Anyone lose their drive?

Sounds like you burned yourself out. I'm in the same boat. Trying to get back in the groove, but not push myself as hard as before

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Wait, some people enjoy the running part?

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Yeah, go peer into the marathon thread, we are far from mentally stable, but we do actually like running

OP: it's called burn out, if you want to get back into it again you must first forget anything from 2-3 years ago, it'll take you a very long time to get back there and the only way to enjoy it again is going to be to you it very slowly

Phones have really fricked people up

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wake up at 4AM and go on a 3-5 mile run M-F

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I would think this would burn out most people. Do something easier.
If you want to wake up early, just hit the gym and lift some weights. Do some mild cardio after if you have to have cardio.

The way I’ve found to not get burnt out is to make moderate goals with diet and exercise. If either is too strict, it’s easy to throw in the towel.

I have dealt it with many times. Last year was my worst.

I have a weird approach to working out/running but here goes:

I live about 50-60 mins from my office. So I have an hour commute each way. 42 years old, former college athlete trying to stay in shape.

I leave for work at 5:30 am, so as much as I would like to exercise early and be done, its just not possible for me. I'm jealous of guys that workout before work and have it knocked out before they step foot in the office. I get home around 4:30 every day, and my kids are involved in sports. Usually 3-4 days a week I am heading out around 5:30 to a various park/field/gym.

I lift in my garage, I have a Rogue setup and some dumbells. I shoot for 3 days a week, and do a combination of squats, bench, shoulder press and supplemental lifts followed by ab work. I am usually done in about 55 mins- I don't have time to frick around

I lift seasonally- I am not ashamed to say I do it to look good for pool/beach season. I usually start in March and workout 3 days a week through August.

Last year around June I had my worst case of "don't want to." I didn't want to do anything physical. I didn't want to work out, didn't want to cut the grass, or anything outside. I was in a rut. I would force myself to workout and felt like I had no energy in my lifts. I have also done some running in the past so I thought I would shift to that and catch some life, but after about 2 weeks of short runs, I gave that up as well.

I got my testosterone checked and it was 600, with my free test 6.1. Both within normal levels. I believe I just got burnt out. I had been following this routine for about 4 years and I think it was catching up to me, so I stopped working out in July last year, and didn't touch a weight until this March. I felt like I was burning my candle at both ends. I wake up super early, rush home, workout, and head to practice, get home around 8, take a shower, find something to eat, go to bed, then do it again at 4:45 AM. I wasn't a slob, but I just stopped lifting for a while.

This year I started my workout routine again in March, and every 5 weeks I have taken a week off. Now its almost July and I feel great. Much more energy than last year, and a positive attitude.
I only have one speed- wide open. I am learning that as I get older I have to be satisfied with half speed sometimes. In the past if I skipped a workout, or even a set- I felt like I was a failure. It is still hard for me to miss, but sometimes my body just needs a break. And life gets in the way. With work, kids, and a full schedule, sometimes you have to skip something. I am learning to be okay with that.

LINK

Take a look at this group and see if there are any near where you live.

There are a lot of men going through the same things you are experiencing we termed it "Sad Clown" syndrome from a Sopranos episode

It's free

Open to all men

peer led so every workout is different which will help with boredom and it's a great community of men going through the same things you are

Been involved for a few years and it's a game changer if you give it a shot

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If you don't feel like doing it, you're not going to do it. You may be able to push yourself past it for a while, but you'll eventually burn yourself out, and cycle this all over again.

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I don't want to piss in your Cherios but I could not disagree more here.

Discipline is doing what you need to do when you don't want to it. It goes back to what's his "why" and what process he has in place to make that happen. There is not a successful athlete on the planet that doesnt want to get out out of bed and hit a workout...what makes the great truly great are because they do it anyway and just don't go through the motions. They have their "why", they have a plan in place, they will falter, they won't hit every workout, they understand some days will be better than others, they will get back up and try again. They are not driven by pride but rather accomplishment with the understanding and realization that accomplishment comes with sacrifice and discipline.

That "why" can be anything from "I want to run the Boston Marathon" to "I want to be able to play softball in the parents vs kids game when my daughter is 11" BUT there needs to be a why.

When its hot...what's your why?
When it's cold...what's your why?
When you're tired...what's your why?
When your friends say,"C'mon one more beer"...what's your why?
When your muscles ache in rebellion...what's your why?
When you're out to eat and trying to decide between the fried fish or the club sandwich...what's your why?

First, you identify the why then you work on the how, when and where. That's where I think counseling can really help.

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There is a big place for discipline, but it's only going to get you so far, i

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This is where we inherently disagree. Its the one thing that must remain constant. The how, when, where and why can all change and vary. Discipline is always needed.

Yes, there should be a link between the process and the purpose so the chance at consistency remaining disciplined are increased but I don't think discipline has a time limit. It never expires.

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Let's say someone is trying to lose weight, and Broccoli is the essential part of that. But let's also say that the person tying to lose weight is absolutely disgusted with broccoli.

Discipline says that maybe they can hold their nose and scarff some down, but that is not sustainable. If they don't love broccoli, chances are, they won't be eating it for very long.

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That's not discipline. Discipline doesnt mean beat your head against the wall when alternatives are present.

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You can't discipline your way through diet and exercise.

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Not only can you...it's the only way to do it.

We’re not talking about the same thing, we disagree and you’re now changing the goalposts now with “not sustainable BY ITSELF”. I’ve said we disagreed from the beginning, and that’s okay.

Consistency requires discipline. It’s not a luxury or a nice perk, it’s a requirement.

You’ve repeatedly said that discipline will fade and I wholeheartedly disagree. The successful implementation of any component of a healthy lifestyle requires discipline. That doesn’t mean without flexibility or balance but it does require discipline.

The how’s, whys, what’s and when’s may and certainly will fade and change and a continued review of what we’re trying to accomplish helps but so long as we are aware of what our “WHY” is, so long as we can answer “why am I even doing this?” and believe our answer then we have a stepping stone for discipline and that’s when accountability steps in.

My tactic to remain disciplined was to continually sign up for races. I think I went close to 15 years where I was always signed up for some race. It gave me a blueprint of what I wanted my regime to look like. At first it was because I wanted to lose weight. Then it was because I wanted to run my first marathon. Then it was because I wanted to run 26.2 under 3:45. Then I waned to quality for 70.3 world championships. Then wanted to win the state age group championship for my AG. Now, I want to run with my daughter’s XC team and eventually it will be because I want to run her first 13.1 with her and then her first 26.2 with her. It’s evolved and will continue to do so. Two hip surgeries. Two shoulder surgeries. Stress fractures in my spine. I it’s all required different implantation. For different goals. But without discipline, none of those goals are reached.