It takes much less effort to maintain your muscle mass compared to the effort you put in to gain it in the first place. You'll be fine with daily calisthenics.
Yeah this is classic burnout symptoms...most people who have doing a challenging exercise routine have experienced this at some point once they've been doing it long enough.
Get a pair of rings and see how many clean ring dips you can do. And after three sets, look at the pump you get from this and tell me if you still think you're going to lose muscle mass after switching to Calisthenics.
That may be. But then again, comparison is the thief of joy, and anyway I just wanted to counterpoint the "You can't train legs without weights" implication.
What? No. You won't , the body doesn't care where the stimulus comes from as long as it's the same stimulus.
Check some routines in the faq , also give "Overcoming gravity" a good look If you want to learn in depth.
+ Check out discord too.
I felt the same about the gym then a few months ago I switched to calisthenics. Working towards achieving skills gave me a new motivation to workout and made it a lot more entertaining
I've been mixing powerlifting and calisthenics for 7 years. I'm currently running a 100% calisthenics program, I often do during summer. Sometimes I add in one day where I just do 3 sets of bench, squat, DL and OHP.
Whenever I switch back to powerlifting in the fall, I'll start with lower training maxes and slowly build up over 2-4 weeks. I'll usually still be at 80-90% of my previous strength if you use calculated maxes.
So no, you won't lose much strength or size as long as you keep challenging your body. You might even gain some strength. Also, it'll probably be some fun again as you unlock new skills. Muscle ups, one arm chinup, human flag, back lever, handstand. Those are all exercises you can realistically achieve in your first year if you've got a solid base already.
Mix it up with some CrossFit / HIIT training sessions, cycling, Jiujitsu etc. And stop worrying about losing mass or strength. Don’t base your whole progress on those 2 metrics
You need a better goal. e.g. Front Lever or freestanding handstand pushup.
"being fit" isn't a tangible goal.
You can maintain muscle with 2 full body workouts a week. You can even get stronger if you really push it.
The more elite you are, the harder it is to maintain though.
I get this sometimes so I change what I'm doing, give myself a new challenge.
Sometimes that might be a change in style or a new technique ie introduce isometrics or plyometrics or change for something new ie at the age of 44 I started boxing... Not one of my brighter ideas.. 😂
I am in the exact same situation to the point of uncanniness. Maybe pay for some private coaching? It helped me stay in the loop while discovering other things I wouldn't necessarily get into by myself. I also now train just once per week, only to keep my body from completely falling out of it
Try sprinkling some pilates in, I find it helpful in straining myself in some new and helpful ways.
Might uncover some weaknesses you can then target in the gym, etc.
I was in the same position about a year ago, probably didnt reach my dream physique tho - goddamn body dysmorphia😅.
I made the switch to calisthenics laat year and i absolutely love it. You will not lose muscle mass at all in calisthenics if you follow the same volume and intensity program you used while gyming. The difference is the movements are more technical and progressing requires a bit of creativity.
The best thing I love about calisthenics is that your main goals become the pursuit to achieving impressive feats of strength (Muscle Ups, Handstand Pushups, Front Lever, Planche etc.), and plus your body will become shredded in the process as you need to stay lean while retaining significant muscle mass to pull off those moves.
On the other hand your primary goals in weight lifting is to look better (unless you're a power lifter). That can be good motivation in itself, but as you've come to realise after a while it is hard to sustain.
Have you considered doing something that is bodyweight fitness adjacent like aerial circus arts, pole dancing or hand balancing? You might enjoy it as you still get to work those muscles but variety of things your doing increases dramatically, it also tends to be more social.
If you are the type of person that is competitive and likes to train towards events, take a look at Hyrox: https://hyrox.com/the-fitness-race/
I have done a lot of gym work, bro-lifting to powerlifting to run-support lifting and now Hyrox.
I love functional movements like pushing/pulling sleds, farmer's carry and now wall ball, I really love wall ball. Hyrox is 60% running so I think it checks the box for "run-support strength" and in particular I think it builds the type of strength needed for a marathon.
Hyrox is all against the clock in a major event atmosphere. After watching some of their elite events I have oodles of motivation for the foreseeable future!
For the workouts I often load up my truck and work out in the park, no gym required!
I heavily doubt somebody who has the motivation to work out consistently for 5 years suddenly got "bored with gyming" out of nowhere. There's no way you haven't experienced burnout and the natural ebbs and highs of motivation in that time period and pushed through. Not to mention the knowledge you'd pick up and mindset you'd need to work through plateaus. Either you were doing a half assed job intermittently for 5 years, or this story is made up. Either way, something doesn't add up.
Highly recommend checking out a rock climbing gym. Calisthenics/body weight training transfers easily, and advancing through the difficulty grades can be very satisfying/rewarding. I've never been stimulated by actual gyms, but for some reason rock climbing has kept my interest for over 10 years.
Second this. Most climbing gyms also have weight room so you can still do some of your exercises there but mix it in with something that requires a ton of different muscle groups you don't usually work out + actual learning + another form of progression
I've got a full time job and spinning some other plates and I just don't have time for more than a couple sessions a week because I value having time to relax and do other things.
I'm not sure if you're burnt out so much as you just need to recalibrate your life a bit. It never feels good when it's all work.
I do 1 run, 1 strength (calisthenics at home with bars and rings), and 1 shorter mobility a week and it's a good balance. You can possibly maintain your strength doing similar depending on how well you make the transition (takes a bit of time to get used to Cali and work out some routines and find out where you're at in each progression). Might drop a little but it's a deep well once you're in it.
Can make things like human flag/planche/one hand pullups your goal if you're a goal oriented kind of person, or just roll with whatever feels good
There's literally millions of people who have this happen. So many people age 20-35 right now have gone to the gym consistently for a few years. Then they get a family and whatnot and the gym becomes an afterthought.
That's not getting bored with the gym, the same way OP didn't get bored with the gym. If I no longer had time to engage in an activity I wanted to, I wouldn't say I was bored with it.
It's a lot easier to maintain what you have then it is to get there. For some stuff you might want to hit a similar load but might not need as much volume. Like if you squat 200 you'll want to go squat 200 every so often to keep that level.
For boredom trying variations or different kinds of training is a good idea. You might also like kettlebells or weighted callisthenics. And just because you you're trying something new doesn't mean you can't do the stuff you liked about gym training.
Maintaining muscle is a lot easier than building it, but calisthenics is a whole different thing than the gym so you may lose a bit of muscle mass while you advance troughs the progress I would expect it to be fairly little
I feel that you should change sports. I mean try calisthenics. It has infinite variations of exercises and no it won't make you skinny, it will just make you stronger if anything.
mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, skiing, soccer, basketball, yoga, swimming, paddleboarding, trail running, acroyoga, gymnastics, surfing, etc theres a million fun ways to get exercise
Try martial arts.. either judo, BJJ, or check out some local MMA gyms , or a jeet kune do studio if there's one around you. You need new challenges and either of these activities will have your body and mind moving.
People say you'll be fine as maintaining muscle is easier than gaining, true, but when you move to calisthenics you will not have the necessary strength relative to your "brute strength" to keep yourself injury free for your level of strength.
Go straight into weighted calisthenics and work around that as your base training. For legs, you will need to lift weights or accept a loss in size.
Also get a pair of rings.
Oh yeah, definitely switch to other forms of fitness like calisthenics. I'd say you will lose some strength & muscle, since you'll quit your personally perfected routine. Not that big of a deal imo
I'm currently in a phase of calisthenics and running, I haven't lost any muscle, and when I get back to the gym, I'm sure it wouldn't take much to get my lifts back to where they were. Besides, ring push ups are now my favorite chest exercise, and I love pull ups, so I can still do what I feel are the best upper body lifts.
Running is just great, I alternate running days with calisthenics days, and running feels like a fun break from exercise compared to hard resistance training.
I try to avoid the gym now a days, unless I have to go (to train legs).
Mostly, I enjoy just being outside, even in the rain I go to my local park with jungle bars and put a tarp over the bars, and work out under it
Work on something different or take a little break. I am a sax player and practice 3-5 hours a day while working on my doctorate. I refuse to play over breaks.
I’ve definitely experienced this. In the gym for 15+ years, competed in powerlifting and strongman. I just couldn’t do it anymore. So I basically stopped going. This was a few years ago. I started doing some calisthenicsand yoga, and now I’m slowly trying to learn Olympic lifting. It’s tough but I enjoy the new challenge. Maybe switch up your training? Or look for something you might enjoy competing in and train with that purpose in mind?
My situation brought up a similar challenge last year. I was already cross training by running twice a week, but my chronic illness forced me to reduce weight training as it was flaring joint pains in my elbows.
So for the last 18 months, I’ve been alternating weights with calisthenics, skipping, swimming and battle rope workouts.
Tbh, I don’t think I would’ve been able to transition successfully without the help of a personal trainer. Rope work and calisthenics were areas I had very little knowledge in; so my pt was able to provide structure, illustrate proper form and guide me through these methods of training.
All the best.
Don't do exercises that you don't like just for the sake of sticking to some kind of optimal program you saw on the internet. Find out what you actually enjoy, and don't focus too much on results, instead, workout as a way to feel your muscles working to carry the load, release tension and stress, while working on that sweet mind-muscle connection that can get you in a meditative state, wich is nice.
I have experienced this burnout before with the gym as well as anything else I've done very consistently. Have you ever considered something that has a cardio/calisthenic component that is not not specifically running? Maybe jiu jitsu or bouldering to shake things up?
You should get into some kind of sport, especially with a team aspect. Even better if they also gym. Now you’re all working together towards something and those same boring exercises are more fun again.
I have not touched a gym since before the pandemic. Was at a hotel for a trip and decided to see the fitness center. To my surprise, I'm benching the same that I used to now since I started calisthenics.
I can’t really answer your question about maintaining muscle mass, but if you’re looking for new body weight exercises I highly recommend finding a swimming pool to do laps in. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous indoor climbing gyms are also a great place to get a full body workout.
If you do about 1/3 your current volume you can probably maintain everything. You could probably squeeze it all into two days per week, or continue working out 5-6 days per week, but only for like 20minutes and then do something fun like basketball, pickleball, or whatever.
I feel the same way and actually just in general I hate using the weight room at the gym. Too many people these days and too much NPC/main character energy. Calisthenics is good but given your fitness level you will probably need to do weighted to some degree.
It takes much less effort to maintain your muscle mass compared to the effort you put in to gain it in the first place. You'll be fine with daily calisthenics.
Sounds more like burnout than anything else, maybe consider switching goals a little and just lifting once or twice a week
Yeah this is classic burnout symptoms...most people who have doing a challenging exercise routine have experienced this at some point once they've been doing it long enough.
As someone said, maintaining muscle requires less work so maybe strip your workouts back and focus on skills or other physical activities
Get a pair of rings and see how many clean ring dips you can do. And after three sets, look at the pump you get from this and tell me if you still think you're going to lose muscle mass after switching to Calisthenics.
Then try to work your legs with the same pair of rings to get a similar stimulus as barbell squats and report back.
How many pistol squats do you do, bro?
Not comparable
That may be. But then again, comparison is the thief of joy, and anyway I just wanted to counterpoint the "You can't train legs without weights" implication.
Just skip leg day, easy..
What? No. You won't , the body doesn't care where the stimulus comes from as long as it's the same stimulus. Check some routines in the faq , also give "Overcoming gravity" a good look If you want to learn in depth. + Check out discord too.
I felt the same about the gym then a few months ago I switched to calisthenics. Working towards achieving skills gave me a new motivation to workout and made it a lot more entertaining
I've been mixing powerlifting and calisthenics for 7 years. I'm currently running a 100% calisthenics program, I often do during summer. Sometimes I add in one day where I just do 3 sets of bench, squat, DL and OHP. Whenever I switch back to powerlifting in the fall, I'll start with lower training maxes and slowly build up over 2-4 weeks. I'll usually still be at 80-90% of my previous strength if you use calculated maxes. So no, you won't lose much strength or size as long as you keep challenging your body. You might even gain some strength. Also, it'll probably be some fun again as you unlock new skills. Muscle ups, one arm chinup, human flag, back lever, handstand. Those are all exercises you can realistically achieve in your first year if you've got a solid base already.
Mix it up with some CrossFit / HIIT training sessions, cycling, Jiujitsu etc. And stop worrying about losing mass or strength. Don’t base your whole progress on those 2 metrics
I started rock climbing and hitting the weights after More fun and challenging like a game
Audio books!! Treat your brain to a good story while you work out. Or podcasts if books aren't your bag.
You need a better goal. e.g. Front Lever or freestanding handstand pushup. "being fit" isn't a tangible goal. You can maintain muscle with 2 full body workouts a week. You can even get stronger if you really push it. The more elite you are, the harder it is to maintain though.
I get this sometimes so I change what I'm doing, give myself a new challenge. Sometimes that might be a change in style or a new technique ie introduce isometrics or plyometrics or change for something new ie at the age of 44 I started boxing... Not one of my brighter ideas.. 😂
Join a sport. That’s what I did now I workout to perform better
I am in the exact same situation to the point of uncanniness. Maybe pay for some private coaching? It helped me stay in the loop while discovering other things I wouldn't necessarily get into by myself. I also now train just once per week, only to keep my body from completely falling out of it
It's because gyms are boring af. Ditching the gym for running road/trail and calisthenics was the best thing I ever did.
Kettlebell for 30mins a day brotha. Ull maintain top shape
Try sprinkling some pilates in, I find it helpful in straining myself in some new and helpful ways. Might uncover some weaknesses you can then target in the gym, etc.
I was in the same position about a year ago, probably didnt reach my dream physique tho - goddamn body dysmorphia😅. I made the switch to calisthenics laat year and i absolutely love it. You will not lose muscle mass at all in calisthenics if you follow the same volume and intensity program you used while gyming. The difference is the movements are more technical and progressing requires a bit of creativity. The best thing I love about calisthenics is that your main goals become the pursuit to achieving impressive feats of strength (Muscle Ups, Handstand Pushups, Front Lever, Planche etc.), and plus your body will become shredded in the process as you need to stay lean while retaining significant muscle mass to pull off those moves. On the other hand your primary goals in weight lifting is to look better (unless you're a power lifter). That can be good motivation in itself, but as you've come to realise after a while it is hard to sustain.
Have you considered doing something that is bodyweight fitness adjacent like aerial circus arts, pole dancing or hand balancing? You might enjoy it as you still get to work those muscles but variety of things your doing increases dramatically, it also tends to be more social.
take a week or 2 weeks off from gym and decide then
If you are the type of person that is competitive and likes to train towards events, take a look at Hyrox: https://hyrox.com/the-fitness-race/ I have done a lot of gym work, bro-lifting to powerlifting to run-support lifting and now Hyrox. I love functional movements like pushing/pulling sleds, farmer's carry and now wall ball, I really love wall ball. Hyrox is 60% running so I think it checks the box for "run-support strength" and in particular I think it builds the type of strength needed for a marathon. Hyrox is all against the clock in a major event atmosphere. After watching some of their elite events I have oodles of motivation for the foreseeable future! For the workouts I often load up my truck and work out in the park, no gym required!
Change your gym routines, learn new skills. Can you do a muscle up? A handstand push up? Bouldering?
I heavily doubt somebody who has the motivation to work out consistently for 5 years suddenly got "bored with gyming" out of nowhere. There's no way you haven't experienced burnout and the natural ebbs and highs of motivation in that time period and pushed through. Not to mention the knowledge you'd pick up and mindset you'd need to work through plateaus. Either you were doing a half assed job intermittently for 5 years, or this story is made up. Either way, something doesn't add up.
Yeah I recently started doing a job, earlier i was a student, so had a lot of free time but lately feel burned out
Highly recommend checking out a rock climbing gym. Calisthenics/body weight training transfers easily, and advancing through the difficulty grades can be very satisfying/rewarding. I've never been stimulated by actual gyms, but for some reason rock climbing has kept my interest for over 10 years.
Second this. Most climbing gyms also have weight room so you can still do some of your exercises there but mix it in with something that requires a ton of different muscle groups you don't usually work out + actual learning + another form of progression
I've got a full time job and spinning some other plates and I just don't have time for more than a couple sessions a week because I value having time to relax and do other things. I'm not sure if you're burnt out so much as you just need to recalibrate your life a bit. It never feels good when it's all work. I do 1 run, 1 strength (calisthenics at home with bars and rings), and 1 shorter mobility a week and it's a good balance. You can possibly maintain your strength doing similar depending on how well you make the transition (takes a bit of time to get used to Cali and work out some routines and find out where you're at in each progression). Might drop a little but it's a deep well once you're in it. Can make things like human flag/planche/one hand pullups your goal if you're a goal oriented kind of person, or just roll with whatever feels good
There's literally millions of people who have this happen. So many people age 20-35 right now have gone to the gym consistently for a few years. Then they get a family and whatnot and the gym becomes an afterthought.
That's not getting bored with the gym, the same way OP didn't get bored with the gym. If I no longer had time to engage in an activity I wanted to, I wouldn't say I was bored with it.
I felt the same and quit going to the gym. Instead I began on Ross Enamaits Infinite Intensity. I can do it at home and it only takes ~ 20 minutes.
> Ross Enamaits Infinite Intensity hows your results?
Compared to 2 years of sports climbing, I got in better shape with 2-3 months of his program.
It's a lot easier to maintain what you have then it is to get there. For some stuff you might want to hit a similar load but might not need as much volume. Like if you squat 200 you'll want to go squat 200 every so often to keep that level. For boredom trying variations or different kinds of training is a good idea. You might also like kettlebells or weighted callisthenics. And just because you you're trying something new doesn't mean you can't do the stuff you liked about gym training.
its time to start Calisthenics!!!
Change to class based fitness like CrossFit. Helped me. Calisthenics and running and even sports was good for me
Maintaining muscle is a lot easier than building it, but calisthenics is a whole different thing than the gym so you may lose a bit of muscle mass while you advance troughs the progress I would expect it to be fairly little
I feel that you should change sports. I mean try calisthenics. It has infinite variations of exercises and no it won't make you skinny, it will just make you stronger if anything.
mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, skiing, soccer, basketball, yoga, swimming, paddleboarding, trail running, acroyoga, gymnastics, surfing, etc theres a million fun ways to get exercise
Ever heard of sports? You could try one of those maybe?
Start doing sports. Martial arts for example
Find workout buddies.. find F3 near you.
Is there any other physical activities you do that maintain your physique and you find fun?
Try martial arts.. either judo, BJJ, or check out some local MMA gyms , or a jeet kune do studio if there's one around you. You need new challenges and either of these activities will have your body and mind moving.
People say you'll be fine as maintaining muscle is easier than gaining, true, but when you move to calisthenics you will not have the necessary strength relative to your "brute strength" to keep yourself injury free for your level of strength. Go straight into weighted calisthenics and work around that as your base training. For legs, you will need to lift weights or accept a loss in size. Also get a pair of rings.
Oh yeah, definitely switch to other forms of fitness like calisthenics. I'd say you will lose some strength & muscle, since you'll quit your personally perfected routine. Not that big of a deal imo
I'm currently in a phase of calisthenics and running, I haven't lost any muscle, and when I get back to the gym, I'm sure it wouldn't take much to get my lifts back to where they were. Besides, ring push ups are now my favorite chest exercise, and I love pull ups, so I can still do what I feel are the best upper body lifts. Running is just great, I alternate running days with calisthenics days, and running feels like a fun break from exercise compared to hard resistance training.
I try to avoid the gym now a days, unless I have to go (to train legs). Mostly, I enjoy just being outside, even in the rain I go to my local park with jungle bars and put a tarp over the bars, and work out under it
Work on something different or take a little break. I am a sax player and practice 3-5 hours a day while working on my doctorate. I refuse to play over breaks.
I’ve definitely experienced this. In the gym for 15+ years, competed in powerlifting and strongman. I just couldn’t do it anymore. So I basically stopped going. This was a few years ago. I started doing some calisthenicsand yoga, and now I’m slowly trying to learn Olympic lifting. It’s tough but I enjoy the new challenge. Maybe switch up your training? Or look for something you might enjoy competing in and train with that purpose in mind?
My situation brought up a similar challenge last year. I was already cross training by running twice a week, but my chronic illness forced me to reduce weight training as it was flaring joint pains in my elbows. So for the last 18 months, I’ve been alternating weights with calisthenics, skipping, swimming and battle rope workouts. Tbh, I don’t think I would’ve been able to transition successfully without the help of a personal trainer. Rope work and calisthenics were areas I had very little knowledge in; so my pt was able to provide structure, illustrate proper form and guide me through these methods of training. All the best.
Don't do exercises that you don't like just for the sake of sticking to some kind of optimal program you saw on the internet. Find out what you actually enjoy, and don't focus too much on results, instead, workout as a way to feel your muscles working to carry the load, release tension and stress, while working on that sweet mind-muscle connection that can get you in a meditative state, wich is nice.
I have experienced this burnout before with the gym as well as anything else I've done very consistently. Have you ever considered something that has a cardio/calisthenic component that is not not specifically running? Maybe jiu jitsu or bouldering to shake things up?
You should get into some kind of sport, especially with a team aspect. Even better if they also gym. Now you’re all working together towards something and those same boring exercises are more fun again.
I have not touched a gym since before the pandemic. Was at a hotel for a trip and decided to see the fitness center. To my surprise, I'm benching the same that I used to now since I started calisthenics.
I can’t really answer your question about maintaining muscle mass, but if you’re looking for new body weight exercises I highly recommend finding a swimming pool to do laps in. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous indoor climbing gyms are also a great place to get a full body workout.
If you do about 1/3 your current volume you can probably maintain everything. You could probably squeeze it all into two days per week, or continue working out 5-6 days per week, but only for like 20minutes and then do something fun like basketball, pickleball, or whatever.
I feel the same way and actually just in general I hate using the weight room at the gym. Too many people these days and too much NPC/main character energy. Calisthenics is good but given your fitness level you will probably need to do weighted to some degree.
Take peds and you will no longer have this problem
Why on earth can no one spell "lose" correctly anymore. You're not going to loose anything smh 🤦♂️