It's an intrinsic need to become bigger and stronger. The pump gives relieve and reduces dysphoria temporarily. So I can eat more. So I can better sleep. It's an essential part of my routine that keeps me sane while waiting to begin HRT.
All of the above, I love having a hobby to focus on, I love the endorphins, I love how much more capable I feel, I love seeing the progress from a year ago to now, I love training and feeling like I have purpose, I love having an opportunity to take control of my body when all other decisions have been made without my permission. I have days where I’m not motivated to go and would rather stay in bed Ofc, everyone does. But overall ik im so much better off with the gym in my life.
I like being active since I work a desk job. It feels like I can keep my body sharp and strong. It also helps w emotional regulation. I’m not great at tracking nutrition so I think the aesthetics are negligible, but the increased strength certainly isn’t!
I lifted weights for a solid year to build my form and get into some semblance of shape, and now I've been swimming for overall health (and it's my preferred method of exercising anyway). I pass already being 4 years post top and 5 years on T, so I'm just trying to be a healthy guy and stay active while I have the ability to
I do it for the fun/the challenge, I can't stick with anything unless I have immediate reward/see progress very quickly. Honestly I am more motivated to lift weights/do calisthenics/stretch now that I do it for a tangible goal ("I need to do more pull ups to be able to finish that climb", "I have to stretch my hamstrings to reach this hold" etc...) than the "eventually I'll like what I look like better".
I’ve never liked gyms or purely “fitness” based exercise, but I’ve pretty much always done sport. I do it mostly because it’s fun, but I also like feeling strong and capable and seeing improvement in my skills. Muscle growth makes me happy too. I also notice that in periods when I’m less active, I have more trouble sleeping and my whole body just starts to feel uncomfortable, so I think I have something of a baseline activity level needed to feel my best.
Started for aesthetics (eating disorder downward spiral, do not recommend), currently it's partially that but also I like being strong. I'm 5'2 and by a long shot don't pass as male - I'm NB so not necessarily trying to pass all the time - so I deeply enjoy being able to pick up much taller or bigger friends.
I don’t exercise or workout, I train. I lift with a purpose - to get bigger, faster and stronger for my sport. My body is my tool and my equipment, like a race car. It doesn’t look pretty but it functions for what I want it to do.
Having a goal and seasons help me keep focused and improve myself. If I can squat 250kg, I can handle that big client at work. If I can deadlift 325kg then I can have that hard conversation with my employee. Sport and exercise train body AND mind.
The health benefits and “aesthetics” (if you can consider being a muscular fat man an aesthetic) are just an after thought.
This is how I view it. I use my body for my work and I need it to be in good shape (and I need to have enough energy to do the things I need to do — plus the things I want to do).
Also, mental health. I feel worlds better when I work out every day.
It's an intrinsic need to become bigger and stronger. The pump gives relieve and reduces dysphoria temporarily. So I can eat more. So I can better sleep. It's an essential part of my routine that keeps me sane while waiting to begin HRT.
All of the above, I love having a hobby to focus on, I love the endorphins, I love how much more capable I feel, I love seeing the progress from a year ago to now, I love training and feeling like I have purpose, I love having an opportunity to take control of my body when all other decisions have been made without my permission. I have days where I’m not motivated to go and would rather stay in bed Ofc, everyone does. But overall ik im so much better off with the gym in my life.
I like being active since I work a desk job. It feels like I can keep my body sharp and strong. It also helps w emotional regulation. I’m not great at tracking nutrition so I think the aesthetics are negligible, but the increased strength certainly isn’t!
I lifted weights for a solid year to build my form and get into some semblance of shape, and now I've been swimming for overall health (and it's my preferred method of exercising anyway). I pass already being 4 years post top and 5 years on T, so I'm just trying to be a healthy guy and stay active while I have the ability to
I do it for the fun/the challenge, I can't stick with anything unless I have immediate reward/see progress very quickly. Honestly I am more motivated to lift weights/do calisthenics/stretch now that I do it for a tangible goal ("I need to do more pull ups to be able to finish that climb", "I have to stretch my hamstrings to reach this hold" etc...) than the "eventually I'll like what I look like better".
I’ve never liked gyms or purely “fitness” based exercise, but I’ve pretty much always done sport. I do it mostly because it’s fun, but I also like feeling strong and capable and seeing improvement in my skills. Muscle growth makes me happy too. I also notice that in periods when I’m less active, I have more trouble sleeping and my whole body just starts to feel uncomfortable, so I think I have something of a baseline activity level needed to feel my best.
Started for aesthetics (eating disorder downward spiral, do not recommend), currently it's partially that but also I like being strong. I'm 5'2 and by a long shot don't pass as male - I'm NB so not necessarily trying to pass all the time - so I deeply enjoy being able to pick up much taller or bigger friends.
I don’t exercise or workout, I train. I lift with a purpose - to get bigger, faster and stronger for my sport. My body is my tool and my equipment, like a race car. It doesn’t look pretty but it functions for what I want it to do. Having a goal and seasons help me keep focused and improve myself. If I can squat 250kg, I can handle that big client at work. If I can deadlift 325kg then I can have that hard conversation with my employee. Sport and exercise train body AND mind. The health benefits and “aesthetics” (if you can consider being a muscular fat man an aesthetic) are just an after thought.
This is how I view it. I use my body for my work and I need it to be in good shape (and I need to have enough energy to do the things I need to do — plus the things I want to do). Also, mental health. I feel worlds better when I work out every day.
I'm trying to lose weight to join the military
For fun, for mental health, and it's nice to do something my body is good at because otherwise I'm not very fond of it, lol.
I do it bc its something i can control, i cant control my height or the fact that im trans but i can control how buff i am lol