Is anyone else watching Severance on Apple TV? I was instantly hooked when I caught the first couple of episodes of the first season on a flight late last year. If you don't know, the second season just dropped, and I am obsessed.
*There are no show spoilers ahead
In the show, employees at Lumon Industries undergo a procedure that splits their memories—one identity exists only at work (the "innie") with no idea of what their lives are like outside the office. At the same time, the other ("outie") lives an entirely separate life, never recalling what happens at the office. They are one person essentially living two separate lives. If you could apply this to fitness, which would you choose? Do you want to be a gym "innie" or "outie?"
That's what @wordshurt.copy joked about on Threads: The concept of Severance, the Apple TV+ series, applied to fitness.
““Can I get severed, but for the gym?””
Would You Rather Be the Innie or the Outie at the Gym? A Severance-Inspired Thought Experiment
Imagine a world where you could sever your consciousness for the gym. Your "innie" does all the work—waking up early, sweating through grueling workouts, pushing through discomfort—while your "outie" enjoys the results: strength, endurance, and a sculpted physique. Sounds appealing, right?
At first, the answer seems obvious—most people would say they want to be the outie. No suffering, all rewards. But is it really that simple? And would it even work?
The Outie: All Gain, No Pain?
For most people, fitness is about results. Weight loss, muscle gain, endurance, aesthetics—those things we think about when we set goals. If you could bypass the work and still get the rewards, why wouldn't you?
But here's the catch: results don't happen in a vacuum. Fitness isn't just about the hour in the gym—it's also about everything that happens outside of it.
The outie must still eat well and get enough protein because training alone doesn't produce results without proper nutrition.
The outie still has to sleep and recover because muscles grow and repair outside the gym, not during the workout.
The outie has to avoid self-sabotage because a sedentary lifestyle, junk food, alcohol, and chronic stress could sabotage the hard work of the innie.
And here's where the real struggle lies: discipline isn't just about exercise. If your outie doesn't uphold their end of the deal, the innie's hard work might not pay off. Would the outie really feel satisfied with their results if they didn't remember earning them? And would the physical changes even last without an engaged, responsible outie making the right choices?
Even if an outie could wake up fit, would they stay fit?
The Innie: The One Who Does the Work
Lumon’s newest wellness director?
Now, what about the innie? The one who only exists inside the gym, experiencing endless sets, reps, and sweat? They leave for the day only to blink, and as far as they remember, they are back in the gym to work, just like in the show.
At first, it sounds like the worst deal possible—who wants to do all the work without the reward? But if you think about it, there are hidden benefits:
Innies would become incredibly skilled and strong. Since they never experience the "outside world," their reality is fitness. There are no distractions, no excuses, just focused work.
Innies would experience progress firsthand. Even if they don't get to reap the benefits in the outside world, they'd feel the rush of hitting a personal best, lifting heavier weights, or running faster than before.
Innies get the endorphin boost. Exercise improves mood, reduces stress, and creates a sense of accomplishment. If innies are doing the work, they're also the ones experiencing those feel good endorphins.
Maybe the outie gets the physical rewards. Still, the innie gets the intrinsic ones—the satisfaction of showing up, getting stronger and pushing limits. And maybe that's the better deal.
Who Has It Harder?
So, which role is more difficult: the innie who does the work or the outie who has to maintain the lifestyle?
Is their work meaningless if the innie does all the workouts but never gets to enjoy the results?
If the outie benefits from the results but doesn't engage in the process, do they even appreciate them?
If results require both work and participation in recovery, balance, and sustainable habits, can you really separate them?
The 23 hours outside the gym may be the bigger challenge. Is it harder to work out for an hour or eat, rest, recover, sleep, and manage stress for the rest of the day?
In fitness, just like in life, the process is the reward. If you try to sever yourself from the work of fitness, you also sever yourself from the growth, pride, and transformation that make it meaningful.
The joke was that the outie should get to enjoy the results without the effort, but maybe it's the innie who truly experiences what matters.
The Takeaway: Enjoy the Process, Not Just the Results
It's fun to imagine a world where we could outsource effort and keep the rewards, but fitness doesn't work that way. The best results come from fully embracing the process. You can't just train; you must also recover, eat well, and stay consistent. And you can't just wake up fit—you must experience the work to appreciate the outcome.
Maybe instead of trying to be an outie who reaps the benefits or an innie who suffers through the grind, we should aim for reintegration—embracing both sides of the fitness journey.
Because when you do, you realize something important: The results aren't just about how you look (though if Dylan's perspective in Severance is any guide, your outie might see those gains and flex in muscle shows). They're in how you feel, how you move, how you grow, and how you show up for yourself every day. And that's something no severed mind could ever replace.
What do you think? Would you rather be the innie or the outie in this fitness scenario? Or is the real answer that the best results come when we fully own both?
Are you watching Severance? If so, this post probably clicked right away. If not, you might want to catch up—though fair warning, the show is as perplexing as it is compelling. It has a way of raising more questions than it answers, so even after watching, you may find yourself just as confused—but at least this blog post will make sense!
If you’re watching Severance I’d love to hear your prevailing theories.
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Questions? I’d love to help.
I am a board certified health coach, personal trainer, and running coach, dedicated to helping you get strong, body and mind!
An online joke about Severance sparked an interesting question: Can I get severed, but for the gym? If you could separate your fitness life from the rest of your existence, would you? Would you choose to be the gym Innie, fully immersed in the sweat and effort but with no memory of why you’re doing it? Or the Outie, who never experiences the grind but wakes up stronger, leaner, and more muscular—reaping the rewards without recalling the work? At first glance, being the Outie seems like the better deal, but is it really? The harder part of fitness often isn’t just the workouts—it’s the other 23 hours of the day: nutrition, recovery, sleep, and stress management. This post explores why true success comes from reintegration—learning to embrace both the process and the results, rather than trying to separate them.