I’m 39. What haunts me is the time I wasted not working out.

Therapist and long time lifter here (my flair is inaccurate because I scaled back for a couple of years during the pandemic). I think your psyche is trying to tell you something - clearly a significant part of you is picking up on that you want more balance, and you may already be feeling that regret now. Yes, I regret not spending more time on friends and relationships in my 20s. Most people do. You can still be someone who works out regularly instead of being single minded about such a solo pursuit. Combine your lifting time with social time if possible - lots of people at my gym do this, and also scale back a bit. Listen to yourself. Everyone here is talking about health - but consider your mental health and fulfilment with regard to a sense of meaning and broader identity in life also. Clearly you are wanting to grow in more directions than physical.

Wise question!

If it's something you love - it's never a regret. Great for mental health, too.

When I was your age it was the mid 90s . There was almost no information out there on how to lift for hypertrophy . There were magazines and old books. I figured if you luft weights and take those supplements they sold in the magazines you too could be Dorian yates.

Lack of proper information held me back. I would play around a few months, get frustrated and quit. Getting farther and farther out of shape. I did this cycle every couple years until giving up before 30.

The Internet changed everything. The knowledge of the world at your beckon call. That's not always a good thing but in this case it was. At 51 I decided to arm myself with information and give it a go before I'm too old. And I'm in the best shape of my life at 56 now and stayed consistent for almost 5 years. How to train. How to eat.

The only thing I regret when I was younger was wasting time. If I had known then, what I know now....who knows what the ceiling would have been. But I'm happy in finally figuring it out.

No. It doesn’t even take that long to work out. You can workout regularly and still have a fulfilling social life. Also I’m jacked which is awesome.

Nope never , your older self will appreciate being healthier.

Yes, i regret it a lot. People always admired me for my dedication. I think i did a 2,5 year streak of 6 days a week without missing a single session. I trained full time for many many years after my bjj career ended and before that i also trained religiously, almost never skipping sessions in my lifting programs.

Anyway i was running away from facing life, other people game or do drugs and get negative feedback from society and i chose lifting to not face life and got positive feedback from society, which made it become part of my identity.

I spent 4-6 hours in the gym daily. Long mobility sessions , stretching, optimal pauses between sets, sauna, cardio, yoga etc.

After about 20 years of consistent lifting, i was doing bulking and cutting cycles with basically all variables controlled, optimal volume, diet, sleep etc. Only to gain maybe a couple hundred grams of muscle per year. My perfectionism and drive kept me obsessed and always striving for optimalisation to get max gains. Hard cuts, difficult bulks, many many sessions when tired or injured, missing birthdays, skipping social events, not partying etc etc for basically nothing.

At a certain moment i went back to 2 hours a day and ofcourse my lifts suffered a bit, but no one outside noticed anything.

Some time later i cut it in half again

And around this time i started realizing the power of rest physically and mentally i had always driven myself to give all every day and it has resulted in many many injuries and even ended my bjj career.

My lifts werent what they were, but on the outside i basically still looked the same with about 1/4th of the effort.

Then i started a new career and states working 50-60+ hour weeks. Again my lifting got cut in half and later on even less. For the first time i had days where i skipped lifting because of important meetings and 11 hour days. At first i tried to lift before work or after, but my body couldnt handle it anymore.

Still with inconsequent lifting, most of my friends didn't really notice a difference.

I started to improve my social life, started dating a lot and started to realize all i had missed and ran away from all those years.

Lifting will always be part of me, but i know its place now and I know now its supposed to be an addition to your life and not your whole life. I do light sessions now because i feel good after and i listen to my body and if my girl wants to go somewhere and it sounds enjoyable, ill skip the session.

I once started because i was insecure and i wanted women to give me attention and i learned it drew all the guys to me instead and for most women, if you do 3 hours a week it is more than enough to have an attractive body.

Id like to add i also believe its a good strategy when you are young to really go at it and milk the gains, be fucking disciplined and give it your all, but when you need advanced programming and use all the tricks to milk marginal gains. Just go to a fucking maintenance program and enjoy life. Every now and again you see you gained a couple of pounds and you add some sessions again, but dont let it be your religion anymore.

Lastly, after this whole book i wrote. To give an image, i missed my girls birthday because i didnt want to skip gym, i didnt take out the trash on dead lifting day etc.

I was so obsessed with doing everything in my power for optimal gains and i learned much later in life how important rest is.

This is bad advice for most people, because most people dont need a brake but need more motivation, but if you are obsessed you need a brake (correct spelling) and after i started having breaks, rest days, random days off, light sessions etc. I noticed in the bigger picture my net gains were even bigger as in less injuries, more mental motivation, literally more growth, less stress hormones etc etc. So skip a day, go to a party, dont let lifting obstruct anything else and work on mentally letting go more (of everything) if you know discipline is t a problem.

I wish I would’ve spent more time in the gym when I was younger vs partying.

You are building permanent/lifelong skills and discipline that will do nothing but help you tremendously when you are older and settled down. Ask anyone in here that is older 40 and up if they wished they spent the time grinding in the gym when they were your age and they will tell you lol

Partying is fleeting and can be done at any age.

You are a badass man keep doing your thing and bettering yourself. You will have things easier when you get my age brother because of the foundation and discipline you are building now .

All the best to you brother.

I think regret is a strong word. What I’ve learned is that lifting, like most things in life, follows the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80% of results come from 20% of the effort.

When I was young and trying to be the best I possibly could be, I’d spend 2-4 hours a day in the gym, working on mobility, or something similar at home. The rest of my day largely revolved around my diet, my sleep, and my recovery.

Now, I’m a lot older, have a very busy life and work schedule. I do probably 20% of the work for 80% of the results.

All of that to say: if you enjoy the time spent and don’t have other things you’d rather be doing, then it’s not wasted. If you do have competing priorities, you can still get the bulk of the progress with a fraction of the time invested.

You can still go out and party while also dedicating a big chunk of your life to lifting; they aren’t mutually exclusive things. Do it all!

Reddit is full of introverts, so take that into account when people give their perspective.

There may come a day when social opportunities dry up. Friends get married and have kids. They move away. You likely won’t be on your death bed regretting skipping the occasional gym session.

You just have to find the right balance for you. It’s easy to get on a one-track mindset and lose sight of what will make you happy long term.

I worked out around my plans, I never struggled to do everything I wanted to do. If we are going out that night, I work out in the morning before work or I see if I can time it so I would have a scheduled rest day. I am 37, the only regrets I have from that time are the opposite actually. I wish I spent more time alone, instead of wasting time drinking and chasing girls. That never ever brought me happiness, I wish I would have read more and I wish I would have taken more classes that were interesting but not "useful" in college. Those are the things I regret.

I'm older. I regret not spending more time in the gym when I was 26.

Absolutely not, the gym might be the one thing that kept me from going crazy or dropping out of life completely

No. I've lived a pretty balanced life, never spent all my evenings at the gym and never restricted myself to chicken and rice. But the actual effort I invested in working out is paying off pretty well in my 30s. If anything, I regret not capitalizing a bit more on that teen/20s hormonal insanity in order to build a bit more size. It was easier back then. If you play your cards well now, you'll just have to maintain for the rest of your life.

Working out is not a waste of time. Consuming endless amounts of fitness content is. If you make money, get an online coach and don’t waste your time.

I turn 30 next year and I regret nothing. I’m very happy with how I look and I feel great. I know I’m not really that old lmao

The older you get the more thankful you’ll be for putting time into it now. Also, when you get older, 50s 60s, you’ll hopefully be in a good spot to simply stay active and eat well and live a fulfilling life. Full of energy and feeling great.

To me, working out is the ultimate investment you can make in life.

I’m 28

At the point that I’m at in the gym, it’s a chore, but a simple one like brushing your teeth or cleaning your ass

If you’re worried about spending too much time, set a stop watch in your breaks for 3 minutes each. That way not a second is wasted and you have the scientific proven amount of time to rest and keep pumping the max

I work out everyday, not because I think it’ll make me bigger, but because I fucking love food. And I had the same mentality you have a while back, “I’m wasting too much time on the gym, I should be relaxing and enjoying myself”. The thing is I am relaxed and enjoying myself, just in responsible increments, I had a friend who I would constantly talk with, and I’m telling you we ran out of things to talk and we would spend hours together in silence, being together just brought the worst qualities in both of us to grow. It’s honestly more depraving than just going to the gym everyday and feeling good physically.

Here’s my current schedule if you’re interested - 9:00- wake up and work - 3:00- go home and prepare for gym - 5:00- go to the gym - 6:30- come back home - 7/8 enjoy my time with friends, until I’m sleepy - 11/12 - sleep

Meal prepping is easy because it takes 30 minutes to prepare 4 days worth of chicken. Carbs and fat are literally everywhere out there so I just eat whatever’s available (AVOID SUGAR, there’s like no nutritional value and you’ll feel sleepy earlier and it’ll just mess up your whole sleep schedule)

Sort of. A few years ago I wasn't really making gains so I thought screw it and scaled back the volume. It turns out this actually helped my gains a lot. 

There's always a little block of your life that you should dedicate to exercise. If you don't care about looking good & your only priority is health, that block is a bit smaller, but you'll still be exercising a few times a week. And if you do care about looking good/hypertrophy and you only need to do like 12-15 sets 3X a week, it turns out that's super comfortable and sustainable. If 25 sets 6X a week was the only way for me to make gains I'd have dropped this a while ago.

I regret spending so many years killing myself with bad food, alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle.

No

I regret not starting sooner

Wish I’d spent more time and effort back then, now it’s such a struggle as a dad!

I regret partying so much and NOT taking lifting more seriously. I am now a 34yo dad and have been lifting for about 15 years. I am taking bodybuilding the most serious I have in my life and seen significant progress these past couple years due to dialing in more. Even though I was lifting consistently for a decade, my diet was shit and I was binge drinking every single week and sometimes multiple times a week. These days, nothing makes me happier than spending time with my family and lifting. I don’t party anymore, but still occasionally drink

I've averaged 2 hours a week for 46 years, so no.

I have never regretted it once. It’s made me a better person all round. I eat better, feel better, I’m more disciplined, my career has improved from being mentally more focused, never feel sluggish because I barely drink, the list goes on. I’ve been gyming and tracking nutrition for over a decade easy. I love it and I’ll live longer and healthier for it.

I’m 29 been lifting since I was 15

Don’t regret it once

I have deep regrets about not lifting and trashing my metabolism by dieting without a plan and almost losing the battle to alcohol.

I only regret going too heavy with my weights, getting hurt

I only resent not really knowing what I was doing (every set was 10 reps) and having no clue about nutrition (I’d go home and take a nap, no food post workout)

wish i spent more time training legs if anything

I wish I had spent more time on cardio. I miss my gym time with my buddies we are all busy now and rarely get to see each other. Back then we would train 8+ hours a week together.

I appreciate it more and more, every year.

Yes. But because it took me way to long to learn my training volume was way too high.

I've been lifting for over 20 years. It's something I've never regretted. I think if I did, I wouldn't still be doing it.

I regret how much time I spent into it but I was pretty extreme. I was in school for exercise science, counted calories for years, my whole life revolved around it to an obsessive degree. Then I stopped making progress and stopped going all together during the pandemic and subsequent years, which I also regretted. There’s definitely a balance that I struggle to find

No, but I think that the bulk of “missing out” that I’ve done has come from all of the stuff that happens outside of the gym - saying no to meals that don’t fit my macros, not drinking, being hungry and weak because I’m cutting, etc.. But, I’ve chosen a bit of a middle road on that stuff. I track when I’m cutting, but very rarely when bulking, I’ve chosen cheat meals with friends over macros, and I firmly believe that calories don’t count on vacation, and I’ve never done any PEDs. I think (or hope, maybe), that I’ve struck a good balance, because it has its costs. I’ve been lifting since I was 18, fairly consistently, with the exception of a two year break to pursue some educational stuff from 27-29ish. I’m 32 now, and I’d classify my physique as decidedly mid. I’m decently strong, I like to think that I have a bigger than average frame, but even at my leanest, I don’t think my physique would get me any instagram followers. So, no, I don’t regret it. I haven’t gotten burned out, and I still enjoy the gym almost 15 years later. But, I’ve made choices that have prevented me from achieving my “optimal” physique , so I could see someone asking “what’s the point of showing up to the gym 5 days a week for a decade and a half to look like that?”, and I think that’s an absolutely fair question. I just think it’s important to fit in living

I spent a little too much time lifting. A lot of that is just me not being efficient with workouts, rest times and such, though. Realistically lifting doesn't take away from anything else once you know what you're doing, just don't fear missing the gym or a cheat meal

I only regret not knowing how to train and eat properly.

I followed so much bro science shit and trends that didn’t work for shit because all the people were enhanced.

Once I figured this out I was able to get to the next level.

I think the right balance is to stay disciplined and do what is necessary but cut out the fluff. You can become an intolerable meathead with this hobby pretty easily with social media, if you let it take up more space in your life that isn't necessary. Save the rest of your space for other hobbies, relationships, reading, etc. I'm in my 40s and may have been a bit too obsessed with it for a while as a young adult. I don't regret it, but could have tried being a more interesting person sooner. Most people don't want to be around someone who only wants to talk about lifting and macros and gains.

Been lifting since 1997… sometimes I wish I would’ve been more serious, more educated, more dedicated when I was younger. I was on a higher level than most lifters, but it wasn’t until 2017 that I decided to optimize every aspect of diet and training so that I could explore my natural limits before it was too late. It’s not all bad though, now I’m in my 40’s and still peaking and making gains every year. It’s good to evolve throughout life. Health and fitness are longterm goals, partying is a short-term pleasure… you can have both but the key is balance. I had fun partying when I was younger, but as time has passed the ratio has shifted in favor of health and fitness. I say… don’t skip the parties, you’re young and time is on your side.

no, but also you shouldn't be feeling like you're compromising/sacrificing things in your life. I know people love to David Goggins everything and talk about discipline and sacrifice, but unless you have aspirations to compete (and have a legitimate shot at succeeding from genetics standpoint) most are better off with a much more moderate investment. The amount of work you need to put in to make 80% of maximum progress is far less than what you'd put in to get 99%. 2-3 sessions a week of solid training is actually plenty to make really good progress over a long period.

I trained 6 days a week for a good chunk of college, but no regrets- mostly just studied, lifted, and played video games. Never had any fomo from needing to skip out on things to get another lift in. I'm ~13 years into lifting at this point and usually train 2-4 times a week and I find that a better balance for me. Still making steady progress but more time to do other stuff (still video games)

Nope because I never let it get in the way of other stuff. You don’t have to “lock in” and miss out on all the fun things in life to spend 3 hours a day in the gym. You can party, miss a workout, not bring chicken and rice to a restaurant lol. As long as you do that stuff in moderation, as you should be regardless of lifting, you can still get big and strong and not miss out on life.

Depends, it's mixed. My mood fluctuates, but yes there were lots of 3 to 4 hour workouts, I've done. Ideally, I try to keep it under 2 hours. However, this happens because I try to combine powerlifting with bodybuilding and powerlifting/strength workouts are long because of the long rest periods were supposed to take. I've also had training partners back then, I didn't like wasting time dicking around.

What I wish I could've done was not do SBD sessions, but like squats + legs, and try to keep the workouts under 2 hours.

Mid 30s here. I firmly believe you're meant to have some fun in your 20s, figure stuff out, not take life too seriously. For most of my 20s I never worked out more than three days a week and rarely spent more than a half hour in the gym. It gave me a good base physique and strength level to expand on once I hit my 30s and started taking it more seriously. I have zero regrets. If you're trying to be a professional bodybuilder or powerlifter things are obviously going to be different, but if youre just trying to stay fit and not turn into a turd, it really doesn't require all that much in your 20s.

Yep, became an elite level powerlifter at 21, started lifting at 12. Realized one day wayyy too late that I have to use gear to make money from the sport, and have regretted the time spent on what is nothing more than vanity and a waste of money on excessive food.

It was my place to be alone and just let out all my stress. I have a lot of anxiety and depression from various things and it was the one consistent thing I could count on in my life. Plus I got shredded.

at my first year i was spending 12-15 hours weekly in 5-6 days per week,and it didn't brought me much other than ruining my tendonds but when look back i had not many better thing to do back in day

I started lifting at 30, wish i started at my 20s.

Never

If you want to party, please go party before all your friends get too old and tired to do so.

You can do both. I regret not finding friends who wanted to party more. Nor was I dedicated enough in the gym in my 20s to see huge results either 😂 so I get the best of both world regrets.

I now do a job where my body clock is so early, it's hard work to go out for a night. But it's been great for a fitness routine.

I dunno man, it’s really never affected my life except positively. I socialize and party the same, I eat what I want. I’d ask yourself what you really want from it, are you trying to step on a stage, or just look hot? You don’t have to sacrifice much for the latter, but I’m just one example.

Im 41 and I only regret the times that I wasn't consistent in the gym.

I regret not starting sooner, you can do both though. The partying and things don’t have to be completely left behind, just maybe not every weekend!

Been consistent since age 15 and now 67. No regrets of any time I spend in the gym. Every second was worth it. The worst thing you can do is be a vegetable or just stay home and watch TV. Get off your butts and get to the gym and keep yourself in shape.

If anything, I regret not taking my gym effort more seriously considering how much time I spent into planning. I could literally spend hours every month reading about variants, programs, experimenting with organising the gym sessions differently etc. But then I would go to the gym or either go balls to the wall when I was feeling playful or do lackluster sessions if I got tired or distracted midway through.

Life is best spent in balance bro - go lift but don't neglect your social life, school, etc.

1. In the gym since 17. No

I regret not spending my time better in the gym and wish I trained harder and ate more protein but no id say as long you didn't get seriously injured nobody would regret it. Could have been at worse things.

My ex was a power lifter and always tried to get me to lift heavy. I did more body weight at home. That time doing body weight focused workout wasn't wasted but now I regret not lifting heavier weights at the gym because he was right, it does wonders for not only your body but overall mental clarity.

I regret missing days, never when I am in the gym.

I only work out for 20 minutes every day, I watch my diet, but I eat less protein than I should. Those 20 minutes are enough for a good workout and have been sufficient to give me a very good physique. With that, I reach 80% of my muscle potential and already look pretty good. Aiming for 100% isn't worth it. What I've always sought is to have a good physique with the least possible effort; I've been doing this for 12 years and I recommend it.

Never. I'm glad I started young & happy it became a habit that's never left me

I've been training regularly for 40 years, and with hindsight I can see that I didn't need to take it so seriously (or train so heavy), but it's not really a regret. I don't think I missed out on much socially either, training came first for many years, but I still managed to drink heavily at weekends on top of 20 hours a week training, and it helped that I socialised mostly with bodybuilders and martial artists.

No, I’m very thankful for it. I was an extremely dedicated lifter from ages of 15-25. I still made time for friends but I was almost always in the gym 3-5 days a week in that time. I’m now 31, engaged, recently bought and now running a business, in the process of buying a house. All this is to say life is much crazier now, and I’m lucky if I get to the gym 2 days a week. But the muscle mass I accumulated at a young age is much easier to keep on a light workload and I find in general it’s so much easier for me to stay in shape, or get back in shape than my peers. That time in the gym back then was such a gift to current/future me

No but the time I wasted on disordered eating and focusing on food

Personally, I wish I had spent more time in the gym and eating right and less time partying. I think I maximized my training in my late 20s early 30s. I am 35 now and I wish I had put more into it and drank less.

HOWEVER, I wish I had spent more time simply going out to dinner and being more lax on my diet with friends. It's those relationships that matter. I also wish I had embraced getting good results on 3 days per week earlier and not been so obsessed with hitting 6 days per week. I know this is a bit contradictory to the above.

I’m 42. Lifting is the best thing I’ve done for my over Al health. When you get to my age you can really see the difference compared to other people.

You’ll see a lot of people on Reddit who say they train six days a week, but it’s very rare that people actually do that long term. This is especially true if they have a demanding career and family. Reddit is generally younger people and most are novices. Reddit can give the false impression that everyone trains that frequently.

Most if my lifting has been four days a week. I’ve never missed out on social events (I’m not a binge drinker) or relationships because of the gym. It’s very easy to fit the gym into a balanced life.

I'm 32, been lifting/working out consistently since I was 12. In all that time, I have never felt regret for the amount of time I have spent in the gym. I met all of my closest friends through the gym. My future wife and I initially grew close to each other because of our shared passion for exercise. I am much healthier and look younger than all of my high school classmates. With all that being said, you have to find balance with your training and your life. Unless you are trying to make bodybuilding your full time job, then you don't need to be as uptight with your dieting. You will still make progress over time with consistency and trying to eat a good diet majority of the time. Train hard, eat good, and do things to create happy memories.

You can achieve excellent results training for one hour five days per week. Five hours per week is really not that big of a time commitment.

You can have a social life and be dedicated to the gym. If you're the type whose diet is so strict you won't ever eat out or have a couple drinks with friends, then yeah, you need to adapt to a more flexible approach.

I do not regret all the training I did when I was younger. I do regret the amount of partying, drinking, and drug use I did (which caught up with me later in life, leading to an addiction, and totally turning my life upside down - which I'm still trying to recover from).

Yes. I prefer less time in the gym and focusing on other things tbh

It can become Copium.

The vast majority of people have the exact opposite problem.

My workouts help me to be more involved with life. My 40 minute workouts always give me more energy for the entire day so I am dramatically more active and end up getting 4x as much accomplished. My workouts are always a race against the clock because I only allow myself 40 minutes to get it done. If I feel disappointed in my workout then I just have to try harder the next day. I have never regretted my workouts except for when I got a mild rotator cuff tear from overuse on flat bench press

listen man you're not gonna get through your life without regrets here and there but I've been doing the gym thing since I was 14, I'm 34 now. been a certified trainer twice, ISSA and NASM listened to countless hours of podcasts, read studies seen a ton of fitness gurus come and go and even IFBB pros die like John Meadows, luke Sandoe and many more..

Life takes its twists and turns and everyone tells you that you can't stay in shape once you get married, once you're in your 30s or 40s, once you've had a kid and thats where having this sort of foundation and love for fitness really plays a role.

I say go for it. I certainly don't regret it. There's something called Myoneuclei and I'm telling you this so you can look it up and know I'm not full of shit. The concept is that you can build new muscle cells and retain the muscle cell for 15+ years. The cell might shrink but it doesn't go away. If you build muscle now while you're young and motivated, you won't need to try nearly as hard to put that muscle back on if you lose it or try as hard to stay in shape when you have kids or when you get married.

Back in 2016 I really hit my stride and put on a good 25lbs of muscle and I was hitting the gym 4-5 days a week. Fast forward to today, I'm married, have a kid, 34 years old and I only go to the gym 2 days a week, do some full body stuff with a friend and I'm maintained that muscle.

Brother I am 38 on a great routine now REGRETTING not working out more seriously when I was younger.

If you feel overwhelmed just remember that you can go 2 weeks of travel or vacation without the gym and come back to it without losing strength/gains. Don't stress missing the gym, instead do not miss important life events.

Beat yourself up for not going on a boring ass Wednesday.

At 36 and having partied lots when I was 18-29 I say you will not miss out anything you cannot do when you are older. You can still go out. Work out consistently, atleast once per week so you keep most of your gains. Its pretty hard to lose your muscle unless you go 100% no workout, party and pizza for a long time.

I think it depends on what else you have going on. In high school and college, it was basically just another class block, or took the place of sports practice if I was off season. I’ve never really spent more than 4-10 hours a week on training, and I was able to get to a point where I was competitive in my weight classes for powerlifting and strongman.

I would say if you are frequently missing out on things you want to do, you might need to reel in your training or attempt to be more efficient in some way. Probably not much you can do on the meal prep side you aren’t already, but if you are spending hours in the gym each session, but aren’t a part of a team limited to a few racks and benches to all share, you might benefit from limiting your total lifting time to 60-90 mins.

If you are not actually competing, don’t worry about missing a workout every once in a while. You are at an age where everyone you know might get married in the next 5 years. Missing or simply pushing back some training days is not going to make or break your physique, but missing memories like that might mess with your head.

This is coming from someone who used to feel physically ill when forced to skip a workout in high school. It being a very important part of your life does not mean it has to be your entire life, unless you are trying to win every show you compete in I guess.

I wish I used that time better tbh. I did a lot of stuff. Made gains but I’d be bigger if I knew then what I know now at 36

Every requires balance

But if you consider lifting to the point of body building is a disorder anyway (a body dismorphia) the. Yeah you’re focusing on the wrong thing if that is all you focus on. Life and personal growth is about several aspects of life not just the physical.

I think the only factor is what you might have done instead of that time, personally for me a lot would have been wasted so gym isn't a bad thing. If you are neglecting your family for the gym and spouse divorces you then sure it would be a big regret. Currently I work remote so the gym is sometimes the only part of the day I see other people who don't live with me.

Absolutely not. But I recommend going out and enjoying life. You can do both. You just don't need to go out and party every weekend. do the big holiday parties.

Think less of what could be doing with that time and more what you are actively not doing with that time. If you werent doing this what would you be doing, and do you like that tradeoff?

34, I regret the gap from ages 23 and 30 where I barely worked out at all, and wonder how much stronger I'd be if I'd stuck to the gym back then.

That being said, if you feel that you might be missing out on life because of obsessing over fitness/your physique, you should definitely consider taking a step back. You can still work out, still make progress and still look good while also making room for other things. Life isn't about min/maxing stuff

I started lifting at 39, I regret all those years NOT in the gym when I was younger.

Im 30 and have been lifting 8 or 9 years now. No, I've never once regretted time spent in the gym. Im proud of the amount of work I put in when I was younger. My life is better in every way when im consistent in the gym because it helps me to be more consistent with other habits. I have had times with more or less balance but as it stands I lean towards regretting partying so much and not focusing more on healthy habits.

I mean I dont really regret it as I think regret isnt a good feeling to have, and I pretty much always kept to working out when I partied. I mean you have to work out like 6 or 8 hours a week to maintain and make progress then you can party whenever. It feels good to get a great workout or a few great workouts in and then party for couple days like camping or at a festival or whatever.

Idk i like to workout before I over indulge so for example now my favorite holiday tradition is a great workout early in the morning before I leave for the holiday meal.

I guess what im trying to say is I never regretted the time I spent, if anything I regret time I didnt spend, but I found a way to balance it and have periods with more or less adherence and consistency. When I follow a program I've also built in floating optional rest days like running a program where the "week" of training could take 6-10 days depending on life stuff and recovery.

Kind of. I wish I did better research early on and understood just how much progress you could make training 2-3 times a week and that 5-6 days in the gym wasn’t necessary to build muscle.

If I had understood this earlier I believe it would have benefited me both in and outside of the gym.

Metzger thought so

I personally regret not knowing nutrition/proper lifting earlier. I started lifting at 17 and was lifting and eating really stupidly. After like 15 years, the nutrition clicked for me finally and started focusing on how I was lifting, proper tracking etc.

I regret not figuring it out earlier and wondering how much bigger I could be today if I had it all down at the start

Been lifting for 36 years. Started at 16 and was obsessed. All I could think about was getting huge...but after 3-4 years of serious training and nutrition, I realized that my body had got about as strong and developed as it could. I've kept it up because I like to feel strong and healthy...but there is no sense spending hours on it or lifting super crazy heavy weights. Get in, get out, get flexible. You can use your time to be getting good at 100 other things before you die.

Like many others, I only regret the time I don’t spend working out. I got into bodybuilding early on in high school through powerlifting for sports. In college I stopped and had my “enlightenment” phase. I can’t imagine how big I’d be had I not stopped

First of all, it’s great that you prioritize the gym and your health. Not many people do it, and it’s important. Important because it has several side-benefits that directly correlated to you having a good life, like better mental health, resilience to hardships, good social life because you look good, you’ll be better socially because you’re feeling good on those endorphins, etc.

It really depends on whether you actually find those activities fun. Do you find partying, aka greeting drunk fun? Then by all means, you should do it sometimes. But if you’re thinking you should not miss out doing that because that’s your only option because that’s all your friends do, then you need to find other friends who are into other activities.

You can totally spend a little less time in the gym and still make the same amount of progress. Smart programming can do that for you. You can really spend a lot less time in the gym and still make gains and get closer to your goals than you think.

Edit: To answer your question, I don’t regret it at all. What the gym has given me is worth its weight in gold. But I just wish I’d made more time for other things too, which I totally could have.

Been training seriously for 10 years now. If anything, I regret not being consistent in my late teens and early 20's.

As all things it’s all about balance i learnt that very late and the hard way

I got into weight lifting later in college, so I mostly regret that I didn't start earlier heh

Most people spent 5-6 hours on their phone minimum. I think I will be fine with my 90 minutes four times a week.

Nope, I honestly miss training at the Olympic facility. I was getting great cardio (30m deep pool, 1km in door track, weight room, several olympic pools).

in my 30s. I regret not spending much time in the gym back in my 20s

Life is all about balance. I train hard and diet all week and go to raves on the weekends and or go out to eat some bomb ass food. Sometimes I tell myself I’m going to quit partying and go full body builder mode, skip a few weekends of potential raves and get bored. So yea you need a little balance. You gotta get to a certain point where you’re happy with your physique and it’s easy to maintain. Just remember lean is law.

Nope, probably the best decision of my life, I've been lifting for the last 20 years, and at my age (46) everyone is jealous of my physique haha.

Do it now, once you hit 30, it'll be more difficult to keep the same pace and volume due to other life factors. Going hard now will ease that transition of responsibilities!

55 here...3.5 years dedicated years lifting and counting.

I have the opposite regret. I wish I had stuck to it when I was young, attained a body I was happy with, and then had it for life with just maintenance.

I probably would have, too, if I knew what I was doing, the importance of steady, consistent effort, and the looong time frame involved.

I'm 40 and have been living this lifestyle since my mid-20s. I learned to balance things with training and took the time off I needed (pregnancy, raising young kids) but my normal is 5 days a week in the gym. I don't regret a single moment. That is my community. That's where my friends hang out! My husband is also there, so I get quality time with him. If this is what makes you happy, keep doing it. I still get people who shame me for it from time to time, but that's a reflection of them, not me.

I over did it when I was young and never made much progress...but as I grew older I learned what really worked for me...and don't need nearly as much time to maintain.  

I spent many hours running and now do more weights. Any form of exercise is not wasted time. Now I’m over 60 I may not be able to do what I did when I was younger but my muscle memory and overall health is so much better because of my exercise history. Keep going.

Not really, I regret the shit I did outside of the gym significantly more.

Fuck no. I wish I’d been more disciplined and committed.

Nope. I’m grateful for it—it gave me good muscle memory and experience. At 42, I train like a pro while many people my age are just starting the gym because their doctor told them to. I work out because it’s a habit, not because of health issues.

Nope. Been lifting for around 24 years (40 yo) and the only thing I regret are the times I took a break. Worst one was like a year of drinking and partying. It was fun, but I shouldn’t have stopped lifting. Don’t stop. Breaks? Sure. I take full weeks off after a few months straight. It’s amazing.

No

I always miss the time I lifted without being enhanced