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Is going to the gym considered a hobby?

So when ppl ask you what are your hobbies, or what do you do for fun.

I feel like for regular gym goers who gym as part of their lifestyle its just another thing like eating breakfast or doing laundry, and if you were to list 'going to the gym' as a hobby it would come across as a bit try hard :lol:

I'm talking mainly about weightlifting gym goers

Although let's be honest for some of us gym is probably the only extra thing we can fit in in the free time we have apart from work/uni/seeing friends :lol:

Thoughts?

Reply 1

Nerry

if you enjoy it then yeah

Reply 2

DrawTheLine

People who say it's a hobby probably go for fun, whereas people who don't probably go for the exercise / getting fit. I don't go to the gym for fun. It is not fun. I go to be healthy. If it's a hobby then you go to the gym because it's fun.

Reply 3

It's****ingWOODY

If it's in writing, then yeah, you're asked about your hobbies so people can get a better picture about you and what you enjoy doing in your free time. I never mention it as a hobby IRL though - if you say you go to the gym and lift weights, and you don't look like you lift weights, it's a bit awkward; conversely, it's a confidence booster when people know you go to the gym without you having to tell them, because you look like you do.

Reply 4

shawn_o1

Gym is part of your job if you play professional sport or instruct a fitness class. Imo "gym" as a hobby doesn't make sense, you have to have a reason for going otherwise you're wasting the membership.

Reply 5

miser

I think sometimes the way we talk about things and the way they actually are can be different, because being pedantic about them ruins the conversation. Gym is one of those things because it's not really a hobby, but if you're a big gym goer and someone asks you what your hobbies are, gym is one of the types of things they probably want to hear about.

I'm not a big gym goer (always struggling), but I did do martial arts and to me that wasn't a hobby. The ones I practised also weren't sports. In conversations though I think it's better to just let things like that slide as opposed to clarifying what are essentially unnecessary technicalities.

Reply 6

Liamw1998

Original post by tootles44

Thoughts?

Yeah I’d definitely say it’s a hobby, for application purposes anyway

Reply 7

Petulia

I would say it's a hobby depending on why you go. It can seem like a chore or part of your weekly routine like going to uni or work, but the reason I make it part of my routine is to relieve stress / focus on something other than uni / home. I do have long term goals but I'm not really obsessive about it like I was when I first joined, mostly I just go because I enjoy it and it does give you something to talk to people about.
On applications etc I've written it as "weight training and exercise" so I usually do list it as a hobby.

Anything that you do for fun, to relieve stress or to pass time is a hobby in my opinion :smile:

Reply 8

Ecds

I definitely go for health reasons. It's really good for me as it helps relieve anxiety and stops me from worrying excessively. Also exercise makes me feel good about myself.

For that reason I'd say it's more of a necessity than a hobby for myself.

Reply 9

Angry cucumber

It can be a hobby or a lifestyle, a passing phase or a lifes passion, place of work or a glorious house of GAINZ

Reply 10

Bang Outta Order

of course it's a hobby. It should be anyway. I actually enjoy working out, it's not a chore for me. But it's not an obsession or passion either, like I don't make those shakes or wear those calorie counting watches or whatever they are lol.

If you do it for fun and several times a month, it's a hobby, me thinks.

Reply 11

BKS

I'd say it is. If I can call cycling and martial arts hobbies then I don't see why I can't call going to the gym. I enjoy it, I spend at least 5hrs a week doing it, it's relaxing and good for my mental health, I have gym friends who I like to see an catch up with. But when you say it people often don't think of that, they think vanity and that's where the weirdness comes from that makes it seem different to cycling, for example. Or they think you are some fitness freak who never eats cake and eats only kale. People's perception of gym go-ers is weird.

Reply 12

Thomazo

It should be a lifestyle, not a hobby per se.

But if someone asks for your hobbies as in they want to get to know you etc, of course you can mention it even if it’s strictly not a hobby.

Reply 13

PollyParrot23

A hobby is defined as an activity done regularly in your leisure time for pleasure. So if you go out of work hours, and you enjoy it then it's a hobby! No different to saying you swim or cycle as a hobby. Hobbies don't have to be chilled things like reading or painting.

It's is just something you do that isn't professional work- I guess a hobby can be intense and something you do often, or it can be something you do occasionally like on weekends. I used to swim competitively, train several times a day but I'd still say it was my hobby

Reply 14

Unistudent77

V interesting thread.

I would be inclined not to mention it if people ask what are my hobbies despite the gym actually being a hobby.

BKS nailed it, people think you’re freakishly dedicated and strict if you said that you love the gym basically