Why don’t I feel ‘endorphin rush’ after a workout, like they say?

Tamires Correia, 32, from São Paulo, expresses her mix of feelings after a workout: ‘What I feel is a strange combination of tiredness, relief, and…nothing. An emotional vacuum post-movement.’ Sometimes I think it’s the body processing the effort made with a light sense of ‘mission accomplished.’ Other times, I feel like it’s just boredom. It doesn’t have that ecstasy seen in Instagram posts. Tamires used to believe the problem was within her: ‘I thought there was something wrong with me, a manufacturing flaw that prevented me from ‘enjoying training.’ The discourse of constant pleasure is deceptive: it makes it seem like it’s only worth it if it’s enjoyable, when, in fact, the process is more about dealing with discomfort and repetition. I think I started to embrace exercise when I stopped expecting all that love.’ João Vilela, 45, from Brasília, also never experienced this post-workout joy that many people talk about: ‘I was an overweight child, and since then, I’ve done everything: swimming, judo, soccer, running, crossfit. I never felt that post-workout happiness that many people speak of,’ he states.