Originally published at: https://apophdolia.com/why-gymming-is-actually-harming-you/
People’s gym motivations often evolve over time, as they may start for one reason (e.g., weight loss) and find additional benefits (e.g., mental clarity or social connections) that keep them coming back.
But the gym itself—and the culture surrounding it—has also undergone a striking evolution. Decades ago, the image of the gym was heavily tied to bodybuilding legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, with a focus on sheer muscle mass, physical dominance, and disciplined sculpting of the body. The gym-goers of that era were often inspired by the culture of competition, seeing fitness as an almost artistic endeavor, with bodybuilding serving as the ultimate platform to display physical perfection.
Fast-forward to today, and the motivations behind gym attendance have become much more multifaceted. Social media has played a massive role in shifting gym culture toward aesthetics and beauty standards. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are saturated with “fitfluencers” promoting chiseled abs, curvy physiques, and skin-tight athleisure as benchmarks of modern attractiveness. For many, the gym is now less about building raw strength and more about creating a photogenic version of oneself—toned, symmetrical, and camera-ready.
However, there’s another dimension to today’s fitness culture: its framing as a remedy for mental and emotional struggles. The gym has become synonymous with stress relief, a boost for low energy levels, and a way to rebuild confidence. This shift reflects a growing recognition of the mind-body connection, where exercise is seen as medicine for burnout, anxiety, and depression. But while the gym can provide temporary relief, many people may be masking underlying issues like hypothyroidism—a condition that often causes fatigue, lack of motivation, and even low self-esteem.
Here’s the hidden catch: as modern gym-goers pour their energy into achieving the ideals perpetuated by social media, they may inadvertently push themselves deeper into reliance on adrenal energy rather than thyroid function. This can create a vicious cycle where over-exercise, coupled with restrictive dieting or performance-enhancing substances, places immense stress on the body. Instead of restoring true energy balance, they may be trading long-term health for short-term gains, using stimulants or extreme routines to sustain their efforts.
In today’s fitness culture, the focus on aesthetics, often influenced by external validation and fleeting dopamine hits from likes and shares, risks overshadowing the deeper goal of sustainable health. Aligning with true metabolic health—not just surface-level fitness—means understanding the body’s natural energy systems and avoiding the pitfalls of overtraining and reliance on adrenal energy.
For instance, Moon face which refers to a puffy or rounded face, cold feet, and weakened immunity tend to become slow to surface after-effects of prolonged bodily stress. The lack of energy availability – in this case, the reserve tank, cannot properly fuel the most recently evolved brain structure, the neocortex.
This shift triggers stress-adaptive processes that compensate for the energy deficit, including increased activity of estrogen, lactate, and nitric oxide—all of which play key roles in muscle growth.
Estrogen Receptor β Controls Muscle Growth and Regeneration in Young Female Mice
Involvement of nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle adaptation to chronic overload
The neocortex is central to what defines humans as human by overseeing abilities like abstract thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and sophisticated social interactions. By fostering individuality, adaptability, and refined emotional responses, the neocortex profoundly influences and shapes a person’s personality.
When energy deficits affect the neocortex, individuals may feel “trapped” in a narrow emotional and intellectual framework. Their worldview becomes constrained, relationships strained, and their sense of individuality diminished. Addressing underlying issues like hypothyroidism can help restore energy balance, allowing the neocortex to function optimally and enabling a more vibrant and adaptable personality to emerge.
If you’ve ever felt drained, unmotivated, or stuck in a loop of fitness frustration, it might be time to ask whether you’re addressing the root cause of your struggles—or simply applying more pressure to an already strained system.
On my forum, Apophenia, we dive deeper into how aligning metabolic health can support resilience against modern challenges and indulgences like Pornography Addiction, EMF exposure, adrenal fatigue, and the relentless pace of today’s fitness culture.
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The term “Apophenia” is described as the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between seemingly unrelated or random things, such as objects or ideas, and similarly deemed by psychologists as the human tendency to see connections and patterns that are not really there.