"guys are like... so addicted"

I stumbled onto a TikTok recently of a womens’ podcast.

They were talking about guys’ experience in the gym, with loneliness, in their life.

But they made everything up.

They made some pretty huge guesses, and decided that’s what was going on.

I’m not denying there are people that fit the image they had in their head, but I’ve spoken to countless guys, and am a guy, so I think I’m a pretty good authority here.

To put it simply, they viewed everyone who goes to the gym as an addict.

They thought everyone was like Killian Maddox.

• “Guys can’t go out to socialise because of their diet”

• “Guys only eat chicken, broccoli, and rice”

• “Guys never skip a workout even if it means their girlfriend misses out”

Okay the last one probably is true for most people, but that’s not the point.

A lot of things were said.

The average guy who goes to the gym is not Killian Maddox.

It did make me think a little though. What actually would be gym addiction?

It can’t just be loosely having a few traits that line up with addiction, that’s not how diagnoses work.

See pretty much all diagnoses are put together by a group of Doctors asking questions.

• What descriptors are involved?

• Is there anything which is mandatory, or excludes someone?

• How many pieces of criteria does someone need to meet, and are there different levels?

For mental health the biggest collection of work you have on this is the DSM-5.

So that’s where I went to extract what I felt would be a good parallel.

I do want to first premise by saying, none of this is medical advice, none of this is a diagnosis.

If you do end up meeting a lot of the criteria however, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to explore the potential of there being an addiction independently, or with a Doctor.

1. Training too frequently or for longer than you're meant to

2. Wanting to go to the gym less but not managing to

3. Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from the gym

4. Cravings and urges to go to the gym

5. Not managing to do what you should at work, home, or school because of the gym

6. Giving up important social, occupational, or recreational activities because of the gym

7. Going to the gym again and again, even when it puts you in danger

8. Continuing to go to the gym, even when you know you have a physical problem that could have been caused or made worse by the gym

9. Development of withdrawal symptoms, which can be relieved by going to the gym

Now hitting one of these descriptors would mean essentially nothing.

When it comes to serious conditions like addiction, you need to meet a certain amount.

It’s similar to when people talk about ADHD/Autism being on a spectrum, and how everyone has parts, but only some have enough to qualify.

The gym addiction scale

• Mild: Two or three symptoms indicate a mild gym addiction.

• Moderate: Four or five symptoms indicate a moderate gym addiction.

• Severe: Six or more symptoms indicate a severe gym addiction.

If you do end up being Moderate/Severe, reply to this email and share your story. I’m interested.

Thanks for reading, stay safe!

Your Hypertrophy Hero,
Fletcher