Last year I was, and had been for a long time, vastly overweight and unwell. Because I didn’t see myself as a pretty sight I really didn’t like looking at myself in mirrors.
I decided to go to the gym regularly. At the gym I noticed that some people (mainly men for some reason) spent a long time gazing at themselves in the mirrors. (I’m not talking about them critiquing their technique: this is before or after work outs). My instinctive, disapproving, reaction was ‘how narcissistic’. I didn’t understand why they did it.
I have now lost a lot of weight (a lot!) and have become toned. To my surprise I find myself giving myself the once over (oh, alright the twice or thrice over). I like what I see because I like seeing the changes I have made. And I must admit I do get a little thrill of satisfaction at my appearance. I have stopped being critical of others doing it but I am still curious as to what *they *get out of it.
Do you like looking at yourself? What do you feel about others doing it?
The older I get the worse I get, I will very often go to the bathroom in the morning, wash my face, wet my hair and forget to comb it. I will likely never notice unless it is pointed out to me. When I was younger if I went to a public restroom I would usually at least glance in the mirror while washing my hands. Unless there is a pretty girl hanging around that I am aware of I don’t even do that anymore.
It seems that it should be second-nature to look at one’s self in the mirror while washing one’s hands in the restroom. But not for me.
I used to think that I simply forget to look. But I’m starting to think that’s only part of it. I think there must be a secret part of me that is afraid to see what kind of reflection I’m displaying. Sometimes I’ll look in the mirror and like what I see. Sometimes I hate it. By avoiding the mirror all together, I don’t have to be disappointed.
The only reason I look is to make sure I don’t have a booger hanging out of my nose or some other detail to clean up. Otherwise I don’t look. If I do look longer than that, I think, well, I may be ugly but I try to be a nice person to outweigh it.
I am like the OP in that years ago when I did lose weight and was amazed that certain things fit, I did spend more time looking. But only in the privacy of my home. Now I don’t even own a full-length mirror. That way I can make it through the day more easily ignoring the fact that I am a dump truck (thanks Amy Schumer ).
For some reason, even tho I am grossly overweight and have some crazy curly often unkempt hair, I do often admire myself in the mirror. I have some muscle under this fat so I have definition, and I have a nice rack.
I’m usually ok with seeing myself in photos, usually I am having fun and it is a good memory. I post a lot of pics on Facebook.
I think everyone else in the world is pretty turned off by how I look, so someone needs to be my cheerleader. That person is me.
I usually take a glance before heading out to ensure there is no mud smeared across my face and that my hair isn’t sticking up in wild directions but um no, I don’t see any reason to stare at myself? I’m pretty normal looking and am quite familiar with how I look.
If it weren’t for all the defective mirrors and cameras out there, I wouldn’t mind at all. But these darn fun-house mirrors make me look old, bald, and creepy. It’s a conspiracy!
I’m just getting started…
Right now, the guy I’m training with is trying to get me more cut, so I am increasing my protein, and trying to cut out extraneous carbs. I’ve given myself a year, and at that point I’ll see if I think I’m ready to do a natural, Masters competition.
My training partner is one of those genetic freaks who can get huge (and cut) with seemingly little effort, so I’m following his lead.
I refer to myself as his “science project” - what kind of shape can he get a 55 year old guy into, without drugs. My one secret power is: I don’t say no, or quit, ever. Any exercise, any time, just say the word and I’ll do it.
Well good luck. Sticking to it, committing, that is by far the most important factor in reaching your goals. Keep yourself focused on your goals and don’t be discouraged at the pace of your progress. Just don’t stop.
I assume that you are referring to guys who pose in the mirror after a set, or when they finish working out. I am one of those guys who likes to preen in front of the mirror at the gym, for two main reasons:
Physiological. One of the most noticeable things about working out is the pump you get in your muscles. This pump is caused by blood rushing into the muscle, which makes it bigger and tighter than usual, and makes the skin flush. Conventional bodybuilding wisdom has long held that this pump was important to muscle development; science now agrees. So, getting pumped is an important part of the workout.
One of the ways to get a muscle pumped, of course, is to do resistance exercises. But you can also get a pump by just flexing the muscle really hard (think of Charles Atlas’ dynamic tension program from the 60’s). So, after a set, which has seemingly filled the muscles to capacity, you can get an even greater pump by flexing the muscles as hard as you can. So, if you see my finish a set of barbell curls and then flex my biceps in the mirror, you should know that I am still “exercising”, in that I am still trying to enhance my muscular development. Criticizing that is like criticizing me for doing reps…it’s part of the effort.
Psychological. In order to improve your muscular development (especially if you’ve been training for a while), you need to exert a considerable amount of effort, oftentimes more than you might otherwise feel like. Seeing my skin flush, veins visible, with my muscles all tight is inspiring; it makes me feel like I am making progress, and motivates me to push myself. You (the general you; I am not being defensive about the OP) may think that is weird, but I think it’s weird to see people in the gym who look bored between sets. Why do you come here if it isn’t fun? And in an environment where I am trying to zero in on my body for an hour out of my day, it’s fun to be a little primal.
Ultimately, in my opinion, going to the gym and not looking at yourself in the mirror is like going to the driving range and not watching the flight of your ball. It doesn’t really matter where the ball goes, but you watch it to see the results of your technique, and because you enjoy hitting a nice drive.
Now, does that make me a narcissist? I don’t think so. I am very critical of my physique, and can probably point out flaws that you wouldn’t notice. Nor am I someone who loves my own face; I mean, it suits me fine, but I was one of those kids who had to learn how to be comfortable with my imperfections (I recall washing my face in the dark when I was in high school because I didn’t want to look at myself, or using the high school bathroom without looking in the mirror because I didn’t want to give myself a complex for the rest of the day).
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