but definitely tell prefer T bar. I also like doing a one handed version of these i think its called a Meadows row. I don’t have a fancy machine I just stick the end of the barbell up against a couple plates, toss my weight on the other end and go to town.
I’ve worked out 3 times a week since Jan 1 after never working out sans bouldering before. The Nike app has been awesome. I tackle all 3 body groups each week during Pacers games and it makes it fly by. I am excited to eventually get back to bouldering though - although I’m going to probably back to square one.
Yeah I’ve been doing meadows rows - using the hole of one plate flat on the ground as the anchor point, and another plate behind it to keep it from sliding. Works great. One of the few back things that feels completely neutral to my elbows.
People have mentioned the Peloton app in this thread and I wanted to add a thumbs up. I ordered a bike in December and haven’t gotten it yet (scheduled for next week, but I’m a little skeptical). But in the meantime, I’ve had access to the app “for free”, and I’ve done several of the guided outdoor runs with it. It’s been surprisingly fun - the trainers and the music are good for both motivation and for emphasizing good running form periodically. Only weird part was on one of the runs the trainer kept calling me/us “fam” and “hustler”. That made me feel super weird.
I also tried Nike Run Club for their guided runs. Also good, especially for free, but I don’t find them quite as motivating and I’m repeatedly drawn to the Peloton runs rather than the Nike runs.
Looking forward to experience painful ass bruises when the Peloton bike arrives. Probably in 2025 given their delivery difficulties.
Nice job. I would think floor press is easier because of less ROM. How are you getting the barbell up, set it on a couple platforms and just wiggle under the bar? I don’t have a rack at home so I’ve just been benching with dumbbells but my bench is garbage and it was garbage back in the day when i used to lift regularly.
